The Boy Scouts on the Yukon Part 12

"Don't appear to be very frigid, does it?" remarked the Colonel, and the boys, who, for the first time, felt that they had really invaded the "Terrible North" of the explorers, gazed with new interest on the lush green meadows of the sh.o.r.es and the foliage of the tree-covered island.

They ran on down the river, and an hour later landed at Fort Yukon, an abandoned military post, the most northerly point on the river, lying at the mouth of the Porcupine, the Yukon's most important tributary.

CHAPTER XIV.

ON THE SEWARD PENINSULA.

The voyagers left Fort Yukon the same afternoon and soon recrossing the Arctic Circle, continued on the dreary Yukon Flats, where the river broadened to more than thirty miles. As there was almost perfect daylight at midnight they proposed to sleep on board and continue the journey.

In spite of the clouds of mosquitos, which managed to invade even the well-closed in cabin, they pa.s.sed a restful night, the engine working perfectly, and soon pa.s.sed into the narrower reaches of the Yukon, and in the early morning came to the town of Rampart.

Here is a federal court which people come nearly a thousand miles to attend. There was also a telegraph station the end of the line to St.

Michael's and Colonel Snow stopped only long enough to send certain despatches to that point. Then, again aboard the launch, they put on all speed, the purpose being to reach the mouth of the Tanana and Fort Gibbon that night. The day's journey was almost as uninteresting as that through the Yukon Flats, for while the river was narrower, the banks were low, thinly wooded and monotonous. Along in the afternoon they reached the mouth of the Tanana and landed at the town of that name, next to which stands the military post of Fort Gibbon, where Colonel Snow was to be a guest until the arrival of the down river steamer from Dawson.

Two days later the steamer Amelia put in an appearance, and they boarded her, to find their aeroplane and baggage aboard. Swift.w.a.ter Jim, who was to journey up the Tanana, had stayed to bid them gooybye, and the boys parted with him with real regret. He promised faithfully that after he had made his "stake" he would come out to the "States" again, and would visit them at their homes. As the steamer backed out the boys gathered at the bow and gave him the Scouts' salute and a hearty cheer.

The journey down the lower Yukon, while unimpressive as to scenery, was pleasant in many respects, as the boys made many acquaintances who were thoroughly acquainted with the river, along which were many old missions and Indian villages. At several of these stops were made, and the boys found many curiosities along the sh.o.r.es. At one place they visited a museum that contained three of the gigantic ivory tusks of the mammoth of which they had read a good deal since finding the narwhal's horn.

"Gee," said Gerald, "they must weigh nearly a hundred pounds apiece. If we ever find that cave with anything in it, it ought to be worth a good deal."

"Do you suppose that the chief will show up at Seward?" asked d.i.c.k.

"Oh, yes; I think so," said Rand. "I think he was very grateful for the way we treated him, and I understand these Indians are much like ours at home, and usually remember a favor."

"I don't care so much for the ivory as for the good story we will get out of it, if the whole thing turns out as we hope."

"There's you newspaper men again," said Don, "always after a good story, but why not take the ivory too if we find it?"

"Well," put in Pepper, "we'll soon know, for Colonel Snow said last night that we should remain in St. Michael's only until the Seattle steamer comes up to take us over to Nome, and he proposes to sail South with her, when she returns. Then we shall land at Seward, and meet the chief if he is there, and find out whether he has discovered the location of the cave."

The travelers were surprised to find the mouth of the Yukon spread out over an enormous expanse of country before it finally empties into Behring Sea. The river, about ninety miles from the sea, begins to split up into separate streams, and is said to have nine or ten mouths.

Behring's Sea is very shallow, and the waters are most of the time very rough, especially for the flat-bottomed boats that ply upon the Yukon. St.

Michael's lies about seventy miles up the coast from the mouth of the river which is used by the steamers, and the pa.s.sage is uncomfortable, not to say, at times, dangerous.

The ground swell of the shallow sea tested the seamanship of the young Scouts to the utmost and one or two of them retired to their stateroom, but as a large proportion of the pa.s.sengers were affected in the same way there was very little disposition to deride the unfortunates, as had been done on the trip up the "Inside Pa.s.sage." They arrived safely, however, and were again accorded a warm welcome by Colonel Snow's comrades of the army, who at once took them to the post, which is the chief inst.i.tution of importance in the small town.

St. Michael's is situated on an island which const.i.tutes a military reservation of the United States. Russia, in 1833, established a trading post there, and one of the curiosities of the place is the old Russian block house, a relic of primitive ideas in warfare. The town is the point of departure for the Yukon River steamers, and the aeroplane and the other luggage was taken off here to be placed on the Seattle steamer, which was to take them over to the Seward Peninsula, the other side of Norton Sound.

There are two small Indian villages on the island, and the boys spent part of a day in the inspection of these, buying large quant.i.ties of curiosities and looking on with interest at a "potlatch," an inst.i.tution which means the entertainment of a man's neighbors so long as his goods hold out, and the host generally finds himself ready for a receiver by the time the entertainment ends.

The officers of the post were greatly interested in the aeroplane, and it was uncrated for their inspection, but stormy conditions on Behring's Sea during their stay prevented a flight.

Two days after their arrival, the steamer from Seattle to Nome came along and they embarked and steamed the 112 miles across Norton's Sound to Nome, the metropolis of that great northwestern section of Alaska that borders on the Arctic Ocean and extends within forty miles of Asia. There is no harbor at Nome, and the ships must lie about a mile off sh.o.r.e, while pa.s.sengers and freight are taken in on flatboats, from which everything is raised on an elevator by a gigantic crane, and swung in sh.o.r.e.

