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Show I THE REAL LAPLANDER i 1 Q Ho Is of Soml-Aulntlc O r I tf 1 n J ? j (SPECIAL. CORRESPOMDENCE) I Q I Tho real Laplanders aro ot somi-Asiatic somi-Asiatic origin. To-day they aro very fow in number, but exceedingly Interesting Inter-esting by reason of tholr physical aspect, as-pect, origin and mnnnor of life. Partly nomad, thoy aro thickly scattered over a vast area in tho northern oxtromlty of tho Scandinavian ponlnSuln along tho upper courses of tho Swedish rivers riv-ers flowing to tho gulf r " Bothnia, in tho Finnish territory ceded by Sweden to Russia, and in tho Kola peninsula. Although most of tho men nro great brandy drinkers, ono seldom sees them drunk. With families coffeo Is tho chief bovcrage, which thoso who can afford tho oxponso drink many times a day, mixing it" with sugar, milk, salt, cheeso, bread, blood and oven dripping. Thanks to tho salubrity of tho climate, cli-mate, in splto of foul air and tho filth of tholr hovels, thoy aro remarkably healthy. Thoso fow who live to bo soventy or moro generally havo red and soro oyes, caused by tho smoko of their tents and hovels, and their long Journeys across tho sunlit snows. It is no unusual sight to see tho womon squatted on a grass plot sowing sow-ing on skin clothing and smoking thplr plj9. Their huts i-irp cvnwoifV df'n sintnio cqliip franiejmndo of light birch branches covered with canvas or something woolen, 'caving tho smoko to escapo through a hole in tho top. It is not strango that tho aged womon wom-on nro ugly whon it Is romemberod that years of bonding over tho (Ire-sldo, (Ire-sldo, with tho inovitablo plpo, havo smoked thorn within and without almost Into living mummies. Whon placed in her "pulknh" or sledge, during dur-ing tho family migration In winter, grandmother is as buried In furs as tho youngest baby, and when tho tont Is put up at tho now encampment sho is tho first to bo carried In. Tho truo Lnpp looks after his old better than his young. Ho may bo thief, liar and vagabond, as his nolghbors call him, but you can mark this down to his ovor, from fleas, which do not thrlvo alng tho coast. .SInco the mlihllo of tho sovontoenth century nil tho Lapps, it Is claimed, have professed Christianity. They already possess a smnll religious literature, lit-erature, and follow tho rites prescribed In tho several local governments in whoso territory they dwoli. Thus In Scandinavia they aro all Lutherans, in Russia orthodox Greeks, but bo- J l m K. y - Laplander's Grave. foro thoy oecamo Christians tho magic ("rurn played a part in tholr coromoniesfs did also tho pino or birch Uirk on which tho wizard figured figur-ed Instruments, animals, men or gods. This bark, or "run treo, ' as tho Norsemen called it, was consulted on all Important occasions, and tho interpretation inter-pretation of the mysterious signs was considered tho greatest art and highest high-est wisdom. Tho last of tho "rune" trees was slid to havo been destroyed about tho middle of tho seventeenth century. . The "soltch" curiously shaped stAies, sometimes rudely carved, carv-ed, rroundf which tho ritos were celebrated cele-brated wen thrown Into the lnkes and Mio riwrs by tho Lapps themselves. them-selves. A few nro preserved In tho S wed lali rhneum"' TboAflgl yJLp's lest friend, hi.nuuW ViOTKuld not rule his herds, la no loigor burled with his master; but cenaln shells, tho "souls of tho dogs," ,iro thrown Into the grave. Tho feait of tho summer solstice sol-stice alio I? hjiro,, as olsowhero In Europo, colobrajod with bonfires kindled kin-dled on tho hiftops. But If tho fet-l8hos fet-l8hos havo disappeared, many of tho old coromonlerf survive, and somo strongly savor of hoathonlsm. Thorn still survivo traces of old pagan customs cus-toms analogous to tho Chamanlsm of tho Mongolians. Travelers who havo studied tho people peo-ple prodlc that it will not bo many years before tho Lapp as distinct type will bo no moro. His domnl.i is being slowl encroached upon by tho Swedish an J Finnish colonists, and ho is being drlvon to permanently settle on tho coast, whero ho will find moro Woman In Native Dress, credit. After tho ngod como tho roln-door, roln-door, thon tho younger womon and childron, Ono cannot Judgo tho Lapp's woalth by his modo or llfo, for rioh and poor allko llvo In wrotchod, dank and squalid hovels or tqnts, frejj, how- abundant rupp)e!l ()f f00,j n,i Bradu ally become blended Into th iurround ing peoples and enjoy tholr comforts It mlsht be gal(, tl)Rt tj10 jjwortlBb schools are to thi j.atip what tho Car lllo school li to tin, Ajnorloan Indian; his godsond. |