Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-11-16

humanity until cold weather sup
presses him. AS all of these torment
ors attend to business throughout the
whole summer day, which is not brok
en- by anything worth the name O
night, a trip to the midnight sun costs
much moro than money, although the
traveller will not admit that the cost
is too great.
A sketch Of the far North without
some description of Lapland, its peo
pie and its reindeer, would be as dis
appointing as a performance of Hamte'
without the melancholy Dane. Mr.
Du Chaillu spent much time in Lap
land, and declares the Lapps to be a
much-misrepresented people. Instead
of being dark of complexion, black.
haired, stupid, heathenish, and mur-
derous as even some Swedes and
Norwegians believe them to be, the
author found them light of hair and
color, agile, industrious, bright hos
pitahle, end as good christians as any
other people. They are not always as
cleanly as some other races, for build
ing material is scarce in Lapland,
houses or tents are small, and wash
ing day preparations are sometimes
impossible Their morals are of high
order Many of them are fairly edu-
Gated, and nearly all of them are religi-
Gus in both form and spirit. The
authors religious beliefs were carefully
investigated at length by men and
women alike. Some of the Lapps GO
abroad and become rich; Mr. Du
Chaila refers TO several of these who
are in the United States, where one of
them owns a brown-stone front; but
most of them prefer to remain in their
own land In the words of the author ::
Happy and contented with his lot in
the world, endowed with a religious
nature which barren and lonely land
contributes to intensity, the Lapp hc-
Iieyes in God, in bis Dible, in the
Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God,
and in future lie. From that dreary
waste his songs of praise and his
prayers are uttered with a faith which
ceases only with his breath, and he
departs rejoicing that he is going to
the better land
The reindeer, which in one way or
another manages to be almost the en-
tire support of the Lapps who have
herds, is a large, heavy animal with
remarkable independence of character
He will not accept shelter under cover,
No n,ot+ar bnuy IL, claimant tho u-ao+ bar
may be. Neither Till ha sas any rood
that is offered him; be prefers to seek
his own sustenance, which consists
principally of peculiar moss, and as
this grows very slowly, requiring about
seven years in which to reach maturity,
the Lapp mrst shift his home from time
TO time to meet the necessities of his
herd. In midwinter the moss may be
covered by several feet of snow, but
the deer digs hole with his feet, and
disappears from the surface, burrowing
his way through the snow as be fol-
lows his nose from ona tgft Of moss to
another. The flesh of the reindeer is
quite palatable and nutritious, his skin
makes very warm garments as well as
durable harness, and cheese made OF
reindeer milk is very rich, although the
quantity of milk yielded per day seems
scarcely worth the taking, as it amounts
to a mere teaeupful.
Unlike the general traveller who
writes books, Mr. Du Chaillu has inter-
ested himself in every intellectual. So
cial, and industrial phase of the nation
al life. To those who read his frequent
illusions to the music and song beard
everywhere it WILL no longer seem
strange that Jenny Lind, Christine
Nilsson, and Ole Bull should have
come from Sweden instead of Italy, the
supposed mother of singers. The dy-
ing art of vocal serenading seems to
flourish vigorously in Sweden and n or
way, and instrumental music is so
common that the author reports pianos
within the arctic circle, and towns far
ther south where these instruments are
found in the ratio of one to every twen-
ty-fve people Great attention is be-
slowed upon dress and the beautifying
of homes, although taste is superior to
the rage for display. Facilities for
communication are good, cheap, and
fully equal to the demand the postal
service is fully as good as our own, and
perfect telegraph system covers the
peninsula, the operators being compell-
ed to understand at least three languages
The common schools are as thorough
in their methods as those of America,
and considerably higher in grade, for
the poorest child can obtain instruction
in higher mathematics, the natural
sciences, Latin, Greek, and modern
languages. Excellent technical schools
exist, and good universities crown the
educational system.
Although in Norway and Sweden
there are many mines and mills, most
of the people gain their living either
out of the soil or the sea. The farmer
in either country is a marvel of indus
try and thrift; he would live upon
what an American farmer wastes, and
live more comfortably than our farming
population do, as a rule. The amount
of labor perfomed at the special dairy
farms, to which cattle are driven in
summer. generally by girls, would hor-
rify Western maiden; but the Swed-
ish and Norwegian girls thrive On it,
enjoying rare good health, and conse-
quent happiness. Still more exacting
is the home care of cattle in winter,
when much of the food must be
specially prepared. On some soil that
here would lie condemned as good for
nothing, fair crops are grown and har-
vested in short summer, while in the
southern provinces the yield is equal to
that of model farms in America
The maritime statistics of the two
countries, and of Norway in paticular,
are simply staggering. Last year
more than a thousand Norwegian
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