The Land of the Long NightDu Chaillu, Paul B. (Paul Belloni)
General
The Land of the Long Night
Du Chaillu, Paul B. (Paul Belloni)
Lapland -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature
Then two of the men and two of the women with their dogs and their
skees went to relieve the people who were watching the reindeer herd,
and Pehr Wasara remarked, "My reindeer are divided in a number of
herds--for they could not all pasture together. We are afraid of wolves.
These people are to remain on the watch all night."
The family was very pious; they were, like all the Lapps, Lutherans.
Before going to sleep they sang psalms and hymns, praising God for the
blessings of the day.
Then they dressed themselves for the night, putting on over the garments
they wore during the day a long reindeer kapta, a sort of nightshirt
reaching below the feet. More reindeer skins were put over the skins on
which we were seated. Then a big bearskin was given to me as a blanket,
Pehr saying, "I killed this bear myself."
Before retiring I took off my shoes, the Lapp grass, and my stockings,
and hung them on the cross poles to dry. All did likewise. I carefully
arranged my precious Lapp grass so every vestige of dampness would be
absorbed when I should put it on again in the morning. One of the women
lent me a pair of her own stockings, which she took from one of the
little chests by her side.
The fire had gradually died out. "We seldom keep fires burning at
night," said the head of the family, "for it would be dangerous." The
dogs were driven out and the door made secure, comparatively speaking.
We were all huddled close together. Then we bade each other good-night.
I looked at my thermometer, it marked 39 degrees below zero inside the
tent; it was 46 degrees outside and everything was perfectly still,
there was not a breath of air stirring. Through the opening in the tent
for the smoke to pass, I could see the stars twinkling in the blue sky
as I lay on my back. Then putting my head under my bearskin I soon fell
asleep, though some dogs succeeded in smuggling themselves in, and two
or three times they awoke me by trying to get under my bearskin and lie
by me. They did likewise with the other people. Once I was awakened by a
big booming sound. It was the cracking of the ice over a lake not far
off from us.
CHAPTER XIII
TOILET WITH SNOW.--A LAPP BREAKFAST.--LAPP DOGS.--TALKS WITH MY LAPP
FRIEND ABOUT THE REINDEER.--THEIR HABITS AND VARIOUS FORMS OF
USEFULNESS.
When we awoke in the morning it was 40 degrees below zero in the tent
and 48 degrees below outside. I felt like washing my face and my hands,
but melted snow was sure to turn into ice as soon as it was on my face.
I did not want to wash in warm water, for it would have made my skin too
tender. So I rubbed my face and hands with snow and dried them
thoroughly. This was my usual morning wash when I slept out of doors.
A big fire was lighted and the maidservant went to work kneading
dough--yeast was not used. The loaves were baked on charcoal, as is
often done among the Lapps, and at the same time coffee was made.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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