Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-11

the green trousers before a couple OF Lap
gentlemen hove in sight They were Dress
ed pretty much like their companion, ex-
cept that an ordinary red night-cap re-
placed the queer helmet worn by the lady.
The tunics. too, may have been a trif1e
shorter. None of the three were handsome.
High cheek bones, short noses, obliqEe
Mongol eyes, no eyelashes, and enormous
mouths, made up a cast Of features which
their burnt-sienna complexion and hair did
not much enhance. Their expression Of
countenance was not unintelliSent, and
there was a merry. half-timid, half-cunning
twinkle in their eyes which reminded me
Of feces l had met during my travels in
some of the more neglected districts of
Europe. Some ethnologfsts. indeed, are in
clined to reckon the Laplanders as q branch
OF the Celtic family.
Primitive Customs.
Even at this late day a great proper
ton Of this race are pagans, and even the
most intelligent among them remain slaves
to the grossest superstition. When a cou-
pie is to be married, If a priest happens to
be in the way they will send for him, per-
maps out of complaisance, but otherwise the
young lady's papa merely strikes flint
and steel together, and the ceremony is not
the less irrevocably completed When they
die Ratchet and a flint and steel are in
variably buried with the deceased, in case
he should find himself chilly on his long
Journey-an unnecessary precaution man,
of such lax relSionists. When they go
bear hunting-the most important business
IN their Hves-it is a sorcerer with no other
oefense than his incantations VINO marches
at the head of the procession. In the in
ternal arrangement of their huts 1t Is not
room to themselves, but a door to them
selves, that is assigned to their woman
Kind; f1r woe bctide a hunter If a woman
has ever crossed the threshold over which
he sallies to the chase: and for three days
after the slaughter of his prey he must
live apart from the female portion of his
family in order to appease the evil deity
whose familiar he Is supposed to have de
stroyed. 1t would be useless to attempt to
recount the innumerable occasions On which
the ancient rites of jumula are still inter-
polated among the Christian observances
they profess to have adopted.
Their manner of life Is strange enough.
Here and there, as we strolled outside the
town, blue wreaths of smoke curling from
some little green nook among the rocks
would betray their temporary places of
abode. In the summer time they live in
canvas tents; during winter, when the
snow lies deep on the ground, the forest
LappS build huts in the branches of trees,
and so live like birds Their tents or huts
are usually hcxagonal in FORM with fire In
the center. the smoke from which rises
through hole In the roof. The men and
women occupy different sides OF the same
space between them symboltzes an ideal
partition, which, dare say, is in the end
as effectual a defense as lath and plaster
prove in mora civilized countries At all
events, the ladies have door to themselves,
which they doubtless consider a far greater
privilege than the secluslon of q separau e
toudoir. Hunting and fishing are the chief
employmentS of the I.app tribes and to
slay a bear is the most honorable exploit
a Lapp hero can achieve. The flesh of the
slaughtered beast becomes the property,
not of the man who killed it, but of him
who discovered his trail and the skin is
hung upon a pole for the wives of all who
took part in the expedition to shoot at with
their eyes bandagsd. Fortunate is she
whose arrow pierces the trophy. Not only
does II become her prize, but in the eyes
of the whole settlement her husband is
looked upon thenCeforth as The most for
tunate of men. As long as the chase is
going on the women are not allowed to stir
abroad; but as soon the party have safe
iy brought home their booty. the whole fe-
male population issue from their tents. and
having deliberately chewe1 some bark from
a species of alder. they spit the rel juice
In their husbands faces, typifyng the-e-
by the blood of the boar, WAich has been
shed in an honorable manner.
The Reindeer for -sS<Od.f ,-.... -.
although the forests. the rivers and the
sea supply them in a great mea sure With
their food. it is upon the reindeer that the
Laplander is dependent for every other
comfort in life The reindeer is his estate
his horse. his COW, his companion and
friend; he has twenty-five different names
for him. His coat, trousers and shoes are
made from reindeer skin. stitched with
thread manufactured from the nerves and
sinews of the same beast. Reindeer milk is
the most important item of his diet. Out Of
reindeer horns are made most of the uten-
sis used in his domestic economy, ana it is
the reindeer that carries his baggage and
drags his siedge. Moreover, so just an ap-
probation has the creature of what Is due
to his own merit, that If his owner seeks
to tax him beyond his strength. he not only
becomes FESTIVE, but often actually turns
upon the incOnsiderate jehu who has over.
driven him. When, therefore, a Lapp is in
a great hurry, instead of taking TO- mis-
sledge, he puts on pair of skates twice as
long as his own body, and so flies on the
wings Of the wind. Every Laplander, how
ever poor has his dozen or two of deer:
and the fiOcks of a Lapp CrOesus amount
sometimes to two thousand head. As soon
young lady is born-after having been
duly rolled in the snOw-she IS lowered by
her father with certain number of deer.
which are Immediately branded with her
initials. and thenceforth kept apart as her
especial property. In proportion as they
increase and multiply does her chance i'm
prove for making a desirable match in
marriage. -
Lnpland LOvemakIng.
'Iapp courtships are conducted in pretty
much the same fashion as in other parts of
the world The aspirant to a lady's hand,
soon as he discovers that he has lost his
heart gees off in search of a friend and a
bottle of brandy. The friend enters the tent
of the fair maiden's parents and opens, ST.
multareously the brandy and his business,
while the lover remains outside engaged in
hewing wood or some other mental employ
ment. If, after the brandy and proposal
have been discussed, the eloquenoe of the
friend prevails, the sutton is himself called
into the Enclosure, and the young people are
allowed to rub noses. The bride TO be then
accepts from her suitor the present of a
reindeer tongue and the eSpousdls are con-
sidered concluded. The marriage does not
take place for two or three years after
ward; and during the interval the lover is
obliged to labor in the service of his father
in-law as diligently as did Jacob serve for
his long loved Rachel"
How true it is that one-half the world
know but little about their fellow creatures
on the other half. \. NJ. DEWEY.
ONE GOT AWAY.