"They are a strange people, that is a fact," said Adolf. "They are queer-looking and queer in their ways. They are very small, few of them over five feet tall, and they are quite stout. Their skin is of a dark yellow; the hair is jet-black, coarse and straight; their cheek-bones, high; and their eyes are blue and small. Their little noses turn up in a comical way, and their mouths are often open as though they were surprised at something."
"I suppose they dress in fur, don't they?" asked Ole.
"O yes, from head to foot. But they get all they need from the skins of their reindeer. They wear high boots bound tightly around their legs in winter-time, so they are able to keep dry, even if they are out in the worst snow-storm."
"What are their houses made of?" asked Henrik. "I suppose lumber is scarce where they live."
"Sometimes the people make a frame-work of timber and cover it first with skins and then with turf. Sometimes the hut is built of stones, over which the turf is thickly laid. But it is always in the shape of a mound."
"Are there any windows in the hut?"
"No, Ole, and so, of course, the air inside is very close and unpleasant. There isn't even a chimney. A hole is left in the roof large enough to let out the smoke; that is all. When the short summer comes round, the Lapps prefer to live in deer-skin tents, and I can't say I blame them."
"Did you ever visit them in their homes, Adolf?" asked Henrik.
"Yes, I stayed with a family of them over night. They seemed very friendly and tried to make my visit pleasant, but I didn't enjoy it very much, it was such a dirty, smoky place.
"In the middle of the room was a stone fireplace, over which hung the kettle when our supper was cooked. They all squatted on deer-skins around the fire. When I had been there a few minutes, I heard a noise overhead. I looked up and saw a dear little blue-eyed baby, swinging in a hammock and cooing to me. I reached up and took it down, and it snuggled in my arms as though it knew I was a friend."