Those that have young ones never are housed, but give suck without, and in this case the great multitude breeds no confusion, for each Doe knows her proper Calf, and is known by it; so saies Sam. Rheen, who affirms that they know one another after two or three years absence. When the Calves are grown they feed on grass and leaves, and what the Mountains afford: their color is mixt of red and yellow. About S. James tide they cast their hair, which in the next growth turns blackish. They are at their full growth in 4 years, each year changing their name; the first, they are stiled Namiloppa, i. e. nameless. Tornæus calls the Buck Hiroas, but Rheen gives him the name of Herki. When they are able to work, they are tamed; one sort being condemned to the Sledge, and thence named Vaijom-herki, others to carry burdens, thence called Lykam-herki. Those that are design’d for labour they commonly gueld, which renders them more tractable: this is done when they are a year old. Those which are reserved for breeding, are called Servi. The Bucks are not so numerous as the Does, of which there be an hundred for twenty, which are profitable for Milk, Cheese and breeding. Both men and women milk them kneeling, one hand being emploied to hold the pail, and the other the dugg. They milk them sometimes loose, and sometimes bound to a post, about 2 or 3 of the clock in the evening, and but once a day, the rest being reserved for the calves: those which have Calves alwaies yield most milk: the greatest quantity they give at once is a Swedish pint and half, that is about the fourth part of the ordinary measure upon the Rhine. The milk is fat and thick, and very nurishing, which is their chiefest food; that which they do not boil they make Cheese of, which is thus described by Rheen. The Dairy-Maids first let the milk stand to cream, when it hath stood they take off the cream with a skimmer. When one Cheesefat is filled, they fill another, and put it on the first, and so till 6 or 8 are filled, then they turn the Cheesefats, that the lowermost be in the top, and use not their hands to press the cheese, but let them press each other. Each Cheese requires as much milk as ten Rain-deers can spare: their shape is round about two fingers thick, and as big as a Trencher, which we use at table, their Milk makes very fat Cheese, but no Butter, instead of which they have a kind of tallow, as I shew’d before.
Now the Laplanders having such advantages from these beasts, take great care in driving them to their Meadows, and defending them from wild Beasts. They are so concerned for them, that they bring their Wives, Children, and Servants, to watch them in the pastures, and drive those that wander back to the Herd. When milking time comes, they drive them into folds, which are spots of ground, hedged in with hurdles stuck on forks, each fold having two doors, one by which they enter, the other which carries them out into their Medows. Their meat in Summer is the best grass the Mountains afford, with leaves of young Trees. They avoid all hard rough grass, especially where Bullrushes grow. The other Seasons of the year they feed on a kind of white Moss, which abounds in Lapland: when the Mountains are covered with Snow, they scrape out this Moss with their feet. And S. Rheen observes that tho they get least food in the Winter quarter, they grow whiter and fatter then at other times, for in Summer the excessive heat makes them worse. These Cattel too are subject to disseases, which if once begun, spread and kill the whole Herd, but this very rarely. They are infected with that more frequently, which Olaus describes. About March worms or wornels do begin to breed in their backs, which when alive, creep out and make the Beasts skin, if then killed, full of holes, like a Seive, and almost useless.
The Wolves trouble them, tho they have their horns to defend themselves; but they are not alwaies so armed, for they cast their horns once a year, which grow again very slowly. The Does never cast theirs till they have calved. The Rain-deers use not their horns when they encounter the Wolves so much as their forefeet, with these they receive them coming on, otherwise their feet defend them by flight, which they can easily do, if not hindred by Snow. The third inconveniency is that if they be not very carefully lookt to, they will wander and be lost, therefore the owners put certain marks on them to distinguish them from others; their marks they put sometimes on their ears, and not their horns, because they cast them. But if they escape all accidents whatever, they never live above 10 years.
And thus much for the Rain-deers, which alone supply the want of Horses, Sheep, and other Cattel. Therefore the Inhabitants apply themselves only to the care of these, neglecting all the rest; besides Dogs, which faithfully watch their Houses and Cattel, and are very serviceable for hunting, as I have mentioned in that Chapter.
[CHAP. XXIX.]
Of the wild Beasts of the Laplanders.
Of all the Beasts in Lapland the Bear is chief: him saies Sam. Rheen, they stile King Of the Woods, and gives this reason, because in strength and fierceness he exceeds all the rest. They are very numerous, some fiercer than others, especially those which are mark’t with a white wreath about their necks, many of which are found in the North. These annoy the Inhabitants Cattel, and overturn their Stores; which they fix on the top of a Tree, to preserve their flesh and fish, and all that concerns provision: but in one night the Bear destroys all the food they have laid up.
