The Holbrook news., 1912-05-17

their services as instructors for that period. At the end of five years the Lapp returns the 100 deer and be- comes an independent herder himself with the large increase of reindeer he has obtained from the herd. The Lapp herders are not interested in the ex- tension of the reindeer among the na- lives. Some of the largest owners of deer are Lapps, some half a dozen of these men having accumulated herds of from five to nearly eight hun dred- In introducing the reindeer as means to promote the industrial life and to provide a permanent live hhood for the Eskimo, 1t has been found necessary by the government to put the young natives through . course of training. Those who get their deer directly from the govern ment. serve an apprenticeship of five years.
 Mark to Designate.
 In the ear of each government deer little aluminium button is fastened securely. and all private owners and herders have a mark which must be registered with the local superinten- dent of the reindeer station and also at Washington. Besides being taught the art of deermanship, the appren- tices are instructed in keeping ac- counts, the methods of marketing rein deer. and in other practical matters connected with the industry. No ap- prentice can become a herder unless he is proficient in the branches of ele- mentary reading. arithmetic and writ ing At the end of his apprenticeship the young Eskimo native Is allotted q number of deer by the government, and with the increase obtained during the interval of his five years service, each apprentice will have, on an aver age, herd of 50 reindeer.
 As this herd will double itself every three years. the graduate apprentice will have a herd which will afford and assure a self-supporting income quite enough to satisfy the economic wants of himself and family in the future. He is thus established in business by the government and is given free pas turage thereafter The reindeer pro duces one lawn in the spring each year for 10 years. Among the useful and profitable products of the reindeer are the skins for clothing. Of these pelts most varied use is made. From them are fashioned the tight-ftting trousers and that wonderful outer gar ment, the "parka," universally worn in winter by both male and female na- 4a extends to the knees and has a close fitting hood, which keeps the head and shoulders comfortably warm even in the severest weather. These reindeer garments are remarkable for their ex- cellent qualities of resisting moisture and cold. A close examination of the hair of the reindeer furnishes an ex- planation of it's peculiar value. The hair is not merely a hollow tubular structure. with a cavity extending throughout It's entire length, but is di- vided, or partitioned of. into exceed ingly numerous cells, like watertight compartments. These are filled with air and their walls are so elastic and at the same time of such strong resis- tance that they are not broken up eith- CT during the process of manufacture or by swelling when wet. The cells expand in water and thus it happens that person completely in garments made of reindeer wool does not sink when in water, because he Is buoyed up by the air contained in the hun dreds of thousands of hair cells. As the mineral industry continues to grow in Alaska the natives and gradu- ate apprentices can earn high wages as teamsters hauling supplies and fur nishing fresh reindeer meat to mining camps in the interior, at points To- mote from railway and steamboat transportation.