AN UNPLEASANT ADVENTURE.
When Sunday comes, Jennie and I always wear our best clothes, neither
sewing, studying, nor doing any work, but we read Bible stories, learn
verses, look at pictures, and keep the big music box going a good share
of the time. Sometimes if it is bright and warm, I take the two children
out for a ride, and Jennie likes to call upon her grandmother.
The long front porch of the hotel has been opened again, the sides
having been taken off, and the ice and snow cut away from the steps, so
the little ones often play upon the porch in the sun for an hour or two.
There are now a number of little puppies to be fed and brought up, some
of them of pure Eskimo breed, and Charlie likes to frolic with them by
the hour. They are very cunning, especially when Mollie puts a little
harness which she has made upon each one, making them pull the sticks of
wood she fastens behind in order to teach them to haul a load. Mollie is
frequently gone for two days hunting, and if she does not find what she
looks for the first day she sleeps upon her sled a few hours rolled in
her furs, then rises and "mushes" on again.
Far and near she is known and respected, and the name of "Mollie" in
this country is the synonym of all that is brave, true and womanly;
hunting and trapping being for an Eskimo woman some of the most
legitimate of pursuits. The name of Angahsheock, which means a leader of
women in her native tongue, was given her by her parents, as those who
know her acknowledge.
In severe contrast to the character of Mollie is Polly, who has
developed an insane jealousy of me on the children's account, and who
never loses an opportunity to annoy and insult me, much to my surprise.
One day she will hide my books, pour soup over my dress in the kitchen,
slam the door in my face, and make jeering remarks in Eskimo, causing
the native boys to giggle; and worst of all, telling Charlie in her
language that I will kill and eat him, thus making him scream when I
attempt to wash or dress him.
However, there is another and principal reason for her ill treatment of
me, which is far reaching, for Polly and Sim are cronies, and the girl
does what he tells her to do, and that is to torment me as much as
possible.
For these reasons and others I decided some time ago to carry my meals
into the living room on a tray when I give the children theirs;
especially when Mollie is away, and the rough element does not feel the
restraint of her presence at table. There are no other white women in
the house, unless, perhaps, one comes in from the trail with the men for
a day, and these are, as a rule, not the kind of women to inspire the
respect of any one. So I spread Charlie's and my food upon a small
table, and Jennie's on her own tray, for after each little outing she is
strapped and weighted down in bed as before, and we would be very happy
if it were not for Polly, Sim, and a few other "toughs" in the hotel and
vicinity.
Each day I manage, when Jennie is busy with Apuk's baby, O Duk Dok, the
deaf girl, grandmother, and her other numerous Eskimo friends, to slip
away and run out for a little fresh air, and into the Mission for a few
minutes. Then I sit down at the organ for a while, or hear of those
coming and going on the trails, perhaps climbing the hill behind the
Mission for more exercise before going back to Jennie.
The first week in April has been pleasant, and sunny for the most of the
time, but last night the eighth of the month, the thermometer, with a
high wind, fell to thirty degrees below zero, and froze ice two inches
thick in my room upstairs.
Mr. L. and B. have returned from their Koyuk trip, having staked one
creek upon which they found colors, and which they were informed by
natives was a gold bearing creek. Their supply of grub would not allow
them to remain longer. They have staked a claim for me, with the
others. Number Fourteen, above Discovery, is mine, but they do not give
out the name of the creek until they have been up there and staked
another stream near the first one. When I get my papers recorded I shall
feel quite proud of this, my best claim, perhaps, so far; and I am
thankful and quite happy, except for the disagreeable features of hotel
life, which I am always hoping will be soon changed. So long, however,
as the deadly liquor is sold in almost every store and cabin, the cause
of disturbances will remain, and men's active brains, continually fired
with poison as they are, will concoct schemes diabolical enough to shame
a Mephistopheles.
Today, after due deliberation regarding the matter, I asked B., on the
aside, if he would lend me a revolver. He gave me a quick and searching
look.
"Do you want it loaded?" he asked.
