CHAPTER XII
THE STORY OF AN ALASKAN TRIP
When the Bobolinks reached the house, they found the veranda occupied bythe Blue Birds, who sat in a semi-circle about three ladies in rockingchairs--Mrs. Talmage, Aunt Selina, and Mrs. Catlin. The latter had aroll of paper in her lap, and evidently had been explaining something tothe audience.
"Oh, boys, you're just in time!" cried Ruth.
"Mrs. Catlin's got her story all written for our magazine, and she wasjust going to read it," explained Dot.
"May we hear it?" asked Ned, for the Bobolinks.
"Why, certainly. Sit right down on the steps," said Mrs. Catlin.
As soon as the boys were comfortable, she continued:
"I was about seventeen when I read the exciting tales of gold inCalifornia and the wealth to be obtained in Seattle--a town that wasboomed in a night. I knew my father would never consent to my leavinghome, so I said nothing, but pawned my watch and ring, drew my savingsfrom the bank, and raised enough money to pay my way West. I worked partof my way, and stole rides on freight cars part of the way, until Ifound myself in Seattle. I was not particular where I went as long as itwas in the West. Well, in Seattle I found that the fever of gold miningin Alaska was reaching a boiling point, and every steamer bound forSitka was already overloaded, but I managed in some way to steal aboardand hide until the captain could not turn me off. I had to do someawfully dirty work, however, and had very little to eat.
"We arrived at Sitka, and there I spent some more of my money for apassage to Juneau City. There I landed with forty dollars left in mypockets. Ten of this was paid out for a hard bed and some scanty food,and I soon feared that I would be left without a cent unless I startedsomewhere for the gold mines. I heard all kinds of stories about thegold found up on the Yukon River, so I found a shed where outfits weresold, and paid twenty dollars for an outfit that was said to be all Iwould need. I still had a few dollars left when I started on the road,with my outfit strapped to my back, visions of finding millions ofdollars' worth of gold always before my eyes.
"I walked along a trail that seemed to be well traveled, and felt gladto get away from the drink-sodden town. I had tramped for hours, whenthe outfit began to rub painfully on my back. I was hungry, too, for thefood given me at the eating-houses was unfit to eat. In buying myoutfit, I added a strip of bacon and a loaf of black bread, so I decidedto rest for a bit and have my dinner.
"The country, as far as I could see, was very beautiful, so I sat downbeside the trail and dropped my pack. I took out the tiny frying pan andcut some bacon into it. I gathered some sticks, and then tried to lightone of the matches that was in the waterproof box, but it merelysputtered and went out. I used so many matches in this way that I becamenervous lest the supply give out. Finally I ate my bread and bacon as itwas, and was about to strap the outfit together again when I spied acaravan leaving the town several miles beyond the point where I sat. Iwas so interested in watching the long line, as it lengthened out alongthe trail, that I forgot how soon night comes down in this country. Ihad no plans for the night, and expected to go much farther before Istruck camp. When the caravan had come halfway the distance from towntoward me, I picked up my pack and started on.
"I found the pack dreadfully heavy this time, and had to rest severaltimes. I was thus resting on a large rock when the caravan passed me.
"The sledges were piled high with camp equipment. At the end of the linewas a cumbersome-looking affair that was covered with canvas and drawnby four horses. A grizzled man drove these horses, and seemed intentupon his job.
"So interested was I in watching them go by that I was startled when oneof the men in the sledge called to me:
"'Hello, Kid! What are you doing--picking flowers?'
"A number of the men laughed, but the younger one who sat with the manin the sledge shouted: 'Want to join us as far as your road lies? Thisis no place for a boy to travel alone. Beasts on two and four legs aretoo powerful about here.'
"I felt an irresistible desire to join them, but they never stopped.However, taking it for granted that they wanted me or they wouldn't havespoken, I ran after the caravan and tried to keep up with them. The packgrew heavier every moment, and at last I decided to give it up. Justthen one of the leading horses of the four stumbled down upon his knees.
"This caused a halt while the driver got down and examined the horse. Ihad the opportunity that I needed, so I took a deep breath and shouted,at the same time running as fast as my weary legs would carry me.
"'How are you comin'?' asked the driver.
"'Coming!' I cried, so tired I could have wept. 'Why, I've been comingever since the man asked me.'
"'Some run, eh?' asked the old man, smiling.
