CHAPTER XII
THE ALASKAN TRIP BEGUN
It seemed to Roger that he was years older when he entered the grayportals of the Geological Survey building in Washington and walked pastthe big relief models on the wall, to face what he felt to be thecrucial question in his career--whether his season's work in the Surveywould merit his acceptance by Rivers for the Alaskan trip. He found hisofficial superior, Mr. Herold, engaged, and so went in to thank hisfriend Mitchon for the interest that he had shown and the kindly lettershe had written.
It seemed quite home-like to him, entering once more the offices of theGeological Survey, and he spent a pleasant half-hour chatting over hisexperiences, his later excitements in the Pecos country arousing specialinterest. He was about to go when his friend stopped him with a gesture.
"Wait till I come back," he said.
A few minutes later he returned, saying:
"The Director would like to see you for a moment." The boy looked upwith surprise, and the secretary continued reassuringly, "There'snothing to be scared about, I don't think you'll consider it bad news."
Roger rose promptly and went to the Director's office, and the lattershook hands heartily and motioned him to a seat.
"I think I ought to tell you, Mr. Doughty," he said, and Rogerstraightened up at least one inch at the manly form of address, "that Ihave received some reports from Mr. Herold, relating to the variousparties on which you have served, which touch on your progress in thework. You will remember, of course, your meeting with the President?"
"Yes indeed, sir," answered the boy.
"This plan to secure trained workers by picking desirable material fromthe colleges and schools, on which a well-known philanthropist was sokeen, has aroused no little interest in the Survey. As you were thefirst to go out, I have been anxious to see how the scheme woulddevelop, and I was glad, a couple of months ago, to be able to tell thePresident that Mr. Carneller's project was proving most successful." Hepaused a moment. "It is but right to you to say," he continued, "thatyou have fulfilled the hopes I had, and that your first year's work onthe Survey is a beginning of which I think you may be proud."
Roger flushed hotly at this praise, and seeing that the Director awaiteda reply, said simply:
"It is very good of you to say so, sir. I just tried to do my best."
"Of course," went on the Director, "you have a great deal to learn andare very new in the work, so I don't want you to think for a moment thatyou know it all--or for that matter, that you ever will. But those withwhom you have been speak approvingly of your obedience to the call ofduty and of your ability to continue hard work uncomplainingly. I am notsure," there was a twinkle in the speaker's eye, "that making believe tobe lost when you are ensconced in the branches of a tree is particularlyconducive to discipline?" He waited for a reply.
Roger looked at him, and taking courage from the lurking smile,answered:
"No, sir. But," he added, "perhaps as much so as a snipe-shoot."
"A fair answer," was the kind reply. "Well," continued the Director, alittle more authoritatively, "I am not at all sure that you willachieve your desire to go to Alaska next season, though I should notwish to go so far as to decide against it. In any case, Mr. Rivers, ashead of the Alaskan work, chooses his own men. It is not that I amafraid of your not doing your best," he added, seeing the look ofdisappointment on the boy's face, "but that I feel it might be a littletoo much for you. The Alaskan work is a great strain for young bones."
"Not more so, sir, than crossing the Grand Canyon, is it?" Roger feltemboldened to ask.
"Don't boast!" came the sharp rebuke, "I don't like it. But," hecontinued, seeing the boy wilt under the criticism, "I merely desired tosee you to say that I am well pleased with your work, and that I hopethe college assistants, hereafter to follow, will prove equallysuccessful."
Roger left the office of the Director as though he were treading on air,a feeling enhanced by the cordial reception accorded him by Herold, thechief geographer. There he learned, to his intense delight, that he hadbeen appointed by Rivers on the Alaskan party, which was to spend theentire spring and summer in a south to north reconnoissance of thatgreat Arctic territory.
"I was afraid," Roger said to the geographer, "from what the Directorsaid, that I would not get the appointment."
"Well," Herold replied, "Mr. Rivers seemed to feel that you were keenfor it, and figured that if it were given you, you would strain everynerve to make good. But, you see, you will have to do your utmost tojustify the stand that Mr. Rivers and myself have taken."
