"In A Far Country - The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, a Murder, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898"

John Taliaferro tells a true story "In A Far Country" and it's also a history of the United States at the time.  At least, I learned a lot about events of that day that I had not put together before.

Tom Lopp answered the call by Sheldon Jackson to become a missionary in Alaska.  Jackson's idea was to divide the territory into parcels and allow missionaries from different denominations to serve as teachers to the native Alaskans.  Their primary goal was to educate then convert because Jackson didn't want a repeat of what had happened to the American Indians.  He was one of the individuals who convinced the government to assign responsibility for Alaska's native schools to the U. S. Bureau of Education instead of the traditional Department of the Interior whose reputation was tarnished by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. As more missionaries arrived, Tom fell in love with and married a young woman, Ellen,  Together they raised their family at Cape Prince of Wales where their children knew the native language better than English.

Unlike some of the missionaries in Alaska, Tom had a true appreciation of the local natives and he sought to learn from them as much as to educate them.  He also treated them with respect and friendship.  When Jackson had the idea to introduce reindeer to Alaska, Lopp was a strong advocate also although, in the end, their ideas about how that should be accomplished differed.

The reindeer (as well as the part Tom Lopp played in driving them to Point Barrow to provide food for whalers trapped there over the winter by the ice) are a key element in this story but the history I learned along the way about the settlement of Alaska, the whaling industry, the Spanish-American War, the gold rush to Alaska, and much more make this book interesting reading.  Unfortunately, the greed I see today among corporations was also present in that day and the whaling industry was just as much an environmental disaster as some that are occurring today.

One reason given for bringing reindeer to Alaska was the fact that the caribou were migrating further inland and reindeer would give the Native Alaskans a source of food and warm clothing.  When the Lomens, who were white settlers, became reindeer owners, they began stealing reindeer from the Natives.  An investigation by the Interior Department to "sort out the reindeer controversy" led to the passage of the "Reindeer Act of 1937" which made it illegal for anyone other than Native Alaskans to own reindeer.  Ironically, eventually caribou returned and intermingled breeding with reindeer.  The reindeer era is also what led to stories of Santa having reindeer.

Although I'm not the history buff that my husband and younger daughter are, I did enjoy this book. The hardback edition is about 400 pages so it wasn't a quick read for me.  (I also enjoyed the pictures included in the book.)  I lived in Alaska with my family for three years in the early 1980's and, fortunately, didn't have to endure the hardships of these early settlers.  I'm not sure I would have endured!

Taliaferro's bibliographical notes at the end of the book also made interesting reading.  Kathleen Lopp Smith, daughter of Dwight Lopp and Tom and Ellen's granddaughter, wrote a book before her death called,"Ice Window" that tells her grandparent's story.  I am hoping that book is still available as it sounds like an enjoyable read that would tell the Lopp's story in more detail. pazt