INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 19 



To avoid the expense of driving the herd from Circle City to the 

 Eaton reindeer station, 1,000 miles westward, I exchanged the herd 

 with the Protestant Episcopal mission at the mouth of the Tanana 

 River for an equal number of deer owned hy that mission. The deer 

 belonging to the Episcopal mission were at Golovin Bay, from which 

 place they were proposing to remove them to the mouth of the Tanana, 

 800 miles eastward. 



This exchange was consummated on the 1st of September, 1899, 

 and the reindeer received from the Episcopal mission at Golovin Bay 

 were driven to Point Rodney, 80 miles to the west, to help replace the 

 herd which in the winter of 1897-98 the Government had borrowed 

 from Antisarlook for the rescue of the whalers at Point Barrow. 



PURCHASE OF REINDEER IN SIBERIA. 



On the 7th of July, in Baroness Korfg Ba}^, Kamchatka, 11C> rein- 

 deer were purchased and taken on board the £ear by Lieut. D. H. 

 Jarvis, commanding. The journey of 900 miles from Kamchatka 

 to Cape Rodney proved to be a storni}^ and rough one, and a large num- 

 ber of the fawns died en route. Upon reaching Cape Rodney, July 13, 

 the surf was found too rough for landing, and on the 11th anchor was 

 hoisted and the Bear went to Port Clarence for shelter. That evening 

 83 deer were landed at Cape Riley, near Port Clarence, from which point 

 y were to be driven from 10 to 00 miles across the peninsula to 

 Antisarlook, at Cape Rodney. On July 18, 14 deer were landed at Cape 

 Spencer from the revenue cutter T/u4l.s, Lieutenant Buhner command- 

 ing. These deer also were to be driven to Antisarlook. 



On the 27th of July 1.5 male and 90 female reindeer were landed 

 from the steamer Albion at Cape York, Alaska, for the herd of the 

 American Missionary Association, and 07 reindeer were subscMiuently 

 landed at the same place from the revenue cutter Thi'th. 



REINDEER AND MAIL SERVICE. 



Since the beginning of the introduction of domestic reindeer into 

 Alaska I have kept steadily l)efore my mind the fact that sooner or 

 later the reindeer would prove a very important element in the rapid 

 transportation of the mail in winter over the frozen tundra of ai'ctic 

 and .su])arctic Alaska, between the widely separated mission stations 

 and isolated mining camps of that region. When, therefore, in the 

 spring of 1898 it was announced in the press that the herd of reindeer 

 which had been brought from Lapland for the purpose of carrying- 

 freight and food to the mining regions of the Yukon Valley for the 

 relief of the destitute miners would not ])e needed for that purpose 

 and were for sale, Mr. P. C. Richardson, the contractor for carrying 

 the luail through the Yukon Valley, inmiediately telegraphed me, 



