The Nome nugget., 1902-01-08


 tention of excessive moisture, or it gets |
 shriveled up m the hot Summc" sum- on |
 occasions catching fire and lurl.in. up |
 It is well worth a great man endeavor
 to bring back into utilization and to stock these immense fields with animals | of such large commercial value as domestiGated reindeer hese, the only
 cattle fit for these northern pastures,
 will find their own food winter and
 summer. They will, therefore, cost
 less right through to raise and take
 care Of than any other dOmesticated
 animal. needing hardly as much atlen
 ton as sheep require and propagate
 and increase at about he same ratio
 as these. Reindeer in domesticated state are found today ln the hands Of the Lap lander5 in the northe.n part of Norway
 and Russia and in tine hands of nearly
 all the different Asiatic tribes in the
 northern part of Siberia flo n Europe
 o the shores of the Pacific. Crude |
 walls oi caves, once in the darkest past.
 orming dMel ing places for prehistoric races, have led to the c, n lision and
 ~eem to point out the fact that the
 reindeer were, perhaps, the earlie't t
 animals ever don.estlea ed by man.
 Still they show p!a nly today the marAs
 of their original descent from the cal l.
 bou. But, then, up till now, practically,
 they have only been ral> ed and herded
 by aboriginal, primitive and at the
 best Lali-clvil.zed people, and wilenoo-
 ever these people in different loca.itie> have modified their deer sOmewha
 a,.d have bred variat. ons of then. ether to suit environments or to hettel
 fill their own primary needs or the re- } qurements anu demands of adjacent
 markets, on tue whole it is obvious d will be generally admitted that u
 reindeer is still today in the infancy ot , its domestic development.
 In Lapland, lying close to populous
 centers and being in steady commun- cation with these, reindeer are held
 and bred nearly ,ight through as we } do cattle. There io a steady and larAe demand for the neat which Is ship ed } to the markets either fresh or culet.
 So the deer are naturally more ano } more bred so as to give plenty and
 good meat, and as there exists als
 quite demand for dairy prod duce, su, as reindeer milk, cheese. etc., the It in- ) deer COWS are specially taken in hal
 and bred so as to produce abundant ) milk. The hides are. for the bggcst part, shipped to Russia, where they are tanned and are in preference as ma ! teral for riding pants for the Russian
 cavalry: The,r horns and hOofs are
 manufactured into the best of glue in , sweden. All in all, therefore, the . Laplander cal ries on the reindeer l- , dustry today principally for the utillt of it's products, and the qualities Oi the : reindeer aS pack or draught anima ; , are to hlm or secon ary considerable !, though he uses them extensively CT |. hauling his sled and at tines for plow- ing and ttlIing the sol. Itis the sane, , with more or les, mod iticatlOn>, in the different parts of Siberia, where, when 7 saever their value as cattle preponder- ateS, everything else is suhorGinated to } ma king them the best producers. The 7 Tunguses, however, i'll Southeastern } Siberia, who use their deer principally , for packing purposes, are breeding and raising them nearly as large as horses. y It is their tom a, well to ride them with peculiarly shaped saddles, which f rest across the shoulder blades of the t animal, the back of the animal beng 5 too weak to carry their weight. The 1 stron, ta :ked it indeer IS !eJ to be : bred and raised.
 [ The koraks and the ChOwchuans in . Northeastern Siberia, right across the ,. water from here, are without doubt the + tbest reindeer breeders in the world. ], With them the principal demand has - always been for clothing skins. Tie @ Alaska Eskimo has always. had foible = OI WAutluSy UV OICSS III 'tlO hOluCSu NhN ]. warnest of furs, and it has been the ;, special end, avOr of the ChOwchu rein U deer nonad to modify and breed that D variation of reindeer which produce 3 those beautiful, soft and furlike e spotted sklns. You Lave seen those f Lreindeer skins here in Nome, hand- b some and light and exceedingly warm, l. they are without exception the best Q mater;alAO make winter garments in | thls nOrthern country. For them the s Eskimo has always been willing to eA- : chauge' his fox skins. The sane j. >,it5eriai,s, ';tnO, are great breeders Of e rsl.'inx deers of remaraable swiftness t and endurance. A Chowchu is as t pr'ud of owning a fast deer, Us ever Iil Vxnderhilt was oi @belng the Owner oi