54 INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 



EXTRACTS FROM THE DAILY JOURN.IL KEPT ON THE JOURNEY FROM 

 UNALAKLEET TO BETHEL AND RETURN, IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 

 1903. 



By C. O. LiND, M. D., General Superintendent Central Division. 



The first week of November, 1903, lias been a real busy one at the 

 remdeer station at Unalakleet. Nils Bals and myself have had our 

 hands full in repairing of sleds, harnesses, tent, etc., for the long and 

 difficult journey we are just ready to begin. A young Lapp, by name 

 Per Sara — a son to Nils Sara, whom we are about to move from 

 Andreafski, on the Yukon, to Bethel, Kuskokwim — has been helping 

 us a little with the preparatory work for the privilege of going along 

 to meet liis parents. The Sara family was broken up in Norway' the 

 winter of 1898. Father and mother departed then from tlieu- native 

 land, taking the smaller children along with them to Alaska, but 

 leaving some of the older boys behind on the European soil. Per 

 Sara is one of said boys, who had just arrived from Lapland a couple 

 of months earlier to rejoin his parents and other inembers of the fam- 

 ily in far-oft" Alaska. He could speak neither English nor Norwegian. 

 Nallogoroak — the straight one — a native herder at Unalakleet, who 

 also is to join the party for Kuskokwim, has been busy at the herd 

 the last few days. He came down to the village in time for an early 

 start on Saturday morning, November 7. Sleds loaded and all read^^; 

 the 4 deer from the Mission herd were here also, but 3 more deer 

 wliich were to be brought down from Ole Bahr's herd failed to come 

 until late in the afternoon the same day. Naturally we would not 

 begin our journey late Saturday evening, so it was decided to wait 

 until MondaA" morning, November 9. 



Monday morning found Nallogoroak, Per Sara, Nils Bals, and 

 myself, with 7 deer and as many sleds, with provision, tent, neces- 

 sary clotliing for the trip, all ready. FareweU was taken on the ice 

 near the mouth of Unalakleet River. Almost the whole village pop- 

 ulation was there to say good-bye. Mrs. Bals and Mrs. Lind fol- 

 lowed us about a mile farther, and then a final farewell was taken, 

 and the real travel had begun. 



The day has been a beautiful one; clear, bright sk}^, with a south- 

 westerly wind which was quite cold. Having traveled about 18 or 

 20 miles till 3.30 p. m., we were forced to retrace our steps 3 or 4 

 miles to a creek just passed, the reason being that the mountains 

 come right to the water's edge and there terminate with an almost 

 perpendicular wall, leaving no beach at all. The surf had piled the 

 ice m big hummocks, over which it was impossible to travel, and out- 

 side of these the ice was not safe, so the best tiling and the only tiling 

 was to go back to the nearest place where it was possible to gain an 

 access to the tundra. This we did, and reaching the place darkness 

 overtook us; so our first camp was made. Due to the fact that we 



