Note 8 — Chapter XXV · YAKUTSK.

The practised reindeer riders acquire the habit of striking gently with the heel, alternately right and left, at every step, just behind the animal’s shoulders. This is done, not for the purpose of stimulating the deer, but because the motion described is the surest means of maintaining equilibrium. The staff, too, with which the rider mounts is carried in his hand, and is used for maintaining an equipoise in riding; but any attempt of the rider, in the first critical moment, to support himself by resting the staff on the ground, is sure to end in his being unseated.