38 



The National Geographic Magazine 



in the saddle, but not with much com- 

 fort until the rider learns how to adjust 

 himself. In the Tunguse country the 

 natives use their deer in summer as we 

 would a mule or horse. It is no un- 

 common sight to see a Tunguse trotting 

 along the shore deerback. 



Lieutenant Bertholf describes the cara- 

 vans of reindeer sleds in northeastern 



From a photograph by K. P. Bertholf 



Riding in Summer 



Alaska. Over i ,000 sleds leave Ola (see 

 map) during the winter in caravans of 

 about 100 each. A caravan of 100 sleds 

 is managed by 10 men. Some years ago 

 the Russian Government used horses on 

 the caravan route from Ola to the Kolima 

 River, but recently substituted reindeer, 

 and now saves $60,000 yearly by the 

 -change. 



The illustration * on page 1 34 shows 

 the leaders of Lieutenant Bertholf s 

 part}' breaking a path through snow 

 that reached to the belly of the deer. 

 A strong wiry deer, unmounted, was 

 driven first. In the deep snow he could 

 advance only by jumps, but his leaps 

 broke the way somewhat for the next 

 few deer, who were also unmounted. 

 After a dozen or more un- 

 mounted deer had passed 

 by, deer ridden by a boy 

 and girl broke the path 

 still further until deer 

 with heavy loads could 

 pass. Lieutenant Berth- 

 olf in this way broke 

 his path for 160 miles 

 through the deep snow. 



When the caravan halts 

 the deer are turned out to 

 pasture untethered and 

 allowed to wander as they 

 will. The driver uses a 

 switch to touch up the 

 slothful, but "some of 

 the old deer do not seem 

 to mind a switch an}' more 

 than does an army mule. ' ' 

 The illustration on page 

 142 shows a number of 

 reindeer digging up the 

 snow with their powerful 

 hoofs to get at the moss 

 beneath the snow. As 

 soon as spring comes the 

 deer abandons his diet of 

 moss, which seems to be 

 most nutritive in winter, 

 for willow sprouts, green 

 grass, and mushrooms. 

 The hoof of the reindeer is as wide as 

 that of a good-sized steer and prevents 

 him from settling down into damp snow 

 or miry soil. 



*For the exceedingly interesting series of 

 illustrations that accompany this article, the 

 National Geographic Magazine is in- 

 debted to Dr Sheldon Jackson and Dr William 

 Hamilton. 



