Trails and Tramps in Alaska and Newfoundland Part 1

Trails and Tramps in Alaska and Newfoundland.

by William S. Thomas.

PREFACE

The matter here submitted has been acc.u.mulated upon several hunting trips in the wilderness, and many excursions from time to time into the woods and fields about home. The author has for some years kept more or less extensive field notes, and has taken numerous photographs of objects, scenes, or incidents by the way.

Not all of the narrative is concerned with the chase, but all has to do with, or is in some way attributable to, the wanderl.u.s.t that from boyhood days has cast its spell over the author at uncertain intervals, and from time to time, has compelled a pilgrimage nearer or farther into the regions of that freedom found only where man is not.

If in the heart of the reader it sets vibrating again some chord once sounded by the breath of the forest, or stirs to harmony some strings. .h.i.therto not attuned to the music of the great outdoors, the mission of this volume will not have been vain, for it will then have a.s.sisted in a modest way the interpretation of that medium of expression of which Bryant has said,

"To him who in the love of nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A varied language."

W. S. T.

PITTSBURGH, PA., _March, 1913_.

CHAPTER I

CRUISING AND HUNTING IN SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA

In the midst of the rustling and bustling on the pier, the creaking of the block and tackle, and the hoisting of the duffel, could be heard the loud, clear voice of the mate resounding in the evening twilight, "Heave to!" "That's well," and similar expressions, all preparatory to our departure for the far-away North, the land of glaciers, gold, and fish.

In the crowd were many sorts and conditions of men--and not the least in evidence were the st.u.r.dy Norseman and the Scottish clansman,--some on pleasure bent, some in search of the mighty beasts of the forest, still others seeking their fortune in the vast gold-fields stretching on and on into the great unknown beyond the Arctic Circle.

Among the ever-changing groups of humanity, my attention was attracted to one, the center of which was a young man about one and twenty. As the time drew near for our departure, around him gathered four or five young ladies, who to all appearances were in sore distress. An only brother, perhaps, was about to leave home and friends to seek his fortune in the Land of the Midnight Sun. The old father, grizzled and gray, stood by with dejected countenance and folded hands, the very picture of despair.

Presently one of the girls--the boy's sweetheart, as I afterwards learned,--unable longer to stand the strain, threw her arms about her lover and wept bitterly. What expressions of sadness upon the faces of those left behind as the lamplight casts its pallid rays over them! And now one staggers and falls into the arms of a friend. Then what a look of grief upon the face of the young man peering over the ship's rail!

Such is the pathos of life at every turn, could we but see it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Ketchikan]

On board the steamer was the Hon. Walter L. Fisher, Secretary of the Interior, and his party, consisting of his son Walter, Alfred H.

Brooks, of the Geological Surveys Committee, Governor W. E. Clark of Alaska, and reporters of various newspapers. Their mission was to investigate the condition and wants of the people of Alaska. The genial and pleasant old sea-dog, Captain Michael Jansen, was at the helm as the steamer wedged her way towards the north.

For some two hundred miles we skirted the eastern sh.o.r.e of Vancouver Island, lined to the water's edge with hemlock, spruce, and cedar, through which occasionally bluish-white streaks of water came tumbling down the mountain-side, each adding its own particular charm to the scenery. The English Government has erected along the coast many lighthouses for the protection of navigation, but after we pa.s.sed through Dixon's Entrance into Uncle Sam's domain, very few of these were to be seen. Our Government seems to have given too little attention to this matter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Myriads of Salmon]

The first stop on the way north was Ketchikan, a little village nestled snugly at the foothills, with its hospital, saloons, and all the usual adjuncts of a mining town. It has a population of some five hundred souls, whose princ.i.p.al occupation consists of fishing and mining. The most interesting thing to sightseers was a stroll up the boardwalk laid along a narrow winding stream that has its origin in the snow-capped mountains. Pitching, tossing, and foaming it hurried down the narrow gulch, seeking its level in the briny deep. It was alive with myriads of salmon, jumping and leaping in their mad rush to the sp.a.w.ning ground.

In the dawn of the following morning the boat plowed its way through the green waters of the Strait toward Annette Island, a strip of land covered to the water's edge with fir and cedar trees. The island is some six miles long, and at the extreme end, on a small, gently sloping plateau, is the little town of Metlakatla, which boasts a population of about a thousand persons. It has its own canneries, saw-mills, and other industries, and the people seem to be happy and contented. At the head of the colony is Rev. William Duncan, who has done much for the uplift of the many tribes of Indians in this locality.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Father Duncan]

"Father" Duncan relates that more than half a century ago, when a young man of twenty-five, he was living in England. Upon his ordination as a minister of the Established Church, Alaska was a.s.signed him as the field of his future life-work. His pa.s.sage was paid and he arrived at Victoria after a nine-months trip. The old man was very much agitated in relating his early experience. On reaching Victoria, he of course desired to enter at once upon his active duties, but the head official of the town and the captain of the boat used every means in their power to persuade him from going among the Indians, urging that they were bloodthirsty savages and would surely kill him. He told them that he was a.s.signed to the field by the Board and could not think of changing his plan without an order from his superiors, to procure which would require at least two years. He must get to his labor of love right away.

