LAPLAND, the most northerly country of Europe, is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the south by Sweden, on the east by the White Sea, and on the west by Norway and the Atlantic Ocean. Its limits are not very accurately laid down by travellers or geographers; but it seems to be divided from the rest of Scandinavia by a line nearly corresponding with the polar circle, in latitude 66. 32. and is consequently almost entirely an arctic region. North Cape, its most northerly point, is situated in latitude 71. 10. 15. consequently its length from north to south is about 330 miles, and not 500, as is usually stated. From Cape Orlov, on the White Sea, to the Atlantic on the west, it extends about 700 miles; but, besides this continental territory, there are a vast number of islands which are included in the general name of Lapland. The whole country is divided into three parts, called Russian, Swedish, and Norwegian Lapland or Finmark, and is recognised by the Swedes and Norwegians by the name of Lapmark, mark signifying, both in Swedish and Norse, land or tract of country. The very early writers, however, do not notice any country under the name of Lapmark, whilst Finmark is alluded to, though not with such clearness as would admit of our defining the exact extent of country which went by that appellation. It has been conjectured that, in former ages, the parts of the north now known by the names of Swedish and Russian Lapland, were distinguished as Russian and Swedish Finmark, previously to the period when the Finns obtained the name of Lapper or Laplanders. Throughout Norway and Finmark they are uniformly termed Finns, which was their ancient and most proper designation; it is only in Sweden, and Swedish and Russian Lapland, that the name of Lap is given to the inhabitants of the country. They were called Lappes by Laxo in the twelfth century; but still the etymology of the. word is thus very obscure, though circumstances seem to favour the supposition that the term Lap was applied to this race of people by their neighbours the Swedes, and hence was transferred to the country which they inhabited. In the old Russian annals they are always styled Lepori, a word most probably of Finnic origin, Finmark, which forms the most northern part of this wild and extensive territory, constitutes one extremity of the kingdom of Norway, to which it now belongs; though doubtless in anċient times it was a separate kingdom, governed by its own sovereigns. Its present boundary on the west is Loppen, the first island in Finmark, and which forms a line between it and the Nordlands, a part of Norway sometimes erroneously confounded with Lapland. On the north-west and north-east it is washed by the Polar Ocean, whilst to the east it is bordered by Russian Lapland, which also, with Nordland, bounds it to the south; the boundary line between the two countries being the river Tana. Its extent from north to south, that is, from the borders of Russian Lapland to the North Cape, is nearly three degrees of latitude; its greatest breadth being from west to east, namely, from the western side of Faroe to the coast above Waranger, near the borders of Russian Lapland. At the eastern extremity of Finmark there is a considerable tract, to which both Norway and Russia lay claim. It lies between the acknowledged boundaries of each of these powers, and being now considered as neutral ground, is free to the Laplander of both countries to hunt and fish in. This district extends a little to the westward of Bugefiord, stretching nearly south to the Enara Lake, where it bends to the east, and afterwards to the north-east, where it joins the coast. Russian Lapland lies to the south and east of the debateable ground above [7:13:104]mentioned. The river Muonio, which for a considerable portion of its early course receives the name of the Köngarnäėlf, constitutes the boundary between Sweden and Russia. The circle of Kola, and the northern part of Eastern Kemi, constituted at one time Russian Lapland; but, by subsequent treaties, two extensive districts, all the Lapmark of Western Kemi, and the greater part of the Lapmark of Torneo, have been ceded to Russia. Thus nearly two thirds of the regions inhabited by the Laplanders are included in the dominions of the emperor of Russia. Swedish Lapland, the most southerly division, occupies the interior part of the country to the west of the river Torneo; the maritime district of Nordland, a portion of Norway, being situated between it and the North Sea. How much of the northern part of Sweden is entitled to be called Swedish Lapland, it is impossible to say. If the arctic circle be taken as the boundary line, only that portion of Sweden called North Bothnia can be considered as belonging to Lapland; but Pitea Lapmark and Umea Lapmark are sometimes mentioned as forming part of the latter country, and these are situated in West Bothnia. The cause of error may be traced to the circumstance of these nomadic tribes frequently inhabiting, at least for a portion of the year, districts of country far down in the interior of Sweden and Norway. Thus, in the latter country, the Roraas Mountains, situated between Christiania and Drontheim, are inhabited, during summer at least, by a family of Laplanders, with the never-failing herd of rein-deer. But the exact boundary line is not very material, as it has reference only to different portions of a tract of country which is under one government.

Lapland is not intersected by alps or very high mountains, as is sometimes asserted; but, from Nordland onwards, the whole region is a table-land, crowned only on its western frontier with a mountainous chain, which forms the extremity of the Scandinavian Alps, and descends from Sulitelma, of which the elevation is 6760 feet, to the height of Norwegian Finmark. These are about 3600 feet high on the continental coast, and nearly 4000 on some islands. The sea-coasţ presents a remarkably bold and rugged, if not magnificent appearance. Mountain is seen piled on mountain in stern grandeur, and white with the snows of ages; and the sublimity of the scene is enhanced by the myriads of islands which are scattered in an extraordinary manner along the Norwegian and Lapland coast, as far as North Cape. Ravines and valleys intersect the interior; the elevation of the highest plains has been estimated at about sixteen hundred feet, but towards the east and the south they descend. Rocks and hills rise from the table-land, varying, to the east of 18° west longitude, from 2000 to 2400 feet above the level of the sea, but only from 500 to 600 feet above their base. These hills are rather isolated groups than a continuous chain; and at twenty leagues to the south of them the streams and rivers separate in different directions between the North Sea and the Bothnian Gulf, and between the Gulfs of Alten and Torneo. The central ridge is supposed to descend without interruption to the entrance of the White Sea, and that part of Lapland consists of extensive marshes, studded with rocks. These have been called the Koelin Mountains, and, strictly speaking, may be said to form one great chain; but the branches which it casts off to the right and to the left, the mountainous isles of Lofoden, which are merely the summits of some of its branches, and the mountains which terminate near Lake Enara in Russian Lapland, entitle it to the name of a group. Other ranges of hills, which traverse Lapland, and are connected with Finland, are lost round the numerous lakes in that country. Sulitelma, already mentioned, is the highest mountain in Lapland. The islands of Waag and Hurd have each heights rising 4264 feet above the level of the sea; and a glacier on the island of Seyland is 4155 feet high. The mineralogical structure of the

Lapland Mountains has not been thoroughly ascertained. Μ. de Buch informs us that the hills which he examined on the higher part of the table-land are composed of granite and gneiss. The latter rock is said to be by far the most abundant in Scandinavia, all the other primitive rocks appearing in some degree subordinate to it. Quartz is very abundant on the island of Mageröe. On the; Dovrefield, and other mountains, it is met with in scattered blocks; but at the North Cape the surface of the ground is wholly covered with it. Μ. de Buch also observed, in an excursion which he made towards the Gulf of Bothnia, a succession of calcareous and schistose rocks. These substances likewise abound in the country between the last-named gulf and that of Kandala. The land is intersected with ravines, but its elevation is inconsiderable. The whole region is supposed to rest on a base of red decomposable granite, or, as it is generally called by the natives, rapakivi. There is abundance of metal found in Lapland, particularly iron, of which whole mountains exist in that part of the country belonging to Sweden. Copper, lead, zinc, silver, and even traces of gold, have been found; but iron ore is the chief mineral treasure of the country, and might assist in introducing cultivation and an extensive trade into this desert portion of Europe, did not the scarcity of timber, and the great difficulty of conveying goods, constitute insuperable obstacles to the working of the mines in the inland and eastern parts of the country, where it would appear to be most abundant. The marshy lands are impregnated with this valuable metal, and in gneiss it occurs, in beds which are sometimes nearly forty feet in thickness. Numerous minerals are found in Lapland; rock crystal in particular is very common, and the inhabitants occasionally dispose of it for amethysts and topazes.

