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Show I . -- - - THE BINGHAM BULLETIN. BINGHAM CANYON, UTAH : - ., : ' i j t By ELMO SCOTT WATSON (Drawings by Ray Walters) EVERY child knows. Santa Claus makes his rounds on Christmas eve In fSa sleigh drawn by "eight tiny reindeer and their names are "Daslter." "Dancer," "Prancer." "Vlx en," "Comet," "Cupid," "Ponder" and "Blluen." The eight-reinde- team, was however, not always Krlss Krlngle's mo-tive power. Time was when he made his visits mounted on a snowy white horse. That was when he was known as Slnterklass, the pet name of the little Dutch children for their friend. Bishop St Nicholas, who, they be lleved, brought thera gifts on St. Nicholas eve, December 6. When Sinterklass came to New Am-sterdam and became Americanbd, his name was changed to Santa Claui nd he began using a little wa?on drawn by a fat pony, for bis vNts oa New Tear's eve Instead of De-cember 8. Then In 1822 Clement Clark Moore wrote the famous poem Which be called "A Visit From St. Nicholas," but which later became famous as "The Nljjht Before Christ mas." In this poem Santa's eoulnafie was the "miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer" and the sleigh and reindeer It has been ever since. Just as Santa Clous Is an "Imml-rrant- " and a "naturalized American," o are the steeds which he drives. No doubt It will be a surprise to oiany Americans to learn Just how ninny of these "Immigrants" there ire In America now as well as to know that the reindeer Is not only a part of the symbolism of Christmas but In one part of this continent he Is in Important economic factor. Up In Alaska there are more than 700,000 f these animals grazing on the froz-en tundra of the North and their rapid Increase,-despit- e the fact that Its. nuiket them the casieat to handle of all domestic animals. The roundup I simplified by the fact that the mot qultoea In summer drive the deer to the sea coast, where they are protect-ed by ocean breezes. Herding Is made easy by their attachment to their graft-ing ground.- A reindeer turned loose many days' Journey from the pasture of Its own herd will find Its way sure-ly and quIoKly home. Reindeer were Introduced to Alaska In 1191. In that year sixteen were brought from Siberia at the Instigation of Dr Sheldon lackson. When Doctor Jack-son was sent to Alaska by the gov-ernment to establish schools among the natives, he found his wards threat-ened with starvation as a result of the slaughter by white men of the game animals on which ths natives had de-pended for 'ood He conceived the Idea of replacing the fast disappearing game with reindeer, the principal animal of Lapland and 8lberla, the climate and vegetation of which resembled that of Alaska. Returning to tha states and unable to Interest congress In the venture, Doctor Jackson sought contributions from the public He obtained $2,148 with which the first animals were pro-cured In Siberia. At the same time S-iberian herdsmen were broueht over to care for them. In 189! 160 more reindeer were Im-ported Congress then became mildly interested and small appropriations made possible Importations through the next ten years until, In 1902, when the Russian government put an embargo on further exportatlons from 8lberla, 1,280 animals bad been taken Into Alaska. The Siberian herdsmen proved In-competent as teachers for the Eski-mos, and for a time the venture was threatened with failure. It was then that Doctor Jackson went for advice results of the enterprise. Within less than a generation tha reindeer Indus-try has advanced tha natlvea of Alaska through one entire stage of civilisa-tion from the primitive to tha pastor-al, from nomadic hunters to civilized men. Independent, responsible, assured of support for themselves and an op-portunity to itcquire wealth. They have bank accounts, purchase American clothing and food, have adopted Im-proved methods of aanitatlon and. In soma instances, have built frame houses from Imported lumber. Between 1918 and 1925 mora than 1.875.000 pounds of reindeer meat whs ' shipped to the United States from Alas-ka. Two hundred thousand pounds was shipped In 1923, while by 1925. tha export had Increased to 680.000 pounds. The export for 1927 wan expected al-most to double that of 1925, tha amount depending on shipping facilities. Rein-deer meat sells In Nome for 15 to 20 centa pound. It ran ba delivered at Seattle