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REGNARD’S JOURNEY TO LAPLAND. 159
and when they wih to take the lefs confiderable animals, they make ufe of the crofs-bow,
which differs from ours, only in its fuperior fize. So fkilful are thofe people in the
ufe of thefe arms, that they never fail in ftriking the object at the greateft diftance at
which they can behold it. The fmalleft bird cannot efcape them; there are even fome
who will {trike a pin onthe head, The arrows which they ufe, are of various
kinds; fome are pointed with iron, or the bone of a fifh; and others are round,
fhaped like a ball, cut through the middle. They make ufe of the firft kind, with
the bow when they go to the greater hunts, and of the latter with the crofs-bow
when they attack animals which can be deftroyed without giving them any dangerous
wounds. They employ thefe round arrows in attacking the minevers, martins,
and ermines, that they may preferve the fkins whole ; and, becaufe it is difficult
to avoid leaving a mark on the fkin, where the ftroke has been given, the moft
ingenious never fail to hit the fpot that they with, and generally ftrike the head, which
the leaft valuable part of the fkin.
We arrived on Tuefday at Kones, and {topped there on Wednefday, for the purpofe
of refting ourfelves, and of feeing the iron and copper-works, which are at this place.
Weadmired the method which they follow in working thefe metals, and of preparing
the copper before it is made into Pe/ottes, which form the money of the country, after
it has been {tamped with the image of the Prince. But that which aftonifhed us moft
of all was, the conduct of one of the founders, who approached the furnace, and took
into his hand a quantity of copper which the violence of the heat had rendered liquid
as water, where he continued to hold it fome time. Nothing can be more frightful than
thefe abodes: The torrents which fall from the mountains, the rocks and the woods
which furround them, the blacknefs and the favage air of thefe founders, all contribute
to form a horrible refidence. Thefe frightful folitudes, however, are fometimes agree-
able, and pleafeone, at times, asmuch, as the moft magnificent abodes; and it was in
the midft of thefe rocks, that I compofed the following verfes; a practice to which, I
had, for fome time, been unaccu{ftomed.
Tranquilles et fombres foréts,
Ou le foleil ne luit jamais
Qu’au travers de mille feuillages,
ue vous avez pour moi d’attraits !
Et qu’il eft doux, fous vos ombrages,
De pouvoir refpirer en paix !
Que j’aime avoir vos chénes verds,
Prefque auffi vieux que l’univers,
Qui, malgre la nature émue,
Et fes plus cruels aquilons,
Sont auffi firs pres de la nue,
Que les epis dans les fillons!
Et vous, impétueux torrents,
Qui, fur le roches murmurants,
Roulez vos eaux avec contrainte,
Que le bruit que vous excitez
Caufe de refpect et de crainte
A toux ceux que vous arreiez !
Quelquefois vos rapides eaux,
Venant arrofer les rofeaux,
Forment des etangs pacifiques,
Qu les plongeons et les canardsy
Et tous les oiieaux aquatiques,
Viennent fondre de toutes partes.
Den
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