524 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



possess from two to three thousand, but the majority 

 do not exceed five hundred. The fjeld Laplander, 

 who is the genuine Reindeer breeder, looks proudly 

 down on all other members of his tribe, who have 

 given up nomad life and have either settled on the 

 shore as fishermen or gone out in service among the 

 Scandinavians; he believes himself alone to be truly 

 independent and he knows nothing more desirable 

 than his Reindeer herd. 



Such a herd presents a curious and highly inter- 

 esting spectacle. It really resembles a wandering 

 forest — assuming of course the forest to have been 

 deprived of its leaves for the time being. The Rein- 

 deer proceed in close ranks like Sheep, but at a brisk, 

 even pace, skimming over the ground more rapidly 

 indeed than any of our domestic animals. The 

 keeper with his Dogs walks on one side, busily 

 engaged in keeping the herd together. 



If there is good pasturage near, the Laplanders 

 build a penfold, to facilitate milking, and drive the 

 animals into it every evening. Reindeer remind one 

 of Sheep by their restlessness and their continual 

 bleating, though the sounds which they utter are 

 more like the grunting of swine. The great majority 

 of those kept in herds are very small: one sees but 

 a few large animals among hundreds. The irregu- 

 larity of the size of the antlers also impresses one 

 disagreeably. In approaching the penfold, one first 

 hears the constant bleating and then a sharp, crack- 

 ling noise, as if hundreds of electric batteries were 

 active, due to the perpetual moving to and fro of 

 the animals and the castanet-like action of their 

 hoofs. In the middle of the penfold lie several large 

 trunks of trees, to which the Reindeer are fastened 

 while they are being milked. No Reindeer suffers 

 itself to be robbed of its milk without being first 

 secured with a lasso, and therefore every Laplander 

 of either sex always carries a long strap or a rope. 

 In use as a lasso this is lightly coiled, held by both 

 ends and thrown so as to fall around the neck or 

 antlers of the animal; then the milker gradually 

 pulls it nearer until he has drawn it up quite close; 

 a sailor-knot is next hitched and put around the 

 animal's mouth, thus securely bridling it and com- 

 pelling complete obedience. Then the end of the 

 lasso is fastened to the tree trunk and the business of 

 milking begins. While this lasts, the Reindeer makes 

 various efforts to run away; but the Laplanders 

 know how to foil them and draw the noose around 

 the nose of especially refractory animals so close as 

 to compel them to stand still. The milker ap- 

 proaches the Reindeer from behind, and gives the 

 udder a few slaps with the hand, which empties it. 

 The milk has a pleasing sweetish taste and is as rich 

 as cow's cream. As soon as the milking is accom- 

 plished, the penfold is opened and the animals go 

 out to pasture, no matter whether they have been 

 collected in the early morning or late at night, for 

 they graze both day and night. 

 The Great Useful- The entire value of tame Reindeer 

 ness and Value of to their owners can not be estimated 



the Reindeer. at ^ wnen we re fl e ct that it fur- 

 nishes to them almost every necessity of life. Every 

 thing the animal produces is put to account, not 

 only the milk and the palatable cheese made from 

 it, but also the flesh, the blood and every single part 

 of the body. The horns in their early cartilagenous 

 state are eaten with as much gusto as are those of 

 the Elk when in the same condition. The soft skins 

 of the fawns are made into garments; the woolly 

 hair is spun and woven; the bones furnish materials 



for various tools; the tendons are utilized as thread. 

 Then the animal must supply the motive power for 

 conveying the entire family with all their chattels 

 from one place to another, especially in winter. In 

 Lapland the Reindeer is mainly used for purposes of 

 draught and less for carrying burdens on its body, 

 as the latter mode of conveyance is very hard upon 

 it on account of its weak back and loins. The Tun- 

 gus and Koryak tribes in Siberia, however, ride on 

 the strongest male Reindeer, placing a saddle over 

 the shoulder blades, and sitting astride of the queer 

 looking saddle animal. In Lapland nobody rides 

 on Reindeer and it is only the strongest males or 

 "oxen" as the Norwegians say, that are employed 

 for driving. Good beasts of draught easily bring a 

 price of from eight to twelve dollars, while the ordi- 

 nary Reindeer costs from three to four and a half 

 dollars at the most. A Reindeer is never previously 

 trained or broken; but a strong animal is selected 

 out of the herd and harnessed to a sled, which 

 is highly suitable for the purpose, being perfectly 

 adapted to the nature of the country and to the 

 powers of draught of the Reindeer. It is very dif- 

 ferent from the sleighs in use elsewhere and resem- 

 bles a boat. It consists of very thin birch boards 

 which are nailed to each other, curved in boat shape, 

 beginning at a broad keel, thus forming a trough, 

 the front part of which is covered. Naturally only 

 a single person can sit in such a boat-like sled. 

 For luggage or merchandise the traveler employs 

 •sleds which can be covered on top with sliding 

 lids, but are similar to the passenger sleds in all 

 other respects. A good Reindeer travels about six 

 miles an hour, dragging a load of from two hun- 

 dred and forty to two hundred and eighty pounds; 

 but usually the load is much lighter. In summer it 

 is not used in the capacity of a beast of draught in 

 Norway. If one is careful with strong, well-fed 

 Reindeer — that is, if the beasts are permitted to work 

 only a few hours in the morning and evening, and are 

 allowed to graze at noon and night — he can travel 

 over astonishingly great distances with them, with- 

 out overtaxing their strength. 



Close captivity is very distasteful to a Reindeer; 

 yet it thrives fairly well in zoological gardens if 

 tended with proper care, and it usually propagates 

 in captivity. The warm temperature of the low 

 country in summer does not agree with its health, 

 while it is perfectly indifferent to the severest winter 

 cold. Correspondingly it would be more adapted 

 than any other Deer for introduction into for- 

 eign countries on woodless high table-lands among 

 mountains where the Reindeer-lichen grows. It 

 would be very comfortable there, would soon be- 

 come used to its surroundings, propagate its species 

 and become an object of the chase. I mentioned 

 this fact years ago, and tried to demonstrate that it 

 must necessarily thrive on the high mountains of 

 Germany. The attempts that have been made have 

 fulfilled my predictions if not my desires. It is only 

 necessary now to proceed to further experiments 

 with due earnestness and the proper knowledge, and 

 consequent success cannot fail to follow. 



THE FALLOW DEER. 



The Reindeer are naturally followed by the Fallow 

 Deer (Dama). The genus is known by their horns, 

 which are round and furnished with two spurs on 

 their lower portion and expand above into an elon- 

 gated blade with spurs on the margins, directed up- 

 ward and backward. 



