Photo by Miss E. J. Beck.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT.
This is one of the few animals which are white at all seasons of the year. The horns and hoofs are jet-black, forming a striking contrast to the beautiful coat.
Photo by Miss E. J. Beck.
HIMALAYAN TAHR AND YOUNG.
The typical representative of the short-horned wild goats.
The history of this effort at acclimatisation is curious, and may be quoted in this connection. When the first rush to Klondike was made, the miners were imprisoned and inaccessible during the late winter. The coming of spring was the earliest period at which communication could be expected to be restored, and even then the problem of feeding the transport animals was a difficult one. The United States Government decided to try to open up a road from Alaska by means of sledges drawn by reindeer, and the Canadian Government devised a similar scheme. Agents were sent to Lapland and to the tribes on the western side of Bering Sea, and deer, drivers, and harness obtained from both. The deer were not used for the Klondike relief expeditions by the Americans; but the animals and their drivers were kept in Alaska, native reindeer were caught, and the latest news of the experiment is that the deer were found very useful for carrying the mails in winter.