et in which I
was, and his brother was to be in the last. As usual each man rode his
sleigh with his legs outside, turned back somewhat, or reversed, with
the top of his shoes touching the snow, the feet to act as rudder.

When I did the same a great cry went up. I heard, "No! No! Paulus, your
legs will surely be broken; put them inside your sleigh, as you have
always done!" and before I could say a word in reply John and a Finn
were by me, each taking one of my legs and putting it inside.

A short time was to elapse between the start of each set of sleighs, so
that there would be no chance of their coming in contact. The signal was
given, and one set after another started with great speed. It was one of
the grandest and most dangerous sights I had ever seen, but the Lapps
and Finns were accustomed to this, for they generally went twice every
winter to the Arctic Sea with their produce for sale.

Then my turn came. John started and off we went.

As the sleighs swerved in the descent the tension was very great. I said
to myself, "If the cord that keeps our sleighs together breaks we shall
be pitched far below and be dashed against the rocks with incredible
force."

In the mean time every reindeer was holding back with all his power,
making efforts to disengage himself, and by doing this acted as a brake
on the sleighs in front. If they had not done so the descent would have
been impossible.

What speed! I had never seen anything like this descent before. Here was
a terrifying precipice, the sloping rocks leading towards the chasm. I
was afraid the reindeer would miss their footing. I hoped that no bare
ice would be met. At any moment we might have been thrown out headlong.
After we reached the dale, which closed abruptly at the head of the
ravine, I was breathless from excitement. I had just ended one of two of
the most exciting rides I had ever taken. We waited for those that were
behind, and when they had arrived we rested for a while.

I asked John what would have happened if one of the cords had snapped.
He did not answer my question, but simply looked at me with a serious
expression. I knew what it would have meant. Death!

Further on we had another descent of the same character, but not so
dangerous.

We were all glad when we reached the station of refuge; we were so tired
from the excitement of the day.

We had crossed the backbone of the mountain, and had come down the
western slope. Each stream now f