However, he made one request of the officer in charge of the fort, and it was this: he would like to spend about nine months with them in the stockade, and wished they would send for the brightest young man of the most powerful tribe, so that he might learn the language before going among the savages. They granted his request, and in nine months he was ready to deliver his first sermon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Metlakatla]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Guest House]

The Indians were divided into various tribes, each at war with the other. He thought if he could succeed in getting the chiefs together and could tell them the Word of G.o.d in their own language, he would more readily win their confidence and esteem. So he requested his interpreter to call together all the chiefs to one central point, where he would deliver his first sermon. "But oh!" he said, "when I saw before me the a.s.sembled braves, decorated in all the colors of the rainbow, my courage left me, and turning to my teacher, I begged of him to deliver the message I had so carefully prepared to the gathered tribesmen. But he positively refused, and told me his intrusion might cause a war, for the tribes were very jealous of the power and influence of their neighbors. Then I took courage and when I had spoken, oh! what an effect it had upon them! Bodies were rigid and eyes seemed as though they would pierce me through and through. The results were striking. They gathered around in little groups, earnestly discussing the truths made known to them and wondering who could be and whence came this strange white man who spoke their own tongue.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "Father" Duncan's Church]

"From that day I became absorbed in my work. For thirty years I labored among them at Old Metlakatla, when one day I was told that the natives did not own the land and that the t.i.tle was vested in the Queen of England. The Indians could not understand how a sovereign whom they had never seen could own the land over which they and their ancestors had roamed for centuries, fishing, hunting, and trapping.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Where the Indians Roamed]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Street Scene in Metlakatla]

"I went down to Vancouver to examine into the matter, and the Premier and Attorney-General advised me that such was the case. I was fearful lest when the Indians learned this fact they would go on the war-path and kill every white man in the country. I wrote a long letter to them explaining conditions and saying that I would be back home to Old Metlakatla as soon as I could. Shortly afterwards, much to my surprise, a committee came to Vancouver to confer with me. When I saw them I was greatly excited for fear they had decided upon war. When I inquired of them what had been done at the meeting, they refused to tell me, so that I was considerably worried over the matter. Although it was late in the evening, I went immediately to the Attorney-General's home to advise him of the situation. I told him I would give him all the information I had that evening, but to-morrow, after I had learned the action taken, I could not divulge a single word. I did not sleep much that night, and in the morning, when I met the committee, imagine my relief when they told me they had decided to leave English territory and seek a new home under the Stars and Stripes. Shortly after that I went to Washington to arrange matters, if possible, for a new location. I finally succeeded; the United States Government gave Annette Island to my people for their home, and here we have built the new Metlakatla."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Metlakatla Belles]

"Father" Duncan does not believe in educating the Indian children as they are taught at Carlisle and similar inst.i.tutions. Once while he was visiting Carlisle at Commencement time, the orator of the day advised a graduating cla.s.s to go out among the white people and do as the whites did. Speaking of the occasion, he remarked: "I thought as I listened, 'Oh, what a mistake for them to leave their fathers and mothers, now too old to work, and become worthless and idle, unfitted for the duties of life!'" With deep emotion the old man pointed across the woods toward the cemetery, and said: "Over yonder lie the remains of about thirty young men, the pick of their tribe, who attended such schools, adopted the white man's mode of living, and contracted tuberculosis, to which they fall ready victims. They are by nature so const.i.tuted that they require outdoor life and outdoor exercise."

