DOMESTICATED REINDEEE INTO ALASKA. S ( J 



dently could not adapt himself to the manner of living our herders 

 practiced. He expected to be fed on bread and other articles wo wore 

 not able to give our men, and in a few days he concluded he would not 

 remain here, and started for home. 



1 will further state that, from our experience, no native should be 

 employed at the station who speaks a word of English. If they under 

 stand what is said by the white men when speaking to each other they 

 carry gossip to the natives and thus cause dissatisfaction. A fair 

 illustration of this will be seen by reference to that pari of my report 

 which speaks of a herder being discharged on account of trouble made 

 by his half-breed wife. 



There are three natives among as many tribes in this vicinity who 

 have been among the whites just enough to speak a few words of 

 English, and in each instance they are characters who are of very little 

 account to themselves and a disturbing element in their own com- 

 munity. 



The white men at the station should learn to speak the native lan- 

 guage, something they can acquire in a few months, and then they are 

 able to take every advantage that is to be acquired in being able to 

 understand what they want, aiul, when thus equipped, they can wield 

 a greater influence among them. 



It is very early yet to determine what is going to be the best method 

 of disposing of the reindeer, and how to get the natives to adopt the 

 practice of domesticating them. My mind is clearly made up on one 

 point, lnnvever, namely, that the Government should retain absolute 

 control of the reindeer for a number of years. Just how long this 

 should be w T ould depend upon how fast they increased and how soon 

 the natives learned to take care of them. 



The practice inaugurated of paying the herders 10 deer each for two 

 years' service seems to be a very good one, if, at the end of that time, 

 they will let the deer remain in the herd. If they are allowed to take 

 them away or dispose of them as they see fit, in a short time they would 

 be killed for food, or sold to some man who, in a few years, would own 

 all the deer. This would be no serious objection if the deer were as 

 numerous as on the Siberian side, for skins then would be sold at a 

 nominal price; but, until they do exist in large numbers, care should 

 be taken to prevent them from getting into the hands of a few men. 



It might be well to adopt the practice of giving to each herder 10 

 deer for two years' service, with the understanding that they shall 

 remain in the herd for five years or longer. At the expiration of this 

 time he will be permitted to take them out, with, say, five or ten or 

 fifteen more. He will then have the nucleus for a good herd, which, 

 if taken care of, will in a few years increase to a large number. 



To further illustrate: If, for instance, 4 men are employed, belonging 

 to the village near the station, for two years, and each second year 4 

 new ones are added, at the end of the sixth year 12 men will own 120 



