Hunting at High Altitudes 



in the Mt. McKinley district, has broken down the 

 specific distinctions of the sheep in Alaska in the 

 same way. 



That caribou were formerly very abundant 

 on the Seward Peninsula is proved by the abund- 

 ance of bleached skulls and cast antlers, apparently 

 about twenty or twenty-five years old. The cause 

 of their disappearance is as yet unknown. The 

 possession of firearms by the natives, first obtained 

 from whalers, is by some considered as the cause, 

 and by others epidemics. The natives themselves 

 claim that about a generation ago the winter cold 

 continued throughout an entire year, and all the 

 caribou perished in consequence. All these ex- 

 planations leave much to be desired, as there is an 

 abundance of caribou in the wooded district at the 

 eastern end of the Peninsula, and the explanation 

 of the fact that in the course of all these years the 

 caribou have not wandered back to their old feed- 

 ing grounds remains to be given. A few scattered 

 individuals are all that have been seen since the 

 founding of Nome. 



Domestic reindeer have been introduced into 

 Alaska successfully, and form a valuable resource 

 for the natives. I, however, saw nothing of them. 

 Their meat forms a part of the menu in the vari- 

 out restaurants at Nome. 



380 



