drawn over them; the Russians (probably originally of the
Finnish race and descendants of the old Beormas) tall, well-grown,
with long hair shining with oil, ornamentally parted, combed, and
frizzled, and held together by a head band, or covered with a cap
resembling that shown in the accompanying woodcut, were clad in long
variegated blouses, or "mekkor," fastened at the waist with a belt.
Notwithstanding the feigned indifference shown at first, which was
evidently considered good manners, we were received in a friendly
way. We were first invited to try our luck and skill in the game in
turn with the rest, when it soon appeared, to the no small
gratification of our hosts, that we were quite incapable of entering
into competition either with Russian or Samoyed. Thereupon one of
the Russians invited us to enter his cabin, where we were
entertained with tea, Russian wheaten cakes of unfermented dough,
and brandy. Some small presents were given us with a naive
notification of what would be welcome in their stead, a notification
which I with pleasure complied with as far as my resources
permitted. A complete unanimity at first prevailed between our
Russian and Samoyed hosts, but on the following day a sharp dispute
was like to arise because the former invited one of us to drive with
a reindeer team standing in the neighbourhood of a Russian hut. The
Samoyeds were much displeased on this account, but declared at the
same time, as well as they could by signs, that they themselves were
willing to drive us, if we so desired, and they showed that they
were serious in their declaration by there and then breaking off the
quarrel in order to take a short turn with their reindeer teams at a
rapid rate among the tents.

[Illustration: SAMOYED WOMAN'S HOOD. One-eighth of natural size. ]

[Illustration: SAMOYED SLEIGH. After a drawing by Hj Theel. ]

The Samoyed sleigh is intended both for winter travelling on the
snow, and for summer travelling on the mosses and water-drenched
bogs of the _tundra_. They are, therefore, constructed quite
differently from the "akja" of the Lapp. As the woodcut below shows,
it completely resembles a high sledge, the carriage consisting of a
low and short box, which, in convenience, style, and warmth, cannot
be compared to the well-known equipage of the Lapps. We have here
two quite different types of sleighs. The Lapp "akja" appears from
time immemorial to have been peculiar to the Scandinavian north;