OTHER USEFUL ANIMALS 



685 



reindeer, the largest breed, were intro- 

 duced into Alaska in 1901. The reindeer 

 is a very important animal in the far 

 north. He furnishes meat for food, 

 milk which may be drunk as such or 

 made into butter or cheese, skins for 

 robes and clothes, and is an excellent 

 beast of burden. 



Sheldon Jackson is the most conspic- 

 uous figure in connection with the in- 

 troduction of reindeer into Alaska. 

 The work began in 1891 and has been 

 carried on so successfully that at present 

 there are more than 8000 reindeer in 

 Alaska, and at the same time it has been 

 demonstrated that reindeer will thrive 

 in Alaska and that they are very serv- 

 iceable. With the aid of reindeer, 

 overland trips may be made in winter 

 under conditions which no other animal 

 could endure. Even the dogs must 

 carry their food with them, but the 

 reindeer digs under the snow and finds 

 sustenance in the severest winter and 

 during blizzards. Reindeer may be 

 used to haul loads on sleds or as pack 

 animals, a good load on the sled being 

 350 pounds and on the back 150 pounds. 



Breaking and training f reindeer 

 requires considerable patience. Break- 

 ing takes place at three years of age ; the 

 animals should not be worked before 

 that age. At the age of six or seven 

 they reach their prime and thereafter 

 gradually decline in usefulness. George- 

 son suggests that some improvement is 

 possible in the reindeer by a systematic 

 line of breeding. In this way the size 

 might be increased and perhaps the 

 horns bred off. 



Reindeer are susceptible to anthrax, 

 rinderpest, foot and mouth disease and 

 a peculiar form of foot rot, which may 

 be partly due to a lack of lime salts in 

 the food. The reindeer will not thrive 

 in regions warm enough for the practice 

 of ordinary agriculture and does not 

 relish the forage commonly fed to 

 horses and cattle. North of the agri- 

 cultural belt, however, it is the most 

 useful known animal. 



MUSK OX 



The musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) has 

 its natural habitat in Alaska and east 

 of the Mackenzie river, north of the 

 sixtieth parallel. The animal prefers 

 rocky, barren ground where moss and 

 some grass may be found. The length 

 of the musk ox is 5y 2 to 8 feet and the 

 hight about W2 feet at the shoulder. 



The bulls weigh 300 to 500 pounds and 

 the cows about 75 pounds less. The 

 bones are strong, the hair very long and 

 the animals are possessed of great vigor. 

 The horns are comparatively long and 

 grow downward and outward. The 

 musk ox seems to vary considerably in 

 color, being black, brown or gray. The 

 length and quality of the hair renders 

 the skin very valuable for rugs and sim- 

 ilar purposes. The meat of the musk 

 ox is also of excellent flavor. Practi- 

 cally no attempt has been made in this 

 country to domesticate the musk ox, but 

 recently a few of them have been intro- 

 duced into Norway, where they have 



Fig. 437 — BACTRIAN OR TWO-HUMPED 

 CAMEL 



been kept in ordinary inclosures and 

 fed like the common farm animals. It 

 is possible, therefore, that the musk ox 

 may thrive in domestication. It has 

 little to recommend it. however, except 

 its hardiness and fine coat. 



CAMEL 



The great value of the camel as a 

 beast of burden is well known to every 

 reader. This animal is not only capable 

 of carrying heavy loads and of making 

 considerable speed, but is peculiarly 

 adapted to the performance of long jour- 

 neys through arid regions. In oriental 

 countries the camel has long been the 

 chief animal used for this purpose. He 

 is readily domesticated, fairly tractable 

 but not particularly intelligent. The 

 camel was early introduced into South 

 America and in 1701 a few were brought 

 to Virginia, but did not maintain them- 

 selves. In 1836, and again in 1848 the 

 idea was seriously entertained by the war 

 department of importing camels for use 

 in transporting supplies across the arid 



