INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 57 



8 per cent, while the Government nerd will always have a higher per- 

 centage of loss as long as it is managed for the purpose of education, 

 for such a herd can never be handled so carefully as a private herd. 

 As long as it is necessary to have apj)rentices in connection with the 

 herd, they must have an opportunity of practicing the various methods 

 of handling the animals in connection with lassoing, taming, driving, 

 etc. This, of course, causes more or less disturbance, much more run- 

 ning to and fro of the herd, than if it were private. A private herd is 

 left undisturbed all of the time, hence there is less of broken backs 

 and other injuries. These disadvantages can not be avoided, for it is 

 necessary for the apprentices to practice if they are to make any 

 progress. In the account you will also notice that 3 animals were 

 stolen by the Eskimos. I was successful in capturing only pne of 

 these thieves, to wit, an Eskimo by the name of Axsegroak, from ISTook, 

 the nearest village east of the station. On the 26th of March, during 

 my absence on a journey to Golovin Bay, he shot one of our deer. It 

 had been set at liberty by one of our ai)prentices while returning home 

 from Antisarlook herd on account of weariness, about 4 miles east 

 from the station. They were unable to bring it home before the herd 

 was gone, so left it so that it could be united with it on their return 

 home. Our people looked after the animal several times, and were 

 constantly aware of its whereabouts. 



Although it does not belong to the chapter, I will take the liberty of 

 relating here how we captured and punished this thief. On my return, 

 the 31st of March, it was soon reported that a reindeer had been shot 

 by some Eskimos or others. But no one knew or was willing to know 

 who the thief was, the Eskimos being, as a class, great cowards; so that 

 when one of them has done anything wrong the others dare not say 

 anything about it for fear of being themselves shot by the criminal. 

 For this reason they did not dare report the stealing of the reindeer, 

 but simxDly stated that it had been shot and eaten; but I resolved to get 

 this matter straightened out, and to this end I instituted direct and 

 indirect investigation, the only result of which was that our apprentices 

 knew who the thief was but did not dare to tell the truth. On one of 

 my daily visits in the houses of the apprentices and herders, all the 

 apprentices were asked whether they would not tell me the circum- 

 stances pertaining to this matter. I received no answer from any of 

 them, but one of the wives, who stood near the stove, made some com- 

 prehensible signs and nods with her head toward a man who sat in 

 a corner of the room. A single moment's consideration convinced me 

 that the thief was sitting in the corner, on which account I immediately 

 addressed him and asked him in very j)ositive terms whether he had 

 shot our reindeer, to which he hesitatingly nodded with his head with- 

 out opening his lips. He apparently did not think it worth his while 

 to say yes. 



I considered the matter of great importance, as this was the first 



