Ch 10, Pt 5: "Abercrombie Rapids Landing"

 

Abercrombie Rapids Landing: conclusion   Abercrombie Rapids snowshed under construction in 1914: Above and below:  Constructing a snowshed --John R. Van Cleve Collection Now I was sensing the vibration of the approaching train. This always  preceded the metallic roar of the heavy iron wheels rumbling down the  steel rails. Then I heard the familiar sound of the whistle  warning of the train’s approach into this coaling and watering stop--the first point where the railroad left the coastal river delta and entered the interior.    I had heard the same sound of the various locomotive steam whistles many times in the last few years. It had become a part of my life. The railroad brought the whole world to Chitina every time another engine chugged in from Cordova.  All of us at Chitina, Native and white alike, looked forward to its coming. The train had become a part of my being. It was undoubtedly the most thrilling   sound I knew because it always brought something new to our town.   A CRNW mogul heads a consist at Flag Point, CRNW mile 27.   --AMHA, B62.1.1472 Now came that familiar blinding light which was mounted on the top front of the locomotive as it approached the most distant snowshed. The vibrations on   the track were increasing in intensity. Then I picked up the first sound of   metal-to-metal and the steam sounds which would soon override the  loud roar of the Copper River passing over the rocks of Abercrombie Rapids.  We had brought tea and rice with us from Chittyna. The thloo-ka had cooked  nicely on the wood fire, despite the constant winds which made it difficult to start and keep a cooking fire going . As Charlie dished up for both of us, the work train approached the long low trestle. We were camped just at the end of it. The engine was almost on top of us as it slowed down in anticipation of reaching its final destination for the evening, which was a siding by the large cannery that had been built at the landing to exploit all those salmon coming upstream.  I was very concerned that the cannery would may take too many of our thloo-ka from the river. It had already happened before when the huge fish-traps in the Copper River delta kept salmon from coming up in the winter of 1899. That was the year the whole village nearly starved. I hoped this would never happen again, but I worried when I saw such a large cannery  building sitting there at the landing at the head of the narrow canyon. The cannery at CRNW mile 55.  --UAF, B.Bragaw Collection, album 2, #85-108-175 The roar of the approaching train began to override that of the rapids as it bore down on us from across the long trestle. The bright lights of the forward lantern finally revealed our campsite to the engineer, nearly blinding us. The sound continued to intensify, completely drowning out our own voices as the enormous engine number 21 and its complement of wooden box cars and flat cars screeched past us. The  brakes were already being applied as it approached its destination. Soon all would be silent, except for the constant sound of the roaring rapids and the howling of the winds which never stopped blowing through the narrow canyon. Brother and I would sleep well tonight now that the train had passed and all was back to normal. We finished our meal of fresh fish and rice, had a last cup of Lipton’s tea, and turned in under  cover of our small tent, which I had secured under the trestle abutment   where it was protected from the wailing winds which would blow down through  the canyon that evening while we slept underneath the trestle in complete  peace and a sense of goodness in the wonderful world which was ours.  For us sla'cheen, tomorrow would be another adventure. Continue with Chapter 11, "Mary Storms into Alaska"