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REGNARD’S JOURNEY TO LAPLAND. 173
and during fummer has the plumage of a pheafant, but more of a brown colour, and is
diftinguifhed in certain places by whitifh {pots ; in winter it is quite black. ‘The male
imitates, while flying, the noife of a man who laughs extremely loud: it fleeps rarely
among trees; and further, I know no game of fuch an agreeable tafte: it has at the
fame time the delicacy of the pheafant and the tendernefs of the partridge. It is found
in great plenty on the mountains of this country.
Two miles diftant from Swapavara we met with the barque of the Laplanders to
whom we had fpoken the day before, and who were to condué us to Tornotrefch :
they had been fifhing the whole night, and brought us very excellent falmon-trout,
which are called in this country er/ax. From thence, continuing our journey by water,
we encamped on a little height. We pafled the night in the middle of the wood, which
we found very agreeable ; for the cold being extremely violent, we were obliged to
make fuch a large fire to protect us from wild beafts, and efpecially the bears, that we
this day fet fire to the foreft. We forgot to extinguifh it on our departure, and it ex-
tended with fuch rapidity, by means of a tempeft, that on our return fifteen days after
we found it {till burning in certain parts of the foreft, where it had burned with fuffi-
cient fuccefs: but this did harm to nobody ; and incendiaries meet with no punifhment
in this country.
We travelled only half a mile on Sunday, in confequence of torrents and an impe-
tuous wind which conftantly hindered us; and during the time which we took to travel
this length, we could not advance four fteps without feeing or hearing extremely large
pines fall, which in falling made a dreadful noife, which refounded throughout the whole
foreft. This tempeft, which lafted the whole of both day and night, obliged us to ftop,
and to pafs this night as we had done the laft, with equally large fires, which however
we made with more precaution, that every thing might not be burned on our route:
this led our boatmen to fay, that four Frenchmen would be fufficient to burn the whole
country in eight days.
Next day, Monday, unwilling to be expofed to the north wind without advancing,
we failed not, notwithftanding the continuance of the tempeft, to proceed on our jour-
ney upon a lake which had the appearance of an agitated fea, fo high were the waves ;
and after five or fix hours of exertion we arrived, after travelling three-quarters of a
mile, at the church of the Laplanders, where the prieft lived.
This church is called Chucafdes, and it is the place where the fair of the Laplanders
during winter is held, to which they come for the purpofe of bartering the fkins of the
rein-deer, of ermines, martins, and minevers, for {pirits, tobacco, and va/mar, which is
a kind of coarfe cloth with which they cover themfelves, and furround their huts. The
merchants of Torno and the neighbouring country do not fail to attend on this occa-
fion, which continues from the Converfion of St. Paulin January to the fecond day of
February. The magiftrate and the judge of the Laplanders attend in perfon; the one
to receive the tribute which they pay to the King of Sweden, and the other to terminate
any differences which may arife among them, and to punifh all vicious and abandoned
perfons, although it feldom happens that any of this defcription can be found; for they
live with each other in great confidence, without ever having heard of thieves, who ne-
verthelefs would find no difficulty in profecuting their projects, as the huts, full of
various articles, remain quite open during the whole fummer, while they travel to.
Norway, where they remain three or four months. They leave in the middle of the
woods, onthe top of a tree which they have. cut, all the neceflary ammunition, and their
being ftolen is very rarely heard of.
The prieft, as you may well believe, Sir, is not abfent on this occafion ; and it-is at
this
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