apps, for the reindeer had to be
kept together and required constant watching.

The dogs acted with great intelligence; they seemed to know that their
masters dreaded the wolves; they barked continually, and looked once in
a while into the distance, moving away, as if to see if they could scent
the wolves afar off.

I walked with my skees slowly, looking off into the distance! Suddenly I
thought I saw far away a pack of them. I drew the attention of the Lapp
who was with me to the spot; but his eyes, accustomed to scan the snow,
soon discovered what it was. He said to me: "There are no wolves there;
only the top of some branches of birch trees above the snow."

All the Laplanders, men, women, and big boys and girls, remained on
their skees all night. The men were outside and made a circle round the
herd. The second circle was made by the women; the third circle, the
nearest to the reindeer, by the children. All shouted and yelled. I
yelled also--I thought it was great fun! The dogs barked as they
followed their masters or mistresses, going outside of the ring to look
for wolves. They were constantly urged; but little urging was required,
for almost all of them knew from past experience that it meant that the
herd had to be protected from wolves, for they had seen them come when
their masters were acting precisely as we were doing, and they were
ready for the fray.

If it had been a dark night, or if it had been snowing, we should have
been in a bad plight; but the moon was our friend. The night passed away
and the wolves had not made their appearance. When daylight came we
were all pretty tired, and we moved the reindeer nearer to the tent.
Then after the coffee was made and drunk, and some reindeer meat had
been eaten, we all huddled the best way we could into the tent, covered
ourselves with skins, and soon after fell asleep, leaving the care of
the reindeer to those who were on the watch and to the dogs--their
untiring and faithful friends.

When I awoke, three dogs were fast asleep near me--the dear dogs
required rest as well as ourselves; they had worked hard for their
masters all night. I remembered the time we had had during the night,
and said to myself, "Hard, indeed, is the life of the Laplander." The
reindeer lay on the snow. After breakfast they were taken a short
distance to pasture, and those who had slept watched them, ready to
fight the wolves if they came.

The news had spread quickly among the L