Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-09-26
RAISING Re,NpeER.
a Gazing That Presents chAnces for Sudden
wealth or Complete Ruin

a Gazing That Presents Chances for Sudden
wealth or Complete Ruin-
Bearing or tending reindeer Is par excel
lence the profession Of a Samoyede. II not
rich enough 10 posses a herd Of his own he
enters the service Of the owner Of a large
herd. who keeps him and his family in food
and clothes and gives him a certcin number
Of reindeer calves Per annum In return for
his services The servant thus lays the
foundation OF a herd OF his own, and, II
lucky, can, after q few years service, set up
ON his own account.
Luck, however, plays great part In this
means Of livelihood, for ''reindeering7 Is a
great lottery. The animals are very liable
70 a disease which corresponds 20 the rinder-
pest IN cattle. and which in a day or two viii
Kin of a herd Of 60 or 100 deer. II this hap
pens In the middle Of the Tundra. the local
name for these great, bare arctic steppes, II
probably means death 10 tHe-owner and his
entire family, as they are left possibly hun
dresis Of versfs from any human help, with
out food and without means Of looomofion-
In my subsequent journey came upon the
S>-ne 81 one q tbese not uncommon TRACE
die, and l have rarely witnessed a more
pathetic SIGHT than the half standing chooms
surrounded by few sledges and the other
poor posssssions 81 the i'll fated owners and
scattered al around the bones and horns Of
the pest stricken herd The owners them
selves had been subsequently, buried by some
natives passing by. As We found their wooden
boxhke graves on a hill short way of
Though the los Of the herd dos not often
prove as fatal as this, % the owner it always
means material ruin. and saw good in
stance Of this At Obdorsk, where / came
=
herd 0f 5,OO deer, representing roughly a
capital q eS. so. content 90 work a a la
borer for 20 copecks u week
When successful, on the other hand. the
rearing 81 reindeer is a most profitable &C.
cupatioL- When clear Of disease the herd i.
almost sire 10 double in number wear by
year. Their cost of maintenance IL mi. while
they supply their owner with all his essential
wants, and with the pecuniary means for Oh
tanning such Injuries a are within ms reach
Their hideS provide him with clothing and
shelter in the shape Of his hide covered
choom; their meat forms the staple Of hi.
food The skin Of calf in raw condition
yields about three r-ubles; when very young
and dark, rs much as five. The skins Of the
older deer fetch about two. With this cir
culating medium in his pouch, the Samoyede
buys the vodka and other creature comforts
his soul delights in, or adorns his wife with
the spsngles and strips of colored cloth she
50 highly prizes. But over and above all
theSe gifts which the mild reindeer presents
70 his lord Is the one which to the nomad
dominates and determines ali the rest-that
of lOcomotiOn.
This industry, if 80 ii may he termed. ne
cessarIly supplies the nomad life pure and
simple, the SAmoye1es pitching their tent.
wherever reindeer moss is abundant, and
moving of a. soon rs their herds have cropped
the surrounding district bare. In winter the
| Samoyesles prefer 10 be in the vicinity 81
| forests, partly for the sake OF the wood which
they need for fuel and for making new snd
tinkering up old sledges. partly becanse tn,
| snow here y not 80 deep in the open Tun
| dra. and the deer can thus go more easily al
the moss Here also they trap the white for
and piarmigan, the wings Of which have g
| great sale. In summer they drive their herd.
i into the Tundra over which large portion
OF my journey lay, and which | may her,
take the opportunity 20 describe The Tun
dra il a NOISY marsh slightly accentuated her,
and there with low hills, and sprinkled with
numberiess shallow lakes not connected viii
| each other. For miles and miles the erouns
| = 80 marsh that one runs the risk Of sinking
up 10 ones middle IL one attempts To wall
over IL Now and again one comes upon
spot where the ground resembles a Scotch
moor minus the heather, a very springy mos
with an occasional clump Of low willow brush
wood Tbese spots the native makes fol
when, after his day. journey, he wishes Il
| pitch his choom, Is the mOss here grows thicl
and rich and the brush wood affords the lttls
fuel he requires. Not a tree. not a rocl
breaks the mOnotony Of the scene, and tb'
| greenish brown color Of the Tundra LOSING
itself in a duh. gray sky. Is a. dreary a PIC
ture a the human eye can well rest upon -
Murray's magazine