REINDEER IN ALASKA. 51 



When the driver thinks it hjia liad enough he tethers it out again 

 for feed and rest. 



As reindeer get no other food than moss when they are being 

 worked, their strength soon diminishes, and it is the opinion that 

 they do no more and no less, comparatively, than an ox would do 

 under similar conditions if fed on nothing but hay. Well-broken 

 animals are not very plentiful in Alaska, and many reindeer men 

 prefer to drive dogs. 



Many difficulties are encountered in using reindeer for sled animals, 

 and one especially is through meeting dog teams on the trail. In the 

 Unalakleet district only the Lapps drive reindeer (PI. XX, Fig. 1), 

 while the Eskimos invariably use dogs. Almost everyone who has 

 driven reindeer has had fights with dogs or has had his deer bitten 

 or killed. 



Added to this menace is the difficulty of finding moss within con- 

 venient reach of the villages, where the deer may be tethered. The 

 most satisfactory and safe procedure under present conditions is 

 to house reindeer at the end of a journey and have available moss for 

 feeding which has been gathered beforehand. It is believed that 

 grain should be added to the moss ration. Well-broken reindeer with 

 good manners, that is to say, reindeer fit for a woman to drive, are 

 uncommon. It is believed, however, that with the more general 

 adoption of improved methods of castration, gentle animals will be- 

 come more common. 



On a few trips made by us with Lapps behind sled reindeer it was 

 noticed that most of the animals used were timid and easily fright- 

 ened. They would jump off the trail for very little cause. There- 

 upon both reins would slip over to one side and the animal would 

 stop, facing the driver. To make another start, after the animal had 

 been headed in the right direction, one line was slipped over the back 

 until it was over the root of the tail, when the deer would start off 

 again, perhaps in the right direction. It must be said, however, in 

 all fairness to reindeer, that some of them are gentle and drive well, 

 and this indicates that much more could be done with them than is 

 generally being accomplished at the present time. 



The sleds used by the Lapp are not altogether satisfactory. They 

 are so narrow that unless the driver sits with one leg on either side 

 to keep it in an upright position it is very apt to turn over. The 

 Lapp sled has been developed no doubt to travel over rough country 

 where there are no trails, but it is not the best for use in those por- 

 tions of Alaska where good trails are to be found. 



PACKING AND RmiNG. 



Prospectors occasionally make use of reindeer as pack ^animals 

 during the sunmicr (PI. XX, Fig. 3). In cruising about in the hills 

 reindeer are preferable to horses in many respects. They need no 



