Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1891-10-22

WAsHrxerox. Os. 81 Capt. II. A.
He,iy OF toe revenue cut. r Bear declares
in his report to the treasury department
thst the iasr du ton Of reindeer into Alasfa
10 the u,sss important question before that
territory. AIasks has many important
questions to consider. Including land titles,
dshirg AID mining industries, boundaries
and chsIisahle Institutions but the reindeer
10 an embodiment Of food. clothing and
transportation, and accordingly represents
the supply Of primsl wants Of pioneers AID
settlers.
The reirdee, may fairly be called the
most valuable Of all suimsls to people in
she Arc,ic fsgious. ~here it aifsins It's
greatest size. la Siberia il 10 both ridden
and driven By the natives. 1t can draw .
weight Of from $50 to 800 pounds, in ilud-
ing tina: Of the sledss; it can make nine or
ten miles Al hour for very long distances,
and more than $50 miles in from is to 70
hours. Probably the perfection Of
its use lie seen ia Lipland, vhe;s it Is often
the chief possession Of the natives,
The rich msn is very often the one who
tas the largest herd of reindeer, ard the
~ M ais also coss i:tls TO keep. since even
in winter they find their own food, chiefly
ia the lichsrs, for which they root under
the .now. They fulfil = great variety Of
uses. The flesh furnishes toothsome meat,
although the amin ,ls sre often too valuable
to XIII merely for focd the milk is Of
coucse used and il greatly przad; from the
skins not OIL Il cloihing and shoes are made,
hut tents sd bedding l, is evident, there
fore, that the re Mt move ment to INTRODUCES
this animal to Alaska is of the highest
interest TO that territory.
AS 10 the sbilty to carry out this plan
We have precedent in the case of Iceland,
where the reindeer vas first introduced by
Gov. Thodal in l77o. II soon bsgxn TO
thrive there az elsewhere in the FAY north
But i. is sid to be a fact thu while gres:
herds are found in The most inaccessible
parts Of the Interior Of Iceland, they are
resc ned with fficuity by the huuter and
the animals are very wild ard of little use
to the inhabitants. However. DR.. Sheldon
Jackson, ths government agent of educa-
ton in Alaska. who has already begun to
Introduce the reindeer into that Territory
believes thar better results will be there NJ
| tanned by the great care which it 10 pro-
posed to exercise. During III past season he
purchased at Ssnevine Straits and Itshan on
| the eastern coast Of Siberia, l6 reindeer,
paying for them about $3.50 worth Of sup.
plies in the form of guns, ammunition
cloth and tobacco. The animals were sent
to Amskuk and Ounalaska. Next veal
DR., Jackson will endesvor to establish Z
herd OF reindeer ia the neighborhood Of
Fort Clarence, and for thi, purpose hal
already contracte for Hundred of them
As there are scores of thousands of III,
animals in eastern Siberia, there should bs
no difficu IS ia procuring enough for ex
| perimental Purposes II, u Reasonable cost.
Caps. Hesiy In his report speass o. buy
ing eight tame reindeer, four of which h,
brought away. He adds that that "th'
white, on the Yukon see in them a solutiot
Of the problem they have long beea at
temp,iog 10 solve. Food supply and eli
IN ate are identical with that of Siberia, ant
the visible supply Of moss. upon which the
reindeer principally subsist, was found t.
be more abundant in Alaska than at snS
place slorg the Siberian coast" II is ad
| mitted that there are obstacles to this I'M
derta king, and scme Of the Siberisns pre-
dict that it will not succeed; but its sdvau
tsges are So great that earnest fl Irts viii
be made to bring il dbsut.