"Yes, please, and I will call after supper for it," said I, in a low
tone, while going out the door.
Early this morning, putting on my furs and carrying a small shoe box
under my arm, I ran over to the Mission. In the hall I was met by B., to
whom I handed the box. He took it quietly and went directly to his room,
reappearing in a moment and handing it back to me, saying significantly
as he did so: "Three doses of that are better than one, if any are
needed," which remark I understood without further explanation.
I have brought the box to my room and have placed it under the head of
my cot upon the floor, where, in case of emergency, it may be of
service. It is not a pretty plaything, and will not be used as such by
me, but I shall feel safer to know it is near at hand.
Little did I know when I selected my room the day Mollie brought me
upstairs that on the other side of the board partition slept the man who
had killed another in the early winter; and, though the murderer has so
far never molested me in any way, still he sometimes gets what they call
"crazy drunk," and is as liable to kill some other as he was to kill the
first; then, too, thin board walls have ears, and I have heard the
mutterings and threats of these wretches for a number of weeks.
I have been exceedingly sorry for a month past to see the preparations
my friends, the Swedish women in the Mission, are making to go to Nome,
and now they expect to start tomorrow. They must be in town to put
everything in readiness for the opening of the "Star" when the first
steamers arrive from the outside. The weather is bright and pretty cold
today, making the trails good, but in a thaw they are bad and are now
liable to break up at any time. Quite a party will go to Nome, Mr. L.,
M. and others, and they will travel with dogs. I dread to see my Swedish
friends, the only white women in this camp with whom I can be friendly,
leave Chinik, for I shall then be more alone than ever. If this
tiresome ice in the bay would only move out so the boats could get in,
we should have others, but there is no telling when that will be. Many
are now betting on the breaking up of the ice, and all hope it will be
very soon.
May second: My Swedish friends left very early today for Nome, and only
Miss L. from the Home is there, sweeping out the place; but B. and the
visiting preacher will go with her to the Home today, closing the
hospitable doors of the Mission for a time. This evening they held a
meeting for the natives in camp, and I attended, but it seemed like a
funeral without the friends now "mushing" on the Nome trail.
A woman has come to live at Mellie's, and is a study in beaver coat,
dyed brown hair (which should be grey, according to her age), and with,
it is reported, a bank account of one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars, after having lived in Alaska nearly five years. She is called a
good "stampeder," has a pleasant, smiling face, but is usually
designated "notorious."
May tenth: Mollie went out early with Muky, her dog-team and guns, to
escort Ageetuk, Alice and Punni Churah, with their mother, who is
Mollie's aunt, to their new hunting camp in the mountains. At seven in
the evening Mollie returned with wet feet. Tomorrow she will take a net,
and some other things they have forgotten. They have gone to take their
annual spring vacation and hunt grey squirrels for a month, living in a
hut in the meantime. The weather is warm and springlike.
May thirteenth: The captain has been obliged to go to Nome on business,
weak and ill though he is, and has been for months. It did not seem to
me that he could live through the winter, and he is far too weak to take
this long trip over the trail, but he says he is obliged to go, and will
return at the earliest possible moment. He has taken Fred, the Russian
boy, and a team of nine dogs, leaving after supper, and intending to
travel night and day, as we now have no darkness.
The dissipated men around camp, idle and drunken most of the time, with
nothing to occupy their attention after the long, tedious winter, still
spend their hours in gossiping, swearing, drinking, and gambling,
knowing no day and no night, but making both hideous to those around
them. As a destroyer of man's self-respect, independence, and dignity,
there is nothing to compare with the accursed liquor. There are numbers
of instances in camp proving the truth of this statement. There is the
English clergyman's tall and handsome son, well educated, musical and of
agreeable manners--fitted to grace the best society, but--liquor is to
blame for his present condition, which is about as low as man can sink.
