LAPLANDERS. 
sledges, or in venturing amidst whirlpools and cataracts in little slen- 
der boats made of thin fir boards, fastened together with thongs of 
leather, sinews of wild beasts, or tough and flexible twigs of willow 
and osier. These boats are of different sizes, from two to six yards 
in length, managed with oars, and calked with moss so tig!:t as to 
keep out the water. 
The Laplanders are partly settled, and partly roving ; the latter 
live in tents made with coarse cloth ; the former live in small villages 
near the lakes, and chiefly follow fishing. They build their cottages 
somewhat in the shape of a cone, by planting a circle of large trees 
or poles aslant in the earth, and close to each other, so that their 
tops meet, and form a small vent for the issue of the smoke ; they 
cover the ground within with branches of trees. In spring tlieir food 
consists principally of the eggs of water-fowl, which are extremely 
plentiful ; in summer and autumn, of the birds themselves, and of 
various others of the partridge tribe; and in wirder, of the milk and 
flesh of the rein-deer and dried fish. They had till lately no bread, 
but used the inner rind of the pine-tree dried and ground, and dried 
fish reduced to powder. 'I’hey make confections and decoctions of 
berries, angelica, and sorrel, which they use as preservatives against 
the scurvy. 
The Laplander enjoys almost uninterrupted health, by temperance 
and exercise, which brace bis nerves taa very unusual pitch of strength, 
and fortify his constitution in such a manner, that he often lives to 
the age of 100 without feeling any disease, or perceiving his vigour 
impaired. It is not uncommon to see a Laplander in old age hunt- 
ing, fowling, skaiting, and performing all the several exercises of 
youth with agility. 
The summer garb of the men consists of along coat of coarsecloth, 
reaching dowm to the middle of the leg, and girded round the waist 
by a belt or girdle, from which hang a Norway knife, and a pouch 
containing flints, matches, tobacco, and other necessaries, the girdle 
itself being decorated with brass rings and chains. Their caps are 
made of the skin of the northern diver, with the feathers on ; and 
their shoes of the rein-deer skin, with the hair outwards. They wear 
no linen, but the garments of the superior ranks are of a finer cloth, 
and they delight in various colours, of which red is the most agreeable. 
In winter they are totally cased up in coats, caps, boots, and gloves, 
made of rein-deer skins. 
In the “Flora Laponica,” Linnaeus says, “Perhaps the curious 
reader will wonder how the people of Lapland, during the terrible cold 
that reigns there in wdnter, can preserve their lives ; since almost all 
birds, and even some wild beasts, desert it at that time. The Lap- 
lander, not only in the day, but during the whole winter nights, is 
obliged to wander about in woods for his herds of rein-deer ; for the 
rein-deer never come under cover, nor eat any kind of fodder but a 
particular kind of liverwort. On this account the herdsmen are under 
a necessity of living continually in the woods, to take care of their 
cattle, lest they should be devoured by the wild beasts. The Lap- 
lander easily does with little light, as the snow reflects the rays from 
“ the stars, and as the Aurora Borealis illuminates the air every night. 
