UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 217 



the tent, the smoke of which annoyed us much. 

 In a short time, the milk assumed the appearance 

 of curd ; and, being taken off, was placed in 

 small moulds, made of beech wood, and pressed 

 together. The number of cheeses thus made 

 amounted to about eight, of the size of a com- 

 mon plate, and barely an inch in thickness. 

 The whey and curds that remained were for our 

 supper, though the dirty habits of the people 

 much diminished my appetite. 



" After supper was finished, and the bowls 

 and other utensils removed to a corner of the 

 tent, fresh wood was placed on the fire, which 

 again enveloped us in smoke. On its burning 

 up, the flames reached the cheeses, which had 

 been placed on a board directly over the fire, 

 that the smoke might harden them. Their rich- 

 ness and the heat caused large drops of oil to 

 trickle from them, which the men licked up with 

 evident relish. 



" The whole group was a curious one. Oppo- 

 site to us, around the fire, were the uncouth 

 figures of the Laplanders, squatting on their 

 haunches. In one corner were two children 

 asleep in deer- skins ; and more than twenty 

 small dogs were also reposing about us. It was 

 soon time for the men to commence their nightly 

 employment of watching the deer, and accord- 

 ingly one of them left the tent. On. making a 

 signal, about half the dogs, whose turn it was to 



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