There are numerous lakes and rivers in Lapland. Of the latter, several take their rise in the Koelin Mountains, and flow in various directions into the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Bothnia. The principal rivers of the country are the Tana or Tarna, which takes a north-eastern course through Finmark, and empties itself into a bay or sound of the same name; the Alten or Alata, which is very rapid, forcing its way through the mountains of Finmark in a north-westerly direction, empties itself into a bay of the same name; the Torneo, which issues from a lake so named, and, after being enlarged by a number of streams uniting in one channel and running nearly due south through a long course, falls into the northern extremity of the Bothnian Gulf at Torneo; and the Muonio, which rises from the Killpis Jaure, at the foot of the alpine chain of Norway, is a considerable stream, and constitutes the boundary line between Sweden and Russia, till it unites with the river Torneo, when the latter marks the limits of either country in this quarter. There are also other rivers which take their rise in Lapland, and fall into the Gulf of Bothnia, such as the Lulea, Pitea, Kalix, and others. In Russian Lapland there are several considerable streams, but these have not been so well defined, nor has this part of Lapland been so fully described, as the others. The Kemi takes its rise amongst the Kemi Mountains, situated near the centre of the country, and flows into the Gulf of Bothnia. It has many imposing cataracts, of which the Taival Koski, or the fall of the heavens, is the only one which the adventurous boatmen never attempt to cross. The Passe, or holy stream, is the outlet of the great lake Enara, flowing thence to the Arctic Ocean. The eastern declivities of Russian Lapland are watered by the Panoi, which discharges itself into the White Sea. The Tuloma falls from a great height, enters the lake Kola, which name it afterwards takes, and falls into Kola Bay, on the Arctic Ocean. Besides these, there are numerous other rivers which traverse the country in various directions, and either give rise to lakes, or issue from them. The abundance of [7:13:105]lakes is the most prominent feature of Lapland, as it generally is of all countries situated in such latitudes. Sometimes these sheets of water occur singly, sometimes in chains, and many of them are of considerable size; but there exists such a confusion of nomenclature, that it is difficult to distinguish one from another, and apply to each its proper designation.^[1. Much confusion exists regarding the names of places and things in Lapland, and every writer must experience difficulty and be exposed to error in describing any portion or feature of that country or its inhabitants. Mountains, lakes, and rivers have frequently, indeed in almost every instance, more than a single appellation assigned to them; so that what is called by one name in any given work, will be found described under another designation in every other. This is particularly the case with regard to rivers, which, from their source to the sea, sometimes change their names two or three times. ] Very often the rivers, such as the Muonio, become so broad in some parts, as often, to assume the appearance of lakes, and there is little doubt they have occasionally been so termed. The most considerable lakes are, the Enara, in Russian Lapland, which is about forty miles in length by sixteen in breadth; the Imandra, which has an elevation of four hundred feet above the level of the sea, and is discharged into the Gnlf of Kandala; the Biggi Lobee, and Biggi Jaure, one or other of which, Sir Capel Brooké supposes, is that designated by Von Buch the Jess Jaure; and many others which do not require to be enumerated. Besides these inland bodies of water, the shores are indented by extensive fiords or arms of the sea, which frequently run thirty, or even forty miles into the heart of the country.

Finmark and Swedish Lapland, including all the modern provinces belonging to Russia, have been carefully examined by Wahlenberg and De Buch, and the vegetable kingdom distinguished into six zones, concentric with the Gulf of Bothnia, each differing from the others in climate and productions. The first or lower region of the forests rises from the level of the sea to the height of five hundred feet, forming a zone generally eighty miles in breadth; and here the spruce and Scotch fir abound. The second is higher and colder than the first, rising from five hundred to eight hundred feet, and being generally only from six to eight miles in breadth. This portion has been denominated the upper region of the forests, and here the Scotch fir is still found, but the other plants disappear. The third is higher than any of the preceding, rising from 800 to 1200 feet, and for the most part about twelve miles in breadth, excepting at one place, where this becomes very great. The fir here is rarely seen, but pines are abundant. The fourth or subalpine region, rising from 1200 to 1800 feet, is a zone of about the same dimensions as the preceding, and contains birch, but coniferous trees do not grow there. The fifth is called the alpine region, or the country of the dwarf birch; and the sixth, which is the highest and most northern of all, varies in breadth according as it is indented by the sea. It is the region of perpetual congelation and eternal snow, producing no trees, and scarcely any vegetation whatever. The vegetable scale in Norwegian Lapland has been marked by Von Buch. The following table is intended for seventy degrees of north latitude :—Limit of the red pines, 730 feet; of the birch, 1483; of the vaccinium myrtillus, 1908; of the dwarf birch, 2576; of the Salix myrsinites, 2908; of the salix lanata, 3100; and of perpetual snow, 3300. The species of plants which constitute the Flora Laponica are not numerous, but they abound in individuals, and the vegetation here is decidedly superior to that of the other countries round the Frozen Ocean. Mosses and lichens cover the plains and rocks which are elevated more than a thousand feet; and were the inhabitants more industrious, these might be rendered useful as dye-stuffs. The rein-deer’s lichen is of a bright yellow colour, which, however, is fugitive, the yellow giving place to white as the plant dries or withers. The mosses and lichens constitute the food of the cattle, and from a species of the latter a wholesome and nutritious flour is extracted. The rocky country is the region of these cryptogamia. The rubus chamoemorus, and the vaccinium myrtillus, occur in the neighbourhood of the extensive marshes; but reeds or aquatic plants are found on the banks of lakes or rivers. A plain surrounded by rocks, and covered with moss and other alpine herbage, forms a Lapland meadow. Rein-deer moss is quite indispensable to the Laplander’s herd. It is hardly to be met with on the Finmark coast, but on the continent it is found in abundance, though not so plentifully as in the interior parts. It thrives best in a flat extent of low ground, consisting of morass or forest well saturated with moisture. On this account Finmark, which is rocky and mountainous, does not abound so greatly in this moss as the level plains and morasses of Russian Lapland, where it grows in the greatest profusion, immense tracts of country being wholly covered with it. Of trees, twenty-six kinds have been enumerated, including the salices. There are no less than nineteen species of willows; the others consist of Scotch and spruce fir, birch, alder, poplar, mountain ash, and bird cherry. Apples, pears, plums, and cherries, scarcely grow at all, although carefully cultivated; but considerable varieties of berries are spontaneously produced, amongst which are black currants, and raspberries of an exquisite fragrance. It may be stated, that in Swedish Lapland the vegetable productions bear a nearer resemblance to those of Siberia than the plants of the western part of Lapland, which, towards the sea, are analogous to those of Scotland and Iceland. The most abundant indigenous vegetables are the sorrel, which is prized on account of its antiscorbutic properties; the angelica, a highly-relished article of food; and the lichen rangiferinus, the staple of the rein-deer during winter. Towards the south are gardens in which the vegetables of the temperate zone are cultivated; and various flowers, including roses, carnations, and the like, also adorn these enclosures. Potatoes reach the size of poppy-heads (those of Finmark are very sweet, and of a waxy consistency); French beans, broad beans, and tobacco, where care is taken with it, are raised, but neither peas nor white cabbage come to perfection.

With respect to the climate and vegetable productions of Alten, Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke observes, “in speaking of its horticulture, it might be supposed that the produce of a country under the latitude of 70° would be extremely scanty. This, however, is not the case. Most kinds of vegetables succeed perfectly well, and are cultivated in sufficient abundance for the wants of the inhabitants.” This traveller then proceeds to mention the cultivation of the potato, which is raised to some extent in Finmark.

