the gold fever, and in crossing the plains they heard the name El
Dorado as soon as they came near where Coronado had been. Some of them
made up a song about it, which was for many years very popular among
the men in the mining camps. This is one verse of it:
We'll rock the cradle around Pike's Peak
In search of the gold dust that we seek,
The Indians ask us why we're here
We tell them we're born as free as the air,
And oh!
Boys ho!
To the mountains we will go
For there is plenty of gold
Out West we are told
In the new El Dorado.
Many of the emigrants sickened and died on the way; others were killed
by the hostile Indians, and all were subjected to a life of hardship
and toil, because they were the builders of a new commonwealth. Once
in California they found many trying situations, not the least of
which was an occasional fight with the huge grizzly bears that roamed
through the forests. Many times the men were obliged to organize a
hunt for the purpose of ridding a district of a nest of grizzlies.
Not only would the bears fight ferociously, but they did not hesitate
to go into a corral and carry off calves, hogs and sheep under the
very eyes of the owner.
"Never for a moment imagine that a grizzly bear will run from you,"
said the leader of a hunting party filling his powder horn and putting
a box of caps into his pocket. "Take good aim at the center of his
forehead. Otherwise one shot will not kill him, and remember that he
cannot climb. If you get into close quarters, try to get up a tree as
fast as you can."
"We know his trail and we are going to send our dogs in to start him
out of his den."
"Unless your dogs know how to attack him it is very unsafe to let them
go near. One blow from a grizzly's paw will kill any dog, and we
cannot afford to lose any of yours," said the leader, doubtfully.
"My dogs know all about bear hunting. They will keep well behind him,
and after we have crippled him, they will snap at his heels and worry
him so he cannot chase the last man who shoots at him."
"Will a grizzly do that?" asked a man who had never been in a bear
hunt before.
"Indeed he will. If you watch closely you can tell how many times he
is hit for he will fall down, roll over and slap himself wherever the
bullet strikes him."
"I would not advise you to waste any time trying to find out who fired
the last shot, for the bear will never make a mistake about it. He
knows, and is always after the last one."
"Separate into pairs," said the leader, when he had finished examining
the bear tracks in the path they were following. "Take your stations
about a hundred yards apart, and when you hear the grizzly coming, aim
as I have already told you, and then look out for trouble."
"Do you think we are likely to find him soon?" asked the newcomer,
nervously.
"He is in that thicket where the dogs are keeping up such a loud
barking. You will hear him snapping and growling in a few minutes."
"The grass and underbrush are so high I am afraid I will not be able
to see him," said the timid, inexperienced hunter.
"You can tell by the way the dogs bark when he is coming, and you can
easily hear the click of his sharp claws before he gets too near for
comfort," said the leader, with a smile. "Make sure that the trigger
of your gun is properly set, and you will be all right."
He had stationed other men farther up the ravine, and in a few minutes
the dogs yelped warningly, and the man at the upper station shouted:
"Look out! here he comes!"
"Bang!" went the gun, and then the dogs rushed by in a solid pack with
a huge she bear at their heels.
"There are two of them," somebody said, and in a moment everything was
in the wildest confusion.
"Man alive! don't you see that wounded grizzly rolling in the grass.
He is not badly hurt, but he will be after you in a second. Give him
another dose, and run," said the leader excitedly, to the new hunter
who was standing stock still and gazing around him helplessly. He did
not seem to hear what was said, and before he recovered from his
paralyzing fright, the bear grabbed him.
"Help! help! help! For God's sake come here! I am being killed!" he
screamed.
"Lie perfectly still and pretend you are dead," said the leader. "Make
no sound when I shoot, and crawl behind that big rock as soon as you
get up."
The knowing dogs barked and raged around the bear until he could not
tear the prostrate man. They kept him turning round and round, and the
daring hunter coolly waited until his head was away from the wounded
man's, and then he shot him through the fore leg. Down he fell and
kicked and scratched the fallen hunter, but true to his instinct got
up and gave chase to the leader, with the dogs in full cry behind him.
The wounded man managed to reach the rock, and by scrambling up on its
jagged sides was comparatively safe. From his height he could see what
the other men were doing.
"I am all right," called the leader from a neighboring tree, "but how
is it with you?"
"My powder-horn is crushed and broken and my arm is bitten through.
