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REGNARD’s JOURNEY TO LAPLAND. 191%
that they never paffed any without obferving them even upon the higheft trees, and
informing, by their barking, the Laplanders, who were with us. We killed fome
with our fire-arms; for the Laplanders had not on this occafion, their round arrows
with which they knocked them on the head; and we had the pleafure of feeing them
fkin them with furprifing quicknefs and propriety. They begin to hunt the minevers
on Michaelmas day, and every Laplander is ufually engaged in this employment, by
which means, they have a great market for them, and they fell a timbre for a crown ;
this timbre confilts of forty fkins. But there isno kind of merchandize in which there is
more deceit than in that of felling minevers, and ermines’ fkins, as they are bought
without being feen and the fkin is turned, fo that the fur is on the infide. There is
alfo no diftin€tion made; all are at the fame price, and it is neceflary to take the
good with the bad, which coft no more, the one, than the other. We learned from
our Laplanders, a furprifing peculiarity refpecting the minevers, which was afterwards
confirmed to us, by our own experience. ‘Thefe animals are not always to be found in
the fame number ; they frequently change their country ; and they will not be able to
find one during a whole winter, where the year before thoufands were to be met with.
Thefe animals change their place of refidence. When they wifh to remove to fome
other {pot, and find it neceflary to pafs fome lake or fome river, which they meet with
at every ftep in Lapland, thefe little animals take the bark of a pine or birch-tree,
which they draw to the edge of the water, upon which they place themfelves, and, in
this manner, abandoning themfelves to the mercy of the wind, they lift their tails in
the form of fails, and, in this manner, when the wind becomes a little ftrong, and the
water grows rough, the veffel and the pilot are in the fame inftant overwhelmed. This
thipwreck, which frequently amounts to more than three or four thoufand fail, generally
enriches thofe Laplanders, who find thofe wrecks upon the bank, and employ them to
their ordinary ufe, provided thefe little animals have not remained too long on the fand.
There are many who make a profperous voyage, and who arrive fafely in port, provided
the wind Aas been favourable, and has excited no ftorm upon the water, which indeed
would not require to be very violent, for the purpofe of fwallowing up thefe little
{ftruures. This particularity might pafs for a fable, had I not been convinced of it
from my own experience.
After having travelled a long time, we arrived at the hut of our Laplander, which
was furrounded by a number of others belonging to his comrades. Here it was, that
we learned the nature and condition of the Laplanders and Lapland. We refided three
days among them for the purpofe of obferving all their manners, and of being informed
relpe€ting a number of particulars, which we could only learn from themfelves. Firft,
our forcerer intended to fulfil his promife, we began to entertain fome expectation of
learning fome of thofe things which we wifhed to know, when we obferved, that he
had brought with him his tabor, his hammer, and his index, which he drew from his
breaft, which ferved him inftead of a pocket. He put himfelf in a condition, to call
the devil by his conjurations. Never did a perfon poffefled place himfelf in fo many
different poftures, as our magician. He ftruck his breaft fo rudely and fo unmerci-
fully, that the black wounds with which it was covered, fhowed clearly that he was
really in earnelt. ‘Tothefe blows, he added others, which were no lefs harfh, and
which he gave himfelf with his hammer upon the face, fo that the blood flowed from
every part. His hair {tood ere&, his eyes turned, his whole countenance became blue,
he fuffered himfelf to fall feveral times in the fire, yet he was never able to tell thofe
things which we demanded. It is true, that even a perfect forcerer would have found
it dificult enough to give the fatisfactory evidences which we inquired after. I wiihed
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