Evening star., 1898-02-25
FISH-EATING JERSEY COWS.
| Catholic Priest Saves His Cattle by
| Feeding hem Dried Salmon.

From the Portland Oregonian
When Jersey cows find nutrition out
OF dried salmon and give an abundance of
milk as result of such provender the arc
tic region of the upper Yukon river is rob-
bed of most Of its terrors
Capt. A. NJ. Brown, a retired officer of
the United States army, who has passed
many years in Alaska's icy region. saws;
During the summers and winters of 1891
W L had been superintendent OF a silver
lead and gold mine several hundred miles
beyond the Yukon. and late in the follow
ing summer had been brought down from
near the Bering strait TO ST. Michaels with
several of my men, where We were to ship
on the Alaska Commercial Company's
steamship st. Paul for San Francisco 1
mad to wait for ten days or two weeks at
81. Michaels before the ST. Paul's arrival
and while doing beguiled the tedium of
the rather monotonously passing time in
exchanging experiences with the various
employees of the fur company, and studying
Esqulmau lie as / saw it at St Micneels
several days before the sailing of the
ST. Paul there came into the fort from the
Upper Yukon by barge or canoe a delegation
OF Jesuit priests, accompanied by two or
three nuns, one of the latter of whom we
mad Tor shipmate when we sailed for San
francisco, and who proved to be intelligent
ana cheerful company during the VOYAGE
Father Barrum, S. j. who had mis-
sion lar up on the Yukon, was of the mar
ty and came down to ST Michaels for sun
piles lot MS mission folk, and much to our
regret We had to part with him when we
sailed, though we had many a good story
and tale from him, full of fun and pathos
SO long as We were together
father Tcsi, an old man, at chat time
seVenty-two years of age, and who had the
jan uary of the year bcfore--frail and old as
he looked-crossed on foot from Circle CITY
70 Juneau, was one of our voyasers on the
ST Paul, and as the good father and myself
hofn
Montana-he as a priest end as u soldier
1t can be well imagined that we had much
tnat was pleasant tc talk over in calling up
"reminiscences of life in wild Montana and
OK the wilder northwestern Alaska
Nv nile dis Cl SSing the resources climatic
ana other conditions of northern and north
western Alaska, while in port at Unalaska
the father asked us if We had suffered much
with the extreme cold and lengthy winters
OF 1S9l-'92 where / had been operating and
having had the information desired from
me, he remai ked that the winter just spok-
en- OF had been on the upper Yukon not only
III Usually long, but extremely severe and
that his three Jersey cows had almost
starved to death before spring opened
Il was surprised to hear him talk of keep
ing Jersey cows 1,soo miles or more in the
interior of northern Alaska, and inquired
how he had taken them there and had
puiled them through the long winter. He
said:
Some of my good friends in San Fran
cisco, three years ago, made me a present
o. three fine high-bred Jersey cows and
the officers CT the Alaska Commercial Com
papy, always kind to the missionaries, re-
gardlesS of denominat ton, transported them
for me from San Francisco to the mission,
and there have kept them until now. But
last winter l thought | should lose the
Whole of Them The usual food supply for
my cattle sent up to ME did not half take
them through the long winter, the sum-
mer season of the year before. you well
know, was very short, and the quick growth
OF arctic grass was almost a. failure What
little 1 did get the cows ate up long before
Christmas, and after that the mill feed did
not last long. 1t was not long after il had
been exhausted before my poor little sukies I
IAN about the reservation looking thin
that you could almost read a newspaper
through their attenuated frames, and I
thought they must surely die. The Lord is |
always good, not OILY to those creatures |
made after HIS own image. but even to the |
poorest of the dumb brutes, and He was 4
coed to my little cows, and cared for them |
for me, and in most remarkable manner, |
as / shall relate.
The tribes on the Yukon with us are |
Ike those with you at the Bering strait !
and you know, live principally on dried |
salmon and seal OIL During the summers |
they catch, hang up and dry thousands of |
salmon for the winter. Well, our folks had |
their usual supply of salmon thousands of |
them) hanging over their sealskin lines to !
b. taken by villagers at any time they were
required for use, either in the village or to !
be taken on their sledge journeys with |
them, and few hundred or even thousand |
disposed of in any manner would cut no |
figure with them.
One very cold morning I was standing |
at the door of the little hut used for a |
scheolhouse for the Indian children, when |
one of my cows passed me, and saw her /
go to one OF the sealskin lines and try. by |
extending her neck and tongue, to reach |
cne of the dried fish. 1 went over to where |
she was. and, reaching up to the line, took |
Oft one of the frozen fish. broke II I'm two.
and handed her the half of II. Much to my |
surprise, as well as Joy. she ate II with q
relish. / gave her directly the remaining 1
half. and she ate that also. after which 1 /
fed her three more good, large salmon. and.