£52 L A P L 
men are under the neceflity of living continually in the 
•woods, in order to take care of their cattle, left they 
fhould be devoured by wild beafts. The Laplander eafily 
does without more light, as the fnow reflects the rays that 
pome from the ftars, and as the aurora borealis illuminates 
the air every night with a great variety of figures. No 
part of our body is more eafily deftroyed by cold than 
the extremities of the limbs which are raoft remote from 
the fun of this microcofm, the heart. The kibes that 
happen to our hands and feet, fo common in the northern 
parts of Sweden, prove this. In Lapland, yoti will never 
fee fucli a thing; although, were we to judge by the fitu- 
ation of the country, we fliould imagine jult the contrary, 
efpecially as the people wear no ftockings. The Laplan¬ 
der guards himfelf againft the cold in the following man¬ 
ner; He wears breeches made of rein-deer Ikins with the 
hair on, reaching down to his heels, and ilioes made of 
the fame materials, the hairy part turned outwards. He 
puts into his (hoes flender-eared broad-leafed cyperus 
grafs, (Carex veficaria, or bladder-fedge,) that is cut in 
•fuminer and dried. This he firft combs and rubs in his 
hands, and then places it in fuch a manner, that it not only 
covers his feet quite round, but his legs alfo ; and, being 
thus guarded, he is quite fecured againft the intenfe cold. 
With this grafs they ftuff their gloves likewife, in order 
■to preferve their hands. As this grafs keeps otf the cold 
in winter, fo in fummer it hinders the feet from fweating, 
and at the fame time preferves them from being annoyed 
by ftriking againft ftones, 8 cc. for their flioes are very 
.thin, being made, not of tanned leather, but the raw hide.” 
The women’s apparel differs very little from that of the 
other fex ; only their girdles are more ornamented with 
rings, chains, needle-cafes, and toys, that fometimes weigh 
twenty pounds. In winter, both men and women lie in 
their furs ; in fummer they cover themfelves entirely with 
coarfe blankets, to defend them from the gnats, which are 
intolerable. The Laplanders are not only well difpofed, 
but naturally ingenious. They make all their own fur¬ 
niture, their boats, fledges, bows, and arrows. They form 
neat boxes of thin birch boards, and inlay them with the 
born of the rein-deer. The Swedes are very fond of the 
Xapland bafkets made of the roots of trees, flit in three 
Jong thin pieces, and twilled together fo nicely that they 
will hold water; of which there is a curious fpecimen in 
Bullock’s Mufeum. Among the manufactures of this 
country we likewife number curious horn fpoons, and 
moulds in which they caft the trinkets of tin which adorn 
their girdles. Over and above thefe domeftic occupa¬ 
tions, the men within doors perform the office of cooks 
jn drefling victuals for the family. The women aCl as 
tailors and embroiderers; they make clothes, flioes, and 
boots, and harnefs for the rein-deer; they fpin thread of 
fur, and knit it into caps and gloves that are very foft 
and warm. They draw tin into wire through a horn ; and 
•with this they cover the thread which they ufe in embroi¬ 
dering the figures of beafts, flowers, trees, and ftars, upon 
their caps and girdles. 
The Laplanders make furprifing excurfions upon the 
.fnow in their hunting expeditions. They provide them¬ 
felves each with a pair of lkates, or fnow-fhoes, which are 
no other than fir boards covered with the rough fkin of 
the rein-deer, turned in fuch a manner that the hair rifes 
againft the fnow, otherwile they would be too llippery. 
