INTRODUCTION OK DOMESTIC RKINDKKK INTO ALASKA. 127 



are then sometimes given a little salt, ol' wliicli they are loiul: lliev 

 are then led al)()ut for some time or tied to a j)ost to accustom tliciii 

 to confinement and, the lesson over, again released. This is lepeated 

 day b}' day, and when sufliciently tamed they are harnessed and in 

 the same manner gradually accustomed to draw light loads. This 

 takes a long time and persistent work. They should not be woiked 

 before they are 3 years old. At 6 or 7 they reach their prime and then 

 gradually decline. 



In regard to driving them, Lieut. D. H. Jarvis makes the following 

 observation in his re])()rt : 



All hands must be ready at the same time wlien starting a deer train, for just as soon as the 

 animals see the head team start they are all ofl' with a jump, and for a short time keep up a 

 very high rate of speed. If one is not quick in jumping and holding on to his sled, he is likeK' 

 either to lose his team or to be dragged along through the snow. They soon come down to a 

 moderate gait, however, and finally drop into a walk when tired. 



DEER HARNESS. 



There are at least three ways of harnessing deer — one in Siberia and 

 two in Lapland. Lieutenant Bertholf makes the following observa- 

 tion on the Siberian method : 



They are harnessed in pairs by a very simple arrangement— a plain loop of rawiiide about 

 2 inches wide that goes over the off shoulder and between the forelegs. These loops are 

 made fast to a single piece of rawhide that goes over the bent saphng on the front end of the 

 sled runners, allowing it free motion. This makes both deer pull together, for if one gets 

 ahead the other's hind legs hit against the sled and he is spurred on. 



That is, the animal pulls by the left shoulder, the loop or strap 

 referred to passing over the withers and between the legs, as when 

 one ties a sash over the shoulder. The trace is fastened at the right 

 side, at the elbow of the right fore leg; the hind legs are thus both on 

 the left side of the trace. The animal can not pull straight, but must 

 of necessity advance somewhat sidewise. It appears like a barbaric 

 and primitive, not to say cruel, way of working them. 



Another method used in Lapland is not very different, but yet an 

 improvement. A broad strap of rawhide is placed over the neck; 

 the two ends being lashed together, they are drawn in between the 

 fore legs and fastened to the trace, which passes out between the hind 

 legs and is secured to the sled. The deer thus straddles the trace, and 

 the pressure of the pidl comes on the neck just in front of the shoulders 

 and on the brisket. 



A more modern style of harness is now also much used in Lapland. 

 Lieutenant Jarvis describes it so fully that I will quote him again, 

 this being the manner in which the deer he used on his Point Barrow 

 trip were harnessed : 



They are harnessed with a well-fitting collar of two flat pieces of wood, from which a slK)rt 

 trace goes back on each side to the ends of a breast piece, or swingletree, that fits under the 

 body. [It is held up by a strap over the back.] From the center of this a single trace runs 