for 15 centa a pound, and. with Increased shipments and Improved methods of handling, even tbls price can ba reduced. While he only reindeer on this con-tinent now are In Alaska, and the ter-ritory's production la restricted by pasturage 'o four million head, thera are millions of acres In Canada where ten times as many can be fed. and vast stretches In northern Europe and Asia where reindeer have been raised for centuries, but never on an exten-sive scale, where ten times as many-ca-ba grazed aa In Canada In all then, 444,000,000. reindeer could ba sup-ported nv Alaska, Canada and Eurasia, assuring a aubstantlal contribution to tha world's aupply of food and a uti-lization of what otherwise would ba waste land Tha reindeer roundup rivals aa a scene of picturesque activity tbe eld cattle roundups of tba western states. neinaeer, line came, mill about a com-mon center, but, unlike cattle, a herd will nvll In one direction only This habit simplifies the work of the brand-er- a and tally keepera. Chutes are con-structed at Intervals about the corral, their mouths formed by short wing fencea or "horns" projecting Inside tha corral at an angle opposed to the direc-tion of tiie herd's motion. Against these "horns" tha edge of the herd, kept In motion by Eskimo herders, la nllced off and, one at a time, the animala are driven down tha nar-row chute. If the animal la branded, ona of the men at the chute will call out the brand. If unbranded, tha ani-mal will ba aelzed aa It emerges from the chute and either a branding Iron applied to !ts hip or a mark snipped in one of Ita ears. Reindeer are prolific. At tha normal rata of Increase, herds double every three years. Even under tha preaent plan of killing off the surplua males, amounting to about 10 per cent of tha herd, each ear, the animala ara almost doubling In numbers every Ova years. Within fifteen or twenty yeara, at tha present rats of growth, tha berda will have reached the limits of tha territory to feed and It will then ba necessary further to Increase the slaughter of tba animala. more than 2.10,000 have been slough-tere-for food since they were first Introduced here, Is America's protec-tion against 'a meat famine caused by the rapid diminishing of our beef herds. All of which is due to an ex-periment which our g Uncle Sam embarked npon some thlrty-sev-t- n years ago. The story of that er perirnent and the part which a Wis-consin professor had In It Is told by a writer In the Milwaukee Journal is follows: Reindeer ara caribou, domesticated through many centurlea. The average weight of a n animal Is 160 pounds, but by crossing wltb the larg-er wools caribou, It la hoped to de-velop an animal of 250 pounds. Through the centuries of domestication Its flesh has lost the game flavor until now It Is sa'd to resemble a cross between duck and mutton. Tha animala ara mora docile than cattle. A man a aafa In a milling herd, although ha may appear to a watcher to be In imminent danger of being trampled under the feet or Impaled on tbe horna of the deer. This docility, together wltb knowledge of their hab- - to nnsmus B Anderson of Mad-ison. Wis., who, while minister to Den-mark, had visited the reindeer herds of Lapland. Doctor Jackson's early Inter-est In the animals had been aroused by a report on the Industry there made by the professor. In pursuance of Professor Ander-son's advice, Lapp herders were en-gaged to replace the Siberians as In-structors to the Eskimos. Each was lent 100 animals from the government herd for a period of years, at the end of which an equal number of reindeer were required o be returned to the government. Th Lapps were permit- ted to retain tbe Increase. The Eskimos were apprenticed to tha Lappa for a period of four years At the end of the flrst year each was giv- en six reindeer, at the end of the sec-ond, eight, at the end of the third year, ten, and ten more at the end of hla fourth year of training. With nor-mal Increases, each man's herd would be almost 100 head by the time he had completed hla apprenticeship. He was well equipped to start In business for himself. Today, mora than two-thir-of the reindeer of Alaska are owned by natives, of whom some 6.000 have been trained in their care. . The effect of this training on tha Eskimos is one of tha most Important " y. lN. : ' ' ! By LOUISE M. COMSTOCK Z ;" V iwl'J ' "A Christmas Carol" Charles ' 1 rfiVLJo'Al vOSj I Dickens gave the worn . . : I fJzlb. Ct-- I A ifM fiTT! favorite Christmas f5l ilL"-- - 2St6 story. It T W ft u has been read and reread at V : -- jLr 1 k.