Nome is one of the largest cities of Alaska, having a summer population of nearly 8,000. It is a lively, public-spirited place, and the army officers and business men greeted with enthusiasm the proposal of an airship exhibition.

Colonel Snow was especially in favor of it, as the army had already begun to take a great interest in aviation, and the officers desired an opportunity to inspect the workings of the machine. A popular subscription was decided on for the boys, and a sum amounting to about fifteen hundred dollars was quickly provided.

The beach at Nome, from which most of the gold of that region has been extracted, was found to make a fine starting field, and, as the country back of the town is mostly flat "tundra" or moss covered ground, with no trees to interfere, the flights made by Gerald were the most successful of his career. He delighted the army officers by taking them up, one at a time for short flights, and the citizens were so enthusiastic that they offered the boys almost any price they might name for the airship. Their affection for it was too great, however, and they refused to sell.

The Scouts were shown every attention, and were taken for a ride on the "Farthest North" railroad, known as the "Wild Goose" road, leading up to some of the most important placer mines on the peninsula. The Scout uniform caught the fancy of some of the young men of the town, and when the organization had been explained to them they organized two patrols, and Colonel Snow administered the first degree of the ritual.

In three days the steamer for Seattle was ready to sail, and the boys bid farewell to their new friends and started on the homeward leg of their journey. Steaming far to the westward to get around the long reach of the Alaska Peninsula they sailed a thousand miles south, and at Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island they transferred to the line of steamers which was to take them along the peninsula to Seward. Stopping part of a day on Kodiak Island, they visited the great salmon canneries at Karluk, where the boys were told they could catch all the salmon they wanted. They saw the great fish handled literally by the ton and canned by machinery. The boys disembarked with the aeroplane at Seward and found the chief and three of his men awaiting them, with the news that they believed that they had discovered the cave.

"No can get him. Very high. Most to sky," the chief told Rand, and indicated in "pigeon" that the cliff was a pinnacle of three spires of rock standing alone and utterly inaccessible from any side. He said it was two days' journey by easy trail, and that they would take horses.

Colonel Snow, deciding that the trip would be an interesting experience for the boys, provided them with pack horses and a trusty guide, in addition to the Indians. He was opposed at first to their trying to take the aeroplane into the mountainous regions, but finding that it could be conveyed by pack horses without trouble, and that the boys had some project on hand which made it very desirable to them withdrew his objections. He exacted a promise, however, that if they got into difficulties with it they would abandon it at once. He himself had business at Cordova and up the Copper River Railroad, and he agreed to meet them at the steamer from Seward to Cordova at the latter port within a week or ten days at the utmost.

The United States Government has in recent years constructed a large number of miles of good wagon roads and trails in different parts of Alaska, and nearly three-quarters of the distance to the point to which they were bound was thus equipped. The guide engaged for them was an old miner of the character of Swift.w.a.ter, and he was employed as a mail carrier and driver over the winter roads from Valdez to Fairbanks.

Horses were provided for the boys for such a distance as trails could be found, and from that point they would take only the pack animals and get through as they could. By taking out the motor, it was found that the plane could be easily carried by two animals, and the machinery was distributed between two others. Beyond some small food supplies and a quant.i.ty of strong rope no other luggage was taken.

The roads were found to be so good that although the trail ran right up into the foothills of the Kenai range they made excellent progress the first day and camped in a little mountain meadow full of late flowers, and with good running water.

They used gasoline for cooking, as they had brought along sufficient for use in the aeroplane and the Indians fed by themselves on salmon and other fish. Away in the distance, more than a hundred miles, could be seen the giant peaks of the Alaskan range--the backbone of Alaska--Foraker, Russell, Spurr and McKinley, snow clad and dazzling.

"I'd like a chance to climb one of those big mountains," said Jack. "You know we didn't get an opportunity in the Canadian Rockies, although they seemed to be very near."

"I guess," said Rand, "that we've got all we can do to climb the mountain we're looking for. We'll be lucky if we do that."

"How did the Indians or whoever hid this ivory, if there's any there, get it up to the cave, if it is a cave?" asked Don the Doubter.

"That's what we've got to find out; also how we're going to get up there ourselves," said d.i.c.k.

"I think we have a way to do that," said Gerald, "but we've got to know the size and shape of this hill or peak or whatever it is, before we decide how to climb it."

"Well," said Pepper, with a yawn, "I move we go to bed now and get up early and get on the road and try and reach the place before night," and he rose rather stiffly, for he was not known at home as a great admirer of horsemanship, and the day's journey had told on him.

"I'll keep watch for awhile yet," said the guide, "and then I'll put one of the Injuns on. Don't get scared if ye hear a shot early in the mornin', for I'm goin' out to see if I can get a caribou. I hear they're pretty thick up here in the foothills, and it'll tickle these Injuns to death.

The poor fellers have been workin' the canneries all summer and ain't had a mouthful of fresh meat all that time. A little feast'll put more heart into 'em for the work."

The boys camped under a cl.u.s.ter of small trees with ponchos and blankets over them, and as the black flies had disappeared and mosquitos were few, enjoyed a good night's rest.

CHAPTER XV.

THE MAMMOTH'S TUSKS.

Sure enough, the camp was awakened at an early hour the next day by a couple of rifle shots, and an excited commotion among the Indians. The boys in whom, as in all healthy American youths, the hunting instinct was strong, at once scrambled from under their blankets, seized their rifles and dashed through the bushes toward the small stream which flowed from the mountains toward an arm of Prince William Sound.