"It won't be for want of trying, Mr. Herold," answered Roger, his eyesshining.
"I am sure of that, my boy," said the older man kindly, "and that's whatwe are depending on. Now, let me see, this is the second of December,isn't it? Rivers sails from Seattle on February 15th, so that you hadbetter reckon on being there about the 12th. Suppose then, you go homenow for the holidays, take just a month, and report in Washington hereon January 2nd, a month from to-day. Then we'll give you a few weeks'work here to learn something about headquarters, and then you can goright on to the Pacific Coast, perhaps spending a day or two at homebefore starting on the expedition."
Roger thanked him heartily, as much for his thoughtfulness about thevacation as for the appointment he had desired so long. Indeed hismonth at home, amid an air in which he was a sort of hero, passedrapidly, and as the idol of all the boys in the neighborhood, he had tospin yarns by the score, these tales being given reality by the dozensof photographs he had taken on the various parties of which he had beena member. Some of the photos were his own, but others were prints ofnegatives taken by the assistant topographers usually, for nearly everyparty in the field has some member whose skill makes him almost anofficial photographer. Indeed, nearly every one on the Survey is amaster of photography, and few outfits do not contain at least oneexcellent camera.
On his return to Washington in January, however, Roger found it somewhattedious to settle to indoor office work, but his interest grew infinding that the department had in operation scores of other lines ofwork that had not occurred to him. His surprise in the field atconstantly encountering new avenues of work became amazement inWashington, when he first really gained an idea of the extent of thedepartment's scope.
On the question of maps alone, he learned how important the Survey isto the country. Maps which should show a mining company in whichdirection ore-bearing veins should run, maps which should inform arailroad as to the comparative elevations along a proposed right of way,maps which should teach a farmer where to sink an artesian well forwatering his stock, maps which form the basis of vast irrigationprojects, maps which point the builder where to go to quarry stone, mapsto form the basis of the special timber charts of the Forestry Service,maps dealing with coal-producing areas, and for a score of otherpurposes, for all these the Survey is called on.
And there, in Washington, the year through, Roger found expert andskilled men making these maps, compiling them from the sketches made inthe field, correcting minor errors, comparing them with former data, andproducing works of exactitude and immense value. Some idea of theexactness of the work was gained by the boy when it was pointed out tohim that in the Bureau of Engraving the printing of all this exactdrawing must be done in a room where the temperature and humidity arethe same the year round, since paper will shrink in a dry spell andexpand when moist, and the printing of such a map extending over aperiod of months, might thus be made fractionally incorrect.
Then it dawned upon the lad that the libraries of scientific records ofwhich Survey workers are the authors must needs require time and labor,and the compilation of statistics needed in other parts of thegovernment service also takes up time. So that Roger began to see thatthe proofreading of all geologic and topographic maps, all illustrationsand all text of Survey papers have to be done and revised by competentmen, in order that the scientific accuracy of these can never beimpeached. He saw the scope of the annual reports, the mon
ographs, theprofessional papers and the bulletins, and was not surprised to learnthat these were in great demand, not only in the United States, but byforeign governments as well.
"But all this," said Roger to his friend the secretary, as they weretalking together one day, "must cost the country a heap of money."
The other smiled.
"It has saved the country a great deal of money," he said. "In the firstplace the Survey is very economically run, and then besides, millionsof dollars have been put into the hands of manufacturing interests bypointing out to them the value of by-products which formerly werewasted."
"For example, Mr. Mitchon?"
"Well, for example, the waste of the by-products of coke-ovens, such ascoal-tar, ammonia, etc.," replied the secretary. "Here, come with me tothe laboratories, and I'll show you."
In the large chemical and physical laboratories at Washington the boyfound samples of metals and minerals of all sorts being tested andanalyzed. He found that all the great works of the government areundertaken only with the advice of the Geological Survey, and helearned, moreover, that in certain branches the Chemical Laboratoriesstand higher than those of any government in the world.