-- " )) f& ' ( J I thls tlnw each year until old V - H. --rlj, 7 VVisL-- ' IV iMffl&m 8crooce and Tiny Tim are " m I k i nKpavlKry (fo thrlH,1',in,lr,lfn,!, an' ,h,e a,a' ' 2?c2zffiiummd2XarrjirJ books ZH&zZzz ' M' so closely ifburtesy, Cbjrtoftoftax Book (brforatfo Idontlfled with the spirit of i Christmas that we quite sympathize with the lit- - ' " -- iS-" ifi 1,0 W who' 11 Is "aid, asked when told of hla tT---S-w- a; f 111 denth, "If Mr. Dickens la dead, then Is Santa ftggggy. Py l3 t'laus going to die too?" Dickens' place as a literary artist Is seldom Nii- - Jj disputed. But on Charles Dickens the ninn the modern debunker tins recently turned his pene-tratXn- n spotlight with astonishing results. Two f oew b0,,k " the life of the famous author: "Charles Dickens, a Biography From New Sources," by Ralph Straus, published by the Cos- - , I niopolltun look corporation, nnd "This Side Idol- - atry a Novel Based on the Life of Charles Pick- - j ens." by C. E. nechhofer-Roberts- , published by the Robbs Merrill company, revenl disconcerting m"!RP on the whitewashed Idol the Dickens legend has given us. I The "Christmas Carol," It seems, for all Its I sermon against selfish greed and Tiny Tim's Ira- - j mortnl "Clod bless us every one," was written I primarily becnuxe tbe author needed money, Ira- - mediately and badly. "Martin Chuzzlewlt." bused I on bis first trip to America, had enjoyed so Clin t , comitared to earlier book, na tn hrino f husband. Uere, according to Mr. Bechhofer-Rob-ert- s, Is her final Judgment of hlra: "I am weary, Charles, of bearing you prate of cant and hum-bug and hypocrisy. Is there a meaner cant than your empty catchwords? lou're the hypocrite, you, who boast your contempt for money and break fultb with every publisher I Tou, who . preach charity and pillory your parents and friends In your books! Tou, who rant duty anj faithfulness and desert me for a painted actress I" Of this "painted actress" Mr. Straus has "little to any," beyond that her name was Ellen Ternan that she was "somewhat well known" and the first named benedclury In Dickens' will, which left her 1,000 pounds. She Is undoubtedly the "young Indy for whom I have great regard," Dick-ens mentions tn the impetuous and ridiculous de-fense of the separation which he later wrote tc come by glueing labels on blacking bottles tn a cousin's factory, a period so painful to him lhat John Forster, his faithful friend, advisor and blngmpher, was the only person, not excepting bis wife, to whom be ever mentioned It. Later there was a dull period as clerk In a lnw office, a more lively period as newspaper re--; porter, whon the young man chased news by couch from one end of England to the other and took down parliamentary speeches, writing on hla knee; then the famous sketches by "Boz"; then "Hckwlck" and fame when he was not yet twenty-r-ive yenrs old I From ambitious young manhood, Dickens slipped easily Into the role of public Idol. He set up an extravagant household, entertained lavishly, always with that Joy In rollicking, middle-clas- s good cheer so marked In the "Carol." He directed and acted In the most talked-o- f amateur theatricals of the day, and edited papers, made speeches, traveled and produced books with unbelievable energy. The role of public Idol Is always a trying one. 1 head long pending difficulties with Chapman & ! Important among the many publishing j houses with whom Dickens had first dealings and then difficulties. Under this cloud the author Journeyed to Manchester to assist at a dedica- - ; tlon. He returned In Improved spirits, loud pub- - ) "C applause stUI ringing In his ears and his if bend full of a new story. It" Inspiration, he told his wife, Kate, was the i crippled son of his sister, Fanny, whom he had Just visited. It was to be "sort. of a fairy tale, contrasting the selfish, canting, hypocritical rich who don't understand tbe spirit of Christmas with the humble, happy poor who do." It was to contain "all his philosophy" and be such a "snack In the eye for cant and humbug" I He set to work with that remarkable energy that characterized all his efforts. At the end of ten days he read the story to Kute and Oeorglna Hogarth, her sister, and a mem-- .'