£30 
LAP1 
even the woods of Lapland, is no longer heard in this 
fcene of defolation; the ruggednefs of the dark grey rock 
is not covered by a tingle ihrub; the only mufic is the 
hoarfe murmuring of the waves, ever and anon renewing 
their aflaults on the huge mafles that oppofe them. The 
northern fun, creeping at midnight at the diftance of five 
diameters along the horizon, and the immeafurable ocean 
in apparent contact with the Ikies, form the grand out¬ 
lines in the fublime picture prefented to the aftonifhed 
fpectator. The incefl’ant cares and purfuits of anxious 
mortals are recollected as a dream; the various forms and 
energies of animated nature are forgotten ; the earth is 
contemplated only in its elaments, and as conllituting a 
part of the folar fyftem. Here the fun never lets for three 
months in fummer, and in winter there is an uninter¬ 
rupted night of the fame duration ; but this is qualified 
in fuch a manner by a conllant revolution of daw« and 
-twilight, by a ferene Iky, moon-fight, and aurora borealis, 
reflected from the white furfaceof the earth covered with 
fnow, that the inhabitants are enabled to hunt, fifli, and 
proceed with their ordinary occupations. The country 
abounds with excellent fprings ; and is remarkable for 
fome furprifing cataraCts, in which the water tumbles over 
frightful precipices, and dallies among rocks with amazing 
impetuofity and noife. 
The heat of fummer is almoft as intolerable as the cold 
of winter. M. Acerbi found the degree of heat 84 (of 
Fahrenheit) in the fliade, and 113 in the fun. “The 
ground burned our feet; and the few flirubs we met with 
in our way afforded us little or no fhelter. We were al- 
molt fuffocated with heat; and to add to our fufferings, 
we were under the neceflity of wearing a drefs of thick 
woollen cloth, as a fecurity from the infeCts, and to cover 
our faces with a veil, which in a great meafure prevented 
our drawing breath.” The fummer, however, is fhort, 
and the 'foil in general is fo chilled and barren, that it 
produces little or no grain or fruit-trees of any kind. 
This fterility, however, is not entirely owing to the foil, 
which is in many places of a rich mould, but to want of 
induftry; for in fome diftriCts the Swedes have tilled and 
manured pieces of ground that bear plentiful crops of rye. 
There is alfo great plenty of berries ; fuch as black cur¬ 
rants ; what is called the Norwegian mulberry, growing 
upon a creeping plant, and much efteemed as an antifcor- 
butic ; rafpberries, cranberries, juniper-berries, and bill- 
berries. The tops of the mountains are fo much expofed 
to intenfe cold, and tempefts of fnow and hail, that no 
tree will grow near the fummit ; but in parts that are 
more flickered, we fee fine woods of birch, pine, and fir, 
difpofed by nature as if they had been planted by art in 
rows at regular diftances, without any undergrowth or 
encumbrance below. Befides thefe trees, fome parts of 
Lapland produce the fervice-tree, the willow, the poplar, 
the alder, and the cornel. Among the plants of this 
country, the principal is the angelica ; which is greatly 
efteemed by the natives, who ufe it in their food. Here 
is likewife the acetqfa or forrel, which grows in great 
plenty, and is of much fervice on account of its antifcor- 
butic properties. They have alfo other kinds of herbs 
peculiar to the country, different kinds of grafs, heath, 
fern, and mofs ; which are all enumerated by Linnaeus 
in his Flora Lapponica. But the vegetable which is in 
greateft plenty, and of the mod extenfive ufe among them, 
is the Lichen rangiferus. The-rein-deer is wholly fuf- 
tained in winter by this vegetable; and the Laplanders 
themfelves boil it in broth as a cordial and reftorative. 
They likewife ufe one fort of it as a foft, eafy, and whole- 
ibme, bed for their new-born children. 