As each day passed the lad heard of some new activity of the Survey. Helearned that every ton of coal consumed and every ounce of gold mined,was duly recorded by the Survey, and to his amazement discovered thatthe due safeguarding of life in mines and quarries was not outside itsprovince. The refining of oil was regarded as appertaining to minerals,and many difficulties of fuel in steam engineering the boy found tohave been minimized by the Survey in the power and lighting plants ofthe government. And, if this were not enough, it was borne in upon himthat even such structural materials as brick, terra cotta and theconcrete bodies, had in some cases found their beginnings and in otherstheir best development under a further division of the Survey.
Then, to cap all, it was shown to Roger, that this multifarious workrequired careful and prudent administration, supervising all the detailsof personnel, expense, purchase, and distribution of supplies and soforth, to say nothing of adjunct matters, like library and fossil work.Thus it was, that when the boy left Washington a month later, he haddecided that an entire lifetime on the Survey would be all too little tograsp the vast and dominating usefulness that it bore to the country atlarge.
Thus the fated day arrived for Roger's start. He had made himselfwell-liked all through the building, and there were many to wish himluck on the expedition. A most hearty and cordial good-fellowship Rogerfound to run through all departments, and the good wishes of hissuperiors and companions were happy auguries for the start. TheDirector, too, called him into his office and gave him a mostencouraging send-off, sounding no note of doubtfulness or regret, andRoger felt, as he left Washington, that no boy could ask pleasanterfriends or more helpful comrades than those he had met on the Survey.
The chief geographer had accorded him an extra two days' leave in whichto go home before he need start for Seattle, and Roger was full ofpride, as his former schoolmates gathered around him to be able to speakloftily of traversing "territory on which no white man had ever set hisfoot." It was a little boastfully put, but as after events proved, itwas true none the less.
The journey across the continent gave time for reflection, and now thatthere was no chance of drawing back, the warnings and advice that hadbeen given to Roger rushed over him like a flood, and he had for a whilea haunting fear lest anything should happen on the trail to shake theconfidence his superiors had in him. But these fears vanished like amorning mist, when, arrived at Seattle, he went on board the gunboat,lying a short distance from the shore, and realized that he, Roger, hada right to board a vessel of the United States Navy.
Rivers was on deck, and he came forward promptly to meet the boy,saying, as he shook hands:
"So you made good, didn't you, eh? Well, I thought you would."
Roger laughed quietly.
"You said I had to!" he replied.
The boy's new chief gave a half-smile.
"Well," he said, "if you always do everything I say you have to do, I'llbe quite satisfied. But it's not a summer picnic, by any means, and youmay be sorry before you're through."
"That may be, Mr. Rivers," answered the boy cheerily, "but I'm not sorryyet. I'm mighty glad to be here."
"I've been sorry often enough that I took up field work, but----" hepaused.
"But what?" asked Roger.
"But I couldn't get back to it quick enough the next year," answered thegeologist.
"If the past summer is any test," went on Roger, "I guess I'll be thesame way, for I never enjoyed anything so much in all my life. Why, Ifelt quite stifled back in Washington."
"If you've been caught with the exploring fever," rejoined the olderman, "there's nothing more to be said, for that's a disease for whichthere is no cure, except----" He paused abruptly again.
"Yes?" queried Roger.
"Except old age, and that the explorer never reaches," was the steadyreply. "And now you must meet the rest of the boys."
He turned to the topographer, who was standing near.
"Mr. Gersup," he said, "this is the boy."
"I see it's a boy," answered the other, smiling, "but I didn't know itwas 'the' boy. I guess, Doughty, from the way Mr. Rivers talks, thatyou're only just a trifle less important in the Survey than theDirector." He laughed out loud.
Roger broke in protestingly, but Rivers interrupted.
"Don't mind him, Doughty, he's always that way."
"Don't mind him either, Doughty," replied the topographer, "he's alwaysthat way." And Roger thought it promised well for the cheerfulness ofthe party to find the chief and the topographer on joking terms.
Later the boy found Gersup's cheerfulness and optimism to be invaluableon the trip. He had a short, thick-set, stocky frame and possessed to anextreme degree the power of seeing the best possible side of everysituation. His persuasive powers were so great that, as one of the partysaid afterward, "he could talk a mule's heels down in the middle of akick!" He had an unerring eye for the topography of a country, as wasafterwards shown, and before they had been many days in Alaska, Rogerwould have unhesitatingly declared both the geologist and topographer ofthe party to be absolutely infallible in their own lines, though theywould both promptly have disclaimed any such statement.
