The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1880-01-16
COLUMBIA

moustache; so go right to the door, (which
is simply thick skin hanging over a hole in
the side,) lift it up and step in.
The inside is certainly warm epough--rath-
er too warm, in fact, being almost as hot and
choky as bake house. There is fire burn
ing in the middle, the smoke going anywhere
and everywhere; and beside it sat three
things (ore can hardly call them human fig
ures) one deal larger than the other two
There being no light but the glare of the
fire. it is not easy for me to see where l am
going; and the first thing do is to stumble
over something which seems like skin bag,
unusually full But it is MOTT is a child,
wrapped. or rather tied up in huge cloak
of deer skin, and rolling about the floor like
ball.
In these out-of the-way places, where a
man may go for days without seeing a human
face, except his own, people call upon each
other, without waiting to be introduced; and
my sudden entrance does not seem to disturb
my new friends in the least. They greet me
cordially enough, and bid me welcome in
Russian, which most of the Samoiedes speak
a little; and, seating myself on a chest
look about me.
As my eyes get use to the half-light, l see
that the group by the fire consists of woman
and two little girls, muifled in skins from heat
to foot Papa is away somewhere with hi
sledge and his reindeer, leaving mamma tC
mind the house and take care of the children
Funny little things they are, with grea
round heads, and dark brown skins, ant
small, restless black eyes, and faces as fiat al
if somebody had sat down upon them but
queer as they look, they have learned t.
make themselves useful already, for they ar,
hard at work stitching their own clothes
They are not bit shy and in another min
ute | have them scrambing up into my lap
and wondering at the tick of my watch
which | take out to show to them, while the,
calp their hands and shout Pal, pair which
is their word for good
: The tent is not a very large one, but ever,
inch Of its space has certainly been made tn
most of. The floor is carpeted with thcl
sheets Of gray felt, and Uttered with chests
sacks, baskets, bark shoes, and bits of har
s ness while hanging from the tent poles, o
thrust into the holes of the skins that cove
them, are a perfect museum of things 0
every sort-caps, pouches, fish spears, knives
hatchets, whips-and last, but certainly 10
the least, the face of baby, which has bee
thrust into kind Of pocket in the skin, lik
t knife in the sheath. I stoop to stroke tn
1 little brown face, while the round eyes star
= wonderingy at me out of the folds of tn
3 skin.
: Meanwhile the lady of the house, Tor rath
s er tent hospitable like all Samoiedes, hast
e ems to set before me some black bread nike
with bark, and lump of terrifcally stron
cheese, made of reindeer milk.
The reindeer supplies the Samoiedes wit
j plenty of things besides cheese; indeed, a
IS most everything that they have got CONT
e from it in some form or other They et
n reindeer meat, they drink reindeer mill
It their fish spears are tipped with reindet
d horn; their clothes, and the very tents
Q which they live, are made of re!ndeer ski
e the needles wherewith they stitch them al
= made of reindeer bone, and the thread
a reindeer sinew; and when they wish to mo,
n from place to place, it is the reindeer TIL
8, draws them along-the Samoide would be
s. badly off without the reindeer as the Ari
e. without the camel.-Ddvid Ker in Jdnua,
4 Vide Awake.