davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17

Alaska who have had much to do with the reindeer industry is MT. W. T. Lopp, who has charge of the government schools of the territory under the gen- eral direction of the bureau of eduea- ton at Washington. Mir. Lopp came to Alaska more than a quarter of cen- tury ago to engage in teaching, ana his first station was at Cape Prince of Wales. which is directly opposite Siberia, across Boring strait. While there he was engaged in teaching the Eskimos and had conceived the idea of introduc- ing reindeer to help them. He proposed to bring deer across the strait from Si- beria at about the same time that Dr. Sheldon Jackson brought his first deer to the A1eutian Islands A little later a number of deer were brought from Si- beria and put in the charge of MT. Lopp, at a station near Boring strait, and from then until now he has had much to do with the reindeer owned by the natives. All of the reindeer herds so owned are under the charge of the bureau of edu- cation, and today MT. Lopp may be said to be the patriarchal head of the indus try He knows all about the deer from having been engaged in breeding them and in teaching the natives how to do so.
 Moreover, MT. Lopp l&s travelled over a great part of Alaska with reindeer and, at one time, he drove a herd of deer 750 miles across country to re- lieve a party of whalers who were starv- ing on the coast of the Arctic ocean. This trip lasted two months. It was in the winter, when the average tempera- turc was 20 or more degrees below zero. Part of the journey was over the floating ice of Kotzebue sound, and when they gor to the end of the ice the reindeer had to swim a short distance to the mainland. During that Journey MT. Lopp had only four Esklmos with him, but, nevertheless. they got the deer through and saved the lives of the whalers.
 Mir. Lopp tells me that the government had great trouble in teaching the na- tives to handle the deer. Siberians were imported for this purpose, but they did not succeed, and it was not until MT. Lopp took the young Eskimos and trained them that they were able to make much progress. Today the Eski- mos have learned all about the deer. They are expert in breeding them and caring for them They have large herds, single men owning as many as 1600 rein
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17

glue and certain of the bones for other purposes. Today the horns are sold by the pound to men in Nome, who cut them up and ship them away to be used as knife handles. The hides are in demand for bucSslSin gloves and for shoe uppers. Some of the skins are tanned and sold as furs. The reindeer fur is dyed and as. such it is more beautiful than the poryskin coats now worn. The fur is finer and the skins are lighter.
 ''Teli me something of the reindeer possibilities of Alaska
 They are great said Judge Lomen.
 The first deer were only 16, introduced 25 years ago. They were brought across Bering strai> from Siberia, and the first felndeer colony was established at Una iaska, in the Aleutian Islands. That ex- pertinent was not a success, and it was some years before a real start was made by the importation of Siberian animals. The government began to import in 1893, and deer were brought in off and on until 1902, when the Russian government pro- hibited further exportaton. At that time, l4 years ago. nine herds had been estab- lished. and the government owned about 2201 reindeer, worth $56OOO In addition, the natives had 2S00, valued at s71,O00. Today the natives have about 50000 rein- deer. which are worth more than $1,ooo,- OO0. and they get an income of $3S0 600 per annum from them. In addition, the gov ernn1eat has a large number of deer, and there are other deer owned by private parties"
 'As to the number of deer that Alaska will support" continued Judge Lomen Tit is difficult to say. The whole coun- try is adapted to reindeer raising, and a vast amount of it is fit for nothing else This Is so of all the land north of the Yukon, and the most of that which bor- ders on Boring sea. At a low estimate should say that we have here a terri tory six times as large as the state of New York, upon which the reindeer can feed. They graze upon a peculiar kind of moss that covers the greater part of northern Alaska. This moss is yellowish- white in color. It is hard and tough, and looks like coral. It seHoms grows more ithan three inches high, but spreads out over the ground and is favorite food of the caribou. It is sometimes called caribou moss"
 Among the other men I have met in
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17

