326 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



is rolled up, and sold as bdbiche, out of which all the fillings for snow- 

 shoes are made. Of this, also, are made the lashings for our sledges and 

 the harness for our dogs. The tough thongs show remarkable elastic 

 strength as they "feel" the jarring and jolting of the rough trails. The 

 very tendons that are useless as food are amongst our most valuable acqui- 

 sitions, affording our women all the sewing material they need for making 

 boots, skin-boats (or kayaks), and clothing. These animal tendons are 

 taken and dried, and fetch from ten to fifty cents for each animal. They 

 strip easily into single fibres, and these separate threads form a strong 

 sewing material, which resists water, and yet, when used in boots in- 

 tended to be water-tight, swells up as soon as the boots are immersed in 

 moisture. In this way leakage through the needle holes is prevented. 

 The tendons do not rot easily, nor do they tear the skin substances, for 

 they contract and expand with that material. Even the horns and hoofs 

 are valuable, and furnish many of the household essentials of the natives. 

 Some of these various manufactured products can be exported to the 

 European markets. Reindeer may thus largely increase the earning 

 capacity of any region, by converting its unsaleable material into valu- 

 able products. The fresh rich milk of the does in the summer has also 

 supplied us with what is a vital necessity, and one which was obtainable 

 in Labrador in no other way; while the excellent and easily made cheeses 

 afford a method of storing the nutriment in a palatable and assimilable 

 form without any necessary outlay for a preserving plant. 



Doctor Grenfell consulted Doctor Sheldon Jackson in 

 Washington, who had been responsible for the successful 

 introduction of the reindeer into Alaska. It was found that 

 suitable food occurred in Labrador and Newfoundland, 

 where, of course, the native caribou find ample means of 

 sustenance. Convinced that a natural means of sustenance 

 existed. Doctor Grenfell set to work in 1907 to carry out his 

 scheme. He collected a sum of $10,000 by public subscrip- 

 tion, and in addition obtained a grant of $5,000 towards the 

 work through the Dominion Department of Agriculture. 

 It was decided to purchase a herd of 300 reindeer from Nor- 

 way and Lapland. Of these 250 were does of an age to 

 bear fawns in the following spring, and 50 were stags. In 

 addition, a contract for thirty tons of reindeer moss was ar- 

 ranged for to serve as feed for the animals en route. It was 



