VOL. IX. N. S.

No. LII.

LAPLANDERS AND LAPLAND

DEER,

hope they will soon become an usual ornament of parks and plea

graved by Mr. FRY.

ONE of the most interesting exhibitions ever seen in England has been opened this month at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. It is that of a family of Laplanders, with their familiar associates, a herd of rein-deer, which have been brought from Lapland by the enterprising Mr. Bullock, formerly proprietor of the zoological museum which bore his name. The deer are the first of the kind that have ever been brought to England; but they are so beautiful, so active, and at the same time so gentle, that we

white moss, abounding in this country. The Laplanders are also no ordinary curiosity. Their stature is diminutive, and their features have no pretensions to beauty; but their evident mildness of character, their quick intelligence, their good-natured and easy accommodation of themselves to the novel situation in which they are placed, conciliate the regard and respect of every spectator.

We are happy in being enabled, through the politeness of Mr. Bullock, to lay a correct representation of those interesting objects of curiosity before our readers, who will X

be pleased to know that Mr. B. is likely to be amply rewarded for his .meritorious exertions, the room being crowded daily with fashionable visitors.

In the book sold at the Exhibition, Mr. Bullock, after stating that he was never able to obtain a reindeer, either in a preserved or living state, gives the following reasons for bringing them to this country:

"It has always been a matter of surprise and regret, that so noble, so useful a creature should be so long unknown to us. It did not appear to me that any experiment to domesticate it in our island, on a fair and extensive scale equal to the importance of the subject, had yet been made. There are tracts of country in our island, where it is probable, with care, they might be reared at a trifling expense. The high hills of York, Derby, Cumberland, Wales, and Scotland, produce the white moss, considered essential to their existence: it is even found on the downs in the neighbourhood of London, and, I believe, is eaten by no other animal. We might, then, be supplied with a luxurious addition to our table for a mere trifle. The flesh of the rein deer is most delicious venison; and its milk, the consistence of ordinary cream, of the most exquisite flavour, and contains double the nutriment of that of the cow: the butter and cheese made from it are excellent; the former is made from milk only, agitated by a whisk in a wooden vessel.

"These considerations determined me, should my leisure permit, to endeavour to effect so desirable an object; and the moment I was relieved from my late public occupation, I left England for the purpose of procuring a stock of deer, and, if possible, a Lapland

family with them. After three unsuccessful attempts, I have attained my object.

"Their arrival has excited so much interest and curiosity, that, in compliance with the wishes of the public, they will be exhibited by the people themselves, who have brought their summer and winter residences and furniture with them. The man, Jens Holm, and his wife, Karina Christian, are about four feet eight inches high, which, in Lapland, is not beneath the usual height; on the contrary, Karina is considered a tall woman: their son, four years and a half old, is not likely to be so tall a man as his father. They understand the Norwegian language.

Nothing can exceed the extraordinary appearance of the noble quadrupeds: in size they excel the red deer, or stag. The enormous horns in some almost exceed belief: a cord passed round those of a fine male measures thirty feet. In some they appear like the branches of an aged oak, stripped of its foliage. The immense brow antlers vary in some individuals, from two to four.

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They are sleek in summer, but in winter clothed with a thick impenetrable coat of long hair of a dry husky appearance: their feet are large and wide, extending considerably whilst resting on the ground, and covering a space sixteen inches in circumference. Every time each foot is moved, a loud clicking noise is heard, occasioned by one of the hoofs striking against the other.

"The morning after my arrival at Figeland, the young mountaineer to whose care they were intrusted (and between whom and the deer there appeared to exist the strongest mutual attachment) turned them out of the fold, in which they are

them from right to left, and back again, and then to proceed, and they were out of sight in a moment. On their arrival from the mountains on the shore of the harbour opposite Fleckifiord, Salva, the mountaineer, went into a boat, and pointed out to the leader where they were to land: they swam across in a few minutes.

