b o o k an(j dried i i fh : bread, which till very lately was totally un-
■ ■ V.1L ■ known to them, now makes a part o f their ufual diet. In
winter they journey in fmall fledges made in the form
o f boats drawn by rein-deer. Thofe animals will travel
almoft the whole day without food, and only occafionally
moiften their mouths with the fn ow : they do not, however,
draw the fledge with fuch fwiftnefs as is generally
imagined, their common pace being at the rate o f about
four miles in. the hour*. In fummer they, feed upon
graffes and alpine plants, in winter upon the'Lichen rangi-
ferinus t, or rein-deer lichen, and its varieties, which are it>
abundant as in many parts almoft totally to cover the ground
44 provifion in- autumn, as th e e g g 9 o f th e
44 w a te r - fow l are th e ir fu p p o r t in fp r in g .”
H o ib e rg .
“ T h e fe w h o h a ve n o t feen it , w ill fcarce
44 believe w h a t numbers o f w a te r - fow l are
44 t o b e met w ith u p o n this r iv e r , to w h ich
44 th e la k e g iv e its n am e ; and my w a te r -
44 men w ou ld ev ery n ow an d th en -put in to
44 fhore, to lo ok fo r th e eg g s o f w ild ducks
44 and geefe amongft the reeds, w h ich grow
“ here and th ere upon the river fid e , or in
“ th e lit t le iflands w h ich in feveral places
“ are formed in th e middle o f th e riv e r , and
“ th a t a fte r th e manner o f the Laplan de rs ,
44 who g e t vaft quantities o f thefe e g g s , and
44 o f the w ild fowl to o , w h en in feafon , as
44 th e old ones in w in te r , and th e goflings
44 and y o u n g d u ck s in fumme r, w h ich th e y
44 ha ve feveral ways o f k illin g ; but th e moft
« common, and w h a t they are th e moft ex-
“ p e r t a t , is th e fh o ò tin g them w ith th e ir
44 arrows, as th e y do th e ir land ; and indeed .
44 the Laplanders are fu ch exce llent archers ,
44 and th eir p re y is fo v e ry p len ty , th a t
“ iliould one o f them go o u t a ih ootin g for
44 two h ou r s , and not b r in g home a load o f
*( g am e , h e would ce r ta in ly conclude that
44 loriie enchan rer who bore him a grud ge
“ had, out o f m e r e fp i te , fpoiled his fp o r t.”
M o tra y e ’ s T r a v e ls , v o l. I I . p . 301..
* “ M o fb o f the rein-deerufed for-draught'
. are eaftrated w h en v e ry y o u n g , and are
44 la rg e r an d fa tte r th a n th e bu ck s : In the
44 w in ter th e Laplanders drive th eir eaftrated
44 de er in th e ir Hedges : th e y harnefs them
44 b y a rope faftened to a co lla r , and carried
44 b e tw e en th e ir leg s ; and d ire ft them by
44 means o f a brid le faftened to th eir horns.
44 E a ch de er can draw th è w e ig h t o f one
44 perfon , b u t ra re ly m o r e - 'I f -h e is preffed,
44 he w ill tra v el ten o r twe lv e Swediih miles
M (70 o r 84 E n g liih m ile s ) , bu t b y fuch
44 h a rd driving is gene rally deftroyed.’ It,
44 h owever, frequ en tly happens that he will
44 perfevere iu his jou rn e y 50 miles without
44 intermiflion, and w ith o u t ta k in g any re*
44 fre fhm en t. H e is weak in the back, be-
44 in g fa tigued w ith the w e ig h t even o f a fad-
44 die : fo r w h ic h reafon th e Laplanders,
44 whene ve r th e y tra v el in fummer, and
44 fledges can n o t b e u fedr la y acrofs the
44 animal's b a ck a po ler upon which they-
44 faften a fmall bu rd en .” See Holberg’s
A c c o u n t o f th eC e ru sT a r a n d u s in-Amoendit.
À c ad em . V o i - I . p . 169,
•f F o r th e oeconomical an d fcientifick de-
fcription o f this •Lichen, th e reader is refe
rred to L ig h t fo o t ’g F lo ra Scotica, vol. II*
p . 8 7 7 . H a g en ’s T en ta rn e » Hiftoris
L ich en um , P . c x x v i . and particularly to
Linncei F lora La p p o n ic a , p . 332. from whofe
a c cu ra te an d comprehensive account lubie*
quent auth ors ha ve p r in c ip a lly derived their
information;
for
for the fp a c e o f feveral miles *, and which the fagacious ani- c h a p .
naal difcovers under the fnow by the peculiar acutenefs o f > <
its fmell. My informer added, that the Laplanders, before
their converfion to Chriftianity, which was not till lately
introduced amongft them, poffelfed no books or manufcripts,
though they knew many traditional hiftories and ibngs o f
antient heroes and princes, who once reigned over them j
but involved in great uncertainty, and mixed with the moft
fabulous accounts. They have now a tranflation o f the
New Teftament in their language ; and many o f the natives
are able to read and write. Upon my queftioning him about
the Lapland tongue, he anfwered with ibme diffidence,
“ that though he imagined we are in general too apt to form
“ an hafty opinion of two languages being derived from the-
“ fame ftock, becaufe a few words in both are fimilar, when
“ perhaps the idiom and conftrudiion are totally oppofite ;
w neverthelefs, there appeared to him fufficient reafons for
“ concluding that the Finniffi and Lapland tongues were di-
“ aledts only o f one and the fame original.” But what was
moft remarkable, he was o f opinion, that the Lapland idiom
had an undoubted affinity with the Hungarian; for Saino-
vits, a learned Jefuit, and a native o f Hungary, who had accompanied
the celebrated aftronomer, Father Hell, into Lapland,
to obferve the Tranfit o f Venus, has demonftrated f
that the Hungarian and Lapland idioms are the fame : and
he himfelf hath likewife put forth a treatife J upon the fame
** Sic natura feptentrionis q u a il in d in a t in
44 albedinem, frigoris amafiam F lo ra L a p -
44 p o n ;’ *
-j- Johannis S ainovits, & c . D emon ftra tio
idioma Ungaro-rum e t Lapponn.ro idem eiTe,
X D ifle r ta tio A cad em ica de conveniently
L in g uw Hungaricse cum L ap p on ica.
* “ N u llum veg e tab ile in tota Lapponi«
u tantà in copia rep e r itu r a c h a c Licheni»
Tpecie?, e t quidem primario in fy iv is , uhi
H campi iterile» arenofi v d gla reo fi, pancia
‘ pinis con fiti, ibi enim non modo videbia
“ campos p er fpatium unius borse, fed fiaepe
“ dnorum tHumve m illia r ium , nivia inftar
- d b o i , Ìolo fere b o cc e L ich en e obdu ftaa .
Y y % fubjecft.