The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-06

dog team. The Lapp brought his mail
into the terminus, rested ms oeeF
thirty hours, started on the return trip
and fifty miles out met the foremost
of his competitors. Even more re-
markable was a mail trip OF l'l4O mlIes
through a trackless wilderness mace
by reindeer the teams making as hlgh
as 10 miles A day under the most IA
vorable conditions. Now that the value
of these animals has been fully estao-
lished the United states has entered
upon a new and curious field OF lndus,
try and has become an importer ana
breeder OF stock and will bring IN the
next few years thousands OF relndeer
into its northernward possession
There are now in Alaska eight herds
comprising about $500 head. BY jan
uary this number will be increased,
through importation, 10 more than
5000 head.
Getting possession of these draught
horses of the northland is by no means
an easy matter. In the first place,
money will not buy them. 1t will not
buy anything in that part of Siberia
where the finest reindeer are round
for the simple reason that the Siberian
is too practical minded to care any
thing about money. That hard, cold
bit of rounded metal, or the fiimsy
green paper that that represents so
much to civilized man means moth
ing to him. For what he gives up he
wants rteurn in obviously utile form;
so barter is the only method of getting
his reindeer from him, and bolts of
cloth, knives, canned foods, and vari-
Gus utensils must be shipped up there
as mediums of exchange. Even then
he parts reluctantly with his domestic
animal. To the Siberian the reindeer
l. frfo oOd faf1rnod all
in one, when alive; and a hundred
other things when dead. There was a
general expression that the beast
would not survive a sea voyage, but
the first experiment showed that they
throve upon it, and large expectations
from Siberia followed.
At first the whites in Alaska were
not successful in handling the animals.
They are scarcely comprehensive by
the Caucasian. The reindeer is easily
frightened and easily offended, and it
is impossible to tell how he will be-
have in either case. Sometimes he will
rush at the offending person and strike
him down with his sharp, powerful
forehooves, or endeavor to rip him
open with a quick descent of his form
liable antlers. Again he will balk
sulk, and even pine away. Between the
Siberian and the reindeer there exists
a sort of affinity; the animal will obey
his accustomed master when a white
skinned man can do nothing with him
So a number of herders We're brought
over from Siberia, and young Alaskan
Eskimos put under them to learn the
business. The Alaskan natives have
taken the greatest interest in the in
PRODUCTION of the reindeer, and or
many occasions delegations have trav-
eled from 300 to 400 miles to inspect g
herd which is looked upon as opening
a new avenue of wealth for them. Fol
a time 1t was feared that the Alaskan
dogs, unless checked. would manifest
disposition to scatter and destroy
the reindeer herds, but the herders
were armed and had strict orders t
fire upon any dog interfering with {
herd and after a number of NEEDLE
some dogs had been shot down thi:
source of annoyance disappeared al
most altogether. A few reindeer arr
killed each year by wolves.
Even more expert than the Sibe
| rians in the care and training of rein.
deer are the natives of Lapland. Ac'
cordingly a score of full blooded Laps
have been induced. by liberal offer, Il
migrate to Alaska, where they form
a little colony. With them hav,
| come a number of their dogs, remark
ably intelligent animals, who not onl!
| herd and guard the reindeer, but alsC
/ assist in training and breaking then
to harness. The dogs are very cour
ageous and will fight wolves, mountain
lions, or any other beast of prey tina
may attack the herd. Any of thu
Laps may, upon application to tn,
| government, have the loan of one hun
| bred head of reindeer for an interva
| of from three to five years, at the enc
| of which time the borrower returns
the one hunded head of deer to tn
! government, retaining the increase a
| his private property. 1t is signifi
! cant that nearly every one of tn
| Laps has fastened to take advantage
| of this offer. The government has Civ
en-, loaned or sold herds of reindeer t
mission stations all over Alaska. TIL
| reindeer has also been introduced a
| a pack animal. One of the pioneer
in this movement was Hank Summers
who for nearly a score of years ha
been a miner and prospector in Alas
| ka. This veteran some months ag'
| procured the team of a REINDEER from
one of the mission stations and upol
this deer he packed his tent. blank
cts, provisions and tools for the sum
mer's prospecting. After a brief ex
perience with his new assistant he de
clared that he would never agail
bother with dog teams.
The breaking of a reindeer is onl,
slightly less exciting than the sam
| operation in the case of a broncho OF
the Western plains. When the dee
is lassoed. the loop being thrown owe
the antlers, he often becomes infuri