The fish called by the Laplanders _Sijk_ (the Gwiniad, or _Salmo
Lavaretus_,) is taken in their lakes. Its head terminates in an obtuse
point. The upper jaw is the longest. Mouth without teeth. Iris of the
eye silvery, with a blackish upper edge, and a black pupil. The whole
body is silvery, blackish about the back, eleven inches long and two
deep. Head two inches long at the sides; from the snout to the dorsal
fin four inches and a half. The dorsal fin consists of thirteen rays, of
which the first is by far the largest, and the last cloven or
interrupted. The soft fat fin is in its proper place.
_July 21._
The following are the disorders or inconveniences to which the reindeer
are subject.
When the frost is so intense as to form an impenetrable crust on the
surface of the snow, so that the animal cannot break it with his feet,
to get at the Lichen on which he feeds, he is frequently starved to
death. This misfortune is as dreadful to the Laplanders as any public or
national calamity elsewhere; for, when his reindeer are killed, he must
himself either starve to death, beg for his livelihood, or turn thief.
The hoofs of the reindeer are not uncommonly affected with a swelling at
the edge where they are attached to the skin, at which part they
consequently become ulcerated, and are seldom healed. The creature thus
grows lame, and cannot keep up with the herd.
These animals are sometimes attacked with a _vertigo_, or giddiness in
the head, which causes them to run round and round continually. The
people assured me, that such of them as run according to the course of
the sun may be expected to get the better of the disorder; but those
which turn the contrary way, being supposed incurable, are immediately
killed. The recovery of the former is thought to be promoted by cutting
their ears, so as to cause a great discharge of blood.
The _Kurbma_, or ulceration caused by the Gad-fly, (see _vol._ 1. _p._
280.) takes place every spring, especially in the younger fawns. Such as
are brought forth in the summer season are free from this misfortune the
ensuing spring, but in the following one many of them lose their lives
by it. When come to their full size and strength, the consequences are
less fatal; but no reindeer is entirely exempt from the attacks of this
pernicious insect.
The fawns are of a reddish hue the first season, during which they cut
their foreteeth. In the autumn they turn blackish, and have fodder given
them. They are when young frequently afflicted with a soreness in the
mouth, so as to be unable for a while to eat.
Reindeer are subject to a disease called by the Laplanders _Pekke
Kattiata_, accompanied with ulcerations of the flesh, which however
often heal by a sloughing of the part affected. This is an epidemic
disorder. It is believed that if any of the ulcerous part, which is cast
off, be swallowed by the animal, in licking his own coat, or that of any
other of the herd labouring under this malady, it proves fatal by
corroding the viscera.
The dugs of the female often become chapped or sore, so as to bleed
whenever they are milked.
The male reindeer in his natural state is fatter than such as are
castrated, except the latter be kept without work, in which case they
become the fattest. Such as are castrated and allowed to run wild,
become considerably larger, as well as tamer, in consequence.
The rutting season lasts but a fortnight, that is, from about a week
preceding the feast of St. Matthew (Sept. 21.) to Michaelmas day, during
which period the male is savage and dangerous. Immediately afterwards he
casts his coat and horns, and not unfrequently becomes so emaciated,
that, in many instances, death is the consequence.
Towards the feast of St. Eric (May 18.) in the following year, or within
a fortnight of that period, very rarely later, the females bring forth
their young. They do not copulate the first year, and seldom before the
third, their progeny being found the better for this delay. Indeed
neither the males nor females arrive at their full growth and perfection
before they are towards three years old.
The fawn, whether male or female, is called the first year _mesk_; the
second season the male is called _orryck_, and the female _whenial_. In
the third year the latter, if she has been covered, is known by the
appellation of _watja_ or _waja_, which means a wife; if otherwise, she
goes by the name of _whenial-rotha_, the three-year old male being
called _wubbers_. In his fourth year the male is termed _koddutis_; in
the following one _kosittis_; in the sixth _machanis_, and in the
seventh _namma lappotachis_. After that period no male is kept, they all
perishing in consequence of the exhaustion above mentioned, but the
castrated ones live to a more advanced age. None of these animals
however survive beyond their twelfth or fourteenth year. When the
castrated males become very fat towards autumn, and show signs of old
age; or the females, having become barren, appear otherwise to be on the
decline, they are killed, by the knife, in the close of the year; from
an apprehension that they might otherwise perish of themselves from
infirmity, in the course of another season.
Such of the male reindeer as are destined to serve for a stock of
provision, are killed before the rutting-time, and their carcases hung
up to be exposed to the air and frost before flaying. The flesh is
smoked and a little salted, and then laid upon sledges to dry in the
sun, that it may keep through the winter till spring. About the feast of
St. Matthias (Feb. 24.) the reindeer begin to be so incommoded with the
gad-fly, that they are not in a fit condition to be slain for eating.