-- of the Dickens household. "It's thrilling I" - the adoring Oeorglna exclaimed, reports Mr. . Rechhofer Roberts. "It will do more good to the I world than all the sermons ever preached." And t ' Charles modestly answered, "That's Just what I - think. What's more. It'll do the "Inimitable" , I more good than all the sermons preached. It'll f . sell like hot cakes!" I Sell tike hot enkes It did. The first edition ap- - j peurcd a few duys before Christmas, 1843. and 6.000 copies were Bold at five shilling each within a . few hours of publicntlon. "Charles." Mr. Straus tells us, "was overjoyed, kept Christmas uproar-- J, lously." Later editions sold over 10,000 copies, C giving Dickens, In bis own words, "a most pro-- I dlglous success, the greatest I think I have ever I achieved." "The little book," Straus continues, ! "enrteured him to thousands of new readers and i !ut him on a new sort of pedestal. The alTee- - tlt.rmte regard In which be had been held changed appease his wondering public. Mr. Beehhofer-Robert- s has much to say of her. Dickens bad first seen her In "Atnlnntn," a "dismal little per-son" whose voice did not carry to the boxes. There had been a trip behind scenes, an luev Itoble encounter, a tearful confession that It was the shame of appearing In tights that was spoil-ing her debut performance, appropriate words of consolation and an Immediate Infatuation. Peo-ple had talked, Kate had complained and the long contemplated separation was thereby precip-itated. Kate, however, was apparently alone In her doubt of Dickens' sincerity. Others accepted "A Christmas Carol" as he Intended they should, and Its sales mounted. But Dickens needed money; and In that respect the "Carol" disappointed hlra. Much had been spent on binding and printing, . on color plates and woodcuts; and five shillings was h notably low price. Ills profits, all told, fell short of $1,500. "Whnt a wonderful thing It Is," he wrote Forster, "that such a success should occasion one such Intolerable anxiety and dis-appointment I". In his chagrin Dickens made now his first and last attempt to protect himself against the com-mon piracies of his books. No sooner hnd the "Carol" appeared than a children's weekly called Parley's Illuminated Library, carried almost the entire book reprinted with a short Introduction. In January, 1844, Dickens applied for an Injunc-tion to restrain Its sales. "Tbe pirates." he was able to write soon after, "are beuten flat. Thev are bruised, bloody, battered, smashed, squelched and utterly undone." But bis triumph was short-lived. The pirates were let off with a mere re-buke; they Immediately pleaded bankruptcy so that Dickens had to pay court costs and they thereafter calmly resumed their practices. Dick-ens did not Interfere agnln. "It Is better," he ... wrote, "to suffer a great wrong thnn to have O.....V. n c . v... nuiiutr,, AHHintTiuy nilH ex-pressing the general opinion when he wrote: 'Who can listen to ohjettlons regarding such' a book as this! It seems to me a national benefit and. to every man or woman who rends It, a per sona! kindness, . The last two persons I heard speuk of It were women, neither knew the other or the author, and both said, by way of crltl- - clsm. "Ood bless him!"'" ! Its success was natural. Mke the good show- - j man he was, Dickens had quite outdone himself tn giving his public what It wanted: an extra 3 good "smack In the eye for cant and humbug." ,; Wltb what satisfaction he must have set Ita 5 knleldoscoplc scenes, that vivacious procession of j guests arriving at the Fezzlwlg's ball, the tableau i of the Spirit of Christmas Present, the brief i drama of the Cratchlt's Christmas dinner! Here i was the successful author In his greatest role, , giving his renders gorgeous entertainment, play- - ': Ing upon their heartstrings and hoping for lurge profits! There Is probably more of Dickens' own child hood than of Fanny's sick son In Tiny Tim Cratchlt. He bad been a bright, sensitive little i chap, subject to frequent spasms of sickness that confined hltn to books and dreams for amuse- - ( menf. Ills father, afterwards so accurately por-- ' trayed In Mr. Macawher. seems to have been a :; charming scoundrel, so utterly unable to rope with the practical business of living that he often f "disappeared" when hills were overdue, leaving Mrs. Dickens, as futile as Mrs. Nichelby, and her numerous children to fjee the music. When all went well there waa