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Show VBBBBBBffBJBB BJBJp x &?iv v, BBBBBBBrsHJBi nlffv c! sJ BBBrflBJBafBJtsaan JfifrS xuJbbT vYbbKvKbhB fi II i M jBbbbw t eBBBBaflaBBBBBBBkr f r ..CmbbbbbbbbbT TaBBBBPSBBBBy if' it OBBBBBBBBBBBBBBV j.fet IBBBJBL3HB 1 M. A .OBL. JyflnBBBBBBBBBBBBBBYr 4 lanflflf BbbbbH - oM B iWaaPf ' & A& BBBkf bb-bbmbbmc nvH BL i bbbv &iV)22f' -1 A. Alaskan Herder With Reindeer. (Prtpartrt by th National Orraphlo Bo-eltty, Bo-eltty, Wuhlniton. D. C) A new meat has been reaching American Amer-ican tables during the last few years, a food that as yet comparatively few American palates have had the opportunity op-portunity to compare with thIr familiar fa-miliar roast beef, mutton and pork. It is tho meat of reindeer, and it comes not from a foreign country but from our own Alaskn. Within a slnglo generation, "Cupid" and "Vixen" and "Comet" nnd "Prnncer," thoso semi-mythological companions of ruddy Saint Nick which prlng Into action with tho very first remembered syllables of tho famous Christmas poem, havo become the staple live stock for tho Far Northwest North-west of the American continent. Santa San-ta Clans may use n motor truck or even an ulrplnnu In making his city deliveries, but In Alaska tho reindeer Is coming Into Its own. In Europe nnd Asia the reindeer was domesticated In prehistoric times. Not so In America, where this species of tho deer family, tho Cervldae. wcro known as caribou, and nro still so known, to distinguish them from the domesticated and Imported animal. Tho tlrst Importation, consisting of only 1C2 reindeer, was landed at Teller, Alaskn, on Independence day, 1802. During that year nnd the decade following, fol-lowing, 1,118 more wero Imported from Siberia and landed on tho shores ot Port Clnrenco buy. Tho reindeer Imported Im-ported from Norway In 1803 wero all draft animals, steers, nnd uro now extinct. From tho outset tho deer thrived, and as tho number Increased, other herds were formed from the mother herd nt Teller. Roainlng tho frozen wastes north nnd south, from Point Burrow to the Alaskan peninsula, thero are today moro than n hundred herds, aggregating about 100,000 deer. It Is estimated that during this period more than 100,000 havo been killed for food and skins; so that In less than thirty' years tho Increase 1ms been moro than two hundred fold. Although tho Alaskan reindeer In dustry is still in Its Infancy, It Is rapidly rap-idly becoming firmly established. Tho reindeer Is not, however, highly proline. pro-line. Tho femnlo deer usually gives birth to but ono fawn a year, and If thero nre twins, one of the young H likely to die. Reatom for Rapid Increase. TIip rnpld Increase Is duo to two facts: Ono is the rcmnrkablo hardihood hardi-hood of tho fawns, which only a fow hours after birth nre strong and fleet of foot. The contrast between the self-relljnt reindeer fawn and tho weak, knobby-kneed colt or cnlf Is striking nnd has much to do with tho tendency of reindeer herds to Increnso rapidly In spite of u low blrtn rate. As the social worker would say, tho Infant mortality Is slight. Tho other factor In the rnpld Increase, In-crease, nnd nn Illustration of the fact that early fecundity Is not entlroly a tropical trait, Is tho remnrknblr fnct thnt yearling reindeer frequently reproduce. re-produce. The reindeer hns been aptly nnmed. Of all ungulate, rumlnnnt, and gregnr-lous gregnr-lous animals, It Is ono of the most particular In tho selection of Its food. It pastures during tho summer on tender mossos, lichens, mushrooms, "Mv, linn liuivti-n. nn ijiiiwii uome Is Lapland. In the Lapp tonguo the word "relno" means pasturage, so that the word "reindeer" means tin animal that pastures. During tho long winter tho deer subsist entirely upon moss, which abounds on tho vast tundras and hills of Alaska, so that the deer-man deer-man has almost unlimited grazing land for his herds. Plenty of Moss for Food. It bus been estlmnted thnt there nro 200,000 square miles or this dry, cornMlko moss In Alnskn enough grazing lnnd for 5.000,000 deer. This class of pasturage Is suitable for no other animal except, It may be the musk-ox; henco these thousand's of square