Chubbuck: Alaska's Reindeer Industry 



151 



AN OLD MALE WOODLAND CARIBOU. 



An adult buck weighs from 350 to 400 lbs., and at the beginning of autumn carries a thick 

 layer of fat on the back and rump, which furnishes a highly prized article of food to natives. 

 Sir John Richardson says: "The flesh is tender and its flavor, when in season, is in my 

 opinion superior to that of the finest English venison; but when the animal is lean, it is 

 insipid, the difference between lean and well-fed caribou being greater than one can con- 

 ceive, who has not had an opportunity of judging." Zoologists now divide the caribou, 

 distinguishing a dozen species in North America; the one shown here is the Newfoundland 

 Caribou (Rangifer terranovae) . Photograph made at the New York Zoological Park. 

 (Figure 2.) 



the Eskimo, whose means of living have 

 become very much restricted in recent 

 years, and who make excellent reindeer 

 herdsmen; the nucleus of an animal 

 industry in the 40,000 reindeer now 

 owned largely by the Eskimo; and a 

 region practically unoccupied, with per- 

 haps 100,000 square miles of pasturage 

 suitable for the reindeer; at any rate 

 sufficient to sustain herds reaching into 

 the millions in number. In the April, 

 1903, number of The National Geo- 



graphic Magazine, the editor, in an 

 article on "Reindeer in Alaska," said: 

 "In thirty-five years the number may 

 reach 10,000,000 head." 



It may be worth while to note in this 

 connection, that in the two northern 

 countries of Sweden, Norrbotten and 

 Vesterbotten, comprising 63,000 square 

 miles, the Lapps own 230,000 reindeer. 

 Large herds are also owned in the north 

 of Norway and in Finland. 



The western half of Alaska, including 



