The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-07
Nv CLARENCE HAWKES.,

F cold Of that polar country which was
suunased 10 be the home of the Sfear
old Saint How sleek and dainty was
tbe rcindeer's nose and how bright
and spirited his eyes, But most sug-
gestive of all the many wonderful
things about this wonderful horse.
was the cloud OF steam that tetted
from his nostrils suggesting the very
cold weather.
How much to the childish mind de-
PENDED upon the reindeer Would he
he able to haul the heavy sledge with
It's buleirE packs through the deep
drifts? Was there any possibility that
they might become stalled in bad
storm, and thus the wonderful day be
lost?
These and n dozen other childish
! Impressions come back to me as /
write and / am sure that my own
/ childhood would have been robbed OF
n lot of its indescrihabie charm, It's
fancy and its wonder pictures, had |
been told that there was no Santa
+ Claus and no reindeer,
Christmas without Santa Claus for
the young people. the real mythical
Santa Claus, with reindeer and sledge,
ia very commonplace and tame
affair.
But while our critical realists have
been able partly to destroy the ro-
tund old gentleman, his reindeer still
remains more widely used and of
moro commercial importance today
than ever before, and 1t is TO that
splendid remnant of Santa Claus, his
horned horse. that l invite your at
teution,
1t viii probably surprise my readers
considerably, to learn that there are
twenty five or thirty thousand rein
deer, In their domesticated state. right
here In North America. All but n
few dozen Of them, which are owned
. NV that splendid philanthropist. Doc
. tor Grenfel, of Labrador, are found
in Uncle Sans dominion of Alaska,
TO which rugged country the first
small herd was imported from Siberia
in 1891 by the missionary. Or. Sheldon
Jackson. congress having authorized
the purchase OF a few head.
As for the wild reindeer, or carl
bos. In North America. why he IS
, nearly as countless as the stars.
few years ago tina splendid naturalist
s Mr. THOMPSON Seton, went away UT
heyora the Athabasca country into
tho Canadian barren ground country
< awav beyond the timber-line. In tnis
desolate land, which seems TO be the
homo pf the caribou in America. hf
frnfrd them IN such numbers that hf
thouwht they were SO numerous a.
| inc buffalo or this continent had ever
3 been. one herd that he discovered
5 he estimated us containing millions
- ~ head,
g Extending clear around the eartf
and fust above the timher-ltne anf
- stretching away 10 tho snow-llne Il
a, the harren-ground country, the horne
I Of tho barren ground caribou Thi'
{, f. a cherries waste, where only thu
o smallest willows and aiders grow, and
9 where the summer is OF the shortest
d The woodland caribou. which Is con
Il siderahly larger than Its barren
10 ground kinsmnn. ranges much fuFthel
n south than does tho barren ground
having been known TO stray down Int
g Northern Maine, although It's usua
r. range is much further North
70 The homo Of the domesticated Flu
- ropean reindeer, where It runs in
J wild state as well as domesticated, Il
g in Norway and Sweden and in th'
Islands OF Nova Zembla and Spltzoer
. gen.
The suhduug genius of the rein
- deer tho people who have done th'
: most with him. and gotten the mos
" out of him are the Lapps. a primitive
pEBDtt iiNIhE az % ANEt
= known Us Lapland, which reail.
!, means lands end So the name Lapl
- ia indiscriminately applied 10 mans
OF the people In that desolate lant
frinqing the Arctic sea in Northern
Europe and Asia.
. The caribou or reindeer In his VILE
d state weighs from ono hundred an'
y thirtv to one hundred and nifty pound
- for the barren-prounds species, ant
i ~ a.. tn, q
hundred for the woodland species, hu
, in captivity, by careful breeding
II some larger specimens have been Oh
tanned Not much Of n horse for size
g Won may think Granted. but H.
makes np in endurance and II
strength for his size. what he lack
Ira actual weight for no Will draw
- moro than his own weight over IN
go snow at . pace that would leave
| soca horse far behind IN a long race
! and keep II up for "A day or two l
required All writer's agree that tn
| reindeer is practically a steed tina
| meyer tires while some Of the record
| 81 hts endurance. seem unbelievable.
TO the Tapp he Is not only fin
| horse, when hitched to the sledge
! but also a beast OF burden, beini
| need as n nack-animal. and also some
! 4Gmes ridden IA tho saddle, although
I'D y rather small for that purpose.
The wealth Of the Lapp is computed
by the. number Of reindeer in hi
herds There are q few very ricl
mon among them owning herds con
tulnirg several thousand head, hu
most own few hundred while tn
poorer rapps only possess rev head
Not only is the reindeer the l4app'
faithful stecd. but he is also food ant
| raiment as well. while the tende
| reindeer tongue, which Is considered
4 great luxury in Europe, gives tn
| primitive Lapp an export trade tina
J makes him & citizen of the world.