deer One such might be called the Es- bmo reindeer king. He is one of the men who accompanied MT. Lopp in ms rescue of the whalers. His deer are worth $3O,000.
 Said Mir. Lopp to me: Deer herding cah be learned as easily as sheep herd ing, and the Eskimo boys readily take to the business. Six or eight herders can take care of 1000 head of deer. The animals have to be driven about to where the moss patches are and watched lest they stray too far away The herd CTS live in tents, or temporary nuts. In the winter the deer are liable to stray several miles from camp. and the boys go out in the morning to round them up. Some of the animals have bells on them and the bells tell one where the deer are. They are easily frightened, and they will scatter like a flock of sheep if approached by dogs. The ami mals chew the cud like a COW, and if left to themselves will feed for time and then lie down."
 asked Mir Lopp as to the value of the reindeer for carrying freight and passengers, referring to the fact that the government once expected to use them in transporting the Alaskan mails.
 He replied Such attempts have been made but they have not been success full Many of the stories that have been published as to the speed of the rein deer are untrue. The ordinary deer can not go more than 40 miles day, and it cannot make more than 25 miles day on long journeys. The reindeer is not hardy, and five or six days is as long as one should be driven at time.
 "The trouble is that the deer has to get it's own food on the way It lives upon moss, the nutritive qualities of which are not as great as those of hay. You would not expect to drive horse long distance on hay, and you cannot drive reindeer long distance on moss, especially if it has to travel all day and hunt for it's moss at night. AS 1t is now, it is only in the coldest parts of Alaska that reindeer are used as teams, and there by the Eskimos only The usual sled load is about 300 pounds, although as much as 1900 pounds has been carried iy a single deer. Most of the freighting is still done by dogs"
 "The most interesting news relating to the reindeer industry of Alaska" con-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17

Copyright, 1916, by Frank G. Carpenter)
 Nome, Alaska. RO HE day will soon. come when
 reindeer meat will be as com
 American markets. The meat
 mon as beef and mutton in our will come from Alaska. It will form the basis of a large packing industry, and will be shipped in cold storage steamers and trains to every town in the United States. There are now from 75,0O0 to 100000 reindeer in this territory. They are being handled under government reg ulation and are doubling in number every two or three years. At the present rate of increase there will be 10000 within six years from this writing, and s00Os in 1925. By 1881 the number will have in- creased to more than 100000, and i've eears later 1t will be almost 13,0G0OO0. That will be only 20 years from now, and after that the increase will be so great that reindeer meat will probably be as cheap as any other in the Ameri- can markets.
 The reindeer packing industry is at it's very beginning. The first shipments were made about three years ago, when 9 rein deer carcasses were shipped to Seattle. The meat was placed on sale and sold at from 20 to 25 cents per pound. More meat vas shipped the following year. and just now they are beginning to slaughter the animals for this seasons shipment. saw the work going on in a slaughter house back of Nome. The reindeer had been brought in from the surrounding country and the men were beginning the killing. There are in the pens at this time more than 1000 deer ready for the butchers, and perhaps 1500 carcasses will be shipped south this year.
 The killing of the reindeer s interest ing. The butcher shop is a large galvan- ized iron building, with corrals adjoining, and passageways by which the deer are dragged into the slaughter house. l climbed to the roof and looked at the animals. There were 50 in each corral. They were as fat as butter and in splen- did condition. These were not at all fierce. The men went into the corrals and dragged them out, almost as easily as so many sheep. I had expected to see larger and heavier animals. They are of the average size of their kind, but are not taller than Jersey calves at months of age. Each will weigh, when dressed, from 150 to 175 pounds. The deer are of different colors, some brown, some gray and some as white as snow. Others are spotted.
 The men who handle the deer and do the killing are Eskimos. They are short,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17
REINDEER MEAT FOR AMERICAN MARKETS Frank

