426 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



; 



ITT 



reveals certain Mongol characteristics, an 

 it is now generally admitted that, originally 

 of Mongol stock, the characters of the yellow 

 race have been largely obliterated by croi 

 ing with the Caucasian type. Professor 

 Keane says, ''The Lapp still retains the 

 round, low skull, prominent cheek-bones, 

 and somewhat flat features of the Mongol." 

 Yellow and reddish tints are noted in th 

 colour of the skin. No other coloured ra< 

 contains so many men of very light hue 

 the Lapps. Many of the women have delica 

 complexions and rosy cheeks, and Du Chaillu 

 describes the appearance of freshly washed 

 specimens as positively dazzling. The Lap 

 language is a member of the Finnish branc 

 of the Mongolo-Tartar family. 



The different tribes are bound togethe 

 by hardships which are the common lot. 

 Some are hunters, some fishermen; others, 

 again, herdsmen of deer. All have 

 struggle equally hard for existence. The 

 are, however, cheery and contented. The 

 endure with indifference and even manag 

 to enjoy hard conditions of life unde 

 which more civilised peoples could no 

 possibly exist. 



The dress of the Lapps has now almo 

 lost its old Arctic character, and assume 

 that of the northern Europeans with who 

 alone they communicate. Coarse woolle 

 stuffs are gradually but certainly taking th 

 place of skins. But in winter both me 

 and women wear reindeer-skin with th 

 hairy side in. The men's head-gear is 

 huge, four-cornered cap; while that of th 



women somewhat resembles a helmet on a wooden frame. In summer men and wome 

 are clad only in a long shirt of wadmal with sleeves reaching to the wrist, and as 

 rule the old national costume is better preserved by the Mountain Lapps than by those oi 

 the seaboard. In summer they wear tight-fitting trousers of reindeer-skin, shoes of leather 

 turned up at the toes, and a woollen shirt. They are nomads, and on their journeys wear 

 a strong belt with a knife in it. This belt is occasionally adorned with bear's teeth after 

 successful hunting expedition. They carry leather bags on their back for provisions. "Whei 

 European influence is most strongly felt, the dress becomes more like that of the Nor 

 peasant, the women wearing a woollen under-garment, 'and over that another reaching to the 

 knees, with red and yellow stripes on its lower border. An ornamental belt, with knife anc 

 scissors, girds the waist; and the dress is completed with blue stockings. 



The weapons of the Lapps who do not live by fishing are the bow, knife, and bear-spear. 

 The bow, about 6 feet in length, is usually made of birchwood and fir, fastened together 

 with fish-glue, and is further secured and strengthened by being bound all over with birch- 

 bast. Some of the bows are thick, and show none of the elegant work which other 

 semi-wild peoples lavish on their weapons. They use blunt arrows for shooting fur aninu 



Pkoto by J. A. Coldevin] 



A. LAPP WOMAN. 



\_Mosjoen. 