Most of the wild animals common to Nouway and Sweden are found in Lapland. Bears are numerous; and though the rein-deer evades destruction by the rapidity of its flight, yet cows, goats, and sheep frequently fall victims to their rapacity. These animals are extremely partial to a certain kind of berry which is abundant in the country; but they likewise feed on grass. Wolves and foxes arc plentiful, and the former are likewise very destructive to the tame animals; the skins of the latter are much prized in the north of Europe. The glutton, which is strongly furnished with teeth, as well as very sharp [7:13:106]nails, is common; and its skin, on account of a white shining streak with which the neck is marked, is held in great estimation. In the woods the glutton frequently surprises the rein-deer, by suddenly descending upon it from the branch of a tree, and killing it by mangling the neck with its teeth. Otters of different kinds, ermines, a species of white weasel, squirrels whose skins are beautiful and much valued, the mus lemmis, a species of marmot peculiar to the country, and field-mice in vast numbers, are all natives of these high latitudes. The beaver is found in some parts, but seldom on the rivers. The wool and the skin of this animal are marketable commodities. Hares are bred in great numbers; and they are distinguished by the striking peculiarity of changing their colour from gray to white during winter. Coverlets are made from their skins. There are three species of martens found; the steen-maar, which inhabits the rocks; the birfe-niaar, which makes the birch-tree thicket its home; and the furr-niaar, which haunts the fir-trees. There are said to be a few elks, but of wild rein-deer the number is very great. From these to the individuals of the race which have been domesticated, the transition is natural. The most valuable part of a Laplander’s possessions, and the chief object of his care, is the rein-deer. It unites in itself the best qualities of almost every other animal which has been found essential to the comfort of man in other countries to which it is a stranger, being at once the horse, the cow, the sheep, and the stag of Lapland. Its milk is so rich as to require being diluted before it is used. Its flesh is superior to that of the sheep; and, from its tractability and natural power of endurance, it drags the sledge of the Laplander with extraordinary speed and perfect safety over the desolate and chilling regions of snow which he inhabits. It is, moreover, easily maintained, finding its food, the favourite moss which goes by its name, amongst the frozen wastes during winter with perfect ease. These animals are-also said to feed on frogs, snakes, and mountain-rats, and to be very partial to human urine, which they lick up with avidity whenever it comes within their reach. But the possession of this invaluable quadruped is very uncertain, for the wandering herds sometimes disperse themselves in the woods, from which it is difficult for the shepherd to dislodge them. They are, besides, not easily milked, and yield but a small quantity at a time, so that a large flock is necessary before the head of a family can be supplied with a sufficiency of food and milk. In shape they resemble stags; and their hair, at first gray, becomes blanched before it falls off". They cast their horns annually; those of the male are often two feet and a half in length, and their points are frequently as far asunder. They are generally four feet in height from the foot to the top of the back; and the length from the shoulder to the tail is two feet. A crackling noise is heard when they walk, which is asserted by some writers to result from the hoofs striking together when the foot is raised, but there are other opinions upon this subject.

The rein-deer is subject to various diseases from which other animals appear to be exempt, and during summer they are attacked by the cestms tarandi, a large kind of bee, whose eggs, deposited in the skin, produce ulcerations not unfrequently destructive to the fawns. This great enemy of the rein-deer will pursue it for many miles; and in hot weather the Laplander takes a journey of some hundred miles to the sea-coast, principally for the purpose of avoiding its attacks. The cestrus nasalis, another tormentor of the rein-deer, makes small punctures within the nostrils, and there deposits its eggs. It is a singular fact, observed by Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke, that the rein-deer increases in size the farther north it is found. Cows, sheep, goats, and horses, have been naturalized in Lapland; but the management of these animals, together with other particulars regarding the rein-deer, we will afterwards have occasion to recur to.

Of birds there are many found in Lapland which are unknown in other countries, such as the Lapland woodcock, the Swedish mock-bird or nightingale, called, from its melodious notes, “the bird of an hundred tunes,” together with a peculiar species of the owl, magpie, woodpecker, woodcock, and others of the feathered races. Flocks of birds of passage resort to Lapland during summer for the purpose of breeding, amongst which may be enumerated the eagle and falcon tribe, owls larger than common, and occasionally white, crows or rooks in great numbers, ravens, partridges, large bustards, magpies, pigeons, plovers, ptarmigans, swans, wild geese, eider ducks, cocks of the wood, varieties of grouse, curlews, and various other feathered frequenters of the field or lake. Only a very few species of birds remain during winter, there being little subsistence for them in such chilly wastes of snow and ice. Common frogs and lizards are the only amphibious animals found. No venomous animal is to be met with in Lapland, but insects are in hot weather as numerous and annoying as in tropical climes. Besides the two already mentioned, the interior forests of Lapland swarm with gnats, which attack both man and beast with the greatest fury. The rivers abound in excellent salmon, and the lakes in perch, pike, trout, char, and other fish. The seas are also well replenished with the finny tribes, such as cod, tusk, and ling; and whales, particularly that species called the fin whale, so difficult to be captured, abound upon the Lapland coast. These enormous animals are very plentiful about Cape North; and Sir Arthur Capel Brooke was informed by the Laplanders that they are extremely partial to cows and horses, and will pursue a boat in which these are until they are landed.

The climate of Lapland is of course very cold, but it is milder than that of any other region on the same parallel, the coasts of Siberia, for instance. The temperature of the air is regulated by the height above the level of the sea, and the distance from the Gulf of Bothnia, and may be divided into two regions, the inland and the maritime. It may be laid down as a principle which generally holds true, that in the former the winter is severe and the suminer ι hot, whilst in the latter the winter is comparatively mild and the summer cold. An open and ever agitated sea is one great cause of the mildness of temperature which is experienced on the northern coasts of Finmark; but the maritime climate is much colder on the other side of Cape North, and the harbours on the coast of Eastern Lapland are sometimes blocked up in the middle of June. In the inland parts the summer is short; but in the sixty-six days during which there is no night, the crops are sown, ripened, and reaped. At this time the enlivening songs of birds are heard, and the earth is in some places covered with flowers. There is no darkness, and the coolness of evening is never felt. The heat is thus very oppressive, particularly in confined places, such as valleys. At this time insects are exceedingly troublesome. Acerbi, a traveller in Sweden and Lapland, found the degree of heat fifty-two of Fahrenheit in the shade, and eighty-one in the sun. The ground was so hot as to give uneasiness to the feet, whilst it oppressed the lungs; and the shrubs which were met with at distant intervals afforded little or no shelter to the traveller. In various parts of Lapland the days during summer are in brightness, geniality, and sereneness, equal to those of more propitious latitudes, and both delightful and healthy. Von Buch found the mean temperature of the month of July nearly sixty-three degrees at Altengaard, in north latitude sixty-nine degrees. In winter the cold is so excessive, that mercury, and even brandy, frequently freeze [7:13:107]in the open air. All the lakes] and rivers are covered with ice of great thickness, and the whole face of nature is buried beneath a sheet of snow several feet in depth. During the winter solstice the sun continues seven consecutive weeks below the horizon, when only a partial twilight prevails; but this “darkness visible” is to a considerable extent compensated by the superior brightness of the moon and stars, and the vivid beams of the aurora borealis, the light of all these luminaries being augmented by the whiteness of the snow, which keeps up a perpetual reflection from the earth’s surface. Thunder storms sometimes occur during the depth of winter. When a thaw comes on, the atmosphere is filled with vapours; but during the prevalence of the north wind the air is clear and the sky is serene.

Vegetation depending more upon the heat of summer than the cold of winter, Enontekis is superior to the North Cape in bringing the productions of the ground to maturity, notwithstanding that the mean temperature is lower, because the heat during the summer is higher at the former than at the latter place. The covering of snow here also, as elsewhere, serves to retain the heat which the earth has imbibed during the warmer months, and preserves it in a better state for vegetation. At Enontekis the snow continues on the ground from October till May, whilst at the North Cape, being open to the sea-breezes, it is exposed to frequent thaws; nor is it likely, under such circumstances, it can ever lie so deep. On some of the inland elevations, particularly in Finmark, if the summer be very cold, it lies during the whole year, and entirely prevents vegetation from making its appearance, with the exception of some of the cryptogamia.