tinued MT. Lopp, lis that concerning the two reindeer fairs recently established as a regular thing in different parts or the country One of these is annually held at Akiak on the upper Kuskokwim river, and the other at Marys Igloo on the Seward peninsula. These fairs are like the treat stock shows of the United Ste tes, but their stock is reindeer The Eskmos bring their deer in from many miles around. They compete as to the finest of tie animals and also as to such matters as lassoing, butchering, driving, feeding and herding. They have races of many kinds, and also prizes for tho best kind of harness, sleds and fur cloth ing. The prizes are contributed by the merchants Of Nome, Seattle and else where. The fairs last for several days. They are the great events of the Es- kimo year."
 Since this talk with Mir Lopp have learned more about these reindeer fairs They are doing wonders in the develop ment of the Eskimos. The Marys Igloo fair was held last winter. Thousands of Eskimos were present, and there were burden races, sled races, lassoing com petitions and wild deer driving contests The fair began January Il and lasted sew eral days Part of the time the ther- mometer was 35 degrees below zero. The people slept on the snow in tents without fire and all were comfortable in their sleeping bags of reindeer skin. The first event was the butchering of deer by three different methods, and discussion as to the best. In this contest two EslSimos drove their knife to the heart at one blow. Another severed the jugular vein at the first stroke.
 Among other events were rifle shooting contests at 50 yards and 100 yards, and that, evening one of the Eskimos gave lecture on good shooting. burden race was run for distance of five miles. The burden consisted of a 250-pound sack, and the winning time was 16 minutes. The las soing contest ran through three days, and the man who iassoed the most deer in 90 minutes won. There were 800 deer in the herd used for this purpose, and the win- ner lassoed il in 90 minutes
 The wild deer driving contest had IA entries, and each of the contestants had to enter a herd and rope, throw, harness, hitch up and drive a hornless bull one- half mile to the river and return. He had then to unhitch, unharness and remove the halter, all unassisted
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17

GOO to establish the industry. He says the company has no desire to comphcate the arrangements which Uncle Sam has to supplying the natives with deer. Accord ing to tho present laws, the Eskimos and Indians canont sell their deer. and private parties can only acquire reindeer from the Laplanders who brought the deer over and the missions who have some deer of their own independent of those that be- long to the Eskimos. These laws will probably be changed, with due regard to the protection of the natives.
 Said MT. Lindeberg: "The government has from the beginning prohibited the natives from selling their breeding ani- shall not kill the females of our own herds and we would like to keep the local Alaskan markets for the natives only. Our plan is to develop a demand for the meat in the United States, and to handle any surplus that the natives may have in that way. Such stock as we have has been bought from the Laplanders and the Swedish mission. We have altogether rabout 5000 deer. and our present increase per annum is about 40 per cent.
 Do you think market for the meat can be created in the United States?'
 "Yes. There is already such market
  as Finland and Russia, have been ship ping large quantities of reindeer meat for years. They send it to the chief European centers, and even to the United States. When I was at Panama, year or so ago, I saw reindeer meat from Norway among the government supplies. It was bought for the men working upon the canal. The northern part of the Russian empire eats more reindeer meat than aif hao of n,
 "As you know, we are importing fresh meat from Australia and New Zealand to San Francisco, and New York is get thing some of it's beef from Argentina. As it is now, it costs us a cent and half pound in freight to send our ven- ison to San Francisco, and this rate will probably be cut in the future. l expect the deer meat to compete with the pres ent domestic and foreign meat supplies, and that we shall be able to put it at price that will make it possible to do so. The meat is delicious, and there will be a demand for it among the meat eaters who like to have a change of diet now and then"
 In my talk with Judge Lomen, I asked as to the by-products of the industry. He says that the day will come when the packing houses here will have as many by-products as those of Chicago. At present they are able to sell the skins and horns only, in addition to the meat, but in the future the blood will be used for tankage. the hoofs for the making of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17

The men who handle the deer and do the killing are Eskimos. They are short,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17

Among the other men I have met in
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-27