There is blood running down my face too, but I think that is only
scratches."
"Bang!" went a gun near by, and turning to look both men saw one of
the party standing up in the saddle, on the horse brought along to
carry the game.
"Get out of that thicket! You will be killed if you try to stay
there," shouted the leader.
"My only chance is to shoot as I stand," answered the man, busy
loading his gun. "I can not make this horse move. But for the Mexican
stiff-bit in his mouth and a vigorous use of my big spurs he would lie
down with me."
"I am coming to help you," said the leader, sliding down the limb of
the tree to the ground. "I will ham-string the grizzly and then you
can finish him."
He was an excellent shot, and soon the bear was dragging his hind
quarters and showing signs of weakness from loss of blood. The man in
the saddle deliberately aimed at his heart, and after a few convulsive
struggles the grizzly lay dead.
The barking of the dogs and the reports of the guns brought the whole
party together, and after bandaging the wounds of their companion, and
sending him home on the horse the remaining men went in search of the
she bear. They had wounded her and it was not hard to track her to a
small stream, where they found her sitting on her haunches and
groaning like a human being.
"That sounds too much like a woman's moans," said the men, "and we
will slip away without being seen and let her alone."
As they walked home they took turns in carrying the skin of the
grizzly they had killed.
"He would weigh two thousand pounds and could jump fully twenty feet,"
they said.
[Illustration: "A PRAIRIE-SCHOONER"]
The New El Dorado
One day long after the gold excitement in California had subsided, a
strange craft sailed into San Francisco bay flying a flag different
from any other ship in the harbor. It was a yellow satin banner
showing the imperial double eagles of the Russian Czar, and the guns
at the forts fired a royal salute as the vessel passed by on its way
to the wharf. On board was a man empowered by the Czar to sell Alaska
to the United States, and waiting on shore to greet him was a Senator
who was appointed to make an offer for the territory.
"You are very welcome, my friend," said the Senator, grasping the hand
of the Diplomat, as he came ashore. "Your arrival gives my countrymen
much pleasure, and I earnestly hope that we may be able to make the
ties of friendship between your people and mine very much stronger."
"His Majesty, the Czar, charged me to make plain to you his sentiments
of good will and his desire to render your government a service."
The two men pushed their way through the crowd and were soon being
driven rapidly toward the Senator's residence. After dinner that
evening, while sitting by the fire the Diplomat said:
"Do you know the Russian story of the discovery of Alaska, the Great
Land, as we called it?"
"No," replied the Senator, "I do not. I only know that it was a
curious freak of fortune that your people should be the ones to
discover the fabled 'Straits of Anian' so long sought by the
Spaniards, Portuguese and English navigators. Bering's Sea is very far
from India, but it is the famous northwest passage, that separates
Asia from America." The Diplomat said:
"While Europe was exploring and settling the Americas my countrymen
were throwing off the yoke that made them subjects of the Khans of
Tartary. Even at that time we had a great caravan trade with China and
Persia, but our merchants suffered severely from the depredations of
the Cossack freebooters roaming over the steppes of Siberia. These
reckless horsemen would charge down on a caravan and rob it of all its
silks, spices, teas and perfumes."
"Then you can sympathize with the galleons of Spain that were harassed
by the buccaneers and pirates infesting the high seas ready to scuttle
and sink any ship that fell into their hands," said the Senator,
greatly interested.
"Our merchants had no redress and they complained bitterly to Peter
the Great, who immediately undertook to chastise the unruly Cossacks.
They fled into Siberia, and it was not long before they found rich
silver mines on the Amoor river, and began to traffic in the ivory and
sable skins which make that vicinity notable. As they advanced toward
the Pacific Ocean they were able to slaughter herds of musk oxen, and
before many years the fame of the ivory deposits brought hundreds of
adventurers into that barren region. Diligent inquiry among the
natives disclosed the fact that there was a Great Land toward the
North Pole where remains of the hairy elephant were plentiful, and its
beautiful tusks were heaped up in huge mounds."
"It was a desire for gold that brought the first white men to
California," said the Senator, "and the building of the railroad
across the continent is the result of having found it."
"Ivory and furs were the lure that nerved the Russian freebooter to
brave the frozen sea and six months of night," said the Diplomat.