"'Didn't they mean it?' I asked, in a tremble lest I be left again.
"'Guess so. Don't believe they gave you another thought. But, now thatyou're here, you kin sit with me,' said the man gruffly, as I thought,while he rubbed the skinned knee with whale-oil.
"I climbed up and sat in the seat beside the driver. He gathered thereins together and started the horses again before he spoke anotherword.
"'Kid, I watched you runnin' after this crew, and I jus' said to mysel',"Old Hal, keep an eye on that kid and see what stuff he's made of." Ireckon you'll win out, even if this brazen outfit loses. I'm goin' totake a likin' to ye, kid, d'ye hear that!' grinned the old man, as hechirked to the horses.
"I sat still and pondered what he said.
"'Thar ain't many men as kin say that Old Hal the Guide took a likin' to'em, kid,' he continued, watching the trail where his horses stepped.
"I had overheard the men at the town talking about a guide called 'OldHal,' and the conjectures as to how much the swell outfit had to pay himto get him to take charge of their expedition.
"I felt unduly elated at hearing the man address me so comradely, and Idecided to be as friendly as I could.
"'What's the great hulk under this canvas?' I asked, nodding my headtoward the load back of us.
"'Hulk! You're right, sonny, it is a great big hulk. These men from theEast think they know a lot about goin' on a expedition like this--theygit their learnin' from the books. But I could have saved 'em heaps ofmoney hed they consulted me fust. Now, this pertickler hulk is deadtrash! _They_ call 'em canoes, but the fust little jolt one of 'em gitsin the end of its nose--down she goes!'
"'Canoes, eh?' I said wonderingly.
"'How many did yeh bring in yer outfit?' asked Hal, nudging me in theribs.
"'I may have all of those to take care of if you don't watch thehorses,' I growled.
"'Right choo are, kid! Did yeh ever hear the verse, "From the mouths ofbabes, etc."? Guess yeh didn't know I ever read Scripter, did yeh?'laughed the old man.
"'Guess you don't or you wouldn't joke that way about such a good Book,'I replied.
"'Right choo are agin, kid! My, but you are a lucky find fer Hal tohave. Jus' fancy all the fun we will have durin' the long winternights,' said the guide, in a conciliatory tone.
"'Hope so! If I ever get the chance to show you that I am thankful forthis help, I surely will,' I said, full of gratitude that I was notdragging my feet along the tiresome trail at that very moment.
"'Now, that's the kind of a heart to have--one that kin thank a fellerwithout feelin' 'shamed to show his colors! I see where you and me aregoin' to make a fine team!' said Hal.
"After some silence, the old man asked: 'Where'er yeh bound fer,anyway?'
"'Don't know--just going out to find gold,' I said.
"He turned square around and stared at me for a few moments, thengasped: 'Father an' mother dead?'
"I had to gulp hard before I could answer this question, then I said:'No. Had my own money in the bank, and so I just came.'
"'How fer?' he asked abruptly.
"'All the way from New York state. I worked my way out and worked partof my way on the Seattle boat,' I said, with great pride in myachievement.
"'Why, ye
h little fool!' cried the irate guide.
"'What's the matter?'
"'An' I s'pose yeh hev ben payin' fer full board an' keep to yer motherever sence yeh wuz borned, eh?' scoffed Hal.
"I was silent. I was looking at the matter from a new point of view.
"'S'pose yer pa an' ma was on'y too glad to git yeh out'en the way, eh?'he continued.
"Again I had to gulp when I thought of my mother.
"'I see the hull fool thing. Yeh jus' went crazy readin' trashy papers,an' yeh run away widdout tellin' a soul, 'cause yeh knew they wouldn'tlet yeh come otherwise.'
"I marveled at how close he had come to the truth.
"'Well, yer here, kid, an' I s'pose Old Hal's got to see yeh through witit, so thet worritin' mother of yourn'll see yeh agin, some day.' And heswung the whip over the horses' heads with a crack that saved me fromhis ire.
"We came to a bad grade then, and Old Hal had to keep a wary eye on thetrail, for the horses were not as sure-footed as the dogs and deer.
"It must have been four o'clock before we halted. The air was growingcolder as we advanced, and I was glad enough to open my pack for a chunkof bread and a slice of bacon.
"'Hist, kid, stow that away!' whispered Hal, as he began to unhitch thehorses for the night.
"In a short time the two men from the sledge came up.
