46 REPORT ON THE INTRODUCTION OF 



I have related this incident simply to show, first, that Eskimo dogs, 

 after once having tasted reindeer meat, are easily taught to leave it 

 alone, even before the morsel has barely had time to be digested; 

 second, that although a deer may be badly bitten by a dog. he is very 

 liable to recover; and third, that in traveling with reindeer the driver 

 may, by keeping his wits about him, save them from injury if attacked 

 by dogs. 



The time for castrating bulls is in the spring, when the sun gets high 

 enough to thaw a little and freeze a little at night. We castrated our 

 first balls on May 2, and by the middle of the month had got through 

 with the work, having altered nine two-year olds and nine one-year olds, 

 and all of them got through nicely. I will add that each of our native 

 herders performed the operation on two bulls, thus receiving a practical 

 idea of the work. 



As soon as the reindeer begins to shed his coat in the spring little 

 ridges appear on the body, more or less thick, and they indicate the 

 location of lice. They are about an inch long, of a grayish or milky 

 white color, with a skin that partakes something of the scaly order, 

 and around a body about one-half inch in diameter are little ridges. 

 They are soft, and unless care is used in pulling them off will burst, and 

 the contents, nearly all liquid, will ooze out. They stick to the skin of 

 the reindeer very much as wood-ticks do to cattle. I am told that in 

 summer they fall off or assume wings and fly away, and that a new crop 

 is deposited by the old females during warm weather, when they fly 

 about the reindeer, and, when near enough, throw the young into the 

 far by striking it with their tail. The Siberians eat the lice with a 

 relish, and seldom catch a deer in the spring without exploring for a 

 few of these repulsive-looking insects that appear to be to them some- 

 thing of a luxury. 



During the past year we have pretty thoroughly demonstrated the 

 capacity of reindeer, both as draft animals and as travelers. As pack- 

 ers or saddle animals we have not had time to experiment fully enough 

 to ascertain what they are capable of doing in this direction; but, 

 while I feel assured they are valuable for packing, I am afraid they are 

 not suitable for riding. In using them for either purpose, the load 

 must rest on their shoulders, and, while a pack could be made to ride 

 without sliding off, by lashing or holding on while the reindeer is mov- 

 ing, a man must be constantly on the lookout or he will fall off. Besides, 

 an ordinary sized man, sitting astride of a reindeer would nearly touch 

 the ground with his feet, and while the reindeer, would hold him up 

 without any trouble, he could not travel faster than a walk, and ordi- 

 narily he would prefer walking himself. 



A reindeer is at the right age to break to harness when two years 

 old. He is most tractable for breaking when a gelding, and the argu- 

 ment in favor of horses being better for work after they have been cas- 

 trated will apply to reindeer, although there seems to be no good reason 