From that period therefore, till the milking season, the Laplanders are
obliged to live on this stock of preserved meat. At other times of the
year the females are killed for immediate use, according as they are
wanted. The blood is kept fresh in kegs, or other vessels, and serves
for food in the spring, being added to the _välling_ (see _vol._ 1. _p._
129), with a small proportion of milk and water. The blood of these
animals is thick in consistence, like that of a hog. The Laplanders
carry a portion of it along with them from place to place, in bladders
or some kind of vessels. A stock of this and all other necessaries is
collected as late as possible, before the melting of the snow, while
there still remains a track for the sledges.
A kind of blood pudding or sausage is made, in general without flour,
and with a large proportion of fat. This the Laplanders call _marfi_.
The liver of the reindeer, which is of a considerable bulk, is boiled
and eaten fresh. The lungs, being salted and moderately dried, are eaten
occasionally, or else given to the dogs. The intestines, which abound
with fat, are cut open, washed, and boiled fresh; nor are they
unpalatable. The brain and testicles are never eaten. The foot is flayed
down to the fetlock joint, beyond which the hair cannot, by scalding or
any other contrivance, be separated, without the cuticle and skin coming
along with it. Even when the feet are boiled, the hair never comes off
without the skin. Thus the animal when living is the more firmly
protected against the snow. The hoofs are thrown away as useless.
The dung of the reindeer in summer is almost as large as cow-dung, but
in winter it more resembles that of the goat.
Each individual reindeer does not bear horns of precisely the same shape
every year. The points are very liable to be deformed, in consequence of
the animal's scratching them, while in a growing state, with its feet;
they being in that state much inclined to itch, and as tender as the
flesh of a fresh fish.
These animals are afflicted with maggots called _kornmatskar_ in their
noses and gums, from which they relieve themselves in the spring by
snorting and blowing. When the insects lodge on their backs and form
pustules there, the people make a practice of squeezing them out, to
prevent the reindeer from being too much irritated by them. (This
species is the _Oestrus nasalis_, though the account here given is not
very clear; but in the first edition only of the _Fauna Suecica_ Linnæus
says, on the authority of a gentleman named Friedenreich, that "this
_Oestrus_ lodges its eggs in the frontal sinus of the reindeer in
Lapland, and is frequently cast out by them as they travel along in the
spring.")
When the skin is stripped from the carcase of the reindeer, it is
immediately spread out, and stretched as much as possible, by means of
a longitudinal pole, and a transverse stick at each end of the skin,
these sticks being pulled asunder with a strong cord. Several more
transverse twigs are placed between these two sticks, so as to extend
every part of the edges of the hide, which in this position is allowed
to dry.
The Laplanders' gloves are made of skin taken from the legs of the
animal; their hairy shoes, of that from its forehead between the horns,
such being worth two dollars, copper money; while those made from the
skin of the legs, being much thinner, are of very little or no value.
A Laplander never goes barefoot, though he has nothing to serve him for
stockings but hay (_Carex sylvatica_, _Fl. Brit._). Sometimes he buys
leather for shoes or boots from his neighbours.
The people of this country boil their meat in water only, without any
addition or seasoning, and drink the broth. _Jumomjölk_ (see _vol._ 1.
278.) kept for a whole year is delicate eating. Berries of all kinds
are boiled in it. Some persons make a practice of boiling those berries
by themselves, preserving them afterwards in small tubs, or other wooden
vessels. They boil their fish more thoroughly than their meat, over a
slow fire, drinking likewise the water in which it has been drest. The
meat is never so much boiled as to separate from the bone. Fresh fish is
sometimes roasted over the fire. Few people dry and salt it, though that
method is sometimes practised. Meat is dried by the air, sun and smoke
all together, being hung up in the chimney, or rather hole by which the
smoke escapes through the roof.
The Laplanders never eat of more than one dish at a meal.
By way of dainty, the women occasionally mix the berries of the Dwarf
Cornel (_Cornus suecica_) with _Kappi_ (see _vol._ i. _p._ 281.), which
is made of whey boiled till it grows as thick as flummery. To this they
moreover add some cream. That fruit is entirely neglected in the country
of Medelpad.
In Dalecarlia the people generally keep their cattle up in the
mountains, twelve or sixteen miles from their own dwellings, on account
of gad-flies and other stinging insects. There they have their dairies,
and make cheese. The remaining whey is boiled till two thirds are
wasted, when it becomes as thick as flummery. This is sometimes eaten
instead of butter, sometimes mixed with dough, or serves for food in
various other manners.
The wind is excessively powerful in this alpine region, so that
sometimes it is impossible to stand against it, both men and sledges
being overturned by its violence.
It blew so hard at the place where I now was, that one of the windows of
the curate's house was blown in upon the floor.
Every Laplander constantly carries a sort of pole or stick, tipped with
a ferule, and furnished with a transverse bit of wood. Whenever he is
tired, he leans his arms and nose against it to rest himself.
