The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-05
REINDEER IN ALASKA.
Novel Transportation Line Estab-
Iished at Circle City.
From the Chicago Posi-

From the Chicago Post
A novel transportation line is now being
established at Circle City, Alaska.
Twenty sturdy bucks have been selected
from the United States governments rein
deer herd at Teller's Station and are now
on their way TO the metropolis of the
the Alaskan boundary line. The success
OF this unique enterprise means much TO
miners of the famous Arctic gold fields.
IL is not an idle experiment., chiefly inter
esting to students of natural history and
lovers OF the curious, but serious effort
to reduce the cost of overland transporta-
ton in winter for the benefit of the miner
PROFESSIONALLY this is the first effort TO
press the reindeer into the practical com
mercial service of the civilized American.
heretofore the provisions of the winter
bound miners have been TRANSPORTED from
the trading post to his cabin by means of
dog teams. As result of the sudden and
startling influx of population into the
hlondlke region the Eskimo dog has
achieved new importance. and one of
those native ours, if trained to sledge
may be said with comparatively little ex-
aggeration to be worth his weight in gold
Hauling charges between the posts and
the camps have consequently advanced
to neat figure, and the man who owns
a dog team is only trife less fortunate
than the proprietor of a gold mine
But the servile and treacherous dogs
must now look 20 their laurois for Circle
City has raised the reindeer totem and
proposes to demonstrate that the antlered
importations from Siberia can haul
freight for 10 per cent. of the cost OF dog
sledging The new beasts of burden are
in charge of several experienced Lap driv-
ers, who were brought by this government
from their native land TO act as herders
and trainers on the federal reindeer farm
near Port Clarence, on the most westerly
point of Alaska. AS reindeer herding is
the principal profession of the Laplander.
and these men have served a long appren-
ticeship therein il Is believed nothing is
lacking to prove the practical superiority
OF this animal as a common carrier over
the ice and SHOWS of the frozen zone
Much care has been exercised in the Sc
lection of the herd. and not one of its
members is less than AZ feet in hight
and feet in length The minimum weight
of these bucks is $50 pounds, but some of
them are twenty-five TO fifty pounds
heavier than the lightest All are vigor-
Gus, healthy, and In good working order.
Their antlers, which curve gracefully
backward, are about 2ls feet in length.
Their general color is a soft seal brown,
shading into black on the legs, which are
covered with short glossy hair, to which
the snow does not adhere.
The principal danger threatening the
success of the venture, according to its
promoters, Is the tendency of the average
Eskimo dog to attack the reindeer AS
the skin and flesh of the latter are tender
and its bones britteI a vicious dog would
make short work of disabling one of these
new competitors. Long and patient ex-
periments at the government breeding sta
ton have, however, established the fact
that this danger is much overestimated.
hot tlNa 4
IN the harness, will not attack a team of
reindeer. On many occasions the superin-
tendent of the station has driven HIS ami
mails into starnge village containing
score of dogs without suffering any in
convenience from the latter. In case of
an onslaught from the dogs the drivers of
the reindeer leap forward to the heads of
their steeds and beat off the dogs while
holding to the halters of their own ami
mails.
The sledges which have been provided
for the new transportation line are Of
the regular Siberian or Lapland pattern
and are eighteen inches wide and ten feet
in length. The runners are three inches in
width, shod with whalebone and are
curved above the sled a the forward end
These conveyances are about a foot in
hight and are capable of carrying 900
pounds, which Is regarded as the maxi
mum burden of good reindeer team
travelling over favorable roads.
Although the Lapland reindeer will haul
his driver 100 miles in a day, il is thought
that thirty to fifty miles will constitute
days work for the Alaskan animals
hauling sleds loaded with provisions for
the outlying camp.
A prime advantage of the reindeer over
the dog is the fact that he paws away the
snow and secures his own food, instead Of
having to add his rations to the weight
of his burden. Many pioneer prospector
travelling by dog team, has been placed in
position in which his dogs have become
useless from lack Of provisions. Had these
unfortunate pilgrims been provided with
reindeer teams such an emergency would
not, in all probability, have arisen, and in
case OF the threatened starvation tba
travellers means of transportation woIld
have furnished him with liberal guam
tity of meat.