"The whole herd was in the town surrounded by hundreds of the wondering inhabitants, took food from their hands, and seemed pleased with the caresses of the women and children. At their embarkation the deer walked immediately to the side of the quay ; but the leader observing the boats move, stopped and examined them very minutely he hesitated, and the herd became instantly alarmed. It was the first time they had seen a boat. After some further hesitation, and a little fear, the leader walked in. The eyes of the whole were instantly fixed on him, and they distinctly expressed their fears for his safety; and some then turned their eyes to the mountains. He was at this time examining the planks with his feet: the motion did not please him. Salva seated himself by his head, patted his neck, and laid his face to that of the deer. Jens was by this time in the other boat: upon seeing him the deer turned his head, looked attentively at his followers, and in a short snort gave the signal for them to come in. It was not obeyed

for a moment, and he repeated it in rather an angry manner, stamping with his foot. In a moment the boats were all filled. In jumping in, a weakly calf fell, and lay in the bottom of the boat in such a situation, that I considered its destruction inevitable; yet it received no injury. Their care and love for each other are truly admirable. As soon as they were in, the leader, observing there were more in one boat than the other, looked at one of the old males, which, appearing perfectly to understand him, instantly went into the other boat. The ropes were cast off. They remained perfectly still till they reached the island, when, following the leader, they leaped on the rock, ascended the side of a small hill, and got a plentiful supply of their favourite white moss. A day or two after their arrival, the change of food and climate affected the calves: two of them could not be found. Karina, however, begged me not to trouble myself, for that the mother had concealed them where no one but herself could find them. In the afternoon I ordered Jens to draw the whole of them to the shore: he collected them in a moment by whistling, and began to descend the hill, when Karina came to me laughing, and pointed to a female who was loitering behind, and who, as soon as she fancied herself unperceived, turned back. "She is gone to fetch her child," said Karina, and with it she soon made her appearance.

"I have been often amused by the manner in which the males examine and dress their wonderful horns; it is performed in the neatest manner with the hind foot.

They have always a leader or captain, whose orders they scru

pulously obey. They seem to place the most unlimited confidence in his experience.

"In swimming, the deer appear lighter than any animal I have ever seen, and swim with great rapidity, passing an ordinary boat with ease. It is said they will go an English mile by water without inconvenience."

The picture represents the Laplander as just returned from a sporting excursion in his sledge, drawn by a favourite rein-deer. He is giving to his wife, as she sits by the tent, his rifle, which is shewn in the Exhibition, and is of a very curious yet simple construction, the lock having only one spring. Nevertheless it is stated to answer its purpose extremely well. The gun is of Norwegian manufacture, and cost only six shillings of our money! --somewhat of a contrast this, to our expensive detonators.-The female rein-deer have horns, a trait peculiar to them; they are less than those of the male. Of the wonderful speed and endurance of rein-deer, a correspondent has sent us the following account, extracted from the notes of a gentleman some years resident in Sweden:

"In the palace of Drottningholm (pronounced Dronningholm), near Stockholm, I saw a very striking painting, of large dimensions, representing a Swedish gentleman driving a rein-deer full speed in a sledge. The explanation given by the person who attended to shew the palace was this. In the reign, I think of Charles the eleventh, a gentleman of the name of Reintschaw, who lived upon his estate, near Torneo, having learnt that the Danes were collecting a great force, with an intention to attack the Swedes in

that quarter, he immediately set out for Stockholm with his reindeer to inform the King of what was doing, and which proved of so much importance to Sweden, that the King ennobled Reintschaw, he having, strange to tell, performed the journey, being one hundred and forty-eight Swedish, making nine hundred and sixty-two English miles, in forty-eight hours. The deer died the next day."

Our Correspondent must certainly be in error as to the time and distance specified.-ED.

For the Sporting Magazine. SOME ACCOUNT OF JOHN JEN

KINS, LATE GAMEKEEPER TO
SIR WILLIAM GUISE, BART.

IN our Obituary for the present

month, mention is made of the death of John Jenkins, late keeper to Sir William Guise, Baronet.We have received the following account of him from a correspondent.

To speak of Jenkins as a shot, excellent as he was in this instance, would be to treat of him only as to one of his least praiseworthy qualifications. Some peculiarities, however, in his equipment as such deserve notice. His shot bags, of shamois leather, with a mere tube of brass to each, calculated, by the pressure of the fore finger and thumb underneath, to contain a load in the quickest manner, were of his own contrivance; and his favourite double gun, which was provided soon after the introduction of the patent breech, he had altered, after a novel plan, by a self-taught artisan in a neighbouring village (of the name of Prosser) who nevertheless worked admirably well both on wood and iron. By the conjunctive reasoning of these persons, it was supposed that the