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402 ACCOUNT OF DANISH LAPLAND BY LEEMS,
winding and longer track, which is eafily colleéted from the tracks he has left in the
fnow. Within the fpace of fix hours, and perhaps a fhorter time, from the rifing ta
the fetting fun, I completed with a fingle rein-deer, in the month of February, when the
fun was fcarce three weeks apparent in the horizon, a journey of eight entire Norwegian
miles, from the Norwegian chapel of Mazi, which at the time of the royal miffion for
the benefit of the Laplanders of the mountains, belonging formerly to the congregation
of Alten, was built upon a rifing ground, to Koudekeino.
As the rein-deer is fleet in running, fo is he not inexpert in f{wimming ; they ufually
run full of playfulnefs up and down, for their own pleafure, without any one driving
them, and exult as if through joy, as I myfeif have frequently feen. ‘The Laplanders
affirm that the rein-deer, by fporting in playful rounds and gambols, predi& a ftorm at
hand. When annoyed by heat in fummer, they ufually get upon the higher grounds,
catching at the cold for refrefhment, by {triking the ground with their feet.
The principal and moft ufual food of this animal is the white lichen, which in winter
the rein-deer traces out under the {now ; and for the getting at it, he removes the fnow
with his feet till the ground is clear; and hence along thofe places the herds range in for
pafture, frequently gaps and holes are feen in the fnow. Sometimes too it happens
that the fields are fo hard with ice, or fo covered with {now, that it is not in the power of
the rein-deer to get with his hoofs at the lichen that lies under. There is no calamity the
Laplanders dread more than this ; for under this attack there is great rifk left the whole
race of rein-deer, the chief {trength and greateft care of this nation, fhould all fail, and
doubtlefsly would, were not the impending evil averted by Divine Providence. While
the rein-deer are ftraying in the plains and mountains in fearch of food, it now and then
happens that an error carries away fome from the reft of the flock, now fed and at reft,
into the dreary and uninhabited parts of the country, where they fall inftantly a prey
and food for the ravenous wolf.
The domettic rein-deer that the Laplanders have live conftantly in the open air, never
coming under roof, and feed in the fummer on grafs, and on lichen in winter. But the
Norwegian peafants, fome of whom dwell near the river of Alten, famous for falmon,
ufe the rein-deer as draft cattle, in the place c: horfes, keep them the whole of winter un-
der fhelter, and feed them with white mufc, which they gather, not as hay, with a fcythe,
but with a kind of fpade, adapted for the purpofe. ‘The rein-deer are very fond of hu-
man urine, from the quantity of falt in it; hence no fooner do they fee it than they
haften up in order to drink, and if on the {now, they dig it upto getat it. They range
at large about the plains, fearching for mufhrooms and mice, in Norwegian called Le-
maenner, in Lapland language Godde-Sacppan, a defcription of which I have given in
Chapter XII. on the wild beafts of Finmark. ‘They eat off the heads of the mice and
greedily devour them, throwing away the reft of them. As the ground is covered with
{now they very feldom drink water, fatisfied with the {now alone to quench their thirft.
‘The rein-deer in the fledge inclines his head to the ground to take up a little fnow for
allaying thirft, which the Laplanders exprefs in their language, Muottagiit Gadzat, that
is, to drink fnow.
‘That fnares are ever laid for the rein-deer by wolves is evident enough : to keep thefe
off, the Laplanders expofe old rags, and beams covered with rags, and other terrors of
this kind, But never is the danger greater to the herd than when the tempett is fetting
in, for then this moft favage animal furioufly attacks them ; fo that the Laplander, if he
has fixed his’habitation in a place infefted by wolves, is compelled, together with his
whole family, to be continually on the watch, if he wifhes to preferve his herds. ‘The
domeftics come out by turns to ftrike againft the fledge with a Stick, that the enemys
terrified
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