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.