The soil of Lapland is generally sterile. The greater part of the country is covered with rocks or moss, or gravelly plains, or a kind of turf composed of mosses decayed by the frost, and impregnated with standing water. There are a few tracts of tolerable soil, especially in the more southern districts. The agriculture of Lapland is hence very trifling, for the soil yields but a very inadequate return for the labour which the hardy native bestows upon it; and in general he finds a more ready means of supplying himself with what he requires, by barter with the Russians. The following quotation, however, from Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke, presents a more favourable view of the climate and its productions than might have been anticipated. After mentioning the culture of the potato, already alluded to, and which is likely to be very beneficial to the country, as rendering it less dependent upon Russia for a supply of bread corn, he proceeds: “To this it may be added, that barley and rye are cultivated to some extent in parts of Finmark, particularly at Alten, although no agriculture is carried farther north; and this circumstance alone would induce us to form no unfavourable opinion of the climate of a place situated near four degrees beyond the polar circle. The Scotch fir, too, reaches Talvig in seventy degrees; and the moltebaer (rubus cliamcemorus') flourishes to the very verge of the North Cape, in 71.10.15. where the winter night is ten weeks in length.”

Much obscurity veils the origin and early history of the inhabitants of Lapland. The Samoyedes, Esquimaux, Greenlanders, and Laplanders, appear to have been originally the same people. The more immediate ancestors of the latter were probably the ancient Finns, for the description which Ptolemy and Tacitus give of the Finni exactly corresponds to that of the highland Laplanders of the present day. We have already stated that the term Lap is only applied to them by Swedes and strangers. In their own language, the country, and Finmark itself, is called Same Edman, whilst the people are designated by the word Samlash. Thus a Norwegian Laplander, who is called by the Swedes and Norwegians Norsh Lap, would be in their tongue Dadz Samlash ; a Swedish Laplander (Swensk Lap), Lade Samlash; and a Russian Laplander (Russisk Lap), Ruosh Samlash. Much confusion takes place regarding this nomadic race, for one day they may receive the name of Laplanders, and the next that of Finns, as they chance to wander either into the territories of Norway, or into those of Sweden. And there is another cause of error, arising from there being a race of people inhabiting Finmark, quite distinct from the Laplanders. These people are called Quans; they are Finlanders who have naturalized themselves in some parts of Lapland, but at what time they settled in the country has by no means been well ascertained. It is, however, perfectly certain that all over Finland, Nordland, and parts of Swedish and Russian Lapland, they are and have ever been distinguished by the name of Quans. The native of Finmark is considered as the most genuine specimen of the singular race which is generally designated by the term Laplanders. The circumstances in which he is placed have secured to him for centuries past, and will for centuries to come, a sort of rude independence. Born amongst barren mountains, to which agriculture can never be extended, there is nothing to tempt power to usurp his dominions, or circumscribe his liberty, with the feeling of which he is strongly impressed, as well as with a distaste for the restraints of civilized life. The Finmark Laps have been divided into two classes, the fishing or shore Laplanders, and the rein-deer or highland Laplanders. From their different habits of life, there is a marked distinction between the two; and there is yet another class of poorer Laplanders, who are numerous in all parts of Swedish and Russian Lapland. These are called Shogslapper, or wood Laps, dwelling almost entirely· in the wooded parts of the country, their herds of deer being too small to enable them to live in the mountains, and trust to them alone for subsistence. They live in tents during summer; but when winter sets in they construct a more durable habitation, composed of sods, somewhat resembling the gammies or huts of the coast Laps. In the latter season they are stationary, and subsist partly on their rein-deer, but more on game and wild animals, which are abundant, and the constant pursuit of which renders them very expert at the rifle.

This kind of Laplander is unknown in Finmark, the country being mountainous, and nearly destitute of forests. The mountain Laps of the latter country are for the most part wild and savage, both in appearance and habits. They exhibit a degree of haughtiness and proud independence of spirit, which is wanting in individuals of the race who inhabit the plains of Russian Lapland or the shores of the northern coast. Until softened by a present, they are surly and morose in disposition; and their suspiciousness of temper detracts much from any hospitality which is apparent in them. The stranger must therefore remove this natural mistrust of the Lap before he can expect to receive from him any attention; and brandy, above all things, is the most potent softener of his feelings. This, or a present of tobacco, is so efficacious as to render him quite a different person, and willing to perform any service to the donor.

The dress of the mountain Laplander of Finmark does not materially differ from that of the inhabitants of other parts of Lapland. In winter they are entirely clothed in rein-deer skins, consisting of a ρcesh, or frock of rein-deer fur, or, what is more common, a muadda or sheep-skin garment. This is belted up by the leathern girdle (lrnagan), to which is suspended the knife, the tobacco pouch, and shooting apparatus when they follow the chase. The first is a long knife, not unlike that of a butcher, the handle of birch root, and the blade of great substance and strength.
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The driving paesk is composed of the thickest and best skins his deer afford; and, as a further protection whilst travelling, a broad bear-skin tippet covers the shoulders, and reaches nearly as low as the elbows. The lower part of the dress consists of the baellinger, a sort of loose spatterdashes or leggins, which, being drawn over a pair of long, loose deer-skin pantaloons, reach from the ancles high up the thigh. These are whole, and fastened or tightened at the top by a running string, and covered over at the bottom by the shallhomager, or high rein-deer shoes, and the homager baand, which is a long, narrow band, going several times round the ancle, keeping the whole tight together, and preventing the possibility of any snow from getting in; for the upper parts of the baellinger are of course covered by the paesk, which, when girded up, 1 reaches just below the knees, but, when loose, falls down nearly to the ground. In summer, the heat of the weather compels them to make an alteration in their dress, and the rein-deer paesk is exchanged for a round frock of wadmal cloth. Thisp ’ αp, pe or summer froek, which is generally made of the skins of young deer, extends below the knees. On the head is worn a small low cloth cap (gappir), turned up all round, with a facing of fine rein-deer fur. No shirt is worn next the skin, linen being a luxury with which the Laplanders are entirely unacquainted. The use of stockings is likewise unknown, but a substitute is found in the soft dried grass called sena, with which the shoes are well stuffed. The hands are protected by reindeer gloves, or rather mittens, being without fingers, but stuffed with the same kind of grass as the shoes. Almost every part of the winter dress of the Laplander is thus furnished by the useful animal which is the companion of his wanderings. The paesk is made from the whole hide of the deer killed during winter; the baellinger and gloves, of the skin covering the legs and thighs of the animal; and the shoes are taken from the skin between the horns, and covering the crown of the head. The fur is worn on the outside, and, from the peculiar closeness and thickness of its texture, it is impossible for the cold to penetrate it. Every part of a Laplander’s dress is worn loose, and thus the blood is allowed to circulate freely, an advantage which could not be enjoyed were the clothes tight on the skin. The dress of the coast Laplander is entirely similar to that of the mountaineer, except that when the weather is not warm, he usually wears a sheepskin garment called muadda ; and the wool being next the skin, it is rendered nearly as warm as the rein-paesk, though this also he commonly wears in winter. The former, however, being the produce of bis own flock, and made up by himself, is naturally in more general use. The rein-deer skins are obtained by barter from the highland Laplanders, and being made into garments by the inhabitants of the coast, who are expert at this kind of work, are again sold or exchanged for silver money, or the necessaries they may require. The women have some skill in embroidery, and collars and cuffs of the wadmal dresses, both male and female, exhibit their taste in the art of adorning. The dress of the females very much resembles that of the men. In winter a frock or paesk of sheep-skin, worn with the woolly part inside, is bound to the waist by a belt, to which a small knife is suspended. In summer the sheep-skin frock is exchanged for one of wadmal cloth. The cap is sometimes made of various kinds of cloth, and it is usually encircled by a ribbon. The fondness of these people for anything gaudy is very conspicuous in their summer dress, for the necessities of winter compel them to keep it more unvaried. During the hot months the Lapland costume is very picturesque, from the variety of colours combined in it. It is then, particularly on the sabbalh-day and on holidays, that he shows his pride, by making his appearance in all the finery that his means will afford. The usual colour of his hoften or daily froek is white, with several edgings of blue and red cloth round the bottom and euffs, but his Sunday garment is of a more ornamental nature, and frequently of thin cloth, richly embroidered in party colours round the euffs and collars. In some parts of Lapland kostens of black cloth are met with, and those that are wealthy sometimes array themselves in scarlet ones. On extraordinary occasions, other parts of their dress are also of a finer nature than what is commonly worn. As may be supposed, even the best species of cloth which finds its way to these regions, is of a very inferior quality; it is chiefly of German manufacture, although cotton from England is also found here. Those of the women who can afford it, adorn their persons with rings, and ribbons of the gayest colours flutter around their bonnets. Like the Greenlanders, and other inhabitants of high latitudes, females wear pantaloons like the men, a practice which was in all probability had recourse to for personal comfort, in regions where open garments would have unnecessarily exposed the body to the cold. It may be mentioned, that the dresses of the families of the merchants who live on the coast are very superior, in point of elegance, to the garments of the native Laplanders.