Some filver and lead mines have been difcovered in the 
provinces of Pitha and Lula; and two of copper, together 
with excellent veins of iron, in the diftriift of Torno ; but 
they are not at prefent worked with any confiderable 
advantage. In fome places there are veins of filver and 
gold mixed; but thefe mines are worked only for a few 
months in the fummer, becaufe the frolt hinders the en- 
, A N D, 
gines from playing. Here are found beautiful cryftals, of 
a furprifing magnitude, fo hard and fine, that when po- 
liflied they refemble real diamonds. In fome places ame- 
thyfts and topazes are alfo found, but pale and cloudy; 
alfo a great quantity of very curious ftones, which are too 
hard to be worked by the tool of the mafon. The pro¬ 
vince of Tornea affords fome curious ftones of an octago¬ 
nal fhape, regular, thining, and polifhed by the hand of 
nature. In fome rivers they filh for pearls, which are ge¬ 
nerally pale ; but fome of them are as bright as the ori¬ 
ental pearls, and much larger and rounder. Thefe pearls 
are found in muflel-fhells ; and the fifhery is not in the 
fea, but in rivers. 
Lapland, as well as Norway, is infefted with a great 
number of grey wolves and bears, with whom the inha¬ 
bitants wage perpetual war. The moll honourable ex¬ 
ploit among the Laplanders is that of killing a bear ; and 
the heroes adorn their caps with a finall plate of lead or 
pewter for every bear they have flain. We are informed 
by Linnaeus, that hunting the bear is often undertaken 
by a fingle man, who, having difcovered the retreat of the 
animal, takes his dog along with him, and advances to¬ 
wards the fpot. The jaws of the dog are tied round with 
a cord, to prevent his barking ; and the man holds the 
other end of this cord in his hand. As foon as the dog 
fmells the bear, he begins to fliow figns of uneafinefs, and, 
by dragging at the cord informs his matter that the ob¬ 
ject of his purfuit is at no great diftance. When the Lap¬ 
lander by this means difcovers on which fide the bear is 
ftationed, he advances in fuch a direction that the wind 
may blow from the bear to him, and not the contrary; 
for otherwife the animal would, by the fcent, be aware of 
his approach, though not able to fee an enemy at any con¬ 
fiderable diftance, being half blinded by the funftiine. 
When he has gradually advanced to within gunfliot of 
the bear, he fires upon him ; and this is the more eafily 
accompliflied in autumn, as the bear is then more fear- 
lefs, and is continually prowling about for berries of dif¬ 
ferent kinds, on which he feeds at that feafon of the year. 
Should the man chance to mifs his aim, the furious beaft 
will direCtly turn upon him in a rage, and the little Lap¬ 
lander is obliged to take to his heels with all poflible fpeed, 
leaving his knapfack behind him. The bear, coming up 
with this, feizes upon it, biting and tearing it into a thou- 
fand pieces. While he is thus venting his fury, and be¬ 
llowing all his attention upon the knapfack, the Laplan¬ 
der takes the opportunity of loading his gun, and firing 
a fecond time ; when he is generally fure of hitting the 
mark; and the bear either falls upon the fpot, or runs 
away. 
Another remarkable animal of thefe regions is the llr- 
fus gulo, or glutton. Linnaeus afierts, without quoting 
his authority, that it never meddles with the rein-deer ; 
by which he alludes, we prefume, to the tame flocks near, 
dwellings; for Thrafcheninnikow, if we rightly recolleCt, 
in his defcription of Kamtfchatka, pofitively itates, that, 
to compenfate for the flownefs of its motions in the pur¬ 
fuit of prey, it lurks in the branches of trees, to furprife the 
horfe, elk, or rein-deer, that may accidentally come with¬ 
in its reach ; and that it darts on them from its hiding- 
place with unerring certainty, fixing itfelf between the 
lhoulders with its teeth and claws, maintaining its pofi- 
tion, and fucking the blood of its enraged victim, till the 
latter falls down, exhaufted with pain and fatigue. The 
fame author, we believe, alludes to the ftratagem to which 
it has been known to have recourfe in order to allure the 
rein-deer, namely, by throwing down fome of that animal’s 
beloved mofs, fo as to divert its attention. But the ac¬ 
counts of the glutton’s eating till its (kin is ready to give 
way, and of its being obliged to unload itfelf, by fqueez- 
ing its body between two trees, are quite fabulous, and 
might with more plaufibility be referred to fome Roman 
emperor or city corporation. Though the glutton has 
his name from his voracity, his appetite, it fliould feem, 
is not always of that infatiable nature which has been af- 
3 cribed 
