PRODUCTIONS OF COLD COUNTRIES. 63 



every thing which we obtain from the horse, the 

 ox, and the sheep, and provides for the greatest 

 part of their wants. A man's wealth in these 

 countries is calculated by the number of rein-deer 

 he possesses ; for they supply all the purposes of 

 food, clothing, and draught. Their skins are made 

 into shoes, bedding, tent covers, and dress ; their 

 horns into various kinds of vessels : their bones 

 into knives, spoons, and needles; and their sinews 

 into cord and thread. Very little trouble is re- 

 quired to keep the rein-deer, as it feeds chiefly, on 

 leaves and mosses, which it seeks for itself, by 

 scraping away the snow that generally covers 

 the ground with its hoofs and horns. It is 

 the familiar companion of its owner and his 

 family ; and it can perform a journey of more 

 than a hundred miles in twenty successive hours. 

 The female gives a rich milk, and the flesh forms 

 an excellent food. 



In other countries still colder, the dog is 

 almost equally useful. In these situations, where 

 he is the servant and companion of man, he gives 

 striking proofs of sagacity and docility. He serves 

 for drawing sledges over the frozen snow, and has 

 been known to travel nearly a hundred miles a 

 day. He braves the severest snow storms, and is 

 rarely known to miss his way, even when his 

 driver cannot keep his eyes open. The flesh is 

 considered an excellent article of diet; but so great 

 is his value that he is seldom killed, unless his 

 owner is severely pressed by famine. 



