The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-03-24
Life Among the Lanns.

ldnuefS: 81. r..-. 80
:, Lapland, you are aware. lies along
Tue North Polar Sea, and is partly in
Norway, partly in Sweden, partly in
finland and partly in Russia. To the
eass OF it. in Russia, and extending
iurther to the north, is Siberia The
eastern part of Lapland is under the
russian Government; and is dominated
IN religious matters by the Greek
Shurch. The western portion is under
sne united government of Sweden and
norway, and is governed re,igiously by
tne established Lutheran Church. Lap
ianu Is large country but has, rs yet,
peen lmperfectly explored, and its exact
dimensions are not known. 1t extends
q great distance within the polar circle.
l nave myself travelled seventy miles
Wltnln the circle, and how much farther
north the. land extends the inhabitants
nave no idea. 1t is mountainous coun-
lry' and consists almost entirely of
alternate lofty mountains and narrow
valleys.
For six weeks in the summer the sun
does not go out of sight, but sails around
me heavens, only dipping nearer toward
the horizon at the north. Then in the
winter for six weeks it never gets above
the horizon at all, but only approaches
1t at midday. In the summer time it be-
comes as warm there as it does here;
rad in the winter the Thermometer re-
mains forty-tive degrees below zero for
four or five months together. The cold
IS not so keenly felt as you might sup
pose, and yet it was so severe that had
to return to Sweden several times to re-
cuperate, and even SO it has seriously
impaired my sense of hearing. As to
snow and ice, there is no snow on the
mountains, because it all blows off into
the valleys, where it accumulates in some
places tolnknown depths. The rivers,
OF course, are frozen up in winter.
The population of Lapland is esti-
mated at $1,000. The origin of the
word Lappis unknown, but it is sup
posed to mean nomad. The Lapps, like
their name, are of unknown origin.
They are, as a race, distinct from any
other people in Europe. They have
straight brown hair, light eyes and no
beard. Their complexion has been rep
resented to be sort of copper color, but
that is mistake. They appear to be of
that complexion because they are be-
grimmed with smoke. But, when they
wash their faces they are seen to be of a
pale, ashy and rather blush-white COM
plexion. In character they are friendly
and hospitable. They can all shoot, but
they are not at all war-like in DISPOSE
ton. For truthfulness, honesty and
virtue they compare favorably with 9TH
er European races, but their intelligence
is of low order, They speak Ian
guage which is somewhat easy to ac-
quire, and which is very different from
European language. 1t is written as
well as spoken language, and many OF
them can read and write it.
" I.he staff of life in Lapland is the
reindeer. This animal is their beast of
burden, their clothier and their butcher.
The country has no other animals worth
speaking of but the reindeer, dogs and
goats. 1t yields no grains and no fruits.
The well-to-do people live on boiled
reindeer meat. The only thing they eat
with it. Is sort of grass which, they
boil to the consistency of Jelly. In the
winter they can only procure water by
melting the snow. The poorer people
cannot afford even this diet, but live en-
tirely on fish. The waters yield excel
lent fish, and, among others, very line
kind of salmon. But in the winter these
fish can be taken only by cutting through
the thick ice which covers the rivers,
The clothing of the people consists of a
double suit of reindeer skin, one with the
fur turned inward and the other with the
fur turned outward. They also wear a
conical hat made of the same material.
1.-THE reindeer live entirely on a kind
of moss that grows on the ground. and
which, in the winter, they obtain by
digging down through the snow for it.
This moss does not grow everywhere on
the ground, either; and it is singular
fact that the reindeer are possessed of a
mysterious instinct, by which they can
tell where it is, so that they never dig
through the snow in vain. AS to water,
they are dependent for moisture on what
they can gather by licking the snow.
1.-THE Lapps live in tents, not more
than ten feet in width, made of reindeer
hides. They build fire in the middle
of it and sit around it, crouching as low
as possible to avoid the smoke of the
fire, and pass the time in smoking to-
bacco and telling stories. They are a
nomadic race and not at all gregarious.
They have no cities or towns, and the
nearest approach they make to village
is when twenty persons will pitch their
tents in the neighborhood of little
Lutheran Church erected by the Gov
eminent.
"They have sort of Bible, called the
Gobdas.' This is written on reindeer
hide. and contains the mythology of the
race. 1t teaches, however, not of the
Creator and of the origin of the universe,
but entirely of duty and morals. Like
the race and tongue, 1t is OF unknown
origin. But the Lapps have now almost
universally abandoned the Gobdas for
the Christian religion. Their reli-
gion is mostly national and formal, but
found few choice spirits among them
whose religion was amatter of the heart
and life, and who furnished noble Illus
trations of the Christian spirit
The Government prohibits the sale OF
liquor in Lapland, but the Lapps make
trips 10 Sweden and barter raindeer meat
for whisky or alcohol; and when they
have got key of it, they never stop
drinking until it is gone. Sometimes
the Swedes visit Lapland to buy meat,
and take liquor with them. They are
afraid to sell liquorin Lapland, but they