REIN DEER. 
179 
greyish white. The space about the eyes is always 
black. The hair on the under part of the neck 
is much longer than the rest. The hoofs are long, 
large, and black. Both sexes are furnished with 
horns, but those of the male are much the largest. 
These are long, slender, and branched ; furnished 
with brow-antlers, having widely expanded and 
palmated tips, directed forwards. To the Lap- 
landers this animal is the substitute for the horse, 
the cow, the goat, and the sheep ; and is their only 
wealth. 
Lapland is divided into two districts, the moun- 
tainous and the woody. The mountainous part of 
the country is at best barren and bleak, excessive- 
ly cold, and uninhabitable during the winter ; 
still, however, it is the most desirable part of this 
frightful region, and is most thickly peopled dur- 
ing the summer. The natives generally reside on 
the declivity of the mountains, three or four cot- 
tages together, and lead a cheerful and social life. 
Upon the approach of winter, they are obliged 
to migrate into the plains below, each bringing 
down his whole herd, which often amounts to more 
than a thousand, and leading them where the pas- 
ture is in greatest plenty. The woody part of the 
country is much more desolate and hideous. The 
whole face of nature there presents a scene of 
trees without fruit, and plains without verdure. 
As far as the eye can reach, nothing is to be seen, 
even in the midst of summer, but barren fields* 
covered only with a moss, almost as white as 
snow ; no grass, no flowery landscapes, only here 
and there a pine-tree, which may have escaped the 
frequent conflagrations by which the natives burn 
down their forests. But what is very extraor- 
dinary, as the whole surface of the country is 
clothed in white, so on the contrary, the forests 
seem to the last degree dark and gloomy. While 
