As far as we had now progressed scarcely anything had given us more
trouble than the question of clothing. In countries where tailors and
dressmakers are abundant, clothing is a matter of very little labor to
the masses--in fact, it simply resolves itself into a question of
pecuniary resources. The dwellers in civilized cities can, therefore,
scarcely appreciate the toil which all must share to secure the
necessary garments to protect those who live in the highest latitudes.
In the fur of the reindeer nature has provided the best possible
protection from the cold, with the least amount of weight to the
wearer. It might be possible to cover one's self with a sufficient
quantity of woollen clothing to guard against the severest weather
in the north, but it would require a man of immense muscular power
to sustain the load. Two suits of reindeer clothing, weighing in all
about five pounds, are quite ample for any season, and are only worn
in the coldest weather. At other times one suit is all that is
necessary. The inner coat is made of the skin of the reindeer killed
in the early summer, when the hair is short and as soft as velvet,
and is worn with the hairy side next to the bare skin. It is at first
difficult for one to persuade himself that he will be warmer without
his woollen undershirts than with them; but he is not long in
acquiring the knowledge of this fact from experience.
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