July 11.

We rose early this morning, and after walking a quarter of a mile arrived at the lofty icy mountain. This is indeed of a very great elevation, and covered with perpetual snow, the surface of which was, for the most part, frozen quite hard. Sometimes we walked firmly over it, but it occasionally gave way, crumbling under our feet like sand. Every now and then we came to a river taking its course under the snowy crust, which in some parts had yielded to the force of the currents, and the sides of each chasm exhibited many snowy strata one above another. Here the mountain streams began to take their course westward, a sign of our having reached Norwegian Lapland. The delightful tracts of vegetation, which had hitherto been so agreeably interspersed among the alpine snows, were now no longer to be seen. No charming flowers were here scattered under our feet. The whole country was one dazzling snowy waste. The cold east wind quickened our steps, and obliged us to protect our hands that we might escape chilblains. I was glad to put on an additional coat. As we proceeded across the north side of this mountain, we were often so violently driven along by the force of the wind, that we were taken off our feet, and rolled a considerable way down the hill. This once happened to me in go dangerous a place, that, after rolling to the distance of a gunshot, I arrived near the brink of a precipice; and thus my part in the drama had very nearly come to an end. The rain, which fell in torrents on all sides, froze on our shoes and backs into a crust of ice. This journey would have been long and tiresome enough without any such additional inconvenience. At length, after having travelled betwixt three and four miles, the mountains appeared before us, bare of snow though only sterile rocks, and between them we caught a view of the western ocean. The only bird I had seen in this icy tract, was what the Laplanders call Pago (Charadrius hiaticula). Its breast is black, throat white, feet orange.

Having thus traversed the alps, we arrived about noon upon their bold and precipitous limits to the westward. The ample forests spread out beneath us, looked like fine green fields, the loftiest trees appearing no more than herbs of the humblest growth. About these mountains grew the same species of plants that I had observed on the other side of the alps. We now descended into a lower country. It seems, as I write this, that I am still walking down the mountain, so long and steep was the descent, but the alpine plants no longer made their appearance after we had reached the more humble hills. When we arrived at the plains below, how grateful was the transition from a chill and frozen mountain to a warm balmy valley! I sat down to regale myself with strawberries. Instead of ice and snow, I was surrounded with vegetation in all its prime. Such tall grass I bad never before beheld in any country. Instead of the blustering wind so lately experienced, soft gales wafted around us the grateful scent of flowery clover and various other plants. In the earlier part of my journey, I had for some time experienced a long-continued spring (whose steps I pursued as I ascended the Lapland hills); then unremitting winter and eternal snow surrounded me; summer at length was truly welcome. Oh how most lovely of all is summer!

Here grow, for the most part, the common plants of Uppland, besides which I noticed Aconitum lycoctonum, and the little Mountain Catchfly with a white upright flower (Silene rupestris<69>); as also Coronopus maritimus punctatus (Plantago maritima β, Fl. Suec. 46), Mesomora (Cornus suecica), and the Cloudberry (Rubus chamæmorus).

By this time I was heartily tired, and found the refreshment of some cow's milk, and meat, with a chair to sit upon, very acceptable. I could not but wonder to see my two Laplanders, who had accompanied me during the whole of this day's tedious walk, one of them fifty years of age, the other upwards of seventy, running and frisking about in sport, though each of them had carried a burthen all the way; not indeed a very heavy one, but, considering the distance, by no means trifling. This set me seriously to consider the question put by Dr. Rosen, "Why are the Laplanders so swift-footed?" To which I answer, that it arises not from any one cause, but from the cooperation of many.

1. The Laplanders, unlike us, wear no heels to their half boots. We see dancing-masters and rope-dancers, with little or no heels, perform feats of great agility, scarcely practicable with them. The same may be observed of running-footmen, and people of various countries who habitually walk fast; while, on the contrary, those who are accustomed to large and high heels, move in a heavy and deliberate manner. It is usual to shoe young horses heavily, that they may acquire a steadiness of pace; and I observe that the country boys where I am now writing, throw off their shoes when they intend to run, as the heels with which these shoes are made, deprive them of half the natural control of the muscles in the soles of their feet. Those muscles, by means of high heels, and consequently less use or exercise, become more and more stiff, and a man with a wooden foot or leg cannot but move heavily.

2. These people are accustomed to running from their infancy. As soon as a Lapland boy can go alone, he is taught to run and put a halter round the reindeer's neck. When he grows a little older, he learns to follow these animals, which are always quick-paced, insomuch that it is more laborious to keep up with them than with a herd of goats, and more difficult to run after them than to frisk about with a parcel of calves. If therefore a rope-dancer, or a running-footman, acquires great agility by perpetual practice, no wonder that a Laplander, who till he is married, and often all his life long, runs habitually after the reindeer, should rival any of them in swiftness of foot.

3. Freedom from hard labour is another cause. All laborious employments, such as directing the plough, threshing, cutting and hewing of wood, &c. render the blood thick, and the limbs stiff. Hence the flesh of a peasant is hard and tough, that of a young damsel soft and tender; nor can a peasant move with the lightness and flexibility of limbs that we see in a girl. How delicate are the muscles of children compared with those of an aged person! The Laplanders appear to be more nimble and active, in all their movements, because they undergo no hard or Herculean labours.

