THE LAPPS. 



159 



precisely like a night-cap, or a Turkish fez, with a red tassel and red worsted 

 band round the rim, for they are fond of lively hues strongly contrasted. 

 Their boots or shoes are made of the raw skin of the reindeer, with the hair 

 outward, and have a peaked shape. Though these shoes are very thin, and the 

 Lapp wears no stockings, yet he is never annoyed by the cold or by striking 

 against stones, as he stuffs them with the broad leaves of the Carex vesicaria, 

 or cyperus grass, which he cuts in summer and dries. This he first combs and 

 rubs in his hands, and then places it in such a manner that it covers not only 

 his feet but his legs also, and, being thus guarded, he is quite secure against 

 the intense cold. With this grass, which is an admirable non-conductor of heat, 

 he likewise stuffs his gloves in order to preserve his hands. But as it wards 

 of£ the cold in winter, so in summer it keeps the feet cool, and is consequently 

 used at all seasons. The women's apparel differs very little from that of the 

 other sex, but their girdles are more ornamented with rings and chains. In 

 winter both sexes are so packed up in skins as to look more like bears than 

 human beings, and, when squatting according to the fashion of their country, 

 exhibit a mound of furs, with the head resting upon the top of it. 



According to their different mode of life, the Lapps may be aptly subdivided 

 into FjalUappars, or Mountain Lapps ; Skogslappars, or Wood Lapps ; and 

 Fisherlapps. 



The FjalUappars, who form the greater and most characteristic part of the 

 nation, lead an exclusively pastoral life, and are constantly wandering with their 

 herds of reindeer from place to place, for the lichen which forms the chief food 

 of these animals during the greater part of the year is soon cropped from the 

 niggard soil, and requires years for its reproduction. For this reason, also, this 

 people do not herd together, and never more than three or four families pitch 

 their huts, or tuguria, upon the same spot. Of course the dwelling of the no- 

 mad Lapp harmonizes with his vagrant habits ; a rude tent, which can easily 

 be taken to pieces, and as easily erected, is all he requires to shelter his family 

 and chattels. It consists of flexible stems of trees, placed together in a conical 

 form, like a stack of poles for hops, and covered in the summer with a coarse 

 cloth, in winter with additional skins, to be better fenced against the inclemencies 

 of the climate. To form the entrance, a part of the hanging, about eighteen 

 inches wide at the bottom, and terminating upward in a point, is made to turn 

 back as upon hinges. The hearth, consisting of several large stones, is in the 

 centre, and in the roof immediately above it is a square opening for the escapa 

 of smoke and the admission of rain, snow, and air. All the light which the den 

 receives when the door is closed comes from this hole. The diameter of one 

 of these conical huts generally measures at its base no more than six feet ; its 

 whole circumference, of course, does not exceed eighteen feet, and its extreme 

 height may be about ten feet. The floor is very nearly covered with reindeer 

 skins, on which the inmates squat during the day and sleep at nights, contract* 

 ing their limbs together and huddling round their hearth, so that each individ- 

 ual of this pigmy race occupies scarcely more space than a dog. On the side of 

 the tent are suspended a number of pots, wooden bowls, and other household 

 utensils ; and a small chest contains the holiday apparel of the family. Such 