After lapse of years in which the Long Hill mines reverted into idle ness, the dreams of Hubbard. the original discoverer of silver and tung- -sten in the foothills, and the predic- tions of Otto Edler von Graeve, the divining rod expert. have come true.
 A veritabIe Eldorado has recently been located by two western mining men, who had faith in the outcrop- pings of scheelite, from which tung- sten, a rare metal is extracted. The vein has been uncovered, modern ma chinery installed and no less we'll known concern than the American Electric Equipment Go. today has control of the output.
 In statements filed before Judges Curtis and Gager in the superior court where injunction proceedings are pending, the first days work of the plant is sworn to have produced $4SO worth of the precious metal with in creasing daily outputs aggregating be- tween $2OOO and $4.OOO worth of the metal daily. Nl
 Where Hubbard once worked in a we'll with pick and shovel, extracting by hard albor the schee1ite ore, a big modern plant with batteries of crush CTS, puIverizers and ti1ting tables fumed by water are again in opera ton, with daily blasts from the hills and two shifts of 75 men working. Small houses are being erected so that the force may be increased.
 Injunction proceedings brought in the superior court on March 29, which resulted in a temporary writ prevent ing Melville B. Gray from removing equipment from the mines Or other wise hamperipg the work or shipment of metals are reputed to disclose the fight of capitalists for control of the property.
 Thomas A. Kirkham, president of the Berkshire Fertilizer Go. and an that took much building stone from the location of the mines, and re- gently subleased their rights to the new operators, said:
 ''There1 is little question today that the operators have struck a Bonanza for large veins of the rich tungsten ore have been uncovered, which as says a very high percentage. The find has been so big that a million dollar company has sought to buy outright and when Gray refused to sell his alleged share for a, sum that is said to be close to half a million dollars, legal troubles began. What the outcome will be cannot say but as long as the mines are operated the Long Hill Quarry Go. and those in terested in the leases will gain ma teria11y.'' 2
 The mine today is being opehated by Frank Lyons for the American Electrical Equipment Go. of III Broadway, New York, of which Ed win M. Post of Babylon, l.. l., is the president. Because of Western methods in the manner of jumping claims by force said to have been in troduced by Melville E. Gray, an in junction seeking to restrain him from overt acts has been granted by Judge Howard Curtis and Deputy Sheriff Robert F. Nichols of this city has been assigned to guard the prop erty.
 Large quarries have been opened by dynamite, a recent blast sending a half ton boulder through the roof of the buildings below narrowly missing
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-27
A SPLENDID TURNOUT

We had the pleasure of a ride about town this forenoon in a new two horse
 carriage, called a Brett just start ed here for public service by MT. Geo. Wi1dman, formerly in the employ of ; E. B. MiddIebrook. The team, also, and everything about the establish s1f1ent were braf1d new, and in the best style. MT. Wi1dman makes his head quarters att the City Hotel, where he will always be found ready at short
 notice to respond to calls for his ser
 vices The 'Brett'' is from the man
 ufactory of MT. Elisha HubbeIl, East
 Bridgeport, mad is really an excellent ispecirnan of workmanship. It runs as
 fine as a fiddle.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-27

, a group of 10 men engaged in work ing the tilting tables. Improved crushers and concentrating machin- cry have been installed. Spur tracks and two carloads of concentrate
 chicken grit and lime are shipped daily.
 The market price today for tung- sten, which is extremely scarce in America, is said by experts today to about $6,00O per ton. At the rate of reduction reported in the injunc- ton papers, it~wou1d appear that the Long Hill mines are among the most
 valuable in the United States. Silver is also being extracted in smaller quantities.
 The law firm of Marsh, Stoddard
 & Day has been retained by the American Electric Equipment Go. in the fight against Gray, who is al1eg- ed to have acted here for the com pany agent.
 Attorneys Nicholson & Banks re- present Gray, who alleges that he is
 half owner in the property under lease. The case will be heard at the
 May term.
 The old Hubbard mines were dis covered in 1895. While digging a well near the railroad tracks now
 run old German resident of Long Hill struck a deposit of schee1ite. Up on analysis, the mines were operat- ed in a, small way, Later the Rare
 Minerals Co.,, of which H. R. Hins-
 dale of New Jersey was president, incorporated a large company and
 prospectuses were sent broadcast were erected and small locomotives puffed over the hill bringing from an upper mine. The percentage of ore then was said to be too small
 for practical operation under the mechanical methods of those days. Tn
 and Mining Go. was formed and more up-to-date methods introduced.
 The operations also disclosed after
 period of about eight years that a1- though there were two ores, tungsten and wolfram, the quantity available was not sufficient to pay for mining.
 In 19O8-9 the Eagle Mineral and Chemical Go. took over the property and manufactured lime rock and chicken grit This company was
 succeeded in 1910 by the Flood Simp- son Go, taking out limestone which was converted into concrete for building purposes. The Simpson Fairfield Quarries Go. and the Long Hill Mining Go. were subsequent ven tures The Long Hill Quarries Co. is the last known of many companies to IeaseS operate and sub-lease the land owned by Frederick Beach and others
 of Stratford.
 In March 1914 Otto Elder von
 Graeve,- a German scientist who at i tracted much attention in the mining
 world visited Long Hill. He was
 president of the International Asso-
 citation of Divining Men of Hanover, Germany.
 With his rod and accompanied by representatives of the Scientific American he went over the property. He declared a, large body of ore lay. at a depth immediately behind the
 crusher houses and also far up on the hill. His declaration at the time was Iaughab1y commented upon, but the veins now found to be large were opened at the spots indicated by him. They were, however, at a great depth below the surface.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-27
oUR CoUN1RY.

