298 VALUABLE ANIMALS OF THE ARCTIC 



deer skyward. With the destruction of the country's game and the rising 

 standard of hfe among the natives the population will come more and more 

 to depend upon the reindeer industry, which will doubtless develop rapidly. 



Living in a savage state of society with no other domestic animal than the 

 half tamed malamoot dog, the process of teaching the Eskimo here how to 

 take care of deer has been slow. Severe measures have had to be resorted 

 to in many cases to compel the natives to keep their dogs from the deer camp. 



Also it has been found difficult to prevent those who have no deer from 

 shooting the unfortunate animals that stray away from the herd. These are 

 considered legitimate prey and until recently were hunted the same as caribou. 

 This year, however, a great many of these stray deer have been picked up and 

 put back into the herds which they had deserted. 



It has thus been found necessary to put the native herder through a course 

 of training. Those who get their deer directly from the Government serve 

 an apprenticeship of four years. They are bound by a written contract the 

 strict terms of which they cannot violate without peril of losing their annual 

 allotment of reindeer and suffering discharge from the service. 



During the first three years of their apprenticeship they receive in addition 

 to the reindeer a generous supply of food free of charge. Cloth, clothing, traps, 

 guns and ammunition are also given to the fortunate apprentice, who soon be- 

 comes a person of consequence in the community. For these Governmental 

 favors the apprentice is supposed to take care of his own deer and to assist in 

 caring for the Government deer. 



The work of the herder in a reindeer camp is not arduous and seems to be 

 especially attractive to the carefree native. Ordinarily the deer have a way 

 of taking care of themselves that suits the native. Every day an apprentice 

 drives the herd to some feeding ground where they feed while the herder 

 saunters about or hunts ptarmigan or other game near at hand. 



