vary his d iet, th e L ap lan d e r fom etime s fmokes his venifon. T o
do this, th ey have only to m ak e p re tty deep inciiions in th e pieces
th a t fmoke m ay e n te r th e m e a t, an d to h an g th e jo in ts on th e to p
o f th e te n t, w h e re it is foon cured.
V e n ifo n is th e c h ie f food o f th e in h ab itan ts o f th e m o u n ta in s ;
b u t thofe on th e fea coaft have b e e f an d m u tto n , a n d b o th e at th e
fleih o f bears, wolves, foxes, otte rs, feals, a n d in ih o r t o f all an imals
b u t fw in e ; p o rk b e in g to a L a p lan d e r a n ab om in a tio n .
T h e L ap lan d e rs w h o are employed in c a tch in g fa lm o n , live
u p o n th a t fiih fp lit and dried. D rie d fiih is e aten by th em w ith o
u t an y prep ara to ry c o o k in g ; b u t before th ey p u t it in to th e ir
m o u th , th ey dip each piece in tra in oil. F iih w ith th is k in d
o f fauce is g iv en to ch ild ren a t th e b re ad :; and to prepare it for
th e ir ten d e r m o u th s , th e m o th e r firft p u ts i t in to h e r ow n , and
m aftica te s i t before ih e p refents i t to th e in f a n t : th u s th ey are ac-
cu ftom ed to th e lu x u ry o f tra in oil from th e ir b irth , for fuch
every L ap lan d e r efteems it, and coniiders its flavour as far fuperior
to ,th a t o f b u tte r. B u t it is n o t tru e , as has b e en afferted, th a t
th e y tak e o ff a p in t o f tra in oil a t a m e a l, or th a t w om e n in lab
o u r fwallow a q u a n tity o f it in o rder to eaie th e ir pains.
W h e n th e ir fto ck o f dried fiih is red uced, th e y c o lle d th e
heads and bones o f fiih w h ic h have any th in g on th em , and thefe,
w h en roafted before th e fire, are p u t in to a k e ttle w ith ilices o f
th e b lu b b er o f feal, th e bones h a v in g been previouily in ferted in
th e belly o f th e feal, w h e re th ey rem a in fome little tim e , th a t
th ey m ay be im p reg n a ted w ith th e oil. T h e fe ing red ien ts are
fuffered
fuffered to ftew fome tim e in th e k e ttle , an d w h e n ibp p o fed to be
fufficiently cooked, are ferved u p . T o feafon th e mefs, a q u a n tity
o f oil is reierved w h ic h has b e en d ra in ed from th e feal, in w h ic h
th e morfels are dipped as th ey are e áten.
T h e y roaft th e ir fiih as welL as fleih, an d are fond o f th e cod-
fifh roafted freih c au g h t. T h e liver o f th is an d o th e r fiih, bruifed
an d m ix ed w ith cranberries, is confidered as a favoury d i i h ; an d
this, as well as th e ir food: in g eneral, w h ic h th e re ad e r w ill have
perceived, is o f th e m o il unCtuous k in d , is e a ten w ith o u t bread.
A d iet o f th is d e fc rip tio n ,'w e re it propofed, w o u ld b e rejected by
phyficians as n o t co n ducive to th e prefervation o f h e a lth ; ' y e t th e
exam ple o f th is people m a k in g a c o n fta n t ufe o f fu ch food, m u ft
prove it perfcétly com p a tib le w ith i t : for th e L ap lan d e rs enjoy
th a t bleffing in its u tm o f t p e rfe c tio n ; ch ro n ic a l diíbrdérs, dy fen -
teries, fevers, b e in g u n k n ow n am o n g ft th em . T h e Only epidem
ic a l difeafe th a t has b e en rem ak ed is a colick, a tte n d ed w ith
fpafms, w h ic h th e phyficians fuppofe to proceed from w o rm s ;
b u t th is c om p la in t is ra th e r tro u b le fom e th a n fatal, an d does n o t
invalidate th e evidence o f th e ir general fta te o f u n in te rru p te d good
h e a lth .
T h e little ufe th e y m ak e o f bread has been already rem a rk ed :
it is, however, to be obferved, th a t th e y fo rm a cake, w h ic h th e y
b ak e on th e h e a rth , compofed o f flour m ixed w ith w a te r only.
T h e L ap lan d e rs are n o t w ith o u t th o fe d a inties w h ic h are m e a n t
r a th e r to tick le and pleafe th e palate, th a n fatisfy th e cravings o f
h u n g e r. T h e fe little p rep ara tio n s o f lu x u ry , w h ic h are k n ow n a t
B b 2 the