INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC REINDPJKK INTO ALASKA, 12U 



roindeer in Alaska, 44 of whom wore Eskimos. Some of tlie mission 

 stations have Lapp herders, who teach the natives, and where tliis 

 is the case these missions become in effect powerful assistants to the 

 Government. This appears to the writer to be an excellent plan. 

 It helps the missions and at the same time hastens the acquisition 

 of skill among the natives, which is a prime ol)ject. By lending 

 deer to those natives only w^ho have taken an interest in the matter 

 and w^ho have learned to handle them the danger of loss from care- 

 lessness is reduced to a minimum. The deer owners soon become 

 important men in their respective neighborhoods, and others w'\\\ 

 strive to emulate them. The ownership makes them independent 

 of the ordinary methods of making a living; it teaches them self- 

 respect and self-reliance. The deer also bring in mone}-. The meat 

 on one of them is worth from $50 to SlOO at the mines, and sled deer 

 are worth upward of $100 each. 



DISEASES OF REINDEER. 



The reindeer is subject to several diseases, and it is very prone to 

 accidents. In every herd, therefore, there is a certain annual per- 

 centage of losses which seem to be inevitable. One of its afflictions 

 is known as the hoof disease. It begins with a lameness, follow^ed by 

 a swelling near the hoof, though the swelling may appear higher up on 

 the leg or even on other parts of the body. The swelling is followed 

 by the formation of pus, which may result in a running sore, followed 

 by gradual recovery after several months; or the disease may become 

 systemic, when the animal usually dies. Dr. F. II. Gambell, super- 

 intendent of the Eaton reindeer station, writes as follows on the 

 subject: 



My belief is that the disease originates in the bones, generally near the articulation: that 

 the inflammation is due to pus-producing germs, which find lodgment in the devitalized 

 bon; ; that gradually the pus "works" to the surface, causing an open sore; that at this 

 time the trouble is localized, but later nniy become sj-stemic. 



Doctor Gambell has noticed a craving lor calcium salts, and 

 advances the theory that the disease is due to lack of vitality, owing 

 to the great strain upon the system to grow the antlers in so short a 

 time. It might be inferred that giving them access to lime in some 

 form would have a tendency to remedy the evil, but no experiments 

 on that point are reported. 



Reindeer are also subject to another trouble, designated as liver- 

 and-lung disease, from which it appears that many have died in the 

 Government herd. No remedy has been reported. 



They are prone to accident, and many deer break their legs, 

 their necks, or their backs while nmning about or while fighting 

 wdtli each other. 