proper schooling, endless , fascinating theatricals In the Dickens house and r " ajiijjtrluiiiphs when his fatherMftedhlm unto the dln7Sg0ra tohfer fbperforiii"7or TMwJng guesta. Wheffft did not go well, the schoo'lngT stopiHKl. there s constant terror of poverty and tbe shame of seetag his father In debtors' prison ; and there was a devastating., though brief, ex-perience when Ste contributed to the family In- - nun ever uiucu muney uii'sens hooks urougnt, he always needed more. Ills Improvident father and brothers constantly Imposed on his gener-- - osity. His own children he spoke of as "the larg-est family known, wltb the least disposition to do anything for themselves." He was seldom free from the malady of his childhood and suc-cess brought hlra only Increasing restlessness and dissatisfaction. At length there was a much talked-o- f separa-tion from Kate. She bad lived wltb him twenty-thre- e years, had borne him ten children, but she was now dismissed, left only her eldest son, COO pounds Income and the gracious privilege of see-ing her children "when and where she wished." The household passed Into the more welcome care of Georglna. It was Dickens' jilea that they had "lived unhappily together for many years," that their differences were temperamental. Kate was, Mr. Straus tells ns, a complacently good-nature-woman whom constant motherhood bad rendered 111 and unlovely. Certainly she was no Ideal mate for the energetic and clever Dickens. 'But she had put up with his ravings over the death of her sister, Mary, wbo died In his arms and whose loss he mourned publicly and private-ly all out of proportion to the relationship of sister-in-la- She bad even borne with him when, already approaching middle age, he had tried to revive a youthful romance with Maria Beadnell, herself married, fat, forty and not so fair. Though he had not seen Maria since his early Infatua--. tlon, be wrote her Indiscreet letters, arranged a meeting tn his own home, found what damage time had done her and retreated with no par-ticular grace. Kate had endured the trip to America at his wish ; had watched him monopo-lize conversation at dinner parties; knew his Ir-- responsibility In business dealings; how public ' approval went to his head and criticism made him a restless tyrant, apt to caricature Its author mercilessly In his books. Moreover, and perhaps . herein lay Kate's fault, she made no Idol of her recourse to the greater wrong of the law." But "A Christmas Carol" was yet to make money for Its author.- - It served as headliner for his public readings, of which he gave 400 dur-ing the last 13 yenis of bis life. Dickens first experienced what Straus calls the "rather dan-gerous delight of appeurlng alone on a public platform" at Christmas, 1853 when be read the "Carol" at two benefit performances. When, In 1858, he commenced his publle readings, he sdd-e- d to his program selections from "The Cricket," "I'ickwlck." "Dombey and Son," ".Martin Chuzzle-wlt" and later "Nlckleby" and "David Copper-field.- " His success was unprecedented. Here at last he seemed to have found himself. Here he was the nutlior living for his public the lives he had created; he was the actor alone on the stage, acting parts of his own creation. Every town In England clamored for him. He made triumphant tours of Ireland and Scotland. He traveled once more to America, giving bis read-ings before "perfectly astounding audiences" and often making over $1,000 a week! It la probable that the strain of constant trav-eling, of emotional delivery, together with re-currences of his old malady, caused his death. There Is no doubt that he was a very sick man throughout his Ameiican tour; that that five months cost him his bealtb even while It earned him nearly 20,000 pounds. There was some im-provement on his retun. to England, but when the fatal readings recommenced Dickens became seriously threatened with paralysis and was forced to accept a doctor's verdict of complete rest . On March 15, 1870, he gave his last reading, at old St. James hall, London. The occasion wus ' "his crowning triumph." He read the "Carol" and the trial from "Pickwick" amid repeated cheers. He died a few months Inter. He was only fifty-eig- at the time, though an old man at thut. bnt worth ovar 100,000 pounds I Santa Claus a Bishop The name of Santa Claus Is merely Blurring tbe Dutch San Nicholas, which Is, of course. Saint