Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 April 1891 — EMIGRATION OF LAPPS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

EMIGRATION OF LAPPS.

A PROJECT TO TRANSFER THE POPULATION. The Lapps at Hemo —Their Country, Its Wild Scenery and Wilder' Population— Disadvantages of Travdl in Lapland—To Meat Greenland They Would Go.

Jfa N the recent reH vival of an old I scheme for a wholesale emigration of Lapps, or L a p 1 a n d e rs, to Greenland, renewed interest in this pecu iar poopl e has been caused. Iho project lor their reij. 4 *. moval is perfectly feasible, and the 3j| w” r country to which is propose! to , take them is so much like their own that the con-

ditions of life there would not differ greatly from those of their present habitation. The east coast of Greenland has for many ages been unapproachable on account of the ice, for, in the tenth century, colonies from Iceland wore located on the east coast, and were completely cut off from a 1 contact with civilization by an ice veil which-came down from the polar seas and has never since been removed. The entire oast coa-t s, therefor 1 , bel’eved to be uninhabitable, but the climatic conditions on the west coast arc materially different, and extensive settlements have already been formed by the Dones along the eastern shores of Davis Strait and Baffin’s Bay. The west of Greenland, while it has many g aciers which project \ ast masses of ice far into the sea. has nevertheless many small valleys, where, during the short summer, vegetation is abundant. Mosses grow among the rocks and even almost on the ice, and the wild reindeer on the approach of winter leave the coast and go into the interior, whence it is argued there must be vegetation beneath the snow on the rocks in Greenland sufficient at least in quantity to support these hardy animals. Wherever reindeer can live Lapps can live with them, and it is argued that the climatic conditions are not so different in Greenland from those in Lapland as to render the change of hab.tat at a 1 violent. The cl mate of Lapland, however, is milder than that of West Green and The country inhabited by the Lapps comprises the northwestern corner of the Russian Empire and the extreme northern tip of the Sandinavian peninsula. Lapland contains about 130,0)0 square

miles; is. therefore a district about twice the size of Missouri, but has a population not to exceed 150,000. 'lhe sea coast is broken up by the fiords of the Norway coast, and many of these, owing to the influence of the Gulf Stream, are never frozen. The climate of the- coast is, therefor, much milder than that of the interior: indeed, the mountain rangds in the heart of Lap’and are, for the most part, covered with pc/pettual snows. The short summer is prolific with vegetation, and th > grasses and mosses which furnish the reindeer a scanty subsistence are covered up by the snow, and are discovered by the subtle se.nsgbf smell possessed by these animals'. and raked out by thei’rbroad hoofs which soOm especially adapted to this service. The people who inhabit this, the most northern land on the eastern hemisphere, arc divided into three classes, the mountain, the sea and the river Lapps. The iirStmamed are also the least civilized, in point of fact are wandering aiomads, having no wealth but their herds of reindeer, no habitation savq tents made from the skins of these’ftseful animals? and no fixed place of abode, but from year to year follow their herds ■ wherever pasturage .is most abundant. The river Lapps hajve advanced a stage further in the road to civilization, have fixed habitations, though these are but huts of earth, and possess considerable skill in several manufactures. They make their own boats, manufacture their own clothing, knives, weapons and fish hooks. The wandering mountain Lapps, also known as the “three duty Lapps,” from the fact that they pay taxes to the Governments of Norway, -Sweden and Russia, are often extremely degraded. When they are rich, they practice polygamy, but a plurality of wives is denied to the poor, jfrom the fact that the price of a wife is /never less than twenty reindeer, andpften as much as five hundred. The r.ver Lapps do not buy and sell their woman, but entertain a respect for them akin to that fejt in countries whose people have far greater opportunities for education and refinement. The sea Lapps have progressed far beyond their mountain brethren: their honses are of wood or ■stone; they have rowing and sail boats with which they traverse the open sea. They have no inconsiderable amount of commerce; bqing skillful fishers, they catch and salt large quantities of the fish which throng 'the- watera of the Norway coast, and are thus able to purchase for themselves thejuxurics of more civilized lands. t- *• j, ■ n . The Lapps are< a curionsr ice, Nothing is known of their origin, of whence they came. They .seem to be Mongolians. but are a» superior to the Esquimaux as the blonde Swedes and Norwegians ar*Xa themselves. They are of stunted stature, seldom exceeding five feet in height; while four and one-half feet is perhaps * good average,. bu« of thick-tel .Jodies, exceeding/ strong aiid active. ~ Withdsrk hair and --vorffplex-. -ons, Wifl&eyes, prominent cheekkioWs.' hollow dbcfekfl and thev ■ presentfctAmg points of the Chinese.' bfit thtSir eyes are Tlbt oblique and th |.r color -is much lighter, while their language bears not the eiightost resemblance to that ot anyknown Asiatic tribe. It is probable that they waire amorfjj the aarlMit emigrants

to Europe from the Asiatic home of the human race, and that, pressed by subsequenttides of emigration, they were gradually arowded into their far-away

corner of the continent and there remained a relic of almost prehistoric times. However this may be, it is certain that in intelligence they far exceed most na-

