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

some of the tribes of Arctic Siberia. AL
though have spoken of these reindeer as
tame animals, it is only by comparison with
the deer family at large, and somewhat af-
ter the sort of tameness that Texas cattle
had decade or two ago. Any person try
ing to ride one of them from the sea-coast
to the mountains would have his opinion
of the comfort of walking go up about 100
per cent.
When once the winter has come on,
however, all this is changed. Even if the
Lapp traveller goes on foot he attaches his
snow-shoes to his feet, and with the same
amount of labor about quadruples his speed.
Says an observer in these regions, describ-
ing the Lapp snow-shoe, or 'ski," or "ski-
dor" 'These are two ribs of birch or fir,
six feet long, four to five inches broad, and
about a half an inch thick. In the middle,
on the upper side, is followed, smooth
spot for the foot, above which there is a
strap, the space allowing the insertion of
the point of the shoe. On the other side
a groove runs along the entire centre. The
ski is pointed and slightly curved at one
end and the edges rounded" 1t might be
added that the ''skidor" is solid piece of
wood, like weather board or batten, turned
up in front, and depends for its bearing
surface on the snow on its extreme length
five or six feet-rather than by wide
spread, as in the common snOw-shoe OF bent
form and cross weaving of thongs. The
common snow-shoes, like those used by
some of our mountain Indians, are, how
ever, used in few parts of Arctic Europe,
but mostly among the Norwegians and
Firms. The Lapp runs on these "skidors
as the snow-shoes are called, but mostly as
sisting him are two short birch poles or
slaves. with which he shoves himself along,
like an Indian polling his canoe through
shallow water, but the Lapp has one pole
in each hand. Marvellous tales have been
told of the rapidity with which these no
mads of the north part of Europe glide
over the hard SHOWS on the rolling plateau
of their country when journeying from one
point to another and they really appeared
so generous in their numbers of miles that
some people were skeptical until such good
and undisputed authority as Baron Won
Nordenskiold, the well-known Arctic ex-
plorer in attempting to cross Greeland from
one coast to the other on the inland ice,
and using some of these Lapps with their
"skidors' as assistants to the undertaking.
quite verified the former tales as to their
swiftness. Even yet, some questions hav-
ing been brought forward as to the capa-
bility of the Lapps to correctly judge dis
tances over which they have passed (for it
must be remembered that Nordenskjold
had sent ahead his Lapps on skidors, and
when they returned he only had their esti-
mate of the distance they had travelled,
Mr. Oscar Dickson, one of NOrdenskjold' S
patrons, being in Lapland at Quickjok,
thought he would get up series of races
among the Lapps on skidors to test their
capabilities of making the speed they
claimed The distance which they thought
they had travelled over the interior ice or
mer de gluce of Greenland was 143 miles in
81 hours 1.-TWO days nine hours) going and
coming. Mr. Dickson planned his races so
a. = have about an equal length of course,
and it really was 141 miles long. The
competition for the high prizes offered took
place last April, and occupied IL whole week.
Three hundred and fifty francs was the
highest, or first prize, and was won by a
Lapp who had been with Nordenskjold On
his Greenland inland expedition. He got
over his 141 miles in Il hours and %
minutes, including all his rests and stop
pages. or about seven miles an hour kept
up steadily for nearly whole day. The
second prize was secured by Lapp who
cot in only half a minute after the first.
Two others got in within twenty two hours,
and four more within the day. All of them
were apparently unexhausted, and joined
heartily in the festivities that ended this
singular contest, many of the contestants
returning at once to their homes, fifty to
seventy-fve miles distant, from which they
had come to join in the races. 1t clearly
demonstrated that the Lapps could do more
than they had claimed in Greenland, and
as the particular individuals were reliable
in their statements, and only their ideas of
estimating distances being questioned, it
appears quite likely that they then travel
led the full distance claimed
When a Lapp goes down-hill on his
skidors he uses one as sledge on which
to slide and steer, while with the other he
turns his foot and scrapes the skidor, thus
rec ulating his gait. Says the same au-
thority [ quoted once above: "The Lapp
begins to run on ski when a mere child
and attains great skill in this sport. He
runs with the greatest ease up or down
hill, jumps the steepest inclines, and speeds
across lakes and marshes, through forest
and field; hunts the wolf and the bear, or
follows the runaway reindeer, and under
takes extremely long journeys, following
his herd or visiting distant parts.
The sole means of conveyance in the
shape of vehicle is the Lappish sledge,
or apulk," as it is usually called (hjarris
in Lappish tongue). Cut cigar in two
lenthwise, and then across in the centre;
hollow out one of the mouth or tapering
ends as an Indian would make "dug-out
canoe, and this would be miniature pulk.
This sledge. seemingly solid piece of
wood, bears about the same relation to a
lattice-work or open-frame sledge that a
"dug-out" does to lap-streak boat, or the
skidor to the sdow-shoe The "pulk" is
always drawn by the reindeer, with sim
pie harness of wooden names around the
neck, single harness-trace passing there
from to the pulk, while single rein runs
from the neck to the drivers right hand.
Everything is as simple as it can be, and
the Esquimau dog harness seems like the
complicated work of genius compared
with it. l should have said that the half
round, boat-like sledge has keel which
cuts into the snow and prevents it from up
setting-that is, if the driver is quite ac-
tive with his body to assist it in preventing
such an accident, for he must sway from
side to side in an opposite direction from
that which the pulk threatens to capsize, or
the keel will be of but little use to prevent
it from doing so. Of course the simple
pulk and its simple surroundings are, like
everything else owned by a simple people,
the object of much undisguised comment
from travellers first coming among them,
and, with that presumption so characteristic
of civilization the "pulks" are loaded with