"They went to sea in open boats made of planks tied together with
rawhide straps and thongs. Their sails were of soft dressed reindeer
skins, and in place of rope they used elk skin strips. The anchors
were pieces of wood weighted with stones. They had no beds, and
carried a wooden plate and spoon tied to the sash around their
waists."
"They must have suffered very much from cold and hunger," said the
Senator.
"They did; and many of them died with scurvy. They were greatly
hindered by glaciers and icebergs, and would never have been able to
make the journey at all except for the sleds and dogs furnished by the
natives."
"Were the Eskimos and Aleuts always friendly?" asked the Senator. The
Diplomat hesitated for a moment, then said with a smile:
"The freebooters found it necessary to fight after they had once
ill-treated the natives. At first the white men were supposed to be
superior beings, but they proved themselves unworthy of confidence and
then there was serious trouble."
"We have had a somewhat similar experience in dealing with the Indians
in this country," replied the Senator.
"In one of the numerous attempts made by the freebooters to reach the
Great Land, they fell in with some Japanese castaways who claimed to
have found gold and silver there in abundance. When this was reported
to Peter the Great he organized a scientific and military expedition
under Bering to find Alaska, with the hope that it would lead to
commercial relations with America and Japan."
"It seems a hard fate that Bering should die of scurvy in the winter
when all was dark as night and exceedingly cold," said the Senator.
"Yes," answered the Diplomat, "especially after he had survived the
six weary years of hardship and toil necessary to march across
Siberia. It is possible that he would have failed at last had he not
noted the flight of the land birds and known that there must be a
shore-line not far away."
"Did he or his family profit by the discoveries he made?"
"Very little. It has been the fate of all the Russian explorers in
America to die poor," responded the Diplomat. "It has cost my
government vast sums of money and more than two hundred years have
elapsed since the first efforts were made. We have profited greatly by
the seal fisheries and so will your people when once Alaska becomes a
territory of the United States."
"It has always been a puzzle to me why the Czar recalled the Russian
colonists living in peace and prosperity in California under Spanish
rule," said the Senator, after a pause.
"It was because he wished to maintain friendly relations with the
United States and he was far-sighted enough to see that California
would some day come under the American flag. It is to increase that
feeling that he now offers to sell Alaska to you. He does not wish to
have any possessions on this continent. The destiny of Russia lies in
another direction."
Both the Senator and Diplomat went to see the President and it was not
very long until the purchase was made. When the Senator came back from
Washington he said:
"We have paid exactly two cents an acre for Alaska, and its seal
fisheries are well worth that amount. We will not have to fight for
its possession, and I am certain that we have made a good bargain."
Since then many men have sailed into the northern waters and come back
with cargoes of whale oil, or seal skins or canned salmon, but no one
paid any particular attention to them. A party of scientific men
explored the Yukon river which is as long and as wide as the
Mississippi and made the ascent of Mount St. Elias, one of the
loftiest peaks in North America, but nobody was interested in Alaska
except as a place where the sun shines for six months and then leaves
the whole country in partial darkness for another six months.
Imagine the sun apparently traveling around in a little circle all the
time. There are no sunrises and no sunsets, and no need of lights at
night. Then when it goes down, lamps or candles must be burned all the
time. When the extreme cold comes the aurora borealis sends out
splendid rays of many colored lights to burnish up the vault of heaven
and make a grand electrical display.
The Eskimos are a dwarfed race of men and women with flat noses, and
eyes wide apart, and they dress themselves in heavy furs with the hair
turned next to the body. They live on fish and whale blubber, and are
experts in throwing a spear or managing a skin canoe. In front of
their homes they have curious totem poles to show what tribes they
belong to, and they are quite ingenious in weaving fish-nets, baskets,
and in the carving of silver and ivory.
For many years no news came from Alaska, except by ship, and on a
warm, sunny day in autumn not long ago, some sailors set up the cry:
"Gold has been found in Alaska! It is the new El Dorado! It is richer
than California!"
At first people did not believe them, but when the experts passed upon
the findings everybody said:
"Let us go to the Klondike! We can get rich in a few months."
The excitement was so great that it did no good to point out the
hardships and dangers of such an undertaking.
"We will take the chances of freezing," they said, carelessly. "We can
walk over the mountain passes and we do not care about the
discomforts."
"But only a few can find the gold. It was the same in California. Not
one in a thousand can possibly bring away as much gold as he takes
with him to live on, for food will be very scarce and high priced,"
urged the prudent ones.
