225 
HUNTING IN LAPLAND. 
when an European could not have discovered the smallest print of 
their feet. The Indian method, however, was by observing some- 
times the herbs or leaves broken dowm by their feet, sometimes the 
drops of blood which fell from them when wounded. It is said that 
some of the American Indians shew still greater dexterity in disco- 
vering the tracks of their enemies, which to an European would be 
altogether imperceptible. 
Methods of Hunting in Lapland. 
The Laplanders make surprising excursions upon the snow in their 
hunting expeditions. They provide themselves each with a pair of 
skates, or snow-shoes, which are hr boards covered with the rough 
skin of the rein-deer, turned in such a manner that the hair rises 
against the snow% otherwise they would be too slippery. One of these 
shoes 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 
shoes are fastened by thongs or withes. The Laplander, thus equip- 
ped, wields a long pole in his hand, near the end of which there is a 
round ball of wood, to prevent its piercing toQ deep in the snow ; and 
with this he stops himself occasionally. By means of these accoiitret 
ments, he W'ill travel at the rate of sixty miles per day, without being 
fatigued ; ascending steep mountains, and sliding down again with 
amazing swiftness. The Laplander not only travels on foot, but is 
provided with a carriage drawn by the rein-deer, in which he jour- 
neys with still greater rapidity. The sledge, called pulka, is made 
in the form of a small boat, with a convex bottom, that it may slide 
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, W'ith a stick in his hand to steer the vessel, 
and disengage it from pieces of rock, or stumps of trees, that may 
chance to encounter it in the route. He must balance the sledge with 
his body, otherwise he will be in danger of being overturned. The 
traces by which this carriage is fastened to the rein-deer, are fixed to 
a collar about the animal’s neck, and run dow n over the breast betw'een 
the fore, and hind legs, to be connected w ith 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 is agree- 
able to the animal. With this draught at his tail, the rein-deer, ifpressed, 
will travel ten or twelve Swedish miles, (seventy or eighty English,) in a 
day ; but by such bard driving he is generally destroyed. It, however, 
frequently happens that he wtU persevere in his journey fifty miles 
i^’ithout intermission, and withont refreshment, except occasionally 
moistening his mouth with the snow. Before he sets out, the Lap- 
la,nder whispers in his ear the way he is to go, and the place at 
Avhicb he is to halt, firmly persuaded that the beast understands his 
meaning. In the beginning of winter, the Laplanders mark the most 
frequented roads, by strewing them with fir boughs ; which being 
frequently covered with new' snow', and alternately beaten by the 
carriage, consolidates them into a kind of causeway, w hich is the 
harder if the surface has felt a partial thaw, and is crusted by a sub- 
sequent frost. It requires great caution to follow these tracks , for 
2 F 
