DOMESTICATED REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 45 



I will observe further that Eskimo dogs learn easily to obey their 

 masters, and in point of intelligence will certainly compare favorably 

 with others of their species the world over. I have noticed many times 

 that they quickly understand that they are not to molest the reindeer 

 when staked out or roving about near them. This may look like a 

 strange assertion to make about a half-starved Eskimo dog, but it is 

 nc\ ertheless true. 



On our return trip from Cape Prince of Wales settlement we stopped 

 for an hour to take dinuer at the village where we were detained by 

 the storm on our way up. It was a lovely day, and we started to con- 

 tinue our journey about noon. We were driving leisurely along ahead 

 of our team of eight dogs which accompanied us from the station for 

 the purpose of carrying our luggage, and which I believe I have not 

 referred to before. Suddenly the lead dog got free from his harness 

 and trotted toward the team driven by my companion. He got to the 

 head of his reindeer and easily drove him away, when he came toward 

 my team, but I caught him without any trouble and held him until the 

 native came up and took him back to the sled. In the meantime four 

 of the other dogs in some manner got loose from the sled and started 

 for my companion's team. He seemed to become bewildered, for he did 

 not attempt to get to the heads of the reindeer, and when they saw the 

 dogs coming they started to run back toward the settlement, about 2 

 miles away. Instead of holding to the lines and beating the dogs back, 

 he slipped his hands out of the loops, and away the reindeer jumped, 

 with the dogs in hot pursuit. 



I started back with my team and when I arrived at the village found 

 the natives had stopped the reindeer, but could not drive off the dogs 

 before both the deer had been bitten, one of them severely behind the 

 fore leg. The flesh was badly torn, and it became evident he would 

 not be able to resu ue the journey for seveial days, if indeed he woul 

 ever recover the use of his leg. 



The other one, although lame, could possibly have traveled back to 

 the station, but I concluded to let them rest for a few days, and made 

 arrangements to have them brought in as soon as they were able to 

 travel. In about ten days they arrived, the one that had been so badly 

 hurt having been hauled the entire distance on the sled, and when he 

 was taken off at the station he limped badly. In a few weeks, how- 

 ever, he was apparently as well as ever. 



I have forgotten to mention that, on continuing our journey back to 

 the station, I drove my team within a few feet of the dogs a number 

 of times, and in occasional halts for rest, and not a start was made for 

 the deer. A sharp word seemed to give them to understand that they 

 were not to trouble them. 



A short time after we resumed our journey after the accident, I took 

 a view of the deer standing within a few feet of the dogs, some of them 

 lying down as quietly as if they were a hundred miles from them. 



