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ACCOUNT OF DANISH LAPLAND BY LEEMS. 417
befides little white foxes, lefs than thofe juft mentioned, called by the Norwegians
Miel Rafer, but by the Laplanders Nja/, whofe {kins are the worlt of all. Foxes feed
on the eggs of ptarmigans and other birds taken by flratagem, on“tnice, fhell-fifh
found near the fhore, and fuch like foods. ‘The Laplander, hunting the fox in winter,
follows the track of him, until he finds him either fleeping in the open field, or has traced
him to his den, where he has concealed himfelf. Here the hunter halts a little, wait-
ing the opportunity of killing him with a bullet when coming out of his hiding place.
He hides alfo pieces of meat in different places under the fnow, to the intent that the
foxes fhould come to them. When he has once {melt the meat, he eagerly flies to it,
but, while ftriving to difperfe the {now with his feet, in order to get at the meat that is
under it, he is fhot by the Laplander lying in wait for him. ‘This kind of hunting is
exercifed by night, by moonfhine, or, in defect of that, by the glimmering light which
they call Boreal ; for it is fufficiently known, I think, that that which they call the
4urora Borealis, is apparent in {o great a degree in this quarter of the fky, that it can
fupply the place of the abfent moon. Foxes are fometimes killed running, but they
are moft ufually caught in a machine of iron, which, before it is laid, refembles a femi-
circle, when laid, the fhape of a complete circle. ‘They fix this rubbed with rofin, fat
of thedolphin, or any other untuous matter, left the wily fox fhould fimell the ruft,
and lay it in the fnow, in the fand near the fhore, or fome other commodious place,
baited with the flefh of the lamia, which the Norwegians call Haae-Kioerring. The
fox {melling the bait, inftantly flies to it, but, while he is endeavouring to remove the
fnow or the fand with his feet to reach the hidden food, he incautioufly touches the trap,
which touched, inftantly feizes the neck, the feet, or {ome other part of the body, and
clofely holds it. If the {nare or trap, which frequently happens, fhould lay hold of one
foot only, the fox, fooner than become a prey to his enemy, eats away his own foot, if
there is time for it, and takes to flight with the three remaining ones. This machine
is ufed in other places in Norway, and befides it there is another, called Ritta, in
which the Laplanders are ufed to catch foxes. The Ritta is made in the form of an
oblong and low cheft, and open at one of itsends. Near that end that is open are two
ftakes, overtopping the cheft itfelf in height, on which is put a beam acrofs. Before
the faid ftakes, at the extremity of the cover, (for the machine has a cover no lefs than
other neceflary parts of a cheft,) isa fmall pole, to the extremity of which above is a
hook with a button affixed, another pole being put over the beam, whofe fore point jult
touches the button, while a rope is fixed to the other point, paffing through the aperture
made in the cover of the cheft, and drawn to the bait concealed in the lower part of the
machine. The fnare thus conf{tructed, the fox invited and allured by the odour of the
bait, creeps in through the open part of the trap, where, while he is digging the earth,
he touches the rope which loofens the button, and that being undone, the cover of the
cheft inftantly fallsin, and kills the fox by its weight. And, fince the faid machine can
contain only the fore part of the fox, who has got in, while all the hinder part is out-
fide, it often happens that a wolf falls upon a fox fo caught, and tears the part in his
own way, that the hunter fhall be deprived of the fkin, the reward and fruit of all his
labour, and which he only looks after, now torn to pieces and broken up, They re-
late that the Swedes catch bears by a like machine, where it is to be obferved, that the
trap which is conftructed for the deftroying of bears, is much larger in proportion to the
ftrength and fize of this beaft, compofed of ftronger beams and rafters, and laden with
heavy flones, that the cover in its fall, when the button is undone, may fall with the
greater weight and crufh him. Foxes are killed too by certain poifoned cakes, which
the Laplanders call in their tongue, Sae/jok. ‘The fox, when going to build his fubter-
VOL. I. 2H ranean
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