The Raymer enterprise., 1921-08-04

Prepared y ths National Geographic 30,
A new meat has been reaching Amer.
lean tables during the last few years.
. food that as yet comparatively few
American palates have had the op-
portunity to compare with their IA.
miliar roast beef, mutton and pork.
1t is the meat Of reindeer. and Il
comes not from foreign country but
from our own Alaska.
Within single generation, cupid"
and "vixen" and Comet and
"Prancer," those semi-mythological
companions Of ruddy Saint Nick
which spring into action with tho
very first remembered syllables Of the
famous Christmas poem, have become
the staple live stock for the Far North.
west Of the American continent. San
ia Claus may use q motor truck or
even an airplane In making his city
deliveries, but In Alaska the reindeer
is coming into Its own.
In Europe and Asia the reindeer was
domesticated In prehistoric times. Not
SO In America, where this species Of
the deer family, the Cervidae. were
known ~ caribou. and are still 20
known, to distinguish them from the
dOmesticated and imported animal.
The first importation, consbting Of
only 1872 reindeer, was landed at Teller,
Alaska. on Independence day, 1892.
During that year and the decade fol.
lowing, lib more were imported from
Siberia and landed on the shores Of
Port Clarence bay. The reindeer i'm.
ported from Norway in 1893 were all
draft animals, steers, and are now
extinct.
From the outset the deer thrived,
and as the number increased, other
herds were formed from the mother
herd at Teller. Roaming the frozen
wastes north and south, from Point
Barrow to the Alaskan peninsula, there
are today more than a hundred herds.
aggregating about 100000 deer. It Is
estimated that during this period more
than 100000 have been killed for food
and skins; SO that In less than thirty
years the Increase has been more than
two hundred fold.
Although the Alaskan reindeer In.
dustry Is still In its infancy, 1t is rap
idly becoming firmly established. The
reindeer Is not, however, highly pro.
life. The female deer usually gives
birth to but one fawn year. and II
there are twins, one Of the young Is
likely to die.
Reasons Tor Rapid IncrsasA
The rapid increase Is due to two
facts: One is the remarkable hardi.
hood Of the fawns. which only q few
hours after birth are strong and feet
Of foot. The contrast between the
self-rellant reindeer fawn and the
weak, knobby-kneed colt or calf Is
striking and has much to do with the
tendency Of reindeer herds to increase
rapidly In spite Of q low birth rate.
As the social worker would say, the
infant mortality Is slight.
The other factor 10 the rapid In.
crease. and an Illustration Of the fact
that early fecundity ls not entirely a
tropical trait, is the remarkable fact
that yearling reindeer frequently re-
produce.
The reindeer has been aptly named.
OF all ungulate, rumlnant. and gregar-
i0us animals, u ID one Of the most
particular In the selection Of Its food.
It pastures during the summer on
tender niosses, lichens, mushrooms,
algae, and grasses. Its typical home
Ia Lapland. In the Lapp tongue the
word ''reino" means pasturage, 50 that
the word reindeer. means an animal
that pastures. During the long winter
the deer subsist entirely upon moss,
which abounds on the vast tundras
and hills Of Alaska. 20 that the deer.
man has almost unlimited grazing
land for his herds.
Plenty Of Moss for Food.
Il has been estimated that there
are 100000 square miles Of this dry,
coral.like moss In Alaska-enough
grazing land for 100000 deer. This
class Of pasturage Is suitable for no
other animal except It may be, the
musk-ox; hence these thousands Of
square miles Of Arctic Alaska, were
II not for the reindeer. would prove
practically valueless and could not
be permanently inhabited.
There Is only one drawback to this
calculation: Inevitably the reindeer
seek the coast In summer, to escape
the swarms Of mosquitoes and to lick