Several wolves were killed, and at last all were put to flight. Our victory was complete. I recognized the Chief of the Pack among the slain. What a big fellow he was! What ugly-looking teeth he had! The wolves after this attack were completely disorganized, and fled in different directions.
In the mean time my Lapp, true to his word, had rejoined me. He said: "These wolves understand each other, and have agreed among themselves to meet somewhere in the great forest east of us. They will visit us again in small packs, so we must be on the watch constantly." Then with a sigh he said: "Now we are going to have a hard time to bring the reindeer of each owner together."
The day after the slaying of the wolves, I bade good-bye to the Lapps and once more started to wander over the great snowy waste of "The Land of the Long Night."
"It was a fight for life!"
CHAPTER XVIII
Great Skill of the Lapps with Their Skees.—Leaping over Wide Gullies and Rivers.—Prodigious Length of Their Leaps.—Accuracy of Their Coasting.—I Start Them by Waving the American Flag.
I WAS once more travelling westward, and two days afterward fell in with another company of nomadic Lapps. We became, as usual, good friends.