The difference of character between the highland and coast Laplander has already been adverted to. The former is known by his haughty expression of countenance, and proud independence of demeanour. The more domestic habits of l’ζfe of the coast Laplander, render him a more quiet and inoffensive being, and give to his features a milder and a somewhat vacant expression. Speaking of the Laplanders in general, they must be considered as a diminutive race, though not such pigmies as is commonly supposed. The Norwegian Laplander is superior in stature to the rest of the race, and this difference is probably to be attributed to the freer and purer air of his mountains ιendering him more hardy and robust. The average height of the highland Laplander may be considered as varying from five feet to five feet two inches. They sometimes, but very rarely, exceed this stature. The characteristic features of the race are small elongated eyes, high cheek-bones, wide mouth, and a pointed chin, with little or no beard. Their hair is generally brown, or dark coloured. Their bodies, from their habits, are naturally spare, and devoid of corpulence, though in general they are ill made. They are bony and muscular, possessing greater strength than their stature would seem to indicate, active, and capable of enduring almost any fatigue. Their hands and feet are remarkably small; their voice is weak, and its tones have a squeaking effect upon the ear of a foreigner. In their moral character the Laplanders exhibit some marked peculiarities. Their passions partake of the torpor of the climate, and flow m a slow, cool, and regular course, unbroken by those sudden ebullitions and transports which characterize the men of warmer latitudes. Love, or the amatory feeling, is but a lingering spark, only sufficient to answer the purposes of nature. They possess in a remarkable degree the virtue of contineney, and the conjugal relation is rarely or never violated, although both their parental and filial affections are weak. Anger and bloodthirstiness are unknown to them; and Sir A. Capel Brooke found, in 1823, that x during the space of twenty years, only one murder had been committed in Finmark. Although they are generally cautious, mistrustful, and suspicious, especially of strangers, as well as cunning in their commercial dealings, yet theft is almost unknown amongst them. The absence of this vice is proved by the fact, that locks, bolts, and other safe-guards, are considered as unnecessary appendages to a door. They have been accused of avarice, but without any just reason; for whatever strictness they may [7:13:109] observe in bargain-making does not arise from a wish to hoard up money, but that they may be more bountifully supplied with their favourite beverage, brandy, of which they are excessively fond. Drunkenness is not only common, but may be said to constitute a feature of their character. In temper the coast Laplander is of a kinder nature than the mountaineer, and he is more inclined to hospitality, although this virtue is by no means very conspicuous in either. They are generally passive, without much courage, and altogether of a very peaceable and inoffensive disposition. They now exhibit little of a warlike spirit, although in former ages they were frequently the cause of terror to the Norwegians. Notwithstanding their cbriety, health is a blessing which the inhabitant of Lapland enjoys in a high degree. They were formerly addicted to degrading superstitions; and the witchcraft in particular which was exercised amongst them has passed into a proverb. Milton alludes to this circumstance when he speaks of dancing “with Lapland witches.” They were famous for their empire over the winds, which they disposed of in bags to the credulous mariners. In performing their infernal rites, the instrument used was the magical drum, by beating which as an accompaniment to other ceremonies, they fancied they had the power of foretelling future events, curing diseases, and exorcising evil spirits. Their mythology was distinguished by an universal idolatry, in which the elements were typified, and a polytheism, by which every object in nature was changed into a god. But on these wild creations of the human mind in a state of ignorance and barbarism it is unnecessary to dwell. The rites by which the worship of their deities and idols were celebrated are now unknown, being supplanted by those which have their origin in the milder and purer genius of Christianity.

The habitations of the Laplanders now demand description. The mountaineers live in tents, which differ in no respect in summer and winter, and are of very simple construction. They arc formed by six beams of wood rising in a pyramidal form, and meeting nearly at the top, covered with thick and coarse cloth, a flap of which, left loose between two of the beams, constitutes the door. The height of the tent is generally about six feet, and the w hole circumferenco of the inside seldom exceeds fifteen or eighteen feet. The floor is strewed with rein-deer skins, having the hair upwards, and which thus serve for either lying or sitting on, the tent being too low to permit of the occupants assuming the erect posture, except in one place. A stone frame is made in the middle for t the fire, and there is a hole at the top to which the smoke must find its way; but its speedy egress is by no means considered as necessary to comfort. The fumes thickly impregnate the whole tent, as well as “all which it inhabit ;” a species of japanning highly valued, as affording a protection in winter against the cold, and in summer against the swarms of musquitocs. Cabined and confined in this limited domicil, it is here that the Laplanders, seated on their heels in the manner of the eastern nations, or squat like toads, spend in all the beatitude of idleness the moments which they can spare from their pastoral avocations. The different provisions are kept in boxes attached to the stakes; and boxes are ranged on the inside round the cloth or covering; but these precautions are often unavailing against the impetuosity of the blast, whilst the thinness of the tent naturally exposes the inmates to the severity of the weather. In regard to habitation, the shore Laplanders have a decided superiority over those of the mountains. The gammie or hut of the former is usually about five feet in height. It is generally of a circular or oblong form, having the appearance of a large rounded hillock, which name it may be said to deserve, being composed of turf laid on branches of the birch, and supported underneath by a wooden frame-work of Stronger materials, to bear the weight of the whole. The entrance is by a low, narrow-passage, at the extremity of which is the door communicating with the part inhabited. Around them are generally enclosures for the cattle, and several racks of coarse fodder for their winter food. The farming stock of the coast Laplander consists of a few sheep, and sometimes a cow or two, which are kept in the enclosure during the summer 44 season, and in winter occupy the same buildings with their owner, being supported during the latter partly by the coarse fodder which he has been able to collect, but chiefly by the remnant of his fishing produce.

