the Laplanders to
exist, and without them thousands of Norwegians would be poor indeed.

It is a popular idea that, in the winter, reindeer draw the sleighs
all over Norway. As a matter of fact, it is only in the extreme North,
among the Lapps, that reindeer are employed for this kind of work; and
very few Europeans ever have the opportunity of enjoying a drive in a
reindeer "pulk," as the queer sleigh is called. That the experience
is most exhilarating and exciting is certain. In the first place,
there is only one trace, connecting a kind of shoulder harness with
the forepart of the sleigh; again, there is only one rein coming from
a collar round the deer's neck, and consequently driving a reindeer
as we drive a horse is, of course, out of the question. All that
it is possible to do is to head him in the required direction, and
hope for the best. A jerk of the rein sets him going; and, as often
as not, he starts at a frantic gallop, kicking up the snow into the
driver's face until he is almost blinded, and careering right and
left at his own sweet will until he is tired. There is no difficulty
about keeping to the road, because there are no roads--only miles and
miles of snow, and the reindeer knows pretty well which way to go,
since the camping-places and habitations in these regions are limited.

Imagine what it would be like to jump into a boat-like "pulk" all
alone--for there is only room for one--twist the rein round your wrist,
give it a flick, and so away over the waste of snow, watching the
great antlers of the deer in front of you, and flinging yourself from
side to side to prevent capsizing. And, if you do happen to upset,
you must hang on to the rein like grim death and be dragged over the
snow, otherwise the reindeer will either fly like the wind and be lost,
or he may turn on you and attack you with his fore-hoofs.

These are the animals which are called the tame reindeer, but
their tameness only consists in the fact that they are kept in herds
together, and watched by men and dogs. They graze wherever they choose,
and the men and the dogs have to follow them. When they are wanted
for driving, to be milked, or to be killed, the Lapp has to lasso
them over the horns, from a distance of thirty or forty yards, for no
reindeer is ever sufficiently tame to permit a man to walk up to him.

The wealth of a Laplander depends on the number of reindeer which he
possesses. They carry his baggage and draw his slei