One of thele flioes is ufually as long as the perfon who 
■wears it; the other is about a foot (hotter. The feet (land 
in the middle, and to them the flioes are fattened by thongs 
-or withes. The Laplander, thus equipped, wields a long 
pole in his hand, near the end of which there is a round 
ball of wood to prevent its piercing too deep in the fnow; 
and with this he (tops himfelf occafionally. By means of 
.thefe accoutrements he will travel at the rate of iixty miles 
a-day without being fatigued; afcending fteep mountains, 
and Aiding down again with amazing fwiftnefs. Tile 
Laplander not only travels on-foot, but is provided with 
AND, 
a carriage drawn by the rein-deer, in which tie journeys 
with (till greater rapidity. The fledge, called pulka, is 
made in the form of a fmall boat, with a convex bottom, 
that it may Aide the more eafily over the fnow ; the prow 
is (harp and pointed ; but the fledge is flat behind. The 
traveller is fwathed in this carriage like an infant in a cra¬ 
dle, with a (lick in his hand to fteer the vefi’ei, and difen- 
gage it from pieces of rock or (tumps of trees that may 
chance to encounter it in the route. He muft alfo balance 
the fledge with his body, otherwife he will be in danger 
of being overturned. The traces, by which this carriage 
is fattened to the rein-deer, are fixed to a collar about the 
animal’s neck, and run down over the bread between the 
fore and hind legs, to be connected with the prow of the 
fledge ; the reins, managed by the traveller, are tied to 
the horns ; and the trappings are furnilhed with little 
bells, the found of which is agreeable to the animal. With 
this draught at his tail, it has been reported that the rein¬ 
deer will fly like lightning over hill and dale at the rate of 
two hundred miles a-day. But this reprefentation is greatly 
exaggerated. It however frequently happens, that lie will 
perfevere in his journey to fifty miles without intermilfion, 
and without taking any refreflnnent, except occafionally 
moiftening his mouth with the fnow. Before he fets out, 
the Laplander whifpers in his ear, the way he is to fol¬ 
low, and the place at which he is to halt, firmly perfuaded 
that the bead underftands his meaning; but, in fpite 
of this intimation, he frequently Hops fliort before he 
has reached the journey’s end ; and fometimes he over- 
(hoots the mark by feveral leagues. In the beginning of 
winter the Laplanders mark the moft frequented roads, by 
fire wing them with fir boughs; and indeed thefe roads are 
no other than pathways made through the fnow by the 
rein-deer and the pulkas ; their being frequently covered 
with new fnow, and alternately beaten by the carriage, 
confolidates them into a kind of caufeway; which is the 
harder if the furface has felt a partial thaw, and been 
crutted by a fubfequent froft. It requires great caution 
to follow thefe tracks; for, if the carriage deviates to the 
right or left, the traveller is plunged into an abyfs of fnow. 
In lefs frequented parts, where there is no l'uch beaten 
road, the Laplander directs his courfe by certain marks 
which he has made on the trees. 
The chief occupation of the Laplanders is hunting, and 
this exercife they perform in various ways. In fummer 
they hunt the wild beafts with fmall dogs, trained to the 
diverfion. In winter they purfue them by their tracks 
upon the fnow, (kating with great velocity, that they 
very often run down the prey. They catch ermines in 
traps, and fometimes with dogs. They kill fquirrels, mar¬ 
tens, and fables, with blunt darts, to avoid injuring the 
(kin. Foxes and beavers are (lain with (harp-pointed 
darts and arrows; in (hooting which, they are accounted 
the belt markfmen in the world. The larger beafts, fuch 
as bears, wolves, elks, and wild rein-deer, they either kill 
with fire-arms as explained above, or take in fnares and 
pits dug in the forefts. Their particular laws relating to 
the chafe are obferved with great puncluality. The bead 
becomes the property of the man in whofe fnare or pit he 
iscaught; and he who difeovers a bear’s den has the exclu- 
five privilege of hunting him to death. The death of a 
bear is celebrated by the Laplander as a lignal viftory. The 
carcais is drawn to the cabin or hut of the vidlor by a rein¬ 
deer, which is kept facred from any other work for a whole 
year after this fervice. The bear is furrounded by a great 
number of men, women, and children, reciting a particular 
hymn or fong of triumph, in which they thank the vanquifh- 
ed enemy for having allowed himfelf to be overcome without 
doing any mifehief to his conqueror, and welcome his ar¬ 
rival ; then they make an apoftrophe to heaven, exprefling 
their acknowledgment to God, that he has created beafts 
for the ule of men, and endued mankind with ftrength 
and courage to overcome and attack the fierceft of the 
brute creatjon. Bhe hero is faluted by the women, who 