It is ten in the evening and I am in my little room upstairs, the only
white woman in the camp except Mellie and two like her. Down stairs in
the bar-room the men are singing, first coon songs and then church
hymns, with all the drunken energy they can muster. The crash of broken
glass, angry oaths, and the slamming of doors reaches my ears so
frequently as to cause little surprise, the French cooks in the kitchen
adding their share to the disturbance. In a distant part of the hotel
lies the little sick girl, her cot rolled each night close to the
bedside of her mother, who tries to soothe her in her pain, Mollie and
the wicked little Eskimo servant being the only women besides myself in
the house. The noise and confusion increases down stairs, and I shall
sleep little tonight. I will look at my revolver and see that its
contents have not been removed.
May fifteenth: Here I am alone with the little children, a bad native
girl, and a gang of the worst men in Alaska, Mollie having gone out
hunting. At midnight Sim, Mellie and several others left for a dance at
White Mountain, but it was two o'clock in the morning before the house
was quiet. While I lay perfectly still, and trying to sleep, a man's
stealthy footstep passed my door. He walked in his stocking feet--bare
floors and walls echo the slightest sound, and my ears are keen. Was it
a friend or foe? What was his object? My heart beat with a heavy thud,
but I remembered the loaded revolver under my bed, and thanked God for
it.
After a long time I slept a fitful, uneasy sleep for an hour, and
dressed myself as usual at half-past six o'clock, feeling badly for want
of needed sleep. Afterwards I washed, dressed and fed the children,
amusing and entertaining them in my accustomed way. Ageetuk's house
being closed, little Charlie is kept here all the time, Polly looking
after him nights. A saloon keeper named Fitts, villainous in reality as
well as in looks, is hanging around continually, wearing the blackest of
looks at every one, having been in trouble nearly all winter, and
closing out his saloon a few weeks ago. A big Dutchman, burly as a
blacksmith and well soaked in whiskey, lounges about in blue denim and
skull cap, winking his bleared eyes at Polly and swearing soundly at his
native wife when she steps inside the doors to look after him.
All went well for a while today after Mollie's leaving, Jennie coaxing
to be carried to her grandmother's for a visit, to which I consented,
until Charlie and I sat down to supper, which I had spread, as is my
habit, in the living room. During the day I had turned matters well over
in mind, and decided, with Mollie's advice, to sleep in her bed
alongside of Jennie's cot, and to have grandmother stay with us, locking
the doors of the rooms, as they should be. To my consternation, when I
chanced to look for the keys in the doors, there were none, showing
plainly that they had been removed.
This looked like a trap. There was nothing to do, much as I disliked
it, but to ask for the keys, as I would never spend the night in the
house without them. Soon afterward the steward entered, and I very
calmly and politely asked for the door keys of the two rooms, saying
that I would spend the night with Jennie. With cool insolence he replied
that he would lock them himself.
Again the trap. I made no reply. I saw that he had been drinking--that
he was not himself, and that it was useless to argue with him.
After waiting for an answer, and getting none, the man went out
carelessly, leaving the door ajar behind him. At that moment the supper
bell rang and he, with others, sat down to the table.
"She wants the keys to the doors, she says," drawled the man I had
spoken with regarding them.
"What did ye tell her?" demanded one of the ruffians.
"I told her I would lock the doors myself," said the fellow.
"What does she want of keys? Who is she afraid of? It must be you, Bub;
'tain't me," said one.
"You're a liar!" shouted Bub. "It's the genial dispenser of booze here
beside me she's afraid of."
"I'll see to her after supper, you bet!" shouted an official voice, at
which I shuddered. A general hubbub now ensued; among others I could
distinguish the word "black-snake whip," but I had heard enough.
I was planning as I listened. Leaning forward I kissed the little child
beside me, and said softly, "Eat all your supper, dear, and then go to
Polly. 'Sully' is going to grandma's."
Throwing a light wrap over my head, I ran out of the front door, and
around the west end of the house, careful not to pass the dining-room
windows, where the men would see me, and hastened to grandmother's
cabin, knowing that I should there find Jennie. Grandmother lived alone
except for O Duk Dok, the deaf girl, and they must give me shelter for
the night.
Here I found Jennie quite happy, with her deaf friend sitting on the
edge of the bed beside her, while her grandmother was busy with her
work.
