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

York. upon which the reindeer ca,
feed. They SraHc upon Il peculiar kind
"t moss that covers the greater par;
OF Northern Alaska. This moss is yell
lowiSh-whi;c in color /; Is hard and
tough. and looks like coral II sell
dom grows more than three inches
high. but spreads out over the ground
and is Il faNoritC food OF tho caribou
II is sometimes called caribou moss.
Among the other men have met in
NlHSka who have had much to do with
The reindeer industry Is w r LoDp.
who has charge OF the Srvrrnmc mt
schools of the territory under the gem
crai direction % the bureau OF cdu-
cation at Washington. Mr.. Lopp came
to Al1Ska more than Il quarter OF 4
century a%o 10 engage in teaching. and
MS first station WAS At Cape Prince
OF Wales. which is directly orpoSit @
siberia. across Scriu. Strait. While
there h" WAS cuGaGcG III teaching the
Gskimos. and had conceived the idea
@! introducing reindeer to help them.
lie proposed to bring deer across the
strait from siberia. 1T about the same
time that DIR. sheldon Jack son brought
MS first deer TO the Alcutian Islands.
little later Il number OF deer we're
brought from Siberia and put In the
charge of MIR. Lopp ut "a station near
iScrin= strait, and from then until now
u
deer owned by the natives All Of the
reindeer nerds SO owned are under thu,
charge of the bureau of education.
and to-day Mr.. Lopp may he saiG TO be
the patriarchal head Of the industry.
He knows all about the deer from hav-
ins been engaged in breeding them and
IN teaching the natives how to do so.
DROVE HERD or DEER
FOR $50 MILES
q great part of Alaska with reindeer
and, at one time. he drove II h,r,i Of
deer 40 miles across country to re-
It"Nc party of whalcri who were
starving on the coast of the Arctic
Ocean This trip lasted two months.
IL was III the winter. when the avcraS.
temperature was 20 or more. degrees
below zero. Fart III the journey was
over the floating ice OF kotzcbuo Sound.
ana when they got 30 tho end of IN.
Ice IN" reindeer had to swim a Shor.
distance TO the mainland During that
Journey Mr.. l.opp had only four Esl<i
mos WIN him. but, nevertheless they
Eot INC deer through aud saved the
lives OF the whdlcrs
Mr.. L"pp tells me that the govern
m"nt had great trouble i'm tcacbin,.
tho natives to handle tn. deer 81
nerians were imported for this purpose.
Dut they did not succeed. and IL was
not until Mr.. Lopp took the Young
ESkiinoS ana trained them that they
We're able to make much progress To-
day the Eskimos have learned all about
the deer They are expert in breeding
them and caring for them. They HAY,
large herds. single men owning as
many IA 1000 reindeer one such
might he called the Eskimo reindccr
King. He is ono Of the men who ac-
companied Mr.. Lopp in his rescue of
In IL 1rNt
$4,000.
said Mr.. l.orp 10 me: Deer herdinr
can b" learned as easily as sheep herd
ing, and the Eskimo boys readily tax,
to the business. Six or eight hcrders
can take care of 1000 head Of deer
The animals have to he driven about
To where tn" moss patches are, and
watched lest they stray too far away
tn" herd"rs live in tents. or temporary
nuts In The winter the deer ar,
liable to stray several miles from
camp. and tn" boys go out in the morn
ing I" round them up. Some of thc
animals have bells on them. and the
bells toll ono where tho deer are They
ar" easily frightened. and they will
scatter lik" II fock Of sheep If APP
tho cud like COW. and If loft t. them
selves will f""d for a time and then
lie down"
! asked Mr.. T.opp as to the value al
the reindeer for carrying freight anC
passengers, referring Ia the fact tina,
tn" government once expected TO use