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158 REGNARD’S JOURNEY TO LAPLAND.
girls, mothers and fons, brethren and fifters all promifcuoufly together, and obferving,
that the naked females remained quite unconcerned at being expofed to the view of
{trangers. But we were {till more furprifed at beholding young girls with a fwitch,
ftriking the naked men and boys. [I at firft fuppofed, that nature being exhaufted by
creat fweat, required this afliftance for the purpofe of fhowing, that there ftill remained
fome figns of life in the bather ; but I was foon undeceived, and learnt, that this
practice was followed, in order that the frequent ftrokes fhould open the pores, and
aflift in producing great perfpiration. I afterwards with difficulty conceived how thefe
people, iffuing naked from their fiery baths, could run and throw themfelves into an
extremely cold river, which was within a few paces of the houfe ; and I fuppofed, that
they muft have very ftrong conftitutions, before they could remain unaffeGled with
thofe confequences which fuch a fudden tranfition from heat to cold was naturally
calculated to produce.
You would never have believed, Sir, that the Bothnians, an extremely favage
people, fhould have imitated the Romans in their luxury and their pleafures. But you
will be ftill more aftonifhed, when I inform you, that thefe fame people who have baths
among them, like emperors, have no bread to eat. ‘Lhey live upon alittle milk, and
nourifh themfelves with the tendereft of the bark, which they find on the tops of the
pines. They gather it, when the tree gives out its fap, and after expofing it fome time
to the fun, they bury it in large bafkets under ground, over which they kindle a fre,
which gives it a very agreeable colour and flavour. Such, Sir, throughout the whole
year is the food of men, who eagerly indulge themfelves in the luxury of a bath, and
who can live without bread.
We were extremely fortunate at the chace on Sunday, and brought home a con-
fiderable quantity of game ; but we faw nothing worthy of remark, except two long
wooden planks of fir, with which the Laplanders run with fuch remarkable fwiftnefs,
that no animal, even the fleeteft, can efcape them, when the fnow is hard enough to
fupport them.
Thefe planks, extremely thick, are two ells long, and halfa foot broad; they are
made pointed before, and are pierced through at the thickeft part, for the purpofe of
pafling a leathern ftrap which keeps the feet firm and immoveable. The Laplander
who {tands upon it, holds a ftick in his hand, to one end of which a round piece of
wood is attached to prevent it from entering into the fnow, and the other end is pointed
with a piece of iron. This ftick is employed to give him the firft motion, to keep him
up while running, and to {top him when he chufes; with this he alfo pierces the beaft
he isin purfuit of, when he approaches near enough for that purpofe.
It is difficult enough to conceive the fleetnefs of thefe hunters, who can, by the aid
of thefe inftruments, outrun the fwifteft animals ; but it is impoflible to have an ade-
quate idea of their method of defcending the fteepeft precipices, and how they can
mount the moft craggy mountains. All this, however, they perform, Sir, with an
addrefs which furpafles imagination, and which is fo natural to the people of this
country, that the women are no lefs adroit in the ufe of thefe planks than the men.
They go to vifit their relations, and travel in this manner the longeft and moft difficult
ournies.
We met with nothing remarkableon Monday, except the quantity of game which
we faw and killed; we made ufe of no lefs than twenty pieces this day ; it istrue, we
had purchafed five or fix ducks from fome peafants who had taken them. ‘Thefe
people ufe no other arms in hunting, than the bow or the crofs-bow. ‘They employ
the bow in hunting the larger beafts, as the boar, the wolf, and the wild rein-deer ;
and
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