Such as live in the forests are dexterous marksmen, but not those who
inhabit the alps. Nevertheless, they all contrive, by means of their
wooden bows, to procure, in the course of the winter, a considerable
number of Squirrels (_Sciurus vulgaris_) in their grey or winter
clothing, for the sake of their skins.
In the winter season also they go in pursuit of their most cruel enemies
the wolves. One of these animals will sometimes kill twenty or thirty
reindeer at a time, if he comes into the enclosure where they are. The
wolf often runs away before the Laplander can get near enough to fire at
him. A bear can hardly catch a reindeer, except by coming upon it
unawares, the latter being much the most swift of foot; but if he gets
into any of the store-houses, he does a great deal of mischief, turning
every thing topsy-turvy. Bears are also very dangerous in the fissures
of rocks and mountains, where they usually conceal themselves.
The Glutton (_Mustela Gulo_) does most harm in the pantry or
store-house. He never meddles with the reindeer.
A part of the employment of the men is to make sledges, or other
machines of wood for carriage. They cut rough wood in the forests for
the boxes which they carry with them into the alps.
The duty of the women is to mend the clothes of the whole family.
Laplanders have several plays or amusements.
Children make of the dwarf birch (_Betula nana_) something like
reindeer's horns, with which they gore one another in sport. They amuse
themselves frequently by building little huts of stone.
Grown-up people play very well at tennis, but they seldom partake of
that diversion. More common amusements are blindman's buff, and drawing
gloves.
Here I think it worth while to observe, that the alpine Laplanders are
more honest, as well as more good-natured, than those who dwell in the
woodlands. Having acquired more polish from their occasional intercourse
with the inhabitants of towns, the latter have, at the same time,
learned more cunning and deceit, and are frequently very knavish. The
inhabitants of the alps dwell in villages formed of their tents, living
together, as I have already related, in great comfort and harmony. Those
who occupy the woody parts of the country live dispersed.
The Laplanders know no musical instrument except the _lur_ (a sort of
trumpet), and pipes made of the bark of the quicken tree or mountain
ash. They are not accustomed to sing at church, except those who are
reckoned among the great or learned of the community.
The inhabitants of this country are not more troubled with chilblains
than those of other places. They do not mind having their cheeks
frost-bitten. The women wear an embroidered band round the head, which
affords no protection in this respect; but the men have a loose band of
skin with the hair on, which can be pulled down occasionally over their
cap, when the cold is intolerable.
(But to proceed with a further account of the diversions of the people I
am describing).
_Spetto_, one of their games, is played, by men as well as women, in the
following manner. They prepare from thirty to fifty or sixty pieces of
wood, a hand's breadth in length, which are spread upon the extended
skin of a reindeer. One of the players takes a ball made of stone or
marble, larger than a boy's playing marble, which he throws up into the
air about an ell high. While the ball is up, he snatches away one of the
sticks, but in such a manner as not to miss catching the ball in its
fall, holding the stick in the same hand. He subsequently gathers
together, in his other hand, as many of the sticks as he has thus been
able to procure. If he fails in any respect, another person is to take
the ball, and proceed in the same manner, the former player resigning up
to him one of the sticks every time the ball is thrown, till no more
remain in his own possession. He who can take up all the sticks wins the
game.
The following rules are to be observed.
1. He who catches the ball, but not one of the sticks, must resign the
ball to another player, as well as he who has let it fall.
2. He who takes up more than one stick at a time, must return what he
has taken.
3. The adversary, that is, the last player, who could not succeed in
taking up all the sticks, is allowed to lay down as many as he pleases
of the sticks he has collected, and may arrange them according to his
fancy. It is usual to lay one upon another, in order to render the game
more difficult, the player being obliged to snatch up each separately;
which is not easy without taking two, when so situated, at once.
4. When at length one person has taken up all the sticks, his adversary
is permitted to replace the two last of them upon the skin in any manner
he chooses. He commonly separates them as widely as possible. The person
who had previously gained the whole, is then required to take up both
these sticks at one throw of the ball, and if he fails he must give up
the game. Thus the victory is often lost by means of these two last
sticks.
5. When the adversary fails of his aim, the other player is to take all
the sticks lying on the field, as well as those which, after having been
laid down by himself, were won by the other person, and the whole are to
be laid down again directly, in order to be taken up according to the
above rules. But he is no longer under any obligation himself to take up
the sticks which he has thus laid for his companion.
The game called _Tablut_ is played with a checkered board, and
twenty-five pieces, or men, in the following manner.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Fig. 1, is the king, whose station is in the central
square or royal castle, called _konokis_ by the Laplanders, to which no
other person can be admitted.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2, represents one of the eight Swedes his subjects,
who, at the commencement of the game, are stationed in the eight
squares, adjoining to the royal castle, marked 2 and 3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3, is one of sixteen Muscovites, their adversaries,
who occupy the sixteen embroidered squares, (some of them marked 4 in
the cut,) situated four together in the middle of each side of the
field.]
The vacant squares, distinguished by letters, may be occupied by any of
the pieces in the course of the game.