Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-03-05

in leading cities and several
religious publications. made an ap-
peal to the American public on behalf
Of the country's Eskimo subjects In
arctic Alaska. The appeal was Tor
funds with which to import into north
western Alaska a few reindeer. The
reason for it was the declining food
supplies in tho region Of almost per-
petual cold. The Eskimos were fac
ing extinction.
The public responded to the extent
of contributing a total of $2,l50 for
the Saving" of the race of people in
habiting our most northerly region.
Twenty head of reindeer were intro
duced Immediately into Alaska. Dur
ing the following year total of I'll
were carried in from Siberia. Lapps
from Lapland, the corner of extreme
northern Europe made famous in
legend and story by Its reindeer, were
employed to go to Alaska and teach
the rudiments of reindeer raising.
1t was a small beginning But the
sequel, as facts disclose It now, Is
huge in its Significance. Today there
are approximately $4,000 reindeer In
Alaska. Ten years from now there
probably will be several million; some
day there may be as many as 10000
900. The time is not far distant when
reindeer steak will be as common and
perhaps as cheap in the meat mar
kets of the country as beefsteak is
now.
THE development of the reindeer
as domestic animal in Alaska
already has gone beyond the early
prophesies of even those persons
whose predictions regarding it were
once looked upon as ridiculous. with
it there has been another develop
ment in which the reindeer was the
chief instrument-the raising OF the
Alaskan Eskimos from a state of
low barbarism to one OF creditable
civilization-all done within period
of one generation.
Many facts concerning both de-
velopments were given to the writer
recently by w. T. Lopp. who perhaps
more than any other person has had
to do with both. He went to Alaska
in 1889 to teach one of the first three
schools the government established
for the Eskimos of the Arctic ocean
area. He has since been connected
with Uncle Sans educational work
in the territory and for many years
has been its general superintend-
ent The development of the rein
deer industry among the natives has
been a part Of that work. and it is
largely because Of Mr.. Loops efforts
that the industry has grown SO phe-
nomenally.
The reindeer probably saved our
Eskimo population" Mr.. Lopp said
when on his last trip to Washington
for conference with his associates
and superiors in the United States
bureau Of education. ut was and is
yet dependent largely on wild game
for food. Excepting few garden
! vegetables. which may be grown
during the short summers, there can
be no agriculture in the arctic
regions of Alaska OF course, most
| of Alaska Is not arctic. In many
parts of the territory a very good
| climate prevails. But in the north
western area, bordering ougthe Arctic
ocean. the winter is long and icy and
! the summer is very brief. At the
most northerly spot, Point Barrow,
there is no sun during about seven
| weeks Of winter, but they have the
| midnight sun during a like period of
| summer Some Of the communities
where we maintain schools are with
out communication with the outside
world during most Of the winter. At
| one the teachers get no mail during
| tho closed season-seven months every
F.; year. We are planning to give them
| q wireless station.
| Generally speaking, there are
| three races of natives, each more or
less distinct in anthropological
sense. They are the Indians. chiefly
F.! in southern and southeastern Alaska;
the Aleuts. on the Aleutian islands.
and the Eskimos, chiefly in the
areas bordering the Arctic ocean.
The Alaskan Eskimos are of the
same race as the Eskimos on the
eastern side of the Arctic. Their
language has similarity with that
spoken by the native races Of Green
land.
es~THEY have lived in the arctic
perhaps for ages When white
men began to go in there a genera
ton or 80 ago the natives existed
entirely by hunting anu fishing, as
they still do in the main. The
season during which they fish is
short. AS the whales of the sea,
upon which they depended largely.
were thinned out, they had to rely
more and more on game. But the
advent of firearms began to thin it
out and much Of tho game was driven
hack into the more or less inao-
cessible interior. They were be-
ginning to face serious threats of
starvation through depletion of their
food supplies when the reindeer was
brought In
/ The movement to introduce rein
deer into Alaska was started by DR..
Sheldon Jackson, a pioneer Alaskan
missionary. He and his associates
appealed to Congress for an ap-
preparation for the purpose. But
Congress thought the suggestion a
visionary one and failed to ap-
prove it. Then DR.. jackson per-
suaded the newspapers to make
| appeals for popular contributions.
with the result indicated above.
| After it was proven that tho sug-