While "Father" Duncan was talking, the Secretary of the Interior came out of the Town Hall, where he had been holding a conference with the Town Council, and he and "Father" Duncan walked down the boardwalk toward the cannery and from there to the boat. As the steamer was about to depart, the pa.s.sengers gave three rousing cheers for the grand old man who had spent fifty-five years of useful life among these simple children of nature. Scarcely had the echo of the last cheer resounded from the hills about the bay, when, as the steamer left the wharf, the Indians gave three mightier cheers for the Secretary and another three for Governor Clark.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Indians Cheering the Secretary]

About midnight of the third day the fog-horn began to blow, repeating the blast every ten minutes or more, and the engine bells tinkled, tinkled all through the night. Sleep being out of the question, we were up early the next morning, and to our great surprise were informed by the pilot that the _Wizard of the Northern Sea_ had been caught in the fog and had traveled scarcely a mile; in fact, we were obliged to return from the Narrows and wait for the fog to lift. As the old pilot expressed it: "Great Golly! it was a bad night, without a place to throw the anchor and the current running miles an hour." The old sea-dog had a fine face, carved with stern lines. As he related with his Danish accent the stories of how two men-of-war and several other vessels had met their doom in those waters, hundreds on board going down, the little group was all attention. Even as he talked, he pointed out the partly concealed rocks where the men-of-war had met their fate, and over which the water now broke in innocent-looking ripples.

After thirteen hours waiting for flood tide and the lifting of the fog, we steamed slowly through Wrangel Narrows. What a sight as the sun dispelled the fog! I have seen at night in a puddling mill a ball of molten metal on its way from the furnace to the "squeezers" and, when "soused" with water, emitting a blue flame and vapor. The sun at Wrangel Narrows was such a ball of molten metal, while the fog clinging to the leeward side of the mountain peaks was the vapor, and the peaks and crags with heads towering far above the clouds were the stacks and beams of a monster mill. Occasionally as we glide along, aquatic birds soar through the air in search of their morning meal; blackfish sport in the water, their fins cutting the surface as they disappear into the depths; and now a little snipe, flying around and around, trying to alight on the vessel, causes a stir among the pa.s.sengers. A short distance away appears the head of a seal, evidently in search of its prey, and the leaping fish tell the rest of the story. How many things appeal to the lover of nature!

On account of the swift current and concealed rocks, the Narrows can be navigated with safety only in daylight, and I learned that the policy issued by marine insurance companies contains a clause under which no recovery can be had in event of accident to a steamer while pa.s.sing through the Narrows by night.

Here and there lay an old hull cast high and dry on the rocks, after being tossed and pitched about in the powerful currents until it was battered and broken out of all resemblance to a boat. The old _Portland_ was pointed out in the distance, not yet a complete wreck, her mast erect, hull submerged, and the breakers booming and splashing over her.

A feeling of sadness came over at least one of the party at the pleasant recollections of a former hunting trip made on the _Portland_ with the big-hearted and greatly beloved Captain Moore, who has since pa.s.sed over the Great Divide.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Totems at Sitka]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Indian War Canoe]

Wrangel, the next port of entry, was reached in due time. To the tourists the most noteworthy objects are the totem-poles. Indian totem-poles are erected in even the smallest Indian settlements along the coast as far north as Sitka. Visitors are always interested in their picturesque carving. All kinds of grotesque figures of birds, animals, and fish are cut into the smooth surface of trees after the bark is removed. Contrary to what seems to be a very general belief, the natives do not worship totem-poles as idols, but regard them as a sort of family register. When a great event takes place, in order that it may be commemorated, they erect a totem; a successful hunter in the tribe becomes well known for his deeds of valor,--straightway he selects a family crest and up goes his totem, tinted with all the colors of the rainbow. Sometimes the poles ill.u.s.trate legends handed down from generation to generation,--the stories and traditions of this simple-minded people. Ages ago, according to "Father" Duncan, the Indians adopted totems or crests to distinguish the social clans into which the race is said to be divided, and each clan is represented symbolically by some character, such as the finback whale, the grizzly bear, the frog, the eagle, etc. All Indian children take the crest of their mother and they do not regard the members of their father's family as relatives. Therefore a man's heir or his successor is not his own son, but his sister's son. Not often can an Indian be persuaded to rehea.r.s.e to a stranger the story represented by the carvings on a pole.

Here is a legend which is told of one totem-pole: A very long time ago an old chief with his wife and two small children pitched his wigwam at the mouth of a stream when the salmon were running to sp.a.w.n. The old squaw, in order to get some spruce boughs with which to gather salmon eggs, pushed her _bidarka_, or sealskin boat, into the water, and telling her two little papooses to get into the boat, paddled them across the stream. As she pulled the _bidarka_ up on the other sh.o.r.e she instructed the children to remain in the boat till she returned. She came back in a short time with her load, only to discover that the children were gone. Many times she called to them, but always they answered to her from the woods with the voices of crows, and when she tried to follow them they would keep calling to her from some other direction. She returned to the boat again, gave up the children for lost, and going back to the wigwam reported to the chief that an old white trapper with a big beard had carried away the two little children.

To commemorate this event they had a totem-pole carved to show the beard of the white trapper, and frequently point it out as an example to refractory children.