82 INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 



and bogs soften the leg bones to such an extent in the summer that 

 many broken legs would be the result of much chasing a herd. This 

 seems to us quite reasona])le, though we know, too, the Lapps here 

 took no pains to secure dried stomachs of deer, the rennet of which 

 is a necessary element in the Lapp process of making cheese. Anti 

 saj^s the Lapp women do that sort of work and the poor man 

 smiled a sad smile because he had no wife. We have saved up a lot 

 of reindeer horns and hoofs, waiting for recipe and apparatus for 

 making glue. 



A corral is much needed, especially in the fall, when marking and 

 castrating time comes, and when the fur is best for clothing. Rea- 

 sons above mentioned. 



We should also feel very grateful for some good dogs from the 

 mainland. If Lapp dogs can not be found or procured, perhaps 

 you could get some genuine Scotch collies, which I think could 

 stand the climate and surely have the necessary intelligence. 



THE APPRENTICES. 



We wish we had more cause to speak encouragingly on this sub- 

 ject. Whether the fault is with ourselves or with the boys, we can 

 only state things as we see them. There have been no open breaks 

 nor any attempts at violence, owing to the efhcient management 

 of Mr. Thomas Richards, to whom we have largely committed the 

 care of the Lapps and herders ; but there is constantly present a desire 

 to deceive. If the boys were alone and entirel}^ away from the influ- 

 ences of the old men of the village they would do very well, but I know 

 that the old men are counting on a big killing of deer as soon as the 

 boys' time is out. No one here seems to grasp the idea that any 

 one ever does an37^thing for them but to further his own ends, and 

 except for the single element of fear of the powers of the United 

 States Government vested in the revenue cutters, there is no authority 

 over them apart from their own thinking — verily the traditions of 

 the elders. We found a promising 3'oung boy last summer, an orphan 

 from Plover Bay, Siberia, who wanted to become a herder. His 

 guardian gave consent, with full know^ledge, but in the winter w^hen 

 we took the boy, "Pung aw ii' yi', " into our own home for the school, 

 and to remove him from the filth and vermin of the guardian's home, 

 the guardian objected, and had we not been firm about it would have 

 taken him. We had five children with us in our home all winter, 

 and he was the best one. He did his chores prompt!}' and well, 

 and seemed eager to learn. Many, many times he would draw away 

 from the other boys and quietly come into the kitchen where he could 

 watch Mrs. Campbell. 



Physical fear of Richards has made the larger boys more careful 

 in their treatment of the Lapps, and the same thing induced an 

 increased activity on the part of the Lapps, so that the boys have 