Necessity has rendered the highland Laplander a wanderer, and habit has made that mode of life a second nature to him. It is upon the rein-deer that he almost entirely, if not altogether, depends for subsistence; and hence their welfare is the chief object of his care, in promoting which he is compelled annually to take long journeys to the seashore for the purpose of avoiding the attacks of insects. His habits of life arc thus in a great measure formed; and the year is divided between his abode on the mountains and his migrations to the coast, whilst his life as a whole consists of the extremes of bodily fatigue and total inaction, plenty and want. When he is hungry, and has the power of gratifying his appetite without restraint, he is perfectly ravenous, and devours a quantity sufficient to support him for several days. Those who inhabit high latitudes, where subsistence is precarious at certain seasoná, seem all to have a remarkable capacity of stomach, and to be capable of eating an enormous quantity at a meal, so as to serve them for five or six days, without being annoyed by the load. The necessities of their situation have compelled them to practise this frequently, and custom has rendered it easy. The Laplander’s household economy, it may readily be imagined, is simple in the extreme. His food during the period of his summer rambles is spare and frugal, and without any indulgence in rein-deer venison, his favourite food and the luxury of the winter season. In sum ∙ mer he is intent only on increasing the number of his flock, and on providing against his future wants. He contents himself then generally with milk, and the remains of the curd and whey after making his cheese. The first is taken sparingly, on account of the small quantity which a single deer yields, as well as of the great importance it is to him to secure a good quantity of cheese for his winter stock, and to guard against any disaster that might befal his herd and reduce him to want. As he milks his herd during the summer season only, when this approaches a close, some milk is generally preserved for the purpose of being frozen. This serves not only for his own individual use during the winter, but, being highly prized for its exquisite delicacy in this state, it constitutes an article of trade; and the merchants with whom the Laplander deals, and who then repair to the interior, gladly purchase it at any price. Though the rein-deer milk is thus of a very rich quality, yet the .cheese made from it is extremely bad, and unpalateable to any one but a native. It is made by simply placing the milk in a large iron pot over the fire, which, with the addition of rennet made from the stomach of the deer, quickly coagulates. The curd is then pressed, and the whey, being separated from it, is put into shallow moulds of about the size of a small plate. Bad as it is, the hardy Laplander is very partial to it both raw and roasted; in the latter state it appears at the tables of the merchants, and is rather more eatable than when unprepared. When heated, an oily juice exudes from it, which is found of great use in removing the effects arising from being frost-bitten. Butter is seldom it ever made of rein-deer nmk by the Laplanders, but it is so by the Finland settlers, who in many parts of Lapland keep herds of rein-deer, the colour of which, it is said, is peculiarly white. The Laplanders sometimes vary [7:13:110]their dishes by mixing different kinds of wild berries with the whey, the latter being previously boiled till it acquires some degree of consistency. They are no less fond of the roots of the angelica, which has an agreeable taste, and likewise possesses antiscorbutic properties. Much value is set upon the blood of the rein-deer, from which a variety of dishes is prepared, care being always taken to preserve it when the animal is killed. It is also supposed to possess antiscorbutic properties. Those who reside upon the coast subsist chiefly on fish, with a little beef and mutton occasionally. The furniture consists of horn spoons, pots and kettles made of brass or copper, and sometimes of stone, wooden bowls capable of holding about twelve quarts, a basket for holding cheese, and a barrel for oil and other liquids. Some of the richer natives possess the more showy utensils, such as pewter plates, and spoons of silver. The highland Laplanders obtain all the artificial light which they require from the fire alone, but those on the coast use a rude sort of lamp. One or two shelves for cheese run along the upper part of the house; and a few rennet bags, containing the milk for winter use, are suspended from the roof. Oval fir boxes, answering for panniers, are employed in transporting their goods; two of them, weighing about two pounds each, are carried by one rein-deer. The most ornamental article of furniture is the cradle, which is a piece of wood hollowed out, and having a recess for receiving the head of the child, and being provided with cords, by which it is fastened to the mother’s back when she travels. In shape it somewhat resembles the sledge, with the lower part open, and the upper protected by an arched covering made of leather, which shelters the head of the infant. It is stuffed with soft moss, is portable and safe, and, when slung on the back, the head of the child appears above the shoulders of the mother, whose hands are left at liberty, and who is otherwise little incommoded by her burden in travelling.

The herds of the Laplanders vary much in size, and this circumstance constitutes their riches or poverty. He who has 1000 rein-deer is accounted rich, though instances are by no means rare of one individual possessing 1500 or 2000 animals of this description. With three hundred a family may live in tolerable comfort, but with one hundred subsistence is precarious, and fifty reduces a Laplander to the state of a menial. He is no longer independent and able to keep a separate establishment, but generally joins his herd to that of a richer proprietor, whom he serves in the capacity of a servant, milking and tending the herd. Sometimes when thus reduced he migrates to the sea-coast, where he supports himself by fishing or otherwise. If successful in his efforts, he returns, purchases a herd, and resumes his pastoral habits. It more generally happens, however, that having once become a coast Laplander, he remains so to the last,i i being naturally too thoughtless and improvident to carry his views beyond the exigencies of the moment. Should the herd of the mountain Laplander be at all numerous, it rarely happens that the possessor is aware of the exact number, there being a superstition prevalent amongst them, that counting the flock, like numbering the heads of the Israelites, will be attended with evil. During the day they are allowed to wander over the hills where they please, but watched by a shepherd, who observes their motions, and is assisted in his duties by several dogs. These are in readiness not only to guard against any attack of wolves, but also to prevent the herd from being too widely dispersed, and to assist in bringing them to the fold in the evening to be milked. After they are brought into this enclosure, and secured by a cord attached to the horns, and held either in the hands, or fastened to some shrub, the women bring their bowls from the tent, and proceed in the operation in the usual way. Many of the deer are very refractory whilst this is going on, and, butting with their horns, not unfrequently overthrow the female in attendance. The Laplander justly sets a very high value upon his dogs, the services of which are invaluable. The breed is remarkable for the smallness of its size, resembling the arctic fox in every thing but colour.

The employment of the highland Laplander may be said to be entirely confined to the care of his deer; and when not actively engaged in tending them, he most frequently stretches himself in his tent in a state of listless ease, or amuses himself by fashioning a rein-deer’s horn into a spoon. But this monotony is occasionally broken by a hunting excursion, in which he pursues the bear and other animals. Ptarmigans, foxes, gluttons, martens, and other animals, he either shoots, or catches by means of traps and snares. He has several kinds of sledges, both for the conveyance of himself and of his effects. The pulk, which is intended for the use of merchants and other travellers, in form resembles a boat, and is about seven feet in length by sixteen inches in breadth, and generally about eight inches in depth, the back board or stern part being about sixteen. The head of the pulk comes to a point like a canoe; the stern is flat, and the bottom or keel convex. Above it has an oval half deck in front, covered with seal-skins. This is the close pulk; the open sledge wants the deck, but its general dimensions are similar to the other, and it is made, like it, of birch wood, although of ruder construction, and finished with less care. For the conveyance of goods, there is another open sledge of much larger dimensions, being about eight or nine feet in length, and of proportionate breadth. One deer is sufficient for a sledge, to which it is attached by a very simple harness, consisting of a collar of rein-deer fur for the neck, a trace which passes between the legs of the deer, and through a broad belly-band of cloth fastened round the body of the deer. There is of course a bridle and rein, and round the neck is a loose band of cloth, to which a bell is suspended, the sound serving to keep the party together. Although the difficulty of preserving the equilibrium of the pulk is at first very great, yet, so expert is the Laplander in guiding it, that the chief accidents that happen to him in his winter expeditions arise either from losing his way, or being caught by snow-storms or snow-drifts. Without these convenient vehicles it would be impossible to traverse a country so rugged and broken as Lapland, and even with this advantage as to locomotion, the difficulty is very great. The speed with which the animal travels is remarkable, ten miles an hour being easily accomplished at a trot, and probably double that space at a gallop. In the interior parts of Lapland travelling is suspended during summer, roads being unknown here; and it is only in winter that, by the aid of this invaluable animal, the country can be traversed. In some parts of Lapland, rein-deer have been made available for agricultural purposes, such as ploughing and harrowing; but this only happens when the proprietor is very poor. They are likewise employed during the winter season in drawing bay and fodder loaded upon trays. The Laplanders, especially those of Finmark, have a mode of travelling by means of the skie or snow-skait. It is made of wood, is very narrow, but frequently more than seven feet in length. In many parts of Lapland the greatest use made of them is in pursuit of wild rein-deer, and the other animals with which the country abounds. With -these he makes rapid progress, and undertakes very long journeys without any other means of locomotion.

