202 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



and wealth of the natives. In Lapland, as the author cf 

 " Tales of Animals " puts it, he supplies the place of the horse, 

 the cow, the sheep, and the goat. " Alive and dead, the rein- 

 deer is equally subservient to their wants. When he ceases 

 to exist, spoons are made of his bones, glue of his horns, 

 bowstrings and thread of his tendons, clothing of his skin, 

 and his flesh becomes a savoury food. During his life, his 

 milk is converted into cheese, and he is employed to convey 

 his owner over the snowy wastes of his native country. Such 

 is the swiftness of the reindeer that two of them, yoked in 

 a sledge, will travel a hundred and twelve English miles in 

 a day." The reindeer will draw about 3CX3 lbs. weight, though 

 250 lbs. is a sufficient average load- His ordinary pace is 

 said to be about ten miles an hour and his powers of endur- 

 ance are very great. His pace for a short distance is thus 

 given by Pictet, who took the measurements and tested the 

 speed of three animals yoked to light sledges. "The first 

 deer performed 3089 feet, 9 inches, in two minutes, being 

 at the rate of nearly 19 English miles in an hour, and thus 

 accomplishing 25 feet, 9 inches, in every second. The second 

 did the same in three minutes ; and the third and last deer, 

 in three minutes and twenty-six seconds. The ground in this 

 race was nearly level. " The reindeer is gregarious in its 

 wild state, and retains its social instinct when in a state of 

 domestication. When travelling, the hindmost animals follow 

 their leader with dogged persistency, even though the leader 

 may make a circuit which the followers might avoid by taking 

 a direct cut. Nor wUl they accept the guidance of their drivers 

 in such cases and if dragged out of their course by mciin force 

 will return to it as soon as the force is removed. In his own 

 way, however, the reindeer will follow unerringly though his 

 leader may be out of sight, moving silong with his nose close to 

 the ground and tracing the way by his scent, which is very keen. 

 The reindeer is much troubled in the summer time by the 

 attacks of small flies. De Broke says, " The poor animal is thus 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