4. Habitual exercise of the muscles. A rope-dancer trains his pupils to the continual contraction and dilatation of their muscles, that they may acquire the more pliability. A dancer is at first taught by violence to turn out his toes; but by custom that position becomes easy, for use is second nature. So the Laplanders are perpetually exercising the muscles used in walking, which thence become so flexible, that they are able to sit for a long while cross-legged, without pain or inconvenience, in a posture intolerable to us, who are used to commodious seats. For my own part, since I set out on my journey, I have become able to walk four times as far as I could at first.

5. Animal food. It is observable that such of the creation as feed on vegetables, are of a more rigid, though strong, fibre; witness the Stag, the Bull, &c.; while, on the contrary, carnivorous animals, as the Dog, Cat, Wolf, Lion, &c., are all more flexible. The fact and its cause are both evident. The Laplanders are altogether carnivorous. They have no vegetable food brought to their tables. They now and then indeed eat a raw stalk of Angelica, as we would eat an apple, and occasionally a few leaves of Sorrel; but this, compared with the bulk of their food, is scarcely more than as one to a million. In spring they eat fish, in winter nothing but meat, in summer milk and its various preparations. It may further be remarked, that salted food, which these people do not use, renders the body heavy.

Here I cannot help making a few incidental remarks, on the opinion that man is proved, by his teeth, to be formed to eat all kinds of food. Those who advance this opinion say, his front or cutting-teeth are like those of animals that eat fruits or nuts, as the Hare, Rabbit, Squirrel, &c.; his canine, or eye-teeth, like those of beasts of prey, as the Cat; and his grinders like those of animals that live upon herbage, as the Cow, Horse, &c. But this reasoning is not altogether satisfactory to me. If, in the first place, we examine the human fore-teeth, we shall find them quite different from those of nut-cracking animals of the Squirrel or Hare tribe, which are more prominent, and rather spreading than erect at the angle, whereas ours are perpendicular, with their summits close and level. Hence the fore-teeth of such animals are very long, witness those of the Beaver. Some carnivorous animals have similar fore-teeth to ours, but have we any such canine teeth as theirs? They do not exceed ours in number, but they are much more important. The being furnished with grinders as such, will not, on the other hand, class us with herbivorous animals, although Bulls and Cows have them; for the Dog and Cat, and all other carnivorous ones, have grinders likewise. I have not yet met with any herbivorous animal, with a simple stomach, which is not subject to eructation, nor is the Mouse tribe any exception. But to decide concerning our own species. If we contemplate the characters of our teeth, hands, fingers, and toes, it is impossible not to perceive how very nearly we are related to Baboons and Monkeys, the wild men of the woods. In as much therefore as these are found to be carnivorous, the question is decided with respect to ourselves.

6. The Laplander is satisfied with a small quantity of food at once. He does not eat his fill at one meal, but takes food from time to time, as he feels inclined. On the contrary, the peasants of Finland cram themselves with as many turnips, and those of Skåne with as much flummery,<70> as their stomachs can possibly receive. The inhabitants of Dalecarlia eat till the body is as tight as a drum. Such people are much better qualified to labour in the cultivation of the ground, than to run over the alps. The Laplanders are always of a thin slender make. I never saw one of them with a large belly. Milk diet also contributes to render them active.

7. I examined their knees, ankles, and feet, but could not perceive the least difference in their shape from those of other countries, except perhaps that the sole of the foot seemed rather more concave, at the inner side, than usual. How far this may make any difference, a better mechanic than I am must determine.

8. All the Laplanders are of a small stature. I have never yet met with any of them so tall as myself. A large heavy body cannot move so nimbly as a small one, even though its organs are proportionably stronger and more durable. This is apparent in many similar cases. A little pony from the isle of Öland, or one of a similar kind from Norway, runs with extreme velocity; for though a great trooper's horse may get before it, the little animal moves its legs with astonishing rapidity, and much quicker than the great horse. There is a striking difference in stature between the inhabitants of Hälsingland and those of Lapland, nor is the reason of this difference at all obscure. If we give a young puppy plenty of food, he will grow large; if but little, he will turn out small. If kept warm, he will also grow to a much larger size than if he is always inured to cold. The same remarks may be applied to the people in question. Another subject of inquiry is, why the Laplanders are so healthy; for which the following reasons may be assigned.

1. The extreme purity of the air, which seemed to give me new life as I inhaled it.
2. The use of food thoroughly dressed.
3. Eating their food cold; for they always let their boiled meat cool before they taste it, and do not seize it with avidity as soon as it comes out of the pot.<71>
4. The purity of the water.
5. Tranquillity of mind. They have no contentions, neither are they over and above careful about their affairs, nor addicted to covetousness. Their lives are protracted to extreme old age.
6. Their never overloading the stomach, while the rustic of other countries eats till he is ready to burst.
7. Deficiency of spirituous liquors. Of these they rarely taste, and only in such quantities as to be rather beneficial than otherwise.
8. Their being inured to cold from their infancy renders them hardy.
9. Probably the quantity of flesh they eat may prolong their lives, as carnivorous animals are long-lived.

Prev Next