THE LAPPS. 



161 



sea. When they approach its borders, the reindeer, sniffing the sea air from a 

 distance, rush tumultuously to the fjord, where they take long draughts of the 

 salted water. This, as the Lapps believe, is essential to their health. As the 

 summer advances, and the snow melts, they ascend higher and higher into the 

 mountains. At the approach of winter they retreat into the woods, where, 

 with the assistance of their dogs and servants, they have enough to do to keep 

 off the attacks of the wolves. The reindeer dog is about the size of a Scotch 

 terrier, but his head bears a wonderful resemblance to that of the lynx. Llis 

 color varies considerably, but the hair is always long and shaggy. Invaluable 

 as are his services, he is nevertheless treated with great cruelty. 



For their winter journeys the Lapps use sledges or skates. One of their 

 skates, or " skiders," is usually as long as the person who wears it ; the other is 

 about a foot shorter. The feet stand in the middle, and to them the skates 

 are fastened by thongs or withes. The skiders are made of fir-wood, and cov- 

 ered with the skins of young reindeer, which obstruct a retrograde movement 

 by acting like bristles against the snow — the roots pointing towards the fore 

 part of the skate, and thus preventing their slipping back. With these skiders, 

 the Lapp flies like a bird over the snow, now scaling the mountains by a tortu- 

 ous ascent, and now darting down into the valley : 



Ocior cervis et agente nimbos 

 Ocior Euro. 



Such is the rapidity of his course that he will overtake the swiftest wild 

 beasts ; and so violent the exercise that, during the most rigorous season of the 

 year, when earnestly engaged in the chase, he will divest himself of his furs. 

 A long pole with a round ball of wood near the end, to prevent its piercing too 

 deep in the snow, serves to stop the skater's course when he wishes to rest. 

 The Laplander is no less expert in the use of the sledge, or " pulka," which is 

 made in the form of a small boat with a convex bottom, that it may slide all 

 the more easily over the snow ; the prow is sharp and pointed, but the sledge is 

 flat behind. The traveller is swathed in this carriage like an infant in a cradle, 

 with a stick in his hand to steer the vessel, and disengage it from the stones or 

 stumps of trees which it may chance to encounter in the route. He must also 

 balance the sledge with, his body, to avoid the danger of being overturned. 

 The traces by which this carriage is fastened to the reindeer are fixed to a col- 

 lar about the animal's neck, and run down over the breast between the fore and 

 hind legs, to be connected with the prow of the sledge ; the reins managed by 

 the traveller are tied to the horns, and the trappings are furnished with little 

 bells, the sound of which the animal likes. With this draught at his tail, the 

 reindeer will travel sixty or seventy English miles in a day ; often persevering 

 fifty miles without intermission, and without taking any refreshment, except 

 occasionally moistening his mouth with the snow. His Lapland driver knows 

 how to find his way through the wilderness with a surprising certainty ; here a 

 rock, there a fir-tree, is impressed as a landmark on his faithful memory, and 

 thus, like the best pilot, he steers his sledge to the distant end of his journey. 

 Frequently the Aurora lights him on his way, illumining the snow-covered 



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