DOMESTICATED REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 143 



though they might be, if taken as puppies and reared with the true deer dogs. I 

 should think any hardy western sheep dog would serve quite well in Alaska. I 

 think they could bear the climate. I know that an English mastiff dog thrived 

 well at Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, where the cold is quite as severe as in 

 Alaska, much severer than in southern and western Alaska,. 



One of the enemies, or, one might say, the only enemy of the deer on the Vidda is 

 •the wolverine or "glutton," which kills the little fawns often. It sometimes will 

 spring upon a doe from behind a rock as she passes, but as a rule it does not attack 

 the grown deer. The sheep, being more defenseless, suffer more. 



The deer are not very tame. I called them up to me by offering them salt and 

 singing the little tune by which their herdsmen call them, but they were very timid. 

 I took some measurements of one deer, a rather small doe, but found it out of the ques- 

 tion to try it with the larger bucks. It required all the strength of two strong men 

 to hold the doe a few moments, and four men would have been necessary to subdue 

 the largest animals. So I made no sketch, as I had hoped to do. 



The doe measured 46| inches from the ground to the shoulder. A girth of 40 

 inches. A little more than 63 inches from the tip of the tail to the base of the horns. 

 A good-sized deer weighs about 240 pounds, but the largest bucks sometimes attain 

 the weight of 600 pounds. 



I think the largest Siberian deer can hardly exceed this. The wild deer, on the 

 whole, are not such fine animals. In two years a tame deer will attain a <rowth 

 which it takes four years for a wild deer to equal. The principal reason for this is 

 the life of tranquility and safety which the former live. The latter are fearful and 

 live in dread of a surprise, and this really retards their growth. Aside from this 

 reason, the Herdanger Vidda is especially favorable for the growth of the deer of 

 both kinds. The domesticated deer, brought down from Lapland, increase rapidly 

 in weight on the Vidda, as the climate is better and the food more abundant than in 

 Lapland. 



The Vidda must resemble very closely the Barren Grounds of Canada. I noticed 

 the same vegetation that one finds at Fort Rae on the north shore of Great Slave 

 Lake; the same flora (though more limited in species) ; the same mosses and lichens 

 only that on the Vidda one is quite above the true tree limit, only the dwarf birch 

 growing a few inches from the ground, and the tiny Arctic willows being found. 



The Norwegian deer seem very closely allied to the Barren Grounds deer, much 

 more so than to the woodland caribou. 



I have written necessarily very hurriedly, and have no doubt omitted much that 

 might be of interest about the subject. I shall be very glad to give you any more 

 information I have if you will question me further. 



I have written and illustrated two articles on my trip to the Mackenzie delta. 

 These may have already appeared in Outing, published on Fifth avenue, New York. 

 It should appear about this time. These articles are very unsatisfactory to me. 

 They were written (while I was visiting friends) too hurriedly for their own good. 

 However, I hope yon may see them, as I think you may find some information in 

 them which may be of interest to you. 



I have, of course, many notes taken on my trip, which I may make some use of 

 later. In a hasty trip like mine, of course, I could not do much real study about 

 the country, but I tried to have my facts reliable, so far as they have gone. 



I found two new species of flowers, and the British Museum has published a pam- 

 phlet about my insects, among which are two new species. 



I should be very glad to have some future report about your work in Alaska. Any 

 letter addressed to me here will reach me. 



Hoping to hear from you, I am, 



Yours very sincerely, Elizabeth Taylor, 



Care of the American Woman's Club, No. 4 rue de 



Chevreuse (Luxembourg), Paris, France. 

 Dr. Sheldon Jackson, 



Washington, D. C. 



