CONCERNING LAPLAND. 
205 
fledges likewise may be lodged which are not in ufe ; in general, 
however, they turn them upon the fnow, keel upwards, and in 
this pofition they anfwer the purpofe of repofitories for their ve- 
nifon. 
Before the Laplander enters the fledge, he puts on his gloves, 
which have the fur on the outfide; afterwards he places himfelf 
in it, taking the rein, or halter, fattened to the rein-deer’s head, 
and tying it about his right thumb. In the mean time the deer 
ttands ftill, and the rein hangs on the left fide. When the man 
is ready to fet off, he fliakes the rein with violence from fide to 
fide, and the animal fprings forward at great fpeed. The driver 
directs the courfe of the deer, which is irregular and ferpentine, 
by pulling the rein on the fide he Would have him go. When 
the Laplander would travel at the fullett fpeed which the rein¬ 
deer is able to make, he places himfelf on his knees, encouraging 
him by certain founds or other movements to mend his pace ; 
and when he would have him ttop, he fhifts the rein from the 
right fide to the left, upon which the animal immediately ttands 
ftill. 
If it happen that a rein-deer prove reftitf, or inclined to run 
away, the Laplander, if in company with others, gives up his rein 
to the driver of the fledge immediately before him, who ties it to 
his fledge, and thus the unruly animal is checked in his violent 
fpeed by the more fober rein-deer harnefled to the fledge which 
precedes. As, in defeending fteep hills, the fledge is apt to glide 
forward, and prefs upon the hinder legs of the animal, a fecond 
O 
rein- 
