OLD WEST FLAVOR IN
REINDEER ROUNDUP
By BOB ROGERS
Reindeer roundup time at Tel
ler, Alaska, is an event that
would compare favorably with
those of the old West. Every year
the people of the village cross
Grantley Harbor to a group of red
buildings and corrals to “handle”
the reindeer. All of the deer that
have not been through the proc
ess before get their ears cut and
marked with an aluminum tag.
Some of the bulls are castrated,
and all broken horns are ampu
tated with a jackknife.
The festivities last for one day
and the better part of the night.
It always occurs in the mjddle of
July when the horns are in velvet.
Everyone arrives early in the
morning. No time is wasted, as
the women start the coffee pots
to boiling and the men busy
themselves in preparation for the
coming day’s work.
Then the fun begins. The deer
mill around in a huge corral in
the morning, knowing that some
thing is up by the excitement in
the air. Suddenly everyone in
camp runs toward them, shouting
and raising a great cloud of dust.
The herd breaks as the frightened
deer unlease energy and remark
able speed in an attempt to get as
far away from their intruders as
possible.
A fraction of the herd is then
trapped in a smaller corral by
women and children carrying a
wire fence supported by burlap.
From this bunch, the deer are
run into three pens, each one
smaller than the one before, so
the deer may be more easily han
dled.
Several deer at a time are re
leased down a chute. They walk
slowly and cautiously until they
see an opening, and then they
break. But they never make it,
because 20 men and boys eagerly
await them as they come out of
the chute.
There is a trick to bulldogging
a reindeer. The man stands with
his right side toward the deer.
He grabs the antlers with his left
hand and bucks with the initial
>• 1 ■ -
charge. Then he quickly twists
the antlers, forcing the head back
toward him, at an angle to one
side. At the same tiifie he springs
down with all his weight upon
the rump, trying to knock the
deer over and trip his hind leg
with his right hand. Sometimes it
works; sometimes it doesn't.
Once the deer is down, he is
held by the bulldogger while an
other man marks his ears. And
if it is a bull, chances are it is
castrated. It all takes a matter of
seconds. Sometimes, however, Ihe
Eskimo’s weight is not sufficient
to throw a grown bull, and the
battle is on until one or the other
tires, or help arrives.
In the middle of the afternoon
and at night, everyone takes time
out for a feed of reindeer stew
and home-made bread. Both are
delicious.
After the roundup is over, the
families are paid by the owner,
Johnny Kakaruk, in meat and in
cash.
The herd is now nearly 1500
strong. The original number, 500,
was leased to Kakaruk five years
ago with the stipulation that at
the end of the fifth year that
amount would be returned.
During the warm summer
months the deer feed about the
lakes in the Grantly Harbor re
gion. They are often herded 35
miles a day in order to escape
hordes of flies and so as not to
ruin any pasture areas.
Most of the deer are butchered
in the fall. This includes males,
and females that have been “dry”
for two years. This year 85 head
will be sold to the local merchant.
The hide is also of value in mak
ing coats, sleeping bags, and
mukluks (winter boots).
Never more than 20 percent of
the herd is butchered. The fawn
crops for the coming year, under
favorable conditions, have bgen
estimated at 70 percent.
The biggest hazard to the deer
is the Alaskan brown bear.
In winter, the deer travel as far
west as Wales and average about
20 miles a day. Johnny Kakaruk
and his sons herd the deer on
foot. It is a hard life, as anyone
knows who has ever tramped
over and camped on tundra with
its thousands of matted tufts of
grass that are as hard to walk
on as a ball and socket.
—i—— ■ ■«
Seattle Speaks Up for
Air Service to Europe
Over Polar Route
SEATTLE, —The state Pub
lic Service Commission, Seattle
Chamber of Commerce and the
Seattle Traffic Assn., mailed a
brief Friday to the Civil Aero
nautics Board in support of direct
air service from Seattle-Tacoma
to Europe over the polar route.
The brief urged the CAB to
certify both Pan American World
Airways and Trans World Air
lines for polar service, with the
Seattle-Tacoma International Air
port as the northernmost U. S.
terminus.
The brief said PAA estimated
6,848 passengers from the Pacific
Northwest would fly to Europe
over the polar route in 1957 if
Seattle-Tacoma is a waystop.
The rapid population growth
and economic expansion of the
region, as well as Seattle’s heavy
Scandinavian population, were
also cited.
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25 cents of every dollar Standard takes in
goes to meet your future oil needs
Petroleum progress memos...
each af us will need
1007 gallons of oil yearly
Our search for oil has led to drilling offshore wells like this one (in by 1858
the Gulf of Mexico) costing nearly 6 times more then land wells.
BUILDING “ISLANDS” IN THE SEA from which
to probe the ocean floor is one good example of how we
must search farther afield to find the oil America uses
in such quantity. And as new sources of oil become
harder to find, locating it and bringing petroleum prod
ucts to you grows more costly.
Last year, a quarter of every dollar Standard took in
was plowed back into oil exploration, development of
producing fields, research and construction of facilities. 1956 1965
All told, during 1955 we invested $347 million to help par copito por copito
meet your growing oil needs. __
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puts pgtrolsum progress to work for you