The assistant topographer of the party, to whom the boy was nextintroduced, was a great surprise. He looked like anything except what hewas. Not particularly prepossessing, he had a large head, already nearlybald, he was slightly bow-legged and short and scant of speech. It wasnot until weeks later that the boy found out why he had been selectedfor the trip. His strength was herculean, and in spite of the fact thathe was not slightly built he could put a mountain goat to shame atscaling an apparently inaccessible crag. As Magee, the Irishman of theparty, described him, "Tie his hands behind his back, and he'll climb upthe side of a house with his toenails and his eyebrows."
Of the two camp hands, one was an Indian called Harry, a fine specimenof one of the famous tribes which successfully resisted Russian rule inthe early years, and who was regarded as one of the most expertcanoeists who had ever been in the Survey.
The other was Magee. And Magee was sufficiently described by his fullname, which was Patrick Aloysius Magee. He was a devil-may-care Irishmanfrom Galway, who had spent fifteen years in the gold camps, and hadtossed over the poker table and the faro layout the little bags of golddust that had represented years of weary work. It was not that hope haddied out in him, which made him leave prospecting and take to theSurvey, but in his own way of putting it, "There were too many men ofthe female sex around the gold camps now." He had been a sailor for someyears, too, in the old sailing-ship days, and had left the sea becauseof his contempt for steam.
As for the cook, his chief recommendation was that "he could cook aneight-course dinner out of a pair of old boots, and make a man believehe had had something to eat when he was still as hungry as w
hen he satdown." Altogether, Roger thought, as the little gunboat got under wayand steamed for Seldovia, near the southern bend of the Kenai peninsula,a more aggressive body of men he had never met, and he determined tohold up his end, no matter what should come.
The gunboat arrived at Seldovia on February 21st, and as the cablerattled through the hawse-hole Rivers took command of the party. Hiseasy manner dropped like a mask, and orders sharp and incisive fell likehail. All the supplies and equipment for the first part of the journeyhad been sent there the summer before, and were being kept by thestorekeeper. No sooner were they ashore than Roger was told off withHarry to "get the dogs," and the boy accordingly found himself before ayard where twenty-two "huskies" were "yapping" and howling to theirhearts' content. Of these, six were "outside" dogs, imported from theUnited States, usually mongrel mastiffs, and the other sixteen "huskies"or native dogs, in this case nearly all Malemut, with a strain ofSiwash. The reason for the two kinds of dogs, Harry explained to Rogerin answer to a question, was that the outside dog is better as a leader,as he is more intelligent and less mutinous, but that the bulk of thework is to be done by native dogs as they require less food and care,and having a dense pelt, like the wolf, endure hardship far better,while on a rough trail they are less liable to fall lame.
The dogs being duly gathered together, the harness and sleds inspected,Roger assisted his chief in checking over the supplies and seeing thatthey were carried to the gunboat for transport to the other side of CookInlet. Everything was found intact and as had been ordered, so thatlittle delay was sustained. The overseeing of these things, however,took the entire day, but by evening the dogs were on board andeverything disposed for easy transhipment in the morning.
Bright and early the next day the gunboat got her anchor up and startedacross the Inlet, seeking a landing-place as high up as possible. Inless than two hours from Seldovia the ice was reached, and arrangementswere made for a landing on the western side of the Inlet. A small bay,which appeared on the charts as Snug Harbor, was chosen as the placefor debarkation, which by noon was under way.
The landing was not easy, owing to the ice along the banks, and Rogergot a foretaste of what was coming by having to jump overboard and wadethrough the water, breaking the ice, to carry the supplies ashore. In ashort while everything was landed, to the satisfaction of Rivers, whohad not hoped to be able to run as far up the Inlet. There, standing onthe snow, with the dogs howling behind him, Roger stood beside thechief, unheeding that he was cased in ice above the knees, and watchedthe gunboat dip the Stars and Stripes once in token of farewell. TheAlaskan trip was begun.