Various reasons induce the mountaineer to repair to the coast during the summer season. First, that his herd of deer may escape the gad-fly, with which, in June, July, and August, the rein-deer are much tormented; and secondly, to sell or barter the disposable commodities which he has collected during winter. These consist of the skins and horns of the deer which he has killed for the support of [7:13:111]his family during winter; and the skins of other animals which he has succeeded in capturing, such as the bear, fox, glutton, and marten, and the feathers of the ptarmigans which he has shot or ensnared. All these are valuable articles of commerce to him; and, by bartering them with the merchants of the coast, he is enabled to procure others that are necessary to his comfort in winter, such as coarse cloth, meal, gunpowder, and tobacco. It is also a matter of belief with the Laplander that it is absolutely necessary to the existence of his rein-deer, that they should once during the summer drink salt water; and this forms another and a very strong inducement for him to visit the coast. The deer eagerly drink salt water, and the draught is said to be efficacious in destroying the larvae of the gadfly, which lays its eggs in the hide of the animal previously to quitting the forest. The annual migration of the Laplander commences in June, by which time the snow is generally off the ground, and consequently his mode of travelling is no longer in sledges. These, with all his winter necessaries, are left behind him in his summer expedition, and he commonly deposits them in the storehouse which almost every highland Laplander possesses, near his church, in the neighbourhood of which he generally remains during the winter. The distance which he has to travel varies according to the situation of the coast to which he is bound, but sometimes exceeds three hundred miles. Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke, speaking of migrations, observes, “the Swedish Laplanders that repair to the coasts of Tromsöe and Senjen belong chiefly to Tornea Lapmark, inhabiting the shores of the Tornea Trask. These parts are also the resort of those from Enontekis, in Russian Lapland. The Laplanders from the other Lapmarks make for other parts of the Norwegian coasts which are nearest to them; and, though the distance may be less, they do not, I believe, ever bend their steps toward the Gulf of Bothnia, preferring the coasts of Norway, from the absence of wood, the freshness of the breezes, and the freedom from the insects which swarm in the forests that skirt the shores of the gulf, as well as in their own.”

In studying the health and safety of their herd, they generally make choice of the numerous islands on the western coasts of Norway and Lapland, from their superior coolness, as well as from the absence of bears and wolves. These also present a great advantage in being very convenient stations for fishing, and possessing good harbours; whilst fish likewise resort in great numbers to the numerous fiords or bays, and narrow channels between them. This is the reason why on the whole of the northern line of coast the mainland is nearly uninhabited, with the exception of the borders of the fiords, though the only supply of wood is to be found there; whilst almost all the rocky isles so profusely scattered along the coast possess inhabitants, although generally barren in the extreme. After the mountain Laplander has reached his fishing station, he erects his tent of coarse wadmal cloth, and proceeds to barter his skins, furs, and other articles of commerce, for necessaries which he requires, but principally for brandy, which he drinks to excess. Indeed it sometimes happens, that when he is about to return to his winter quarters, he is occasionally obliged, though reluctantly, to part with his deer, in order to supply himself with what is absolutely necessary to his existence., The mountain Laplander makes it a point to be paid in silver in all his dealings with the merchants; and he frequently amasses a considerable quantity of dollars, which he usually buries in the ground in some spot near his tent. In September, he breaks up his summer quarters, and gradually retires into the interior parts of the country. The circumstances which oblige him to return is the want of rein-deer moss on the islands, and also of fuel, both of which are readily procured in the in terior parts of the country. The want of the latter is said to have led to the gradual and almost entire depopulation of the Finmark coasts. His stock of necessaries and household utensils are packed in a kind of wicker pannier, one of which hangs on each side of the deer, and, by slow and easy stages of six or seven miles a day, he reaches that part of the continent where he intends to fix his winter abode. Venison constitutes the principal article of food of the highland Laplander in winter, the only season when he kills his deer for supporting himself and his family.

The coast Laplanders support themselves entirely by the fishery, which is astonishingly productive, 2000 lbs. weight of cod-fish being caught in a day by means of lines alone. From the great number of small Russian vessels which frequent the coast at certain seasons, they find a ready sale for the fruits of their industry, receiving in exchange chiefly meal, brandy, tobacco, and the like. Whales are abundant, particularly what is called the fin whale, which is long, active, swimming with great strength and speed, and consequently difficult to capture. It is usually killed by darting the harpoon into the body, and then breaking it close off. No more notice is taken of it at the time, but the wound generally proves mortal, and in a few days the animal is found cast upon some part of the neighbouring shore. The value of a good whale of this kind is about L.150, or 1000 specie dollars. The owner is known by a mark on the barb of his harpoon, by which he identifies his property; but law entitles the finder to one third of the booty. Great quantities of other kinds of fish, particularly the sey or coal-fish, are likewise caught. The latter are taken by means of nets, and this fishery constitutes one of the most lucrative branches of the Finmark trade, as does the down of the eider-duck. Plaice of a huge size, halibut, and echini of all hues and sizes, are likewise amongst the fish taken; but of shell-fish there are few or none, the northern shores, from their nature, being particularly barren of testacea. Halibut of 500 lbs. weight is frequently taken, and it is esteemed a great delicacy. The farming stock of the coast Laplander consists of a few sheep and goats, and sometimes a cow or two; but pigs are little known in Finmark, and do not constitute part of his property, sheep being of superior utility in furnishing him both with food and raiment; and his wants are, besides, very limited. On the approach of winter the whole of the cattle are brought from the mountains, where they are sent to graze during summer, and are shut up in stables. The weight of the cattle is not considerable. During winter, as a substitute for fodder, they are almost entirely fed upon fish, to which they are very partial. Some of the shore Laplanders keep rein-deer, but these animals very rarely constitute part of their property.

In their manual arts and manufactures, that is, making the various utensils which their mode of life requires, the Laps display some ingenuity. Their sledges and canoes are very strongly and closely put together, so as to be entirely impervious to water. They tan hides with the first inner bark of the birch, make strong cordage and thread of the sinews of the rein-deer, weave coverings for their tents, knit gloves, fashion wooden utensils for domestic purposes; and the women prepare the skins of foxes, fawns, otters, and other animals for sale, by stripping off the membraneous parts, and curing them with fish-oil. The Laplanders have a few amusements, but the chief is hunting, which, however, rather constitutes a part of their professional avocations, than of their choice pastimes. The bow and arrow, which formerly constituted their offensive weapons, are now supplanted by fire-arms, particularly rifles, in the use of which they are very expert. A taste for music and poetry have been attributed to the Laplanders; but this, Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke observes, is a mistake, arising from travellers mistaking Finns for Laplanders, a circumstance which very frequently takes place. Amongst the [7:13:112]amusements of the Laplanders may be mentioned their occasionally assembling at feasts, where the favourite beverage, brandy, freely circulates, and mirth and noisy loquacity prevail. At marriage-feasts hundreds meet," and the ceremony is conducted with great formality and decorum; but the more solemn ritual of a funeral is characterized by an appropriate want of any thing like parade or show.

