you
how we slaughter our reindeer." An old bull was brought forward and one
of the Lapps seized the animal by the antlers, and by a peculiar twist,
without apparently great effort, threw him on his back. Then he thrust a
long, sharp, narrow knife deeply between his forelegs until it pierced
the heart, where he let it remain. The poor creature rose dazed, turned
round upon himself twice, then tottered and fell dead.

I did not like the sight, but I was studying the life of the Laplanders
and I had to see everything for myself. After the blood had accumulated
in the cavity of the chest it was removed and put into a bladder. The
intestines were taken out and washed. The skin belonging to the forehead
between the eyes, and from the knees to the hoofs, was cut off from the
rest of the hide.

"This," said Pehr Wasara, "will be for shoes and gloves;" and each piece
was stretched on wooden frames, likewise the skin of the carcass. The
tongues were set aside, the host saying to me, "If it were summer we
would smoke them." The sinews were collected for thread.

The other reindeer were then butchered, and the meat placed on the racks
outside of the tent.

CHAPTER XV

WATCHING FOR THE REAPPEARANCE OF THE SUN.--THE UPPER RIM FIRST
VISIBLE.--THE WHOLE ORB SEEN FROM A HILL.--DAYS OF SUNSHINE AHEAD.

I watched the horizon every day towards noon, hoping to see the sun, for
the light was getting brighter and brighter. The glow of the hidden sun
was so great at noon that it looked as if sunrise were going to take
place. How disappointed I felt when the glow became less and less, as
the unseen sun sank lower without showing itself. Then came to my mind
the coast of New Jersey, where in the early morning I had often watched
for the appearance of the sun above the horizon, in the long glow that
preceded sunrise.

One day I saw a golden thread above the snowy horizon. It was the upper
rim of the sun. I watched, hoping to see the whole sun. But it was at
its meridian, and in a very short time the golden thread had disappeared
and the sun was on its downward course. I shouted, "Dear Sun, how much I
should like to see you. I am so tired of beholding only the stars and
the moon. I am longing for sunshine."

Near by was a hill. A sudden thought came into my mind. I said to
myself, "If I ascend this hill I shall see the whole sun, as the
greater height will make up for the curvature of the earth."

I ran, and soon was asce