The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-12-19
Our Olio.
An Arctic Trip Over Europe.
BY LIEUTENANT FREDERICK SCHwATKA.

OF the great continental divisions of the
earth of which we learned in our geogra-
phies, three of them project within the
polar regions, and all of these into the
north polar, or Arctic, regions. The con-
ditions of temperature are much the same
among them, varying only in intensity, but
that variation produces some others worthy
of notice, and none is more conspicuous
and interesting than their variations in
methods of travel. know it is common
impression that the Arctic country is a
great fiat, level waste, over whose perpet-
ual snow and ice few hardy and simple
minded natives travel on rude sledges,
drawn by dogs and reindeer, and that one
sledge is as typical of all the rest as a sin
Gle reindeer taken from the herd or one
doc taken from team of dozen, when in
reality Il trip throughout the whole Arctic
regions where travelling is done would give
us variety of sledges as different as the
means of hauling them, as the reindeer
from the dog, OF either from man, who
sometime harnesses himself to these crude
vehicles. | shall ask my readers to ac-
company me across Europe on the various
vehicles we can find to transport us--the
"pulk" of the Laplander, the Finnish
sledge, and not forgetting the curious
skidors, or snow-shoes, of the mountain
Lapps. and few other not less interesting
modes of travel.
Approaching Arctic Europe from the
Atlantic or Norwegian side, the coast is
bold and mountainous, like our own Alaska
coast where the spurs of the Rocky Noun
tains come down to the sea. Along this
rugged shore-line the gulf stream of the
Atlantic ocean pours its heat-laden waters,
and as far north as the North cape itself,
three hundred miles above the Arctic cir
Gle, we can hardly say that we have Arctic
weather. ocean steamers travelling back and
forth during every month Of the year and
the seaports remaining open the whole Win
ter. But, while this is the condition on
the coast itself, we have to travel but a
short ways inland, up the high mountains and
across their dreary moors, before we are in
the true Arctic climate and can take ride
a la Artique. This part of the country is
peopled by the Lapps, or Laplanders, and
those living on the coast are called sea-
Lapps, spending their lives in rude novels
of grass and logs, and making living from
the products of the sea. They outnumber
all the other Laplanders in Norway, but
live much poorer than the other less popu-
lous Lapp tribes of the interior Their
main food is simply boiled fish, taking the
worst ones for this purpose, and sending
seldom used, while weak barley soup and a
little salt or dried meat thrown therein va
ries occasionally their monotonous fare.
Among them we will find but little oppor-
tunity for ride in any kind of vehicle, for
they have none except the boats with which
they put to sea to catch their fish. Be
sides the sea Lapps there are two other
subdivisions of this race of people-the
mountain Lapps and river Lapps. The
sea Lapps and river Lapps can be united
in being called the settled Lapps, while the
mountain tribe is nomadic one even in
the depths of winter The river Lapps,
however, in their mode of life seem to have
absorbed the comforts of both the other
parties without being compelled to take up
any of the discomforts of either. The food
of the mountain Lapp is almost exclusively
reindeer meat from his tame focks, while
the river people add to that other kinds of
meat and game, goodly lot of vegetables,
and fish. Fromholt, speaking of the three
kinds of this people, says: "The noun
tain Lapp alone has preserved the pure,
genuine characteristic of the nomad; the
others are degenerated Lapps, and the
river Lapp is, so to speak, the civilized
native" 1t is therefore evident that it is
among the mountain Lapps that we must
look for the most typical cases of primitive
travelling, and we will briefly describe his
ways. In the summer time, if we accom-
pany him, we must 90 afoot, or, at least, if
we 90 as he does, and his only assistant
will be birch pole-a rough sort of al;
penstock-which may be third longer
than himself, and the Lapps are stunted
race of people, very much like the Esqui-
mau of our own continent. With this pole
he Jumps the numerous small rivers that
flow through his marshy country, helps
himself down the shelving rocks, and this
is about the only assistance he needs for
his days journey, which may amount to
forty or fifty miles day-a small cheese
made from reindeers milk, a bit of 'jerked'
reindeer meat, and that accompaniment of
all savages on the borderland of civilization
the pipe and tobacco, being the only food
and stimulants he needs to carry him on
such a days journey. In this way he
drives his tame reindeer from the high
mountain plateaus to the seashore in the
early spring and back again in the late fall
The object of this singular migration Of
the mountaineer is partially that he must
wander where his reindeer migrate, and
they leave the mountains in the summer tc
avoid the insect pests that there abound
during this season, and to swim in the
broad arms of the sea. The Lapp himself
is, however, glad enough to make the trip,
for it leaves the grazing ground on the high
plateau free to recuperate from the last
winters grazing for the next; besides, he
has many skins and bits of meat to trade
at the coast settlements, where he can also
regale himself on the fresh fish he catches
the only break for the whole year in hi
constant diet of reindeer-meat and milk
Sailing through the picturesque deep fiord'
of Norway we may come, near the head oi
one, on what seems to be floating mass O
brush that closer inspection reveals to b.
the numberless spreading horns of large
herd of mountain reindeer basking in th'
cold waters of the ford as cattle seek th'
streams in summer with us at home Al
the winter time is coming ON we will ac
company the Lapp back into the high hills
his true home, where they are scattered ou
over an extent equal to the New England
States, although there are less than tw'