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13 6 Of the Laplanders Wild Beafh.
But befides thefe, there are others, fuch as are the Sat Its which Olaus
Magnus calls Zabelli, their skins Johnflon in his History of Animals commends.
Olaus faith that their skins were made ufe of by the Lapland Women,
especially by the Brides to adorn themfelves with thenr,and that there is but fmall
plenty of them in thefe parts. Some make this beast like a weezel, others
efpecially Scaliger like the Martin, and indeed he feems to be in the right
both to the bulk and Shape of it. Their color the nearer it comes to black is
the more esteemed. There are fcund feveral all white, fuchas we have
often feen the Mufcovian EmbaSfadors bring over to the Kingfora
moftfingu-lar prefent. By which Adamus Bremenfls in his Scandinavia feems to have un.
derftood white Martins. There are alfo Ermins which are found only among
the Laplanders. Jovius&xQ. wrote of them that they were good exchange
for any fort of Merchandize. Thefe Ermins are nothing but white weezels
having the end cf their tails black, Johnflon takes notice thereof out of
Albertus Magnus, hecalleth the beast trminius, which is the fame thing with
Armelinus and Hermelinus, differing neither in bignefs nor nature from the
weezel, the color argues nothing, for he has thatonly in Winter, but in
Summer is of a bright yellow. It is as greedy of Mice as the Weezels are,
w hence the Srveeds call it Lekat. I am unwilling to call it wirh Scaliger a
Swedland Mouce. Among thefe I had rather reckon a little fort of beast
which they call Lemmus, which Olaus Magnus faith the Ermins feed on.
Samuel Rheen fpeaks of a fort of Mice found in Lapland which they call
Mountain Mice or Lemblar, which Worm’ws defcribes with Short tails and
staring hair, and not unlike a Mouce. I will fpeak little of their color, which
Olaus faies is various, Samuel Rheen affirms it red, who obferves too that
they come of a fudden, and cover the ground with their multitude. Olaus
obferves that this is alwaies in stormy weather, and thinks that it rains thefe
creatures, but is all together in a doubt, whether they are brought thither
by the winds, or bred in the clouds. Wormius thinks plainly that they are
bred in the clouds: but the learned 1/aac Vnffius in his notes to Vomponius
Mela corrects him, and faies the reafon why thefe animals are fuppoled to
fall from the Clouds isbecaufe they ufe not to appear , but itnmediatly after
rain they creep out of their holes, either for that they are fill’d with water,
or becaufe this creature thrives much in rain, which opinion feems most
probable tome. Thefe creatures are very bold, never making their efcape
when Paffengers come by, but keep on their way, and make a noiSe like
the barking of a dog: they fear neither club nor Sword, but ifany one Strike
at them, they turn again and bite. It is obfervable in them that they
never go near or do any mifcheif in any hut, foiuetimes they fet upon one
another, being divided as it Were into two armies, this the Laplanders take
to be an omen cf future war in Sfpedland, and gather whence the enemy
will come, by obferving whence thoSe animals first moved thatprovcked
the reft. Thefe creatures have their enemies too, firft the Ermines as I
mentioned before, then the Foxes, which bring a great number of thefe into
their holes : hence the Laplanders have no fmall disadvantage, for the Fojces
ufingthis fort of food moft, regard not the baits which they lay to catch
them. Thirdly the Rain-deers devour them, and laftly the dogs which eat
only the fore part of them. Thefe creatures never live, if they chance to
eat any herb grown after they had tasted it before: Sometimes they perilh
other-
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