Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-03-22
The Luplander ut Home.

Away to the far, far north, where
the nights are long and cold, live some
very happy and contented people.
am afraid that if you lived there you
would find it hard to he as contented
as the Laplander. His house is moth
ing but tent, and not very good
one at that. 10 build it, he sets up
some poles in circle so that their
tops will meet together at the centre.
His floor is not more than six feet
wide, or eighteen feet all the way
around it. lie covers the poles with
coarse cloths in the summer, and in
the winter he spreads on another
covering of skins. The floor is carpeted
with reindeer skins, and in the centre
is stone hearth where he builds his
fire. The smoke goes ont at an open
place in the top of the tent; and there,
too, the rain, wind and snow come in.
wonder if he gets cross when furry
of snow almost puts out the fire, and
sends the smoke into his eyes. All
around the sde OF the tent hang
bowls and kettles ard other useful
articles.
The Laplander's pantry Is In queer
place. 1t is ON a shelf away up be-
| tween two tall trees. There he keeps
milk, curds, cheese and dried rein
deer meat. You wonder how he ever
gets at these things? He has q tall
tree pole, full OF cross sticks, that he
uses for ladder. He is obliged to
have his pantry in this airy place, or
else the dogs and wolves would eat
up his food. L suppose he would
build better house, with pantry i'll
All n Laplander's wealth lies ir
his reindeer If lie has 1000 or
more reindeer, he is thought to be
wealthy man; all the poor Lapps look
up TO him and respect him very much.
Iii he has 800, he is respect.
able; but if he has no more than so,
he is a very poor Lapp indeed, and
gladly serves his wealthy nelghbor.
The reindeer live in the lichens that
grow on the cold, gray rocks. The
liahens are not very plentiful, so when
the reindeer have eaten up all there
are in one place, the Lapps have to
move to another. They hardly ever
stay more tdan two weeks in place.
! 40 ~ tuhSo tuc IlCuCHo lOuS tllilt W
grow, it may be years before the Lapps
may come that way again.
The people have long skidders, OF
skates, made of fir wood, and covered
with young reindeer skins. These
skidders are as long as the Iaplander
himself 1t would be hard to travel
in winter without them. With them
he can run as fast as the wild beasts.
He has long pole, with a knob near
the end of it, SO that it will not sink
deep in the snow, and with this he
stops himself when he wants to rest.
He has also small sledge, or
''pulka," which he bitches to the
reindeer. The sledge is rounded on
the bottom, and he has to be very
careful or he will fall out
The Lapps live in a beautiful coun-
| try in the summer time. Then the
sun hardly goes to bed at ALL For
days his round face is to be seen above
/ the horizon. except for few short
hours when he dodges behind the
mountain to take n short nap Beau
tiful streams of clear, cold water flow
down the mountains to the sea, and
the land is clothed in green.
But when the short summer is over,
then comes the long, cold winter. For
days tho sun hardly glauces above the
horizon. Now the Lapps move away
from the seashore to the forest. The
long. dark nights are lighted up to the
gay northern lights, that flame and
dance in the sky like fireworks. You
could not get a Lapp to change his
wild, cold country for any other in
| the world.
According to German newspaper,