In some parts of Lapland the people live in houses made of earth and stone. Each house has only one room. The Lapps have no carpets. They have no tables or chairs. They cover their floor with twigs of trees. They eat and sleep on skins spread on the twigs. They burn wood for fires. The fire is made on the ground in the middle of the floor. The smoke goes out through a hole in the roof.
[Illustration: A Lapp Family at Home.]
The Lapps do not all live in the same way. Some of them are called mountain Lapps. In summer the mountain Lapps live in tents among the hills. Their tents are made of reindeer skin. They have a great many reindeer.
The reindeer is very useful to the Lapps. It gives them milk. It draws their sleighs. Its flesh is good to eat. They make clothes of its skin. They make knives and spoons of its horns.
In summer the reindeer eat the soft shoots of shrubs and trees. In winter they feed on moss called lichen. They get the lichen themselves. They would not eat it if it were gathered for them. In winter they dig down through the snow with their feet to get at the lichen. They dig first with one fore foot and then with the other. The snow is often so deep that the reindeer has to dig a hole so large that its body is almost hidden.
The reindeer are not put in stables. They like to be out in the cold and snow. They are able to take care of themselves.
The Lapps eat a good deal of meat. Their meat is the flesh of the reindeer. They are very fond of fat. All people who live in very cold countries eat a great deal of fat. It helps to keep them warm. The Lapps also have milk and cheese. They eat rye bread and fish and berries. They drink coffee.
