LULE AN LAPLAND. 101 



as to allow the traveller to sit upright, 

 his legs lying under the eover, while the 

 said margin is tied round his waist, like an 

 apron, serving to keep the snow out of the 

 hollow part of the machine. The person 

 of the traveller is farther secured by 

 strings fixed to the eddies of the carriao:e, 

 which lace around him across the top, so as 

 to prevent his being thrown out by any 

 oblique or unexpected movement. Each 

 board, which composes the body of the 

 sledge, is somewhat convex on the inside, 

 but still the whole internal surface is suffi- 

 ciently smooth and even. The point in 

 front sometimes projects a foot beyond the 

 hollow part*. 



* La Motraye, after describing the Lapland sledge, 

 observes that " it is attached by a single trace or 

 thong, passing under the belly of the reindeer, and 

 fixed to a leather collar which goes round the animal's 

 neck. A long cord made of twisted fir bark, tied to 

 his horns, serves, when pulled in a straight line, to 

 stop his course, or, when drawn toward either side, 

 to turn him in that direction. When this cord is 

 made to strike him gently, by a vertical motion, on 



