The history of Lapland wherein are shewed the original, manners, habits, marriages, conjurations, &c. of that people / written by John Scheffer ...

CHAP. XXVIII. Of their Cattel.

AFTER our discourse of the inhabitants of Lapland, their Nature and manners, something is to be said of other things there remark∣able. First of their Cattel, of which they have some common to other Na∣tions, some proper only to themselves. They have no Horses, nor Asses, Oxen, nor Bulls, Sheep nor Goats. The inhabitants do not regard Horses, for the little use they have of them; Oxen, Sheep, Goats, they procure from their Neighbors, for the provision of meat, wool, and hides, and they keep them but one Summer, still killing them a little before Winter. The Beasts proper to Lapland which no other Nation has, are Rain-deers, Peucerus stiles them Tarandi, but without reason, for the Rain-deer compared with Tarandus as 'tis described by Pliny, have scarce any thing a like, the Taran∣dus having the bulk of an Ox, an head bigger than a stags, and hair as thick and rough as a Bears, which he can change into any color, as he shews in his 8^th book, but nothing of this agrees to the Raindeer, as we shall shew anon. Likewise Gesner did erre in bringing this Animal from two divers spe∣cies. 'Tis not known who imposed the name; but whatever become of the Etymology or imposition of the name, tho it seem to be of late times, the beast it self was long before known. The first that wrote of him was Paulus Warnefrid: he speaks there of a people which he calls Scritobini, which were doubtless the Laplanders, for he describes their cloths to be the same with those which the Laplanders call'd Mudd, he affirms that the beast of which they had their hides was not unlike a Stag, which serves to prove that they were the Rain-deer, for so they are call'd by Herbestenius, Damianus, and Olaus, who tells us that they are something taller then a Stag: those which have broad horns (found most in the North) are less than others. But tis not the same thing to talke of tallness and bulk; for tho other Stags owe their height to their long legs, they have less bodies than the Rain-deer. They have 3 horns, 2 branching out backward, the third sprowting down their foreheads (which Olaus observes is to guard them from the wild Beasts espe∣cially the Wolves.) Lomenius speaks of 4 horns, 2 backwards and 2 for∣wards, as appears by his picture, in which the Artist falls short of the matter, as my draught which is more accurate will show: but Albertus Magnus makes them have three rows of horns, for so Jonstonus out of him, they carry saies he 3 horns, each breeding 2 horns more, which makes his head seem bushy.

Two of these are bigger then the rest, which answer to the Stags horns, growing sometimes to that bigness as to be 5 cubits high, and are adorned with 25 branches. The Doe has 2 short horns, one being fixt in its forehead which it uses in conflict with other beasts. These horns are proper only to the Buck, the Doe having much less and fewer branches. They are common∣ly covered with a kind of Wool, which is most frequent after they are cast and begin again to shoot; so Olaus. In the spring, they begin to sprout, ten∣der, but rough and full of blood: when they come to a sufficient growth, they cast their hair in Autumn. The Rain-deer differ from a Stag, that their feet are thick like a Bulls; hence Olaus took notice of their round hoofs: when they walk, the joints of their feet make a noise like the clashing of flints, or cracking of nuts, which is peculiar only to these beasts. Lastly their co∣lor is different from a Stags, for it comes nearer an Ash: besides they are white not only on their belly but on their haunches, which Damianus ob∣serves does render them more like Asses then Stags, and Zeigler agrees with him. But I cannot see on what account Olaus attributes a main to this beast: they have indeed, especially under their necks, hair longer then ordi∣nary, such as Goats and other beasts have, but nothing agreeable to an horse main: tis farther observeable that tho they are cleft they do not chew the cud. Likewise instead of the bladder for their gall they have a black passage in their liver. This is the picture of one drawn to the life.

[illustration] depiction of a reindeer

Moreover the beast is naturally wild, and such still abound in Lapland,

but now multitudes are tamed for domestick service; those that are bred of tame ones, remain so, of which there is great plenty. There is a third sort bred of the wild and tame, for they use, as Sam. Rheen observes, to set out tame Does about rutting time, for the better conveniency of catch∣ing the wild ones. Thence it happens that sometimes the tame ones breed that third sort, which they call particularly Kattaigiar or Purach, and are bigger and stronger than the rest, and sitter to draw Sledges. He saies too that they retain something of their primitive wildeness, sometimes being very he adstrong, and kicking at him that sits on the Sledge. The driver hath no remedy then but to turn his Cart, and lie under it, till the Beast ceases to be unruly, for they are strong, and will not be governed with whips. They go a rutting about S. Matthews tide, in the same manner that Staggs do: if any Buck be killed in that Season, the flesh stinks like a Goats, which makes the Inhabitants desist from killing them at that time, but at other times they are good meat. The Does (which they call Waijar) are big ten months, they calve about May, when they can recruit themselves with the Sun, and fresh grass. They breed but one a piece, but are so fertile, that of an hun∣dred there is not ten barren. Those that have calved are stiled Raonae, which become exceeding fleshy, as if they were farned against Autumn, at which time they are usualy killed.

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 af∣firms 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 Moun∣tains 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. Tornaeus 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 calle 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 breed∣ing. 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 mea∣sure 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 silled, 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. Rbeen 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 dis∣seases, 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 them∣selves; 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.