ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 633 



and instructiou miglit be somewhat equitably divided, it was thought 

 best to keep an account, made up every month, and followed through 

 the week. At the end of the week it would be added ui) so as to show 

 how many animals each man had lassoed and milked ; how many miles 

 each one had driven. 



From the list it will appear that some of the Lapps have been kept at 

 the station more than others. The reason for this was that these were 

 best qualified for various kinds of work — that is, for making harness 

 as well as for making sleds and for preparing materials for building, 

 for tanning and preparing skins, for driving and training animals, etc. 

 For training animals, Mikkel Josefsen ]S"akkila and Johan Speinsen 

 Tornensis are the most competent, not only in Port Clarence, Alaska, 

 but also in Kontokeino, Lapland. Hundreds of reindeer have been 

 left with them by the other Lajijis to be trained, the owners being less 

 skilled in this branch of reindeer industry. In Lapland it is customary 

 to give the one who trains the reindeer the free use of it for one year — 

 no small consideration, as they there have an opi)ortunity of carrying 

 passengers and transporting goods at so much per mile — a very profit- 

 able business. From this it may be seen how important it is considered 

 to have the sled deer well trained, in order to get the best results from 

 the capacity of the animal to do work. 



The Lapps who have been kept with the herd most of the time have 

 several strong points in herding, in being careful and attentive to its 

 wants, and among them I must mention Per Aslaksen Eist. He is 

 regarded as the most reliable and careful man for herding reindeer. 

 Such also was his reputation in Lapland, where he was intrusted with 

 local ofl&ces, being a member of the board of supervisors and member 

 of the court of consent. He is also the best of our herders and a man 

 who in Lapland always owned his own and still owns a herd of 1,150 

 reindeer. It seems that his statements and views in regard to the 

 moving of the herd, in regard to the quality of the pastures, and in 

 regard to matters in general are law to the other herders and to the 

 apprentices. They never contradicted him in such things, but quietly 

 recognized his superiority in this field. To this must be added his 

 great talent for managing a number of subordinates, a quality which 

 he has acquired by many years practice in Lapland. 



As I have heretofore informed you, this man did not come simj)ly for 

 the purpose of adding a few dollars to those which he already owns, 

 but also for the i)urpose of making observations in regard to the 

 Alaskan reindeer enterprise and to get acquainted with the climate and 

 other conditions. If it should become necessary for some of the Lap- 

 landers to emigrate from Lapland, it will doubtless rest with him to 

 decide whether or not the emigrants are to go to Alaska. 



The other Laplanders, to wit, Aslak Larsen Somby, Samuel Kemi, 

 and Mathis Eira, are also excellent herders. Aslak Larsen Somby and 

 Mathis Eira are also thoroughly schooled in fishing, so that both the 