Nicholas American children are probably the only ones in tbe world who say It Just that way. Nicholas was an actual person. He was Bishop of Myra, In Lycla, Asia Minor, In the flrst part of the Fourth century of the Christian era. He wu the youngest bishop In the history of the church. From the day of his birth Nicholas revealed his piety and grace. He refused on fust duys to take tbe natural nourishment of a child. But Nicholas was not a barefoot re-cluse vowed to poverty. His father was a wealthy merchant, nnd his riches, luherlled by the magic wand which fuiry godfathers wield, enabled hlra to be a dispenser of the good things of life as earthly representative of the Supreme Giver of Gifts. The bunkers and brokers wished to give sanctity and dignity to their busi ness and also adopted the generous Nicholas as their heavenly protector. He was. In fact, the most popular saint In the calender. V The feast of Saint Nicholas waa originally celebrated on December 8. But when church people In the late Middle ages tried to suppress, for one reason or another, tbe festivities which grew up around the Boy Sulnt's day, tbe children refused to give hlra up and gradually his festival was assim-ilated wltb Christmas day. John Macy tn the Bookman. - Urges Farmers to Grow Christmas Trees association. "Those of ns who nave been working for years for a com-prehensive program of forest cotiser vation realize that the success of the movement for forest protection de-pends very largely on the develop ment of a very widespread apprecla tlon of the forest In the minds of the American people. There Is probably no better way of Instilling a love for trees In tbe hearts of the rising gen eratlon than the use of the little ev ergreen aa tbe central figure of tbe Christmas festival. "There are many things having to do with forests of mucb more Im-portance. The American Tree asso-ciation Is strongly In favor of Jail for the man who Invades the prop-erty of another; breaks off limbs of trees and tears np other Christmas greens; fast disappearing by the roots. "So great has become tbe demand for Christmas trees that the growing of them Is getting to be a big busi-ness. It Is estimated ten million are used every year at a cost of five mil-lion dollars. ' ' Washington. On Christmas ra.irn Ing Santa Clwus wlll .be standing In front of a Christmas tree In about ten million Amerlcnn homes and hand out tlie toys. According to the Aiwrh-a- Tree association, wl.lc! urFM, a tree In every home. Christ mas tree cutting will soon be, a "bis b.wlwss" because In hundreds ot rvliccs farmers have planned a Christ tnns tree crop on land fit for nothing else and the Christmas tree crop Idea Is being take up by farmers more anc more every year. Because of an ex aggerated notion as to the bearing Christmas free cutting has on th future supplies of timber misinformed Individuals hsve urged the cutting of Christmas trees be prohibited by law "This sonnds fine but Is wide of the mark," says Charles Lathrop Pack, president of the American Tree Ing with It for the Inst twelve or fif-teen years. ' He has concluded that H will be p most successful and useful variety to spread over the millions of slacker acres that are now economic liabilities, and will find a place In the gurden. It grows as rapidly as a na-tive red spruce or balsam fir, the two varieties most used In tbe Northwest, and Mr. Pack believes that It Is more artistic In form thnn the Norway spruce. Grow Your Own Tree Washington. The American Tree association urges you to grow your own Christmas tree and make It tbe family gathering place. While the na-tive spruces and firs are tbe cus-tomary bearers of gifts, a new variety, tba Japanese Nikko fir (Abies homo lepls), has entered the lists. It forms a broad, symmetrical crown of dark green lustrous foliage, wltb strong branches sturdy enough to support tbe most valuable presents and not so dose packed that none can Hnd them. It can be grown In from six to twelve years after planting, depending on the size desired, and from .one to two thousand will thrive on each acre. Its sir of sturdlness and thrift lends li wholesome symbolism, particularly ne.led at this time of year. It Is a new, little known tree that has been grown here and there tn small quantities for decorative plant-ing. Charles Lathrop Pack, president of the association, has been experiment-- To have lived la to bava suffered. |