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 LAPLAND

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LAPLAND

Monde", in which the results are presented without mathematical deductions, sliowed sui-li Unguis! ic ex- cellence that it secured him a seat amotif; thi' Forty of the French Academy (ISI(i) and for a time the presi- dency of that body (1817). The five volumes of the "Mecanique Celeste" made him the Newton of France. He was admitted to the French Academy of Sciences, first as associate (177.'i) and then as member (1785), and took a prominent place in the Institute, into which the Academy developed (1796). He was one of the founders of the Bureau of Longitudes and for a while its president. The Royal Society of Lon- don and the principal academies of Europe honoured him with memliership. Great scientists, like Ber- thollet, Cuvier, Humljoldt, dedicated their works to him. The coilecteil works of Laplace were printed twice: l)y the Government in seven volumes (184.'5- 47), the Chamber granting forty thousand francs; and again, at the expense of General Laplace (who left seventy thousand francs for the purpose) and his niece the Marquise of Colbert, in thirteen volumes (1878-1904), under the auspices of the Academy of Sciences. An English translation of the "M(5canique C^l^ste" by Dr. Bowditeh appeared in Boston (1829- 39) in four volumes.

Laplace was born and died a Catholic. It has been asserted that to Laplace the Creator was an hypoth- esis. The origin of this assertion lies in the misinter- pretation of a passage of the "Systeme du Monde" (Oeuvres, VI, 1835, p. 480), where it is evident that by "vain hypotheses" Laplace meant the Derts ex ma- china of Newton and the " perpetual miracle" of Leib- niz's Harmony. It is true that Laplace indulges in a frivolous remark against Callistus III both in the "Theory of Probabilities" (Introduction, also sepa- rately as " Essai Philosophique") and in the " System of the World" (IV, iv). He partly atoned for it by omitting the remark in his fourth edition of the "Es- sai ". Death prevented him from doing the same in the sixth edition of the "Systerae du Monde", the correcting of which he had commenced during his last illness. He died at his home in Paris, Rue du Bac, attended by the cur6 of the Foreign Missions, in whose parish he was to te buried, and the cure of Arcueil, whom he had called to administer the last comforts of religion (de Joannis, p. 27).

PoissoN. Discours prononce aux Obsfques de M, le Marquis de Laplace in Connaissance des Temps pour Van ISSO; Faye, Sur I'Origine du Monde (Paris, 1884); de Joannis, Formation Mi- canique du Systeme du Monde (Amiens, 1897), reprinted from Etudes, LXXI (Paris, 1897); Fourier, Ehge historique de La- placeia Memoires de V Academic des Sciences (Paris, 1831).

John G. Hagen.

Lapland and Lapps. — About 150,000 square miles of the most northerly regions of Europe, from the Atlantic Ocean to the White Sea, from the Pole and the Arctic Ocean to the 62° N. lat., are occupied by a partly stationary, partly nomadic people of Mongo- lian race, usually designated as "Lapps", while their neighbours call the territory over which they migrate "Samelads" and the people themselves "Same", though many prefer the term Fjelman (mountaineers). The country is rich and varied. Radiant days and mid- night sun alternate with months of night and twilight, contrasts that can scarcely be found elsewhere on earth. Deep obscure forests surround bright sheets of water; majestic rivers hurry over mighty cataracts to the sea; here ice-capped mountain peaks tower skyward ; there innumerable herds of reindeer pasture in the grassy river valleys. The earth conceals all kinds of treasure, thus the inexhaustible iron mines at Gellivare are well known (in 1901 output 1 ,200.000 tons) as among the richest in the world. The total number of Lapps (the nation as such has exerted no influence on the develop- ment of mankind and therefore has no individual history) is about 30,000, of whom 2000 live on Russo- Finnish, 8000 on Swedish, and 20,000 on Norwegian territory.

This singular race is divided into three different groups: mountain, forest, and fisher Lapps. The first two are nomadic and almost entirely dependent uiKjii reindeer. Nearly all the nci'ds ol ihe i.,apps are supplied by this useful cn'atuiv. win, I, clo.sely resem- bles a stag. The flesh pnixi.l.- Iii> Inod; from its milk he obtains cheese; from the hide, clothes, leather, foot and tent covering, while the antlers yield material for knife blades, vc^sscls, etc. During the winter the mountain Lapj)s move down from their storm driven heights to the sheltering valU'Vs. Here they linger until spring and while hcTe slaughter superfluous ani- mals. They conceal their provisions in storehouse's (njallas) to save them from depredation. Into the part of the cuiyptes (that is sheds resting on piles) not used to dry meat, they bring tools and sledges for the summer. On the approach of spring they return to the green mountain meadows where the reindeer calve and then, having abundant food, supply milk for nourishment and for making cheese. The dwellings of these Lapps consist of an easily movable kata, or conical hut, with skins fastened over the poles and ceilings and in winter roofed over with turf. These huts are fifteen to sixteen feet in diameter at the base and from six to fifteen feet in height. They have two entrances but no windows. The smoke from the fire- place in the middle escapes through an opening above. Around the hearth men and dogs, parents, with chil- dren and servants, lie on fir or birch twigs covered with skins. Less laborious than the lives of the mountain Lapps are those of the forest Lapps who have fixed places of abode and dwell in log-houses. Twice a year, in spring and autumn, they leave their hearths and devote themselves to hunting and fishing. The rest of the time they are employed, like the moun- tain Lapps, in breeding reindeer. The forest Lapp is in every respect more favoured than the rest of his race, and enjoys such luxuries of civilization. as salt, meal, coffee, and tobacco. The fisher Lapps have few resources, and at the best have only a few reindeer to dispose of. They are industrious and depend solely on the often insufficient results of their toil. Absolute pauperism is frequent among them. As to physical traits, the Lapps are usually small and slight in figure like the Scandinavians and Russians; their heads are broad, the profile sharp and the expression somewhat sad. Their complexion is yellowish and the long jaw and pointed chin develop only a scanty beard. They love gay coloured clothes adorned with rude ornaments of silver or tin and make them with much skill. They are not lacking in mental capacity and few Lapps are totally illiterate. Education is provided by means of a few established schools and the aid of travelling teachers. Kindness and gentleness form the bright side of the Lapps' character. Thieving is rare. It is natural that an isolated people, but too frequently the victim of natural forces, should be given over to superstition.

Formerly the Lapps were polytheists. Ibmel ap- pears to have been invested with a sort of leading role among the gods, and his name is still used figuratively. To-day most of the people profess, at least outwardly, the Confession of Augsburg. There are several par- ishes, e. g. Kautokeins and Karajok in Norwaj', Kare- suandaand Jukkejarin in Sweden, where religious serv- ice is held in both the Scandinavian and Lapp lan- guages, or only in the latter. It is abridged and the attendance is slack. About four times a year, how- ever (at the so-called Helgdagar), the contrary is true. The multitudes who assemble at that time combine business and pleasure, markets and popular sports with religious celebrations. A few thousand Lapps were Christianized in the sixteenth century by monks from the Russian island-monastery of Solo wet zkoij and were enrolled as memljers of the Orthodox Church. Their new "religion" was no more seriously taken than the Protestant Christianity of the Southern Lapp.