"'Hello, youngster! You did come, after all, didn't you?' said the olderman.
"As the supper was being cooked by an Indian guide, I was welcomed inthe circle sitting about a blazing fire and asked about myself. To eachquestion I replied truthfully, and wondered at the smiles and surpriseshown at my answers.
"One of the two men who owned the expedition turned to the old guideafter a time and said: 'Hal, what shall we do with the kid? Send himback home?'
"'If 'twere me, I'd give him his fill. He'll be safe enough wid us, an'we kin git heaps of work outen him; but he'll never 'mount to nothin' efyeh send him home, 'cause he'll allus think of the gold he might havegot,' said Hal astutely.
"'Guess you've hit the nail on the head, Hal,' laughed the younger man,as he looked at me.
"So I became a member of the Yukon Gold Expedition, under the managementof John Herrick and Julius Dwight, engineers.
"We traveled over hundreds of miles of snow, for we were trying to reacha certain trail that Old Hal knew, before the thaw set in.
"We did not quite get there, however, before the general thaw struck us.Then the canoes were needed. I had wondered why we delayed our travelingto cart those canoes with us, for there were no streams or lakes tocross, but the moment the thaw set in it seemed that every piece of iceand snow in the North was turning to water. Instead of trails, we had totravel by green-blue rivers, or over deep, dark seas.
"Well, after losing one canoe and two of the Indians, Old Hal hit histrail and led us up toward the mountains.
"All of that short summer was passed in the usual work of prospecting:digging, panning, washing, or testing for gold. Permanent camp had beenbuilt by the men, and a number of Indian servants took precaution thatevery emergency should be provided for in case of a hard, long winter.Every kind of edible bird or beast was trapped and prepared for food,while the skins and pelts of animals were cured and made into garmentsand covers.
"I was the youngest in camp, so I was known as the 'Kid,' and Old Haltook the office of guardian toward me from the first and ordered meabout--always for my good, be it known--and kept a watchful eye over mydoings and the men I happened to work with.
"Toward the end of the short summer we struck a rich vein of gold!
"I shall never forget the change in everyone's character the moment thegold was discovered in the shining sand. Some became savages, othersgrew crafty and cunning, and Old Hal had his hands full to keepdiscipline in the camp. Dwight and Herrick saw the tendency of theirhired men to mutiny against Hal and themselves, and perhaps jump theclaim when the owners were out of the way, but they were farsighted men,and Hal was no greenhorn in handling Esquimo and half-breed Indians.
"A large tract of land on both sides of the creek was staked off and adiagram of the area carefully drawn by Herrick, to be filed in theoffice at Forty-Mile Station, where a legal land-office was maintainedby the government.
"As it was most necessary to file this claim before winter came on, aconference was held between Hal and the two engineers. Hal said he couldeasily make the trip to Forty-Mile and back again before winter frozeeverything solid, so he was ordered to take a canoe, with two of themutinous men, and start immediately. Two dogs were placed in the canoe,in case they would be needed for sledging, and a store of food and peltswere packed under the seats. At the last moment, Hal was led to take hisown canoe, which he had made that summer, and ask for my company. I wasdelighted to know I could accompany my old friend, so one of the dogsand a sledge were placed in Hal's canoe, and but one of the men got in,while I was placed in the other canoe, with the other man.
"We started in good order and made quick time. We had no route, map, orsurvey, for there were none in those days, but Hal knew every foot ofthe way, unless unusual conditions prevailed. We made camp that night,and rested, all unmindful of the plot the two mutinous men were hatchingagainst us to get possession of the claim papers.
"In the morning, after an early breakfast, we started, and had gone buta short distance before our canoes ran out of the stream into a broadexpanse of water that was unfamiliar to Hal.
"He looked carefully around for some landmark to guide him, and saw,some miles further on, what he believed to be a blazed spot. So hedirected his man to paddle for that place.
"When Hal was about ten feet in advance of us, and as I sat in the sternof our canoe, I saw the man paddling our canoe suddenly raise arifle--where he got it no one knows--take aim, and shoot. It was alldone so quickly that I could scarcely move. Hal always held his revolverready to enforce obedience from his men, and the moment I heard the shotI saw his arm jerk spasmodically and his revolver fly out and fall inthe bottom of the canoe. At the same time I tore my revolver out of mybelt and covered the man who had shot.
"I was so occupied in this that I had no time to see what Hal was doing,but I heard him yell: 'Go overboard this second or I'll shoot you dead!'