The greatest cataract in the world is the Fails of Niagara
 The greatest cave in the world is the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. The greatest river in the world is the Mississippi, 4,10O miles in length
 The largest valley in the world is the Valley of the Mississippi, containing EO6,O0o square miles.
 The greatest natural bridge in the world is that voer Cedar Creek, in Virginia.
 The greAtest mass of solid iron in the world is the Iron Mountain of Missourf+35e feet high and two miles in circuit
 The longest railroad in the world is i the Central Railroad of I11inois-730 miles long, and which cost about $15,- ooO,o00.
 The greatest number of miles of railroad in proportion to it's surface, of any country in they world, is in Massa chusetts, which has over one mile to every square mile of area.
 The largest aqueduct in the world is the Croton. in New York, which is 40 miles long. and cost SIP, 300, ,00o The greatest number of clocks man ufactured in the world, is turned out by the small State of Connecticut, with &he city of Waterbury far in the lead.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-27
Paris Orleans Road
 Runs 10000 Trains
 Without An Accident

Paris, April 27@The Paris-Or1eans railroad ran 3O,OOo trains including sanitary express trains for the tran snorta.tion of wounded during the year 1915, carrying 3,7oO,oOO soldiers, 5S2,- 900 horses and 1000 cannon for the army in addition to it's regular traf- fc, without a single accident It also moved 385,O0O sealed cars of supplies for the army, and made more than a half million shells for the army in it's machine shops.
 The annual report read before the stockholders meeting states that the company will have to call upon the government; under the state guarantee for only 19, ,868.O 900 francs Last year the government had to make good a deficit of 51,OOO, 900 francs. The de- felt of 1915 results from increased ex- penses, mostly high coal.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-27
Scots Sportsmen Are Bemoaning Mortality
 In Deer and Grouse

Edinburgh, Scotland, April 27.~As a result of the snowstorms of the lat ter part of March, there has been a high mortality among deer and wild birds in the Scottish highlands. Not in the memory of the oldest inhabitant have the effects of the winter been so severe as this year.
 Reports gathered by the local au- thorities show that many hundreds of deer, particularly minds, were fro zen to death or died from exposure. In some cases hand feeding by kindly local residents saved the deer from starvation. But in the majority of the forests little additional food was provided, on account of the heavy ex- pense and the scarcity of labor.
 Grouse and practically all kinds of winged game are entering on the matching season in a weak and unsat- isfactory condition.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-27
BRIDGEPORT As T WAS
1OO-50- -2O-XEARS AGO.
CTaken from the Files of The Evening Farmer)
Twenty Years Ago.
HANFoRD's SUDDEN DEATH.

ford, formerly a resident of this city, but lately of New York, was found in a bed at the Windsor hotel this morn ing, where he took lodgings last even ing. Medical Examiner Downs says that death was due to natural causes. After the death of his wife, an es- unable woman, he contracted a second marriage, his bride being 8 well known habitue of local resorts and known as 'tDutch Annie.'' At the time of his second matrimonial alliance, he was employed by William B. Grant at the Sewing Machine Cabinet Go. He was about 55 years of age at the time of his death.