ALASKA REINDEER HERDS TO SUPPLY FUTURE MEAT
Courtesy Lomen Bros
Seal-Hunting and Fishing in Alaska Are Still Necessary, but Reindeer Meat Has Increased the Natural Supplies of Food
Reindeer raised by Alaskan Eskimos may take the place of the vast cattle herds of the vanishing west as a source of meat, while the success of the herds has converted the natives from fish to meat eaters. The United States government imported the first reindeer from Siberia in 1892, landing them at Teller, later made famous when Amundsen's dirigible, the "Norge," landed there after its flight across the North Pole. In the next ten years, a total of 1,280 reindeer were brought across the Bering sea, and the original 1,200 now have more than 600,000 descendants in the vast herds that feed on the scant moss and grass of the far north. One of the largest reindeer companies operates five cold-storage plants in Alaska, where the animals are slaughtered and the meat prepared for shipment to the states. Besides furnishing meat for other lands, reindeer have proved life-savers for the natives. They are displacing dogs as sled animals, have made it unnecessary to hunt fish and seals for food, and are providing material for fur clothing independent of polar bear and seal skins.
