The Washington herald., 1908-01-26
Rr RoTHNIN MALLACE.

z
and does many strange things Tor the
benefit OF his dependents ia the far-away
corners Of the earth, quite unknown to
those Of his more favored citizens who
enjoy the luxurics of o more advanced
! civilization
/ But Of those pursuits there is none that
! holds greater interest than tie reindeer
/ industry Of the frozen North-au indus
/ try. fostered by the Federal government
that is destined. in the full attainment Of
/ its growth, 10 open up the vast mineral
/ resources Of 100000 square miles Of desc
/ late whiteness. where the UntraCled snow
/ IS swept by chilling winds that strike 10
/ the marrow i'm a temperature OF 20 de-
I grees below zero.
! IL is I'M this wide wilderness Of awe
some silence that the elemental tragedies
of human life are fought-where men,
with their prtmordial passions and primi-
tive implements. have struggled with the
common, relentless foes, hunger and cold,
and have paid the death penalty for their
defeat The uubr0ken drifts that stretch
+ from Nome, Alaska, 70 the inehable linn
/ its Of the great beyond. conceal many
pitiabIe secrets OF wanderers whose trail
/ has been broken forever in the passing
and whose sleep the lifting Of the long
night will not disturb.
Started To Save Life.
Soon after the United states acquired
it's northwestern possession the problem
of feeding and clothing $1,000 new citizens
presented itself The problem was a serI-
Gus one. as the Eskimo. with the loss of
his quoudam resources. the whale wal
rus. and seal, was helpless 90 combat the
rigors Of his frigid climate. And then
came DIT Sheldon Jackson. the govern
ments general agent OF education in
Alaska. 10 the rescue. But the exploits
Of Dr. Jackson are hest told by Gilbert
II. GTosyenor, of the National Geographic
Society Says Mr.. Grosvenor:
During an extended trip of inspection
Of the missionary stations and govern
ment schools I'm Alaska, I'm the summer
Of 1880 DIT Jackson was impressed with
the fact that the natives were rapidly
losing the sources Of their food supply.
Each year tie whales were going farther
and farther north. beyond the reach of
the Eskimos, who had no steamships In
which 20 pursue them: the waIrus. which
formerly had been seen in herds OF thou
sands. were disappearing; the seals were
becoming eXterminated and in winter the
Eskimo had to tramp fifteen 10 twenty
miles out on the ice before he could
catch one.
The modern hunter. with his steam
launches and rapid-fre guns, had found
the whales. walrus. and seals such easy
prey that he was ruthlessly destroying
them. Also the Wild caribou, that the
native had easily captured before. had
been frightened away and was rarely
seen.
Not only was the Eskimo losing his
food, but what in an arctic climate is no
less important his clothing as well. The
whalebone, the ivory tusks of the walrUs.
the scalskin, and the oil had given him
means Of barter with the Siberian traders
acT6ss the strait. from whom he obtained
reindeer skins to keep him warm in win
ter
Began with $1,000.
"Dr. Jackson saw that unless some
thing was done at once the United States
would have to choose between feeding him
10000 and more natives or letting them
starve TO death The latter course was
impossible; the former rather expensive.
as supplies would have to be carried some
8 900 miles from Seattle
The more enterprising Siberian, living
on the opposite side of the strait. under
practically the same conditions of arctic
cold, got along very nicely, as he had
great herds of domestic reindeer to fall
back upon when game was scarce. The
same moss which covered so many thou
sands of miles Of the plains of arctic
Siberia was seen everywhere in Alaska.
THE tame reindeer of Siberia was prac.
tically the same animal as the wild carl
bou of Alaska. changed by being domesti- !
Gated for centuries Could not the Eski- |
mo be made self-suppOrting by giving him |
reindeer herds of his own?
"On his return to the United States |
during the winter OF 1881 Dr.. Sheldon |
Jackson, IN his annual report to Con- |
gress. asked for an appropriation to pro- !
vide the money for importing a few /
deer. Congress was not convinced of /
the wisdom of such action, bet several /
private persons were so interested that |
they placed S2000 at DR.. Jackson's dis /
posll TO begin the experiment: the first 1
deer were brought over that year. It /
was not long, however, before the gov
ernment realized the importance of the |
movement and in 1894 appropriated the /
sum OF $4,000 to continue the work. Later /
the appropriation was increased, and |
during the last several years has amount /
ed to $4,000 annually.
THE Siberians were at first unwilling /
10 part with any Of their reindeer They