"You will freeze," said others, "or will die with scurvy, or be eaten
by those terrible white polar bears and wolves."
"No matter what you say to us we are going," was the reply, and every
ship that could be found was loaded with eager men, and some
venturesome women bent upon wresting the gold from the frozen north.
Many of them had never seen an iceberg or a glacier, and had no idea
what misery awaited them.
"Write us as soon as you can," said the wives and mothers tearfully,
as they stood on the wharf in some seaport of the Pacific saying good
by to some loved one, going to seek a fortune.
"It will be six months before this ship can return," said the captain
of one of the first ships that carried gold seekers to Alaska in
answer to an anxious inquiry as to how long it will be before the
promised letters could arrive.
"Why will you be so long?" asks some little boy or girl whose heart is
sad at parting with their beloved father.
"Because the great ice-floes will close in on our vessel and we will
not be able to move until the weather moderates."
"Then will you bring my father back to me?" asks the simple child.
"I hope so, my dear," and then the kindly face of the captain looks
serious and he mutters to himself, "God forbid that it should be a
grave instead of a fortune that awaits this child's father."
The first season many a brave man sailed away, full of hope and
expectancy, but the next year returned haggard, worn and in some
instances a hopeless invalid.
"What do you think of the gold fields of Alaska?" asks his old friends
as they shake his hand.
"It is a place to suffer and grow old in; a place to lose the earnings
of a lifetime, and your health with them. In the long, dreary, dark
nights the stoutest heart loses courage, and next to longing for home
is the longing for death."
If he were one of the fortunate few who found the grains of free gold
deposited in the frozen sands, he had a sobered, prematurely old look
and said:
"Yes, I have made money in the gold fields of Alaska, but I hope I may
never be obliged to go back and live in the mines."
Strewn along the trail and over the Chilkoot Pass are the bleaching
bones of those who sacrificed their lives in the effort to reach the
new El Dorado. The simple Eskimos looked on in wonder at the frantic
energy of their white brothers, and were content in their own
security.
The Ice Queen is their guardian and she punishes those who venture
into her frigid realm to unearth and carry away the hidden treasures.
In Alaska, as everywhere else, one must work hard and build up the
country instead of robbing it, if money is really to be made. The late
comers have already learned this lesson, by experience, and are
beginning to build railroads, good houses, schools and churches in the
warmest and most fertile part of the country surrounding the seaports.
And we know at last that El Dorado exists solely in the hearts and
minds of men, and not in the everlasting snows of Alaska.
[Illustration]
APPENDIX
The following is a partial list of the books consulted by the author
in the preparation of the "Stories of El Dorado."
Aubrey, Frank The Devil Tree of El Dorado.
Baldwin, J. D. Ancient America.
Bandelier, A. F. The Gilded Man.
Bancroft, H. H. History of the Central American States.
Bancroft, H. H. History of California.
Bancroft, H. H. History of Alaska.
Bancroft, H. H. Native Races, Vols. III and V.
Brinton, D. G. Myths of the New World.
Brinton, D. G. American Hero-Myths.
Donnelly, Ignatius Atlantis.
Harrison, Elizabeth Story of Christopher Columbus.
Heuvel, J. A. Von El Dorado, a narrative of a rich and
splendid city in South America.
Higginson, T. W. Tales of the Enchanted Island of the
Atlantic.
Hittell, T. H. History of California.
Hood, Margaret G. Tales of Discovery on the Pacific Slope.
Longfellow, H. W. The Song of Hiawatha.
Markham, C. R. History of Peru.
Payne, E. J. History of the New World called
America.
Prescott, W. H. History of the Conquest of Mexico.
Prescott, W. H. History of the Conquest of Peru.
Plongeon, A. Le Sacred Mysteries of the Mayas and
Quiches.
Plongeon, A. Le Queen Moo.
Stephens, J. L. Incidents of Travel in Central America.
Stephens, J. L. Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, 2 Vols.
Simon, Pedro Expeditions in search of El Dorado and
Omagua.
Schoolcraft, H. R. The Myth of Hiawatha.
Wallace, Gen. Lew The Fair God.
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
On page 44, "there was not a surely man in the moon" might be a
typographical error.
On page 68, "as if he were going to a picnic" should possibly be
"as if she were going to a picnic".