Next the Bear the Elk is remarkable, which Olaus calls the wild Asse, Scaliger confounds it with the Rain-deer, for he saies, tho it had Asses hair, it was called by the Swedes, Ranger, by the Goths, Rangifer, by the Germans, Ellend, by the Moscovites, Lozzi, and some Books say that in Norway they were named Rehen: what Books he means I am ignorant, but I am sure the Elks, which the Germans call Ellend, were never called Rehen, but Ælg, or Ælgar, which is now the common name through all the North; neither can I think otherwise of the Moscovites Lozzi, for it is the same with the Lithuanian Losso, as Herbestenius observes. That which the Lithuanians call Loss, the Germans call Ellend, and many in Latin Alce. So that Loss, Lozzi, Ælg, Ellend is the same Beast, but quite different from the Rain-deer, contrary to what Scaliger thought. For first it excells the Rain-deers in bulk not a little, being as high as any Horse; its horns are shorter, but above two palms in breadth, shooting out a few, tho not many young sprouts. His leggs are not round, but long, especially the foremost: he engages very smartly, and his sharp hoofs enable him to encounter all Men and Dogs that oppose. He hath a long head, and huge thick lips alwaies hanging down; his color is not so white, but all over his body it inclines to a dark yellow mixt with ashen: when he walks he makes no noise with his hoofs as all Rain-deers do; whoever sees both Beasts (as I have often) will perceive such difference, that he will wonder how any one should mistake. There is no great breed of these in Lapland, but they have them from other places, especially Lithuania. Charles the ninth, by a public Proclamation claimed all the skins of those that were killed for his Exchequer, as I mentioned in another place. Olaus saies that they continue altogether in the South of Lapland, and are taken most frequently by running them down, or hunting; in other places they are rarely found: but it is manifest that twice a year they swim in great Herds out of Carelia, over the River Niva, to wit, in the Spring to go into Carelia, and in Autumn to return into Russia. Some few Stags have bin seen in Lapland. S. Rheen mentioning the chief Beasts which have bin found there, reckons severall species of four footed Beasts, as wild Rain-deers, Bears, Stags, Wolves, Gluttons, Beavers, Otters, Martins, Squirrels; but these Stags are but few and little, such as they call Damacervi, or Platicerotes, which since they have nothing peculiar from those in other nations, let it suffice that they are named. To these I may add wild Rain-deers, but because they differ from the tame ones only in bulk, being bigger, and in color somewhat blacker, I will likewise pass them over. Sam. Rheen after the Stags mentions Wolves, of which there is a great number, distinguisht from those in other Countries only by their color, something whiter, whence they are often called white Wolves: their hair is thicker, longer and rougher. These most of all molest the Rain-deers, which are armed against them with their horn.
I find in some Papers of Euræus that the Wolves did never assault the Rain-deer if it was bound to a stake: the reason may be because he fears some trap when he sees the rope that binds the Raindeer: for the Wolf is a very suspicious creature, and thinks every thing he sees to be a snare to catch him. Besides he may suspect that men lie hidden to kill him, whereas the Rain-deers are only bound for the better conveniency of milking them. Nevertheless, the Wolves venture not only on Beasts, but on Men and Women, especially those that are big with child. Travellers are forced to go armed, particularly Women near their time, for the Wolves take their scent and watch more greedily for them, therefore no Woman is permitted to travel without a guide assisting her. The next are the Gluttons, which are frequent here, they have a round head, strong and sharp teeth, like a Wolfs, a plump body, and feet shorter than the Otters: their skin is of a very dark color, some of them resemble Sables, only they have softer and finer haire; this Beast lives not altogether on Land, but many times in the Water, like the Otter, tho much bigger and stronger: some compare it to the Otter, but it is far greedier than he, for thence it gets its name. For Olaus tells us that it is called by the Swedes, Jerff, by the Germans, Wildfras: but this German name doth not denote the Beast to eat much, but to devour what it finds in the Woods, for wild signifies any thing in the Woods; wherefore either Scaliger did not understand the word, or else the Printer did not follow his copy: which appears more plainely, from that the Gulo doth not only infest wild Beasts, but tame (as hath bin often known in Swedland) and Water creatures too, being it self accustomed to the Waters.
There are abundance of Beavers in Lapland, because the Nation abounds with plenty of Fish, whence they have store of food: Olaus thinks that the plenty of them proceeds from the quietness of the Waters, which are never troubled with Ships, as the Rhine and Danow are. I add nothing of these because they are not distinguish’d from the vulgar sort, neither are the Otters. Next to these Sam. Rheen speaks of the Foxes, as being numerous, and of severall sorts over all Lapland. He reckons up, besides the common ones, those that are black, brown, ash-colored, white; and those that are marked with a cross. The black are most valued because they are rare: in Moscovy Men of honor and preferment have their Caps made of their skins, which are sold, as Herberstenius observes, for 10, sometimes 15 pieces of gold. Those that are marked with a cross, Johnston calls Crucigeræ, and describes them thus: they have from their mouth, over their head and back to their tail a black streak, another crossing their back, and down to their forefeet, which two lines do resemble a cross. These are preferred before the common red Foxes, being bigger, and having thicker hair. The ashen-colored Foxes are those which Johnston calls Isatidæ, their color is mixt of ash and blew, such as is the color of the woad, tho this color is not spread all over his body, nor is any single hair wholly of this color, for the longest hairs are black at the end, the shortest white, from both which this color results. Olaus calls these Celestine, or sky-colored Foxes, where too he tells us that they are of less worth than the rest, and the white ones too, because their color is so, without the tincture of any other, such as Conies use to have. The reason is because their number is great, and their hair not durable: but that there is such abundance of these skins happens because the Foxes are more easily taken, not living in the Woods, but on the naked Mountains between Norway and Swedland.