Perhaps you do not know what eider
down is. It is the soft, fine feathers of a bird called the eider
duck. A great many of these ducks are found in Lapland. Their down is
very soft and warm.
Sometimes the Lapps have to go long distances in the snow. Then they
put on skees. If you saw a pair of skees, you would think that a
person could not walk with them. They are flat pieces of wood, four or
five inches wide, and very long. Some skees are six feet long. Some
are ten or twelve feet long. They are turned up a little in the front.
In the middle of each there is a hollow place. The shoe is strapped to
the foot there, as you see in the picture. When the Lapps go on skees,
they do not raise their feet from the ground. They slide along, one
foot after the other. They have a long pole, or staff, in their hands
to beep themselves from falling. They can go very fast in this way.
Sometimes they go ten or fifteen miles an hour.
[Illustration: Skees.]
In some parts of Lapland the people live in houses made of earth and
stone. Each house has only one room. The Lapps have no carpets. They
have no tables or chairs. They cover their floor with twigs of trees.
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