CONCERNING LAPLAND. 
221 
Tome of that fpccics of animals which are known by the name 
of fea-horfes (trichechus rofmarus), by the Norwegians called hval- 
ros , and by the Laplanders morjk. The fea-horfe has broad nof- 
trils, a thick tongue, and large prominent teeth, by which he can 
fallen himfelf to the rocks fo as not eafily to be drawn from them : 
thefe teeth are, for their fuperior whitenefs, preferred to ivory. 
The Laplanders fometimes llioot them, and often attack them 
with clubs when they come on fhore at the feafon of their breed¬ 
ing. On thefe occafions the males make a flout refiflance, and 
the females will fight in defence of their young till they them- 
felves are killed. This animal, as well as the feal, is amphibious, 
being as often feen on the rocks and on the beach as in the fea. 
Squirrels, to which the Norwegians give the name of ikorn, and 
the Laplanders orre, are taken in many parts of Finmark. They 
are generally fhot with blunt arrows from crofs-bows, to preferve 
the beauty of their skins. When they are fold, they are put up 
in lots of forty fkins each, which produce to the firfl feller a crown 
or dollar. 
The ermine, which is a kind of weazle, breeds in Finmark in 
immenfe numbers: to this little animal the Laplanders give the 
name of boitta. The point of its tail is black, and the refl of its 
body white. It is taken in traps, and, like the common weafle, 
is exceedingly voracious and bold, frequently attacking animals of 
a much larger fize than itfelf. When caught in a trap it conflantly 
voids its urine, which, if it touch the skin, generally flains it yel¬ 
low and fpoils it. 
In 
