42 ALASKA. 



arctic and subarctic Alaska can support 9,000,000 reindeer, fur- 

 nishing a supply ot food, clothing, and means of transportation to 

 a population of a quarter of a million. Providence has adapted 

 the reindeer, continues Dr. Jackson, to the peculiar conditions of 

 arctic life, and it furnishes the possibilities of large and increasing 

 commercial industries. The flesh is considered a great delicacy, 

 whether fresh or cured. The untanned skin makes the best cloth- 

 ing for the climate of Alaska, and when tanned is the best leather 

 for the bookbinder, upholsterer, and glove maker. The hair is in 

 great demand, by reason of its wonderful buoyancy, in the con- 

 struction of life-saving apparatus. The horns and hoofs make the 

 best glue known to commerce. With Alaska stocked with this 

 valuable animal, enterprises would be developed amounting to 

 millions of dollars annually. 



Reindeer will also be found very useful in transportation. Dogs 

 have been used for this purpose, but they are slow and must be 

 burdened with the food for their own maintenance. Provisions and 

 freight brought from the south and landed in Alaska are with 

 great difficulty transported to the mining regions. During the 

 winter of 1895-96, Dr. Jackson says, mongrel Indian dogs cost 

 $100 to $200 each for transportation purposes, and the freight 

 charges ranged from 1 5 to 20 cents per pound. Trained reindeer 

 make in a day two or three times the distance covered by a dog 

 team, and at the end of the journey, can be turned loose to gather 

 their support from the moss always accessible to them. One 

 drawback to their introduction appears to be a disease which 

 attacks the hoof, due to the damp soil. There are now five herds 

 in Alaska, one at Cape Prince of Wales, one at Cape Nome, two 

 at Golovin Bay, and the central Government herd at the Teller 

 reindeer station. Port Clarence, including 1,175 head. 



