After fupper we employed ourfelves in obferving all the manners
and actions of the Laplanders, in order to form an idea o f
their mode of living. W ith this view we propofed Several questions
to them. The two children were chubby, robuil, and
hearty. They did not feem to be at all itruck with furprife or
awe at our appearance, nor were they in theleail difeompofed by
our prefence, or put out of their ufual way. They went to the
river and fetched water, which they would Sometimes throw on
our Ihoes, and lbmetimes on our baggage. They did fome damage
or other to every thing they laid their hands on, 'and deranged
whatever was within their reach-; yet the Laplanders took no
more notice of the children’s behaviour, than if they had not
exiited. They faw all their motions; they Suffered all the mifchief
they did with the moil perfect indifference. They cared for nothing.
The children feemed to be the Sovereigns of the plaee.
The Laplanders never faid fo much as one word to them of any
kind. They never obferved that it was not well done to throw
water on the Shoes of itrangers, or gave them any leffons respecting
good manners and propriety of conduct. Thefe, indeed, are
terms and ideas with which the Laplanders are whollyj unacquainted;
and their .only mode of training up their children is not
to train them at all.
In the mean time, while the children were thus engaged in
doing all the mifchief in their power, the old Laplanders were
buiied in cooking their-fupper, which confiited of various fiih cut
into pieces and boiled in a pot, together with fome dried fat of
the
the rein-deer and a little m e a l: the whole formed a curious kind
of mefs. While the pot was ilill on the fire, all the Laplanders
fat around it, each with a fpoon in his hand, for the purpofe of
tailing when the. foup was. ready: when Sufficiently boiled, they
began to partake of the mefs out of the fame pot altogether. When
any one had taken as much as Satisfied him, he fell afleep, and
when h e awoke he immediately began to eat again while others
fle p t; then thefe would awake, and again eat, while the former
elapfed into his dumber ; and thus ¡they alternately eat and ilept
till they were Satisfied with the one, and incapable of taking more
o f the other. There did not appear to be any kind of rule or
order among thofe people; no beginning of any thing, and no
end. Their only regulator and guide, feemed to be appetite and
inllinct.
W hen they were not occupied with either eating or fleeping,
they fmoked tobacco. W ith one or two who preferred Smoking
to fleeping we had an opportunity of holding fome converfation,
in the courfe of which they afked us fome queilions. They enquired
if any one of us was the king, or a fon of the king, or a
commiffary of the king ? They delired to know, why we came
into their country ?, and what we were going to do there ? I discovered
that thefe people entertained fufpicions that we were
emiffaries from government, Sent to ! Spy their Situation and condition,
their wealth, and their conduct. From a great deal of
jargon in a language, but little of which was intelligible even to
our interpreter, we found: out, their object was to convince us of
their