Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-12-17
transporting the Alaskan

them in transporting the Alaskan
mails.
He replied: such attempts have been
! made. hut they have not been success
tui. Many OF the stories that have been
published as To the speed OF the REIN
deer arc untrue. The ordinary deer
cannot <" more thai. forty miles Il day.
and IL cannot make moro than twenty
live miles day on long journeys. The
reindeer Is not hardy, and five or sin
days is ~ long as one should be driven
ut IL time.
The trouble is that the deer has to
get it's own FOOD on the way. II lives
hpon moss. the nutritivc qualities of
which are not as great as those Of hay.
You would not expect TO drive Il horse
long distance on hay. and you Gun
not drive reindeer Il long distance
on moss. especially If ii has to travel
all day and hunt for its moss ut night,
AS IL is NOW. IL is only in the coolest
parts OF Alaska that reiudccr are used
as teams. and there by the ESltimoa
only. The usual S1cdload is about 3n0
pounds. although as much as 1000
pounds has been carried by sing 10
deer. Most Of the ircighting is still
done by dogs
THE most interesting news relating
to the reindeer industry of Alaska.
continued Mr.. Loop, lis that concern
ing the two reindeer fairs recently cs-
tablishcd as a regular thing in different
parts Of the country. one of these is
annually held at Akiak. on the tprer
Euskok win River. and the other II
Marys ISloo. on the Seward Peninsula.
These fairs are like the great stock
shows of the United States, hut thcii
stock is reindeer The Eskimos bring
their deer in from many miles around.
They compete as to the finest OF the
animals. and also as to such matters as
lassoinG. hutchcrinE. driving. feeding
and herdinE. They have races OF many
kinds, and also prizes for the best Kind
of harness. slcds and fur clothing. The
prizes are contributed by the merchants
OF Nome. seattle and elsewhere. The
fairs last for several day. They are
the great events OF the Eskimo year"
Since this talk with MIR. Lopp. haze
learned more about these reindeer fairs.
They arc doing wonders in the develop
mont Of the l;skimos Tho Marys lgl"o
fair was held last winter. Thousands
Of EskimoS were present. ana th"ra
we're burden races. sled races. laSSoinH
competitions and wild deer driving con-
tests. The fair began January II and
lasted several days. Fart Of the time
tho thermometer was 81 degrees below
zero. The people slept on tho snow in
tents. without fire. and all were COM
Portable in their sleeping bags of rein
deer skin. The first event was tho
butchcrinC of deer by three different
lnethOuS ana q ulScuSNlhn as 10 III"
best. In this contest two Eskinos
drove their knife to the heart ut one
blow. Another severed the jugular Vein
at the first stroke.
Among other nvcmts were rifle shoot
ing contests at fifty yards and loo
yards. and that evening ono of ih'
t.skmos gave u lect"rc OH good shoot.
ing. \ burden race WAS run for a dis
tanCc of five mites. Tn" burden con-
sisted of a o5o-pounG sack, aud the
winning time Was sixteen minutes.
The lassoing contest ran through
thrcc days. and the man who inSso"d
IN" most deer in nircty minutes won.
There were 500 dec in tho herd used
for this purpose. ana tn" winner las
s0"d eleven in ninety minutes
The wild deer driving contest had
fourteen entries. and each Of tho con :
tcstants had TO enter Il herd. and rope.
throw. harness. hitch UP ana drive Z
hornless hull anc-hal' mil. to the river
and return lie had then to unhirch.
uni:arncss and rcmov" tho halter. all
nnasSistcd.
In addition to tho above contests
there We're f"ur-deer races. two-tncr
races. sled races and an eleven mill.
race. IN tho two-dcor race ten teams
rar eleven miles in less than itt-' min
utcs, and in the iour-d"cr RAG" the
distance was five miles ana thu time
less than twcnty-four minutes.
And then there was ;ur clothing
exhibit. in which the iiv" best suits;