260 LABRADOR 



herd sold by us to Mr. Mayson Beeton of Grand Lake and 

 remained with his animals two days, coming in and out of 

 his corral with the rest, while three of his tame ones wan- 

 dered off for three weeks with their wild cousins and then 

 returned, as if preferring the less strenuous life. 



Encouraged by all we had heard, we set to work, and col- 

 lected a sum of $10,000 by public subscription, chiefly by 

 the help of the Boston Transcript, and in addition the Cana- 

 dian Federal Department of Agriculture voted $5000. The 

 task of purchasing and shipping the deer and of securing 

 their herders was intrusted to Mr. Francis Wood of London, 

 England, who voluntarily proceeded to Norway and Lap- 

 land for the purpose. Three hundred deer were eventually 

 purchased. Of these, two hundred and fifty were does of 

 an age to bear fawns in the spring, and fifty were stags; 

 they were to be delivered on the beach at Altenfjord on 

 the north coast of Lapland in lat. 71 north, at a cost of 

 $8.50 apiece. 1 A contract for thirty tons of the moss 

 known as reindeer moss, or Iceland moss (rangifereria) , was 

 arranged. The moss was to be gathered and stored on 

 the highlands to await transport by the deer themselves, 

 on the pulkas, or native sledges. The contract with the 

 Laplander agent ran as follows: 



" Israel N. Mella acknowledges hereby having sold to Mr. 

 Francis H. Wood, of London, 250 female reindeer, three 

 years old, sound, fresh, prime deer, for a sum of 30 Kr. 

 each delivered on board the ship in Bugten, Altenfjord; 

 also 25 tame four-year-old drawing deer for the sum of 



1 On board the steamer ready for sea, they cost $16.74 per head; 

 landed in Labrador, they cost $51.49 per head. 



