e hanging
door of reindeer hide, crept in, stumbling over a confused mixture of
dogs and deerskins, until we found room to sit down. Two middle-aged
women, dressed in poesks, like the men, were kindling a fire between
some large stones in the centre, but the air inside was still as cold as
outside. The damp birch sticks gave out a thick smoke, which almost
stifled us, and for half an hour we could scarcely see or breathe. The
women did not appear to be incommoded in the least, but I noticed that
their eyes were considerably inflamed. After a time our company was
increased by the arrival of two stout, ruddy girls of about seventeen,
and a child of two years old, which already wore a complete reindeer
costume. They were all very friendly and hospitable in their demeanour
towards us, for conversation was scarcely possible. The interior of the
tent was hung with choice bits of deer's hide, from the inside of the
flanks and shoulders, designed, apparently, for mittens. Long Isaac at
once commenced bargaining for some of them, which he finally purchased.
The money was deposited in a rather heavy bag of coin, which one of the
women drew forth from under a pile of skins. Our caps and Russian boots
excited their curiosity, and they examined them with the greatest
minuteness.

These women were neither remarkably small nor remarkably ugly, as the
Lapps are generally represented. The ground-tone of their complexion was
rather tawny, to be sure, but there was a glowing red on their cheeks,
and their eyes were a dark bluish-grey. Their voices were agreeable, and
the language (a branch of the Finnish) had none of that barbaric
harshness common to the tongues of nomadic tribes. These favorable
features, nevertheless, were far from reconciling me to the idea of a
trial of Lapp life. When I saw the filth, the poverty, and discomfort in
which they lived, I decided that the present experience was
all-sufficient. Roasting on one side and freezing on the other, with
smarting eyes and asphyxiated lungs, I soon forgot whatever there was of
the picturesque in my situation, and thought only of the return of our
Lapp guide. The women at last cleared away several dogs, and made room
for us to lie down--a more tolerable position, in our case; though how a
whole family, with innumerable dogs, stow themselves in the compass of a
circle eight feet in diameter, still remains a mystery.

The Lapp returned with his reindeer within the allotted time, and