The Springfield herald., 1912-03-29
HERD !OFRELNDEER

lihood for the Eskimo, 1t has been
found necessary by the government to
put the young natives through a
course OF training. Those who get
their deer directly from the govern
ment. serve an apprenticeship of five
years. There are several hundred OF
| these at present. They are bound by
written contract. the strict terms of
which they cannot violate without
peril of losing their annual allotment
of reindeer and suffering discharge
from the service. This caring for
training and breeding the deer is an
education in itself. and the best which
the government could give to the
young natives. With careful training
the Eskimo boys make excellent herd
ers. They readily learn how to take
care of the reindeer. to throw the las
SO, to harness and drive the deer, and
to watch the fawns. Siberian herders
were first imported to teach them, but
of late years the more intelligent and
efficient Laplanders, who have learned
by centuries Of experience the breed
ing Of reindeer. were secured. The
Eskimo boys take quickly to some
phases of the work and in some re-
spects excel the Lapps; they can lasso
better than the Lapps, and many be-
come experts in making harness and
sleds. The minding OF the herd re-
quires constant vigilance, especially
in the spring, during the fawning sea-
son. Then the herders have to keep
watch day and night by turns with
the rifle to protect the herd from raw
i ages Of the Arctic wolf and dogs.
Mark to Designate.
In the ear OF each government deer
little aluminium button is fastened
securely, and all private owners and
herders have 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 &C.
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
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, a herd of so reindeer.
AS this herd will double itself eyery
three years, the graduate apprentice
| III.
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 fawn 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-fttipg
trousers and that wonderful outer gar.
ment, the "parka," universally worn in
winter by both male and female ma
tives and by many whites. The "parka"
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-
PLANTATION of its peculiar value. The
hair is not merely hollow tubular
structure, with a cavity extending
throughout its entire length. but is d.
vided, or partitioned off. into exceed
ingly numerous cells. like watertight
compartments. These are filled with
air and their walls are SO elastic and
Mt the same time of such strong resis-
lance that they are not broken up eth
er during the process of manufacture
or by swelling when wet. The cells
expand in water and thus 1t happens
that a 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 re-
mote from railway and steamboat
TRANSFORMATION. Well-trained sled deer
have been used to carry the mail $50
miles from Barrow south to KotxebuA.