326 NORWEGIAN LAPLAND. 



walk, one of them fifty years of age, the 

 other upwards of seventy, runnmg and 

 frisking about in sport, though each of 

 them had carried a burthen all the way ; 

 not indeed a very heavy one, but, con- 

 sidering the distance, by no means trifling. 

 This set me seriously to consider the ques- 

 tion put by Dr. Rosen, " why are the 

 Laplanders so swift-footed ?'" To which I 

 answer, that it arises not from any one 

 cause, but from the cooperation of many. 

 1. The Laplanders, unlike us, wear no 

 heels to their half boots. We see dancing- 

 masters and rope-dancers, w^ith little or no 

 heels, perform feats of great agility, scarcely 

 practicable with them. The same may be 

 observed of running-footmen, and people 

 of various countries who habitually walk 

 fast; while, on the contrary, those who 

 are accustomed to large and high heels, 

 move in a heavy and deliberate manner. 

 It is usual to shoe young horses heavily, 

 that they may acquire a steadiness of pace ; 

 and I observe that the country boys where 



