THE REINDEER, 187 
The skin of the Elk is extremely thick,-and has been manufactured into 
clothing that would resist a sword-blow and repel an ordinary pistol-b1ll. 
The flesh is sometimes dressed fresh, but is generally smoked like hams, 
and is much esteemed. The large muzzle or upper lip is, however, the 
principal object of admiration to the lovers of Elk-flesh, and is said to be 
rich and gelatinous when boiled, resembling the celebrated green fat of 
the turtle. 
Two varieties of the REINDEER inhabit the earth ; the one, called the 
Reindeer, being placed upon the northern portions of Europe and Asia, and 
the other, termed the Caribou, being restricted to North America. 
This animal is very variable in dimensions, specimens of very different 
height being in the British Museum. The colour is also variable, according 
to the season of the 
year. In winter the 
fur is long, and of a 
greyish brown tint, 
with the exception of 
the neck, hinder quar- 
ters, abdomen, and 
end of nose, which are 
white. In the summer, 
the grey-brown hair 
darkens into a sooty 
brown, and the white 
portions become grey. 
The Laplanders 
place their chief hap- 
piness in the posses- 
sion of many Reindeer, 
which are to them the 
only representatives of 
ye 
Ae 
"yy; 
ATIC, 
ui Nv3! Wf, 
dt 
Diy 
=) 
PA py 
y Hj nif 
oP, 
wealth. Those who = ; Vj 
possess a herd of a WY x IN ; 
thousand or more are Why > 
reckoned among the REINDEER.—( Zurandus Réngifer.) 
wealthy of their coun- 
try ; those who own only a few hundreds are considered as persons of re- 
spectability ; while those who only possess forty or fifty are content to act 
as servants to their richer countrymen, and to merge their little herd in 
that of their employers. In the waste, dry parts of Lapland, grows a kind of 
white lichen, which forms the principal food of the Reindeer during winter, 
and is therefore highly prized by the natives. Although this lichen may be 
deeply covered with snow, the Reindeer is taught by instinct to scrape 
away the superincumbent snow with its head, hoofs, and snout, and to 
lay bare the welcome food that lies beneath. Sometimes the surface of 
the snow is frozen so firmly that the animal can make no impression ; 
and under these circumstances it is in very poor case, many of the unfor- 
tunate creatures dying of starvation, and the others being much reduced in 
condition. 
The Reindeer is extensively employed as a beast of draught and carriage, 
being taught to draw sledges and to carry men or packages upon its 
back. Each Reindeer can draw a weight of two hundred and fifty or 
even three hundred pounds, its pace being between nine and ten miles per 
hour. There is, however, a humane law which prohibits a weight of more 
than one hundred and ninety pounds upon a sledge, or one hundred and 