tions of so called savages. Most are, at least nominally, Christians. Partly by persuasion, partly by force, they were, a couple of hundred years ago, induced to give up their heathenism, and embrace a Protestant Christianity. In Hatta there is the most northern Lutheran church in th - wor d. It is an unpretending building, standing almost alone on an eminence, and in it service is rarely he'd more than once a month, for the clergyman resides many miles away, and is obliged to ride lus circuit over an almost roadless country under circumstances of difficulty which would h’ndor the clergy of more civilized countries from going at all. The Lapps have the Bible in their own tongcr', and few stories ar? more interesting than the aceountof its translation. Over thirty years ago a series of religious riots took place in a number of villages in Lapland, and among the rioters was one Lars Haetta. During the riots several homicides occurred, and 1 ars and some others of his companions wore committed to prison on a charge of murder. They were found guilty and several 1 were hanged,- but in consideration of his youth Haetta was condemned to life-* long imprisonment. Commiserating his

condition, his keepers and the prison chaplain extended to him such favors as could safely be granted to a lifelong prisoner, and, rinding them rewarded by good conduct, took especial pains to teach him to read and write; Lars became interested in the Bible, grew day by.day more fond of reading ft. and finally formed the bold project'of translating it -into his native tchgua. Through..jriaay. weary years the labor went on, for Lars was no great scholar, and the Lapp language, as may be readily supposed, is not a Hit-' ent literary Qf thought. Blit finally the work was done, the Bible translated and printed in the language of Lapland, and the remainder of Haetta’s sentence .was commuted. He was living as late as 1870, and though an old man, was still -active, and often served parties of tenvelers as a guide. The scenery erf country is extremely varied. * ’Mountain ranges approach near the sea, and attain a height of Jrom f>,ooo t0.J.000 feet. As in this part of tlie world the line of perpetual ..snow is a little above 3,000 feet, many of the mountains are covered with their Jarhite drapery from year to year, and the curious spectacle is presented of Breen valleys watered by streams which ■‘flow down from never-ceasing snows. "Water courses are abundant, the warm suns melting the snows in the mountains, and in the summer time pouring down torrents througn channels which during the greater part of the year are ainpi y frozen miseea Many of the

falls along the iltt’o rivers xro utilized for and picturesque spectacles are presented when these rude, blocklike structures are place.!, as they often are, : on largo bowlders almost in the midst of ! the torrent, , , jj. From time to tune the traveler through the vallpysof this northern land will pass thp little farms of the sea or river Lapfts; Ismail' patches of arable land enriched by the careful toil of the farmer, who, from tjie forests has decayed foliage to fertilize his ground. During the winter ho hp-s no fear of trespassers, but in the suminer his land must be fenced to; keep out the reindeer, and he consequently puts sticks around t’ o little field, and as his summer is all daylignt, ’’institutes a watch, the various members of his househo’d taking turns to keep an eye on the field. Grain and plants of speedy growth can be easily raised, and although the trees bear no fruits, ediljle berries are abundant. Grasses and mosses are numerous, and so immense a variety of flowers and plants exists that one botanist has made a collection of over 20,000 different plants from this frozen land. Lapland has several towns of considerable trade. Bossekop, on the coast of Norway, does a large business In cloth-.

ing, for the sea and river Lapps already appreciate the advantage of the cloth manufactures of the continent, whi 0 bread is also imoorted from Russia, Sweden and Norway as a luxury, together with spirits and tobacco, a lively demand existing for both in all parts of tlie country. It is true that the sale of all sorts of alcoholic stimulants is forbidden, but it is also true that numberless .ways of evading the law exist, and that drunkenness is annually proving more and more a curse to the land of tho Lapp. Travel in Lapland, whether in summer or winter, is attended by numberless inconveniences. During the summer season the tourist is transported to and fro by means of a two-wheeled cart, made very strong in order to resist the innumerable jolts which it will experience over the Lapp hills; in winter he is obliged to proceed with a train of half a dozen sledges, one for himself, one for his interpreter, ono for his servant, the Lapp who takes care of the reindeer, one for fuel, all of which he must carry with him, as he is not certain ho will find either victuals, bed clothes or wood at the various places he may bo compelled to visit. The hotels in Lapland, such as they are, were

built by the Governments of Russia and' Sweden, and are nothing but sheds, for all travelers are supposed to carry their own provisions and attendant. In winter the tourist may be lost or frozen; in

summer, he Is certain to be driven almost mad by the mosquitoes, which are of enormous size and unparalleled ferocity There is no escape from them. In order to have comparative peace the tour- I

Ist must constantly wear a veil over hfs face, arfd protect his hands by gloves reaching nearly to the elbow. Besides the 'country, there is little to

be seen in Lapland, for the inhabitants do not present many interesting points of study, save to the ethnologist or student of the human race. To the sportsman, especially to the fisherman, the fiords and rivers furnish entertainment of the best kind. Salmon and trout fishing is excellent, but unfortunately for the average run of tourists, most of it is “preserved,” that is to say, the privilege of fishing in the rivers has been purchased by the government, and the tenant invested with the right to keep off all poachers. Even the Lapps arc thus prevented from fishing in their own streams. Lapland is interesting from a scientific point of view, for within its limits have been establishd two of the circumpolar stations through which scientific investigation by means of magnetic, electrical, and other means has been carried on. One of these is at Bossekop, the other at Boulokaeino, and at each the results attained were in the highest degree satisfactory. “Observing,” while pleasant enough in the summer time, become arduous labor when undertaken during the six months night characteristic of the Lapland winter.

DRYING CODFISH.

THE MOST NORTHERN CHURCH IN THE WORLD.

A SCENE IN BOSSEKOP.

A SEA-LAPP DWELLING HOUSE.

A BIT OF LAPIAND ROAD.

A RIVER LAPP’S SAW-MILL.