"I immediately followed suit, and cried: 'Go overboard, and swim ashore,or I'll shoot you!'
"The man sat and stared at me for a moment, as he never dreamed I hadthe spirit to do what I had. I was so nervous, and my heart seemed tobulge out in my throat so that I could hardly swallow. The man still satand looked at his pal, who had jumped overboard and was swimming forshore. I never knew how it happened, for I had no idea of shooting him,but in that moment that he turned his look from me to his pal my fingerstwitched with dread, and the revolver rang forth its shot, and thefellow fell into the water. I was so frightened that I clung to the neckof the dog and hid my eyes. Meantime, the fellow who was swimming sawwhat had occurred, and went under water to escape being shot.
"Soon Hal had his canoe alongside, and said: 'Step in here, Kid.'
"My canoe was fastened to the other one, and the transfer made withoutfurther mishap. I looked about for the swimmer, but could see nothing ofhim. He might have drowned or gone ashore.
"We managed to travel pretty well until night, when we again camped onshore, but Hal seemed worried at the strangeness of the land.
"After a few days' futile seeking for the trail, we felt a sudden chillin the air. Hal was concerned, and sought in every direction for somefamiliar object.
"We made camp one night while the dogs sniffed ravenously about forfood, for our stock had run so low that Hal had to economize to make itlast another day. The next morning I awoke to find snow blowing in everydirection. The change was so unlooked for that I rubbed my eyes to makesure I was awake.
"'Well, Kid, this settles our trip to Forty-Mile for some time,'admitted Hal forlornly.
"'What do you mean, Hal?' I asked.
"'If we don't make camp quick, we'll be caught
in the cold and frozen.If I was alone, I'd try to make some Esquimo hut or die, but havin' youI can't take a chance.' Hal's manner of speech had improved a greatdeal during his intercourse with cultured men, and I took note of it ashe spoke--such queer things will impress one when a sudden calamitypresents itself.
"That morning Hal set me to cutting down some small trees. He said hewould take the sledge and the dogs and try to find the trail. I beggedhim not to leave me alone, and he promised that this would be the lasteffort if he was unsuccessful.
"I felt the terrible fear of being alone in this wilderness all winter,but I kept busy chopping down trees. All day long I worked and prayed,and before dark settled down I rejoiced to see Hal coming back. I couldtell in a moment that he had not found any trail, so I said nothing.
"That night Hal saw all the signs of winter breaking upon us, and heworked fast and furious to make camp so that we might survive the coldmonths.
"In his search the day before, he had found a stream whose banks werewell covered with sheltering pines. Here he proposed to build a hut.While, with the help of the dogs, he hauled the small logs I had cut tothe stream, I was ordered to fish and hunt for all the supplies I couldgather before the waters froze solid.
"I went to work with a forlorn hope of ever living to see another year,but the fish were plentiful, and the task of preparing them for winteruse kept me from thinking too much.
"Hal set traps for animals, and this game we skinned; the meat we driedand the pelts we hoped to use in the winter. The fats I dried out andkept in a skin pouch Hal made. Some of the game could not be eaten, sowe used that for bait.
"Hal built a rude log hut about eight feet wide, with a smoke hole atthe top. The wide chinks were plastered full of clay from theriver-bank. A door was made of split logs and fastened together withrope and strips of skin. We had brought no nails or screws, and had touse whatever came to hand. The hinges of the door were made of toughstrips of hide and fastened to the logs with some nails Hal took out ofthe sledge.
"A rude fire-bowl was made in the center of the hut and some flint-rockcarefully placed in a chink in the wall. The hut completed, Hal feltrelieved, for the winter seemed to hold off for our benefit.
"We chopped wood, and stacked it on one side of the wall, inside, andthen started to pile up more on the outside near the door. Some of ourfood was buried in a pit just outside the hut, but Hal hung all therewas room for to the logs of the roof.
"We were feeling quite contented one night, when Hal remarked: 'Kid,she's comin' down on us. I kin tell by the queer sounds through thosepines.'
"'Let her come. We are ready,' I laughed.
"'All but the beds. I'll have to go out now and bring in those balsambranches I have been savin' all these days.'
"That night we slept upon our fresh balsam beds. When I rose I could nothave told whether it was twilight or dawn. The blizzard howled outside,but Hal had a cheerful fire cracking inside."