miles of Arctic Alnskn, wero U not for the reindeer, would prove nrucilrally valueless and could not e permanently. Inhnh'ted. There Is only one drawback to this ilculntlon: Inevitably tlio reindeer ek the const In summer to cm-ape Hunimu of mosquitoes uuJ i lick up the salt deposited by the ocean waters. Tho Lapps have a saying that "mosquitoes make the best herders herd-ers in summer time." It Is believed, however, that if salt can bo supplied In sufllclent quantity Inland, and if the deer can be taken to tlio hills, where land breezes will serve the same purpose ns tho sea winds In blowing away the mosquitoes, mosqui-toes, the animals can be persuaded to overcome their Inbred Instinct for a seaside excursion In summer. Eskimos Own Most of Them. Eskimos own approximately 70 per cent of all the deerln Alnska, and tho bureau of education hns been much handicapped by the stnallucss of the $5,000 annual appropriation grunted In recent years to care for tho industry, Instruct herders, nnd administer general supervision over herds whlclh cover n stretch of territory ter-ritory more 'than u thousand miles In extent. Of liitt. years the Industry hns been tnkeu up by a number of white men us a private enterprise. No objection to their entering tho reindeer field bus been raised on tho part of government gov-ernment olllclnls, us the development of outside markets for reindeer meat, skins, und by-products will thereby bo promoted; but, In order to protect pro-tect the Kskhuo, n rule has been established es-tablished thnt fcnmlo deer muy not be purchnsed from tho nntlvcs. A number of Lapps, originally cm-ployed cm-ployed by the government to tench the Eskimos tho occupation of herding, wero permitted to borrow not to exceed ex-ceed 100 deer each. In flvo yenrs they were to return a llko number, keeping the Increase. From ono such loan In 1001 a count of 800 was made In 1008. During thnt year 800 animals were equally divided Into two herds, one of which now numbers not less than 10,000. The ment of the dear Is not "gamy" nnd yet thero Is a suggestion of von Ison In Its flavor. It has been aptly described as having tho Juiciness ot bcof nnd the delicacy nnd tenderness of venison. Tlio animal Is butchered by modern methods, after which the carcass Is frozen with the hide on and shipped to distributing points In tho states, principally Seattle and Minneapolis. There it is kept In cold storage until sold for food. Femnlo deer aro seldom killed. Of the males a certain number aro set asldo for breeding purposes nnd the rest nro fattened as steers. Tho average av-erage Ufo of a deer is about 15 years, but steers aro butchered when thrco years old. Camel of the Arctic Region. Tho reindeer has been culled the camel of tho Far North. It serves us a beast of burden, und Is to tho nomad no-mad of tho north what tho camel Is to tho nomad of the southern desert. Llko unto Its southern "brother" that "lives on Its hump," the reindeer draws on Its supply of fat In times of want. For long-dlstnnco travel tho Eskimo prefers the reindeer to dogs, us tho former llnds Its own feed; uot so the doss. Surprising records havo been made In long-dlstunce travel nnd also in speed tests. Indeed, for short distances, dis-tances, tho deer can outrnn tin. dog or horse. mu usual rate of travel on long-distance long-distance excursions should be from 25 to 35 miles a day. If the welfare of the deer Is considered. Even then the deer can only be employed con. tlnuously in thnt fushlou for 15 tn 17 days. While traveling it hns no ilmnco to graze. When compelled te do this nt night It loses sleep In consequence the store of fat which encases its body and furnishes re servo food nnd strength becomes ex haustcd. Tin? Eskimo never prods or crowdi the deer after It Indicate Its diwlri to quit the Journey. He unharnesses It nnd leuves It to find ts Mllv ,,,.,, to Its herd, which It usually succeeds In doing. If it doos not succeed In this. It Is likely to Join another herd The ownership of reindeer Is Hull catcd by ,., works. tj m,klllJ. raw tl e ji-lndwr or t!.e .r- .us herd' tie il MlnguiNhiHi, and imiMn, ,npr in n gi.nei.il i.uMgwm,.,i ot ui.ijuu io tl.i .r uu'ii-ig |