Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-03-28
REINDEER IN ALASKA
ARE not DIMINISHING

Officials of the Alaska division,
bureau Of education, gave emphatic
denial to recently published state
ment that the reindeer in Alaska are
'deteriorating and diminishing" They
declare that. ON the contrary, the
Alaskan reindeer are constantly in.
creasing in number and that there
has been. no deterioration.
The recently completed tabulation
of the returns contained in the an
aual reports Of the superintendent
OF the herds shows that there were,
June 80, 1913, 1896 reiuaa er in che
60 Alaskan herds, or net increase
Of % per cent during the fiscal year
This is considered fair rate Of IN
crease, especially since nearly 5000
reindeer were Killed for food and
skins during the, year, Only 3,s553
of the: reindeer zare owned: by thu
government; 5,O47 are owned by mis-
l.sions; 1894 By Lapps, and the re.
naming 30,532 are owned by 797 Els.
wimos and Indians, whose income
from the reindeer industry during
the fiscal year was $G6 ,966. The rein
deer belonging to these natives have
an estimated valne of $763.30). The
government is planning to go ont of
the reindeer business as fast as it
can train natives for individual owner
ship, the policy being to encourage
independence and initiative among
the native population. Distribution
of reindeer is in charge Of the United
States school teachers, and it is ey>
pectcd that the government will dis.
pose Of all it's reindeer within the
next four years
Discussing the statement that the
Alaskan reindeer are growing smaller
because of inbreeding; %Mr:fA w. r.
Lcpp. chief Of the Alaska division,
maintains that the. reindeer now in
Alaska are larger animals than those
which comprised the original stock
imported from Siberia. Mr.. Loop
states: Alaska affords better
range than Siberia. The climate is
better. The herds average more than
700 reindeer each so that the danger
of inbreeding c not be serious.
Necessarily there, is more inbreeding
among the scattered bands of wild
caribou. On thu other hand, since the
caribou are larger than the Reindeer.
their mixture with a number of our
reindeer herds seems to have imprOv-
ed the size. At the, same time it has
been noticed that tha Introduction Of
wild blood makes herding more; diff.
cult. ~ 5s
! "Pasturage is good IN ost~parts OF
western and northern Alaska, but n
few reindeer herds are kept in the
windswept regions along the north.
west coast, where the winter moss
Frequently becomes coated with ice
from alternate freezing and thawing.
This prevents the herd from securing
proper food, and results in understood
daer. Mosquitoes are also a cause Of
stunted growth: Herds at some dist
ance from the coast need to be keep
we'll IN on the mountain slopes to
avoid the mosquito pests. a,z,.,.s 80
"Tha greatest Immediate menace
to the welfare of the reindeer lies in
the tundra fire, started in the region
Of the mining camps. There is plenty
of grass and foliage for the deer in
summer. but in winter tits the tundra
moss that furnishes forage, and to
destroy 1t is to deal body blow to
one Of Alaska's most promising indus
tries" a@ ... .ss,,..
GENERAL GReELY 70 WEARS OLD.
Washington. D.sssC.. March 27.---As
vigorous and active as many man OF
half his age, Mai. Gen. -Adolphns
Greedy. facous as a soldier and Arctic
explorer. reached the SEVENTEEN mile
stone Of his LIES journey today. Since
his retirement from active service six
years ago Gen Greedy has made his
residence in this city. Much of his
hraxa. hof -l,xaIn