In a few words I explained to the old woman the situation, and I was
made welcome, Jennie being pleased to remain in the cabin all night. I
knew Polly would put Charlie to bed when the time came, and the boy was
safe enough where he was. I did not believe the gang would disturb me in
grandmothers' cabin, but I feared they would loot my room in my absence.
Here Jennie could assist me. I now asked her to have O Duk Dok go out
for the native named Koki, and bring him to me, which she did, the deaf
girl understanding by the motion of the child's lips what was being
said.
O Duk Dok then drew on her parkie, and went out.
"Koki," said I, when the native had entered the room a few minutes
later, and closed the door behind him, "will you go to my room--Number
three--in the hotel, and get some things for me?"
"Yes," was the laconic reply of the man.
"Here is the key of the door. Between the mattresses of the bed you will
find two books, and in the shoe box on the floor there is a revolver.
Bring them to me under your parkie so no one shall see what you have.
Take this little key, lock my trunk and be sure you fasten the door
behind you. You won't forget?"
"All right. I no forget," and Koki grinned, and went out.
He did not forget. In about twenty minutes he returned, bringing the
keys, revolver, and diaries which I had kept hidden for fear the lawless
fellows might find and destroy them.
I now felt much relieved. I did not think the gang would come to the
cabin, but in case they did there was the revolver, and grandmother's
two doors had locks, which if not the very strongest, were better than
none, and I fastened them immediately after Koki's departure.
May eighteenth: The night I slept in grandmother's cabin with Jennie
passed quietly for us. I slept in my clothes and muckluks, an old quilt
and fur parkie on some boards being my bed, though grandmother finally
gave me a double blanket for covering when I asked for it.
It was long past midnight before we slept. The child was restless, and
urged her grandmother to tell her Eskimo stories. O Duk Dok slept
heavily, unconscious of all around her. My own senses were on the alert.
I listened intently to catch every sound, but we were too far away from
the hotel to hear the carousal that I well knew was there in progress.
The mushers from the dance were hourly expected home, and would then add
their part to the midnight orgies. The low droning of the old Eskimo
woman, telling her tales of the Innuits, of the Polar bear, the seal and
the walrus, of the birds, their habits and nestlings; this was the only
sound I heard.
After a time the others slept and I went to the window and looked out.
At my right, only a stone's throw away, was the Mission, its windows and
doors all fastened, and its occupants gone. I felt a heart-sinking
sensation as I thought of the friends who were there lately. Across the
way was the old schoolhouse, in which were the musician, his partner and
the deaf man, who had been bitten by the mad dog. They were within
calling distance, and for that I felt thankful. I had dreaded the night
in the cabin for fear that I should suffer for fresh air, but seeing a
broken pane of glass into which some cloth had been stuffed, I removed
the latter, and allowed the pure air to enter. Of course the place was
scented with seal oil, but grandmother's cabin was comparatively tidy
and clean.
Next morning, when we knew that breakfast was over, we went in a body to
the hotel, grandmother carrying Jennie on her back, according to Eskimo
custom. Some of the men were still sleeping off their dissipation of the
night before. Nothing was said about our remaining away, and the Eskimo
women spent the day with us. Others also came, called quietly in to see
Jennie, and remained to the meals I was glad to give them for their
company.
When six o'clock arrived, and still we saw nothing of Mollie, I felt
anxious. If she did not return it meant another night in the native hut
for us. Eight, nine, ten o'clock--thank God! She had come at last. I
could have hugged her for joy. She had nearly one hundred ptarmigan,
enough to last till the captain came home, and would not leave us again
alone.
Later: The captain returned from Nome, having made the trip of
eighty-five miles and back by dog-team in four days and nights, a very
quick trip indeed. The "toughs" have subsided, and are on their good
behavior for the present, at least, fearing what the captain will say
and do when their last doings are reported, but I understand that most
of them are mortally offended at my remaining at grandmother's, as no
one takes offense so easily as a rogue when his honesty is doubted.