New-York daily tribune., 1857-04-24

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appetite DE- naD1ed on account Of the long distances
between the stations. Druwsiness followed rcpie
ton, as matter Of course, and they gave o. bed
Of skns in An inner room. Here, however, sorne
other members Of the family were gathered arooha
the fire, and hept up an ncessant chattering, whuo
syoung married couple who lay in one corner De-
slowed their ebdearments on each other, ~ that
| We had but little benefit of our rest. At midnight
| all WAS ready, and we set out. Long Isaac had
engaged guide, and procured fresh deer in place
Of those which were fatigued. There wss thick
fog, which the moon scarcely frightened, but the
temperature had risen 10 zero and was IS mud a.
| May morning. For the first time in many days,
our boards did not freeze.
We pursued our way in complete silence. our
little caravan, in single file, presented strange,
shadowy, mysterious appearance as it followed the
winding path, dimly seen through the mist, FIRST on
this side and then that, not sound being heard
except the crunching of ones own pulk over the
snow. My reindeer and myself seemed to be the
only living things, and We were pursuing the phan-
toms of other travellers and other deer, who long
ago perished in the wilderness. II was impossible
to see more than hundred yards some short,
stunted brcbes in their spectral coating Of snow,
grew along the low ridges of the deep, loose snow
which separated the marshes, but nothing else in
terrupted the monotony of the endless gray ocean
through which We went foundering, apparently at
baphazard. How our guides found the way was
beyond my comprehension, for / could discover no
distinguishable landmarks. After two hours or
more We struck upon cluster of huts called
PalNaryi, seven miles from Lippajarvi, which
proved that We were on the right track.
The fog now became thicker than ever. We
were upon the water shed between the Bothnian
Gulf and the Northern Ocean, about / 400 feet
above the sea. The birches became mere shrubs,
dotting the low mounds which here and there arose
ont of the ocean Of snow. The puks all ran in the
same track and made single furrow, so that our
gunwales were generally below the sea-level. The
snow was packed so tight however, that we rarely
shipped any. Two hours were passed, and l was
at length reused from half-sleep by the evidence
Of our having lost the way. Long Isaac and the
guide stopped and consulted every few minutes,
striking sometimes in one direction and sometimes
in another, but without any result. We ran over
ridges of heavy, hard tussocks blown bare of snow
which pitched our pulks right and left, just as
have bumped over the coral reefs of Loo-Choo in
ships cutter Then followed deep beds of snow
drifts. which tasked the utmost strength of our
deer low birch tbickets and hard ridges again, over
which we plunged in the widest way possible.
After wandering about for a considerable time,
We suddenly heard the barking Of dog at some
distance on our left. Following the welcome
sound, We reached scrubby ridge, where We were
saluted with whole'chorus Of dogs, and soon saw
the dark cone of Lapp tent. Long Isaac aroused
the inmates, and the shrill cry Of baby proclaimed
that there was life and love, even here. Presently
clumsy form, enveloped in skins, waddled out and
entered into conversation with our men. l pro-
posed at once to engage Lapp to guide US as far
as Eitajarvi, which they informed us was two Nor.
wegian miles "a Enghsh) further. The man
agreed, but must first go off to the woods for his
deer which would detain US two hsurs He put
on his snow-skateS and started, and set about
turning the delay TO profit by making acquaintance
With the inmates Of the tents. We had now reached
the middle of the village; the lean, wolfsh dogs
were yelling on sll sides, and the people began to
bestir themselves. Streams of sparks issued from
the open tops Of the tents and very soon We stood
as if in the midst Of group of volcanic cones.
The Lapps readily gave US permission to enter.
We lifted the hanging door of reindeer hide crcpt
in, stumbling over Confused mixture Of dogs and
deer. skins. until We found room to sit down. Two
middle. aged women dressed in poesks, like the
men were kndling FIRE between some large
stones in the center but the air inside was still az
cold as outside. The damp birch sticks gave out
thick smoke which almost stihed US, and for hall
an hour We could scarcely see or breathe. The
women did not appear to be incommoded IN the
least, but noticed that their eyes were considera-
bly inhamed. After time our company was In
creased by the arrival Of two stout, ruddy girls
of about seventeen, and child of two years old,
which already wore complete reindeer costume.
They were all yey friendly and hospltsbe IN their
demeanor toward u.s. for conversation was scarcely
possible. The interior Of the tent was hung with
choice bits of deer's hide, from the inside Of the
tanks and shoulders, designed apparently for nit
tens. Long Isaac at once commenced bargaining
for some of them. which he finally purchased. The
money was deposited in rather heavy bag Of coin,
which one Of the women drew forth from under
pile of skins Our caps and Russian boots OK
cited their curiosity, and they examined them with
the greatest minuteness.
Tbe,e women were neither remarkably small
nor remarkably ugly, as the Lapps are generally
represented The ground-tone OF their compteIon
Vas rather tawpy, to be sure but there was
glowing red on their cheeks, and their eyes were