The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-12-19

the part OF the driver, and that 1t Is drawn
by single trace and not by shafts, from
which it follows that the reindeer cannot
hold it back down hill, which often causes
the traveller to come down rather more pre-
cipitately than he might wish, and, finally,
that two reins are not used, whereby the
animal might be driven better. There is,
however, very good reason why the Lapps
prefer the single to the double system, and
each one has advantages of its particular
kind in reference to the nature of the road
A sleigh would, for instance, sink far deeper
into the loose snow, and be broken to pieces
over rough ground, through forest and
across mountain, where the road is obstruc-
ted with logs and stones and the pulk has
often to shoot down declivity of couple
yards. The sleigh would capsize quicker
than pulk, strange as it may seem, as the
latter only capsizes in the hands of an in
experienced driver. The same argument
may be advanced against the shafts. These
would have to be very thick not to break,
while they would prevent the pulk from
sliding down in such case as mentioned,
and giving in the innumerable curves of
the road Further, sleigh would become
entangled in the branches and underwood
of close forest. The pulk, being wedge
shaped, can follow wherever the reindeer
can get through, as there is nothing at the
sides to offer any resistance. Finally,
pair of reins would be more inconvenlent
than useful, as the reindeer is not broken
in and trained like horse, and the expert
driver knows how to manage it with one
rein with the greatest ease. But let us
take a ride in the pulks across the land of
Lapp, where we will again change our
mode of transportation before reaching
eastern Europe and where Asia begins.
There are two choices of going even yet
the pulks may be fastened one behind the
other, or ''raide," as it is called, or each one
may be for itself. We prefere the latter.
The novice is told to take the rein in his
right hand, sticking his thumb in a hole
cut in the leather at the end, and twist the
''sack" around his wrist until the rein is
of the proper length. When everything
is ready the leading driver, who Is native,
of course, gives a word of command to his
animal, and the whole caravan starts like
load of grapeshot out of cannon, and IT
the novice has not been prepared for this
by experience or advice, the lumbar re-
gion of his back may seem to be numbered
up with three kinds of neuralgia and an
attack of rheumatism for the next fort
night. The tame (?) reindeer knows but
two kinds of gait when harnessed to
pulk, and one is the widest kind of run
or gallop, and the other is that of a long,
swinging trot for which the larger species
of the deer family are so well known and
the latter is never assumed till the former
has tired the animal into it, when, with
lolling tongue and heaving breasts, he ia kes
this slower method as sort OF rest. In
fact with the exception of standing quietly
at the door Of your habitation until you
are ready to start, the reindeer acts almost
exactly as if you had harnessed wild
Texas steer to the pulk and he was trying
to get away from it. The rein is thrown
on the right or left side of the animal, ac
cording to which way the driver desires it
to 90. The reindeer, however, Obeys the
rein only in an indefinite way and goes
winding around the country and over the
road as if it was fully impressed with the
idea that "the longest way around was the
shortest way home," and this, too, on a
plateau, where nothing Obstructs its way
beyond the birch and willow in the little
valleys of the streams Now and then it
takes nibble of Snow to quench its thirst.
The courses over the very fiat plains and
especially on the rivers and lakes-and the
Arctic country is the land of lakes-is by
far the pleasantest and in fact more pleas
ant by contrast, for on all other kinds of
ground the traveller, taking his first ride, is
in no small trepidat;on as to the result.
Going uphill he feels as comfortable as a
man in a runaway buggy, while going down
a steep decline there is race between the
reindeer and the pulk, which keep passing
each other and getting mixed together
without any regard to the terrified driver,
while dash through the tangled birch un
derwood, with the pulk flying from bush to
bush like the cracker of whip, is not un-
like an equestrian novitiate on an ambitious
"broncho." The rider on his first trip
will be quite glad when the end of the
journey is reached. These temporary trep-
idations wear away as one gets more con-
fidence in himself and finds out that ride
of few miles does not necessitate a broken
or bruised limb.
The reindeer is to the Lapp what the
dog is to the Esquimau, and in addition
they give him food (meat, milk and cheese
and clothes There are few wild reindeer
in northern Europe, distinct from the tame
species in being larger. The total number
of tame reindeer in the land of the Lapp
is nearly half million, but not near all of
them are trained to harness in the pulk,
for family of ordinary size expects to
slaughter forty or fifty each year, and trade
away half as many, and these are seldom
trained, while those broken in are not part
of those doomed to destruction until they
are rendered worthless by accident or old
age. There is never more than a single
reindeer fastened to pulk, and seldom
more than one person in these Lapplsh
sledges (children excepted), but one good
driver can take dozen "greenhorns riding
by putting each one in pulk and tying
the reins belonging to its animal to pulk
in front, forming string of them, he tax
ing the lead. Thus families travel, the
pulks unoccupied by people being used to
store away the family effects, etc. A very
small amount-about the weight of man
is usually carried in pulk, so it is easily
seen that as method ofAtransportation it
is very inferior one, and the most nomadic
Lapps have quite small suppl ly of effects,
to accommodate themselves to these circum.
stances While on our trip we stop about
every three hours, unharness the reindeer,
it is turned out to feed on the moss for an
hour or so, and the journey resumed.
Crossing the boundary that divides the
land of the Lapp from that of the Finn we
change nationalities, and flags also, although
under Russian rule there are few Lapps,
less than thousand, however, all of whom
have reindeer and pulks. In Finland you
are sure of your journey, as the law COM
pels each house where you stop to furnish
meals at fixed rate and reindeer and
horses to convey you to the next station