In order to present a view of those parts of the Lapland continent, as well as of the numerous islands with which the shores are crowded, we shall follow the route of a recent traveller.^[2. " A Winter in Lapland and Sweden, with various Observations relating to Finmark and its Inhabitants, made during a Residence at Hammerfest, near the North Cape, by Sir Arthur de Capel Brooke, Bart.” ] Loppen, the first island in Finland, coming from the south, is about ten miles in circumference, but very narrow. It contains five or six families, and has a church and a resident clergyman. Scattered patches of the soil are good, and might produce corn if cultivated; but this is no motive for doing so, as it is more cheaply and easily obtained from the Russians in exchange for fish. At a few miles’ distance from Loppen is Soroe, the largest island in Finmark, and inferior in size to few in Norway. Its dimensions have not been definitely stated, but it is supposed considerably to exceed one hundred miles in circumference. It is thinly peopled by a few Norwegians and shore Laplanders; and the whole of the western coast is uninhabited, on account of its great exposure to the fury of the northern storms. It merely consists, like the rest of the island, of high precipitous rocks and mountains, enclosing deep valleys, which in summer are not without considerable luxuriance of vegetation, being penetrated by numerous fiords or arms of the sea, which run a considerable way inland. The principal place here is called Havsig; and it has a church, where the clergyman of Loppen ministers, the two parishes being under his care. They contain between them only about two hundred inhabitants. Seyland is a pretty large island, but very mountainous. Qualöen, or Whale Island, where Hammerfest, a town founded by government, is situated, presents a miserably naked and barren appearance, hardly a shrub being seen, and only rocks piled upon each other in wild magnificence. The town consists of a few scattered houses belonging to the merchants, which are built of wood, and painted all over with a kind of red ochre. Behind them is a church, and near it the residence of the clergyman. Close to these, and overlooking the sea, there is a small battery. The Hammerfesters are extremely lively, and fond of dancing, singing, and merriment. Balls are very frequent, at which the ladies appear in very gay, even elegant dresses, of English manufacture. Since 1808, when this place was visited by Von Buch, its trade and population has improved so considerably as to afford sanguine hopes of the future. In the year 1810, the population was only seventy-five, and in twelve years it had increased to considerably more than two hundred. Their commerce consists, first, with the foreigners, who supply the merchants with their own manufactures, and different kinds of colonial produce, and receive payment in the native staples, fish and oil; and, secondly, in the local or home trade between the dealer and the natives, who barter the fruits of their industry for meal, cloth, brandy, and other articles. The whole of the commerce of Hammerfest, however, is inconsiderable, compared with that carried on by the Russians, which constitutes the most important feature of the trade of Finmark; and, though still in its infancy, is of such importance as to deserve being mentioned. The Russians who visit Finmark come chiefly from Kola, the Gulf of Kandalax, and the borders of the White Sea. They belong to the poorest class, and conduct their trade solely in small three-masted xessels of from thirty to one hundred tons burden. Several hundreds of these make their appearance about July, and anchor in the vicinity of the fishing banks, to be in the way of the mountain Laplanders when they return to the coaet, with whom a traffic is carried on chiefly on the principle of barter. The Russian delivers his cargo of meal, hemp, flax, copper, tar, sailcloth, lines, and other articles, and receives in exchange any foreign produce he may require, but, generally, the various kinds of fish which are bought by the vog, which is about forty pounds English. The importance of this trade, both to Russia and Finmark, may be estimated from a statement made regarding this particular branch of commerce, that no less than 100,000 vogs of fish were annually taken from Finmark by the Russians. A considerable trade is also carried on in fox-skins, which fetch from two to four specie dollars. The bay of Hammerfest is well sheltered, and the harbour, though small, is very secure, and frequently contains a number of vessels from different countries, England included.

Passing over a few desolate and unimportant islands, such as the Stappen Isles, well known to English mariners under the name of Mother and Daughters, we come to that of Mageroe or Lean Island, where North Cape is situated. This name is sometimes applied to the whole island, but properly only belongs to its northern extremity. This island is about seventy miles in circumference, and is very narrow, being intersected by long and extensive fiords, which cut deep into the land on both sides, and nearly meet. On the mountains about two hundred deer may exist, the property of Laplanders, whom the breadth and turbulent nature of Mageroe Sound confine permanently to the island. On some parts of it there is brushwood, but its characteristics are sterility and desolation. The North Cape is a long extended headland or tongue of rock, narrowest near its root, and enlarging itself towards its other extremity, where it takes a circular form, and is indented by several chasms that form small creeks. Its surface is flat, and destitute of vegetation, but thickly strewed with fragments of rock, particularly quartz. Foxes are here abundant, and at certain seasons of the year sea-fowl frequent the island in vast numbers.

On the continent, the place which first demands attention is Alten, or Altengaard, a name applied also to a district the most populous and fertile in Finmark. The forests are the most extensive in the country, though now considerably diminished. The principal inhabitants are the Quans, who occupy an entire village in the immediate neighbourhood of Alten. The situation of the latter is very advantageous in respect to the interior trade of Finmark, as it forms the principal means of communication, not only with the inland parts, but also with Sweden; and all kinds of merchandise being brought by sea to Alten, are forwarded to the various other parts of Lapland by rein-deer. During winter it is the scene of considerable life and bustle, from the continual arrival of strangers; and in February a fair is held, attended both by the merchants and by the coast and mountain Laplanders. It is situated in north latitude 70°, and is considered the coldest place in Finmark, yet here vegetation is by no means so contemptible, as we have already shown. The salmon fishery was once very considerable, and constituted one of the chief articles of export, but it has now much declined. About one hundred and fifty miles south from Alten isKoutokeino, which is also the name of a district of considerable size, but mountainous and barren. At this place there is a resident clergyman, who has a parsonage-house, which, like the [7:13:113]abodes of other Lapland ministers, is a mere log-hut, consisting of one story, and comprising a small room and a back kitchen. The whole place, indeed, consists merely of a few log-huts, situated on the banks of the river Alten. Kangis, in Swedish Lapland, is celebrated for its fair, which is the great pointof union for the whole of the Northern Laps. It lasts five days, but its importance has greatly diminished, on account of the reduced value of the mines. On the Muonio or Muonioniska River, is a town of the same name, the houses of which are much superior to those farther north. Here the population consists principally of Finns, the number of which tribe increases as the traveller proceeds towards the Gulf of Bothnia.

The whole population of Finland is supposed not to exceed 60,000. The degrading superstition in which they were formerly sunk has now in a great measure disappeared, along with those numerous deities which they worshipped: the wild creations of unenlightened nature have been superseded by Christianity, and a knowledge of the true God. Regular clergymen are established in the country by the different governments, and the Laps exhibit much reverence and devotional feeling during divine service, although its purport is only known to them through an interpreter. Finmark, in regard to ecclesiastical regulations, is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Nordland and Finmark, both of which form one diocese. As may be supposed, the revenues of the crown are not materially benefited by the contributions of the poor Laplander. Every one, however, whether his abode be on the shore or on the mountains, pays a yearly tribute of four-and-twenty shillings, which may be considered merely as an acknowledgment of their being subjects of the power by which it is collected. A Laplander that is taxable has likewise to make an annual offering of a rein-deer ham and tongue to the sorenshiver or judge; and to the priest half a reindeer with the exception of the breast part, a pair of reindeer gloves, nine pounds of tallow, and a rein-deer cheese, which donation is called a ritterbil. This applies only to the Laplanders who derive their subsistence from their herds of deer; the shore Laplander pays his dues in fish. To collect the taxes for the crown, the fogeds or sheriffs, and lendsmen or sheriffs’ officers, appoint general meetings of the Laplanders, at stated times of the year, when they receive their payments.

The language of the Laplanders is a Finnish dialect, with so great an infusion of foreign words, that the inhabitants of the two nations require an interpreter before they can understand each other’s meaning. “The numerous eases,” says Malte-Brun, “the varied terminations of nouns and compound verbs, the method of expressing pronouns by affixa joined to verbs, and, lastly, the negative conjugations, are characteristics equally applicable to the languages of Finland, Esthonia, and Lapland. The last is in some respects still poorer than the other two; thus there are five words for snow, seven or eight for a mountain; but honesty, virtue, and conscience, must be expressed by a periphrasis. The Lapponie has been mixed, perhaps, still more than the other Finnic tongues, with the German and Scandinavian, which were spoken by the conquerors, who were too often the tyrants, of the Finnic race.” Some old Hungarian roots are also found in it, from which circumstance, as well as from others, it has been inferred that the Laplanders are the descendants of a Hunnic mixed with a Finnic people, or perhaps a distinct branch of the great Finno-Hunnic räce. The principal roots and derivatives in the Lapponic tongue certainly bear less affinity with those of the languages of Upper Asia, than any other Finnic dialect. (r. r. r.)