Ch 13, Pt 1, "Ketcheeteneh Birch and Johnny Gakona," -- 1916

Chapter 13, Pt 1: "Ketcheeteneh Birch and Johnny Gakona" - 1916

click on picture for larger image: some of these images appear in the book for this chapter.

Kennecott Special No. 74 announced its arrival into Chitina, CRNW mile 131, as all the CRNW trains did, with a series of whistle blasts as it passed Eskilida Creek at mile 127. The sounds reverberated all the way to the Copper River trestle crossing--a mile beyond Chitina. The private train consisted of the Kennecott and combine no. 52, but no caboose.  The engine heading this private consist was either #101 or #102, an 80 ton mogul 2-6-0.  These were the newest engines the CRNW had in this year. The next year the first of the 95-ton 70-series engines arrived. Nos. 70, 71 & 72 were built in 1915. Nos 73 & 74 were built in 1917.   Lt. Mears' private train at the Chitina depot, Sept,1914  --UAF, F.C. Mears, 84-75-408 “Shee-ya, did you hear that? It’s a different one.” The younger billiards player walked outside the no-name billiards hall and faced the direction of the north-bound train. He caught the distant sound of a second series of whistles from the large engine. “They must have a new ket-chee-ten-eh . I’ve never heard that whistle song before. Sounds like one of the new seventy-series, but its not any of the four that I know. Must be another new one.” The old man stepped outside onto the wooden boardwalk, still holding his cue stick, but he could hear nothing. “Tsuuye, you have good ears if you can tell the difference between the whistles. I hear nothing at all. If they have another new ket-chee-ten-eh, they must think they’re staying here. What’s that word, Tsuuye? You’re the school boy.” “Optimistic? How could they not be, Shee-ya? They’re running long ore trains full of tsedi past Chittyna almost every day. The newspapers told of the big Jumbo discovery last year, and this is supposed to be the best year yet.” “Don’t fall into the same snare in which the white man traps himself, Tsuuye. One day the tsedi will be gone. They act like the tsedi will always be here, but that’s foolishness. The tsedi will end, then they will leave, and they will take their ket-chee-ten-eh thloo-da-kee with them when they go.” The teenager followed the older man back into the billiards hall. Engine #74, one of the five 95-ton 2-8-2 series engines used by the CRNW primarily for the ore trains, at Kennecott.   --AK Hst Soc Coll #84-48-27, UAF AK & Polar Regions Dept “I sure hope they don’t,” he said under his breath. “I love those ket-chee-ten-eh.” Kennecott Special No. 74 announced its arrival into Chitina, CRNW mile 131, as all the CRNW trains did, with a series of whistle blasts as it passed Eskilida Creek at mile 127. The sounds reverberated all the way to the Copper River trestle crossing--a mile beyond Chitina. The private train consisted of the Kennecott and combine no. 52, but no caboose. A trailing car would have blocked the view from the observation deck. The whistle blasted again as Engine No. 74 approached O’Brien Creek trestle, which marked the southern approach into Chitina at mile 129. It was a typical summer day for Chitina. The temperatures by mid-afternoon had reached the upper seventies. Only occasional breezes came from upriver and also from the upper reaches of the Chugach Range. The town was built along the northeast toe of the mountains which ran along the west bank of the Copper River. With the late afternoon the shadows were just beginning to overtake the small wilderness town within its rocky basin surroundings. "Birds eye view of Chitina," 1927, showing the billiards hall--the long, light-colored single-story structure on the right across Main Street from those larger structures on the left.  --Fred Machetanz collection, #73-75-86, UAF AK & Polar Regions Dept. The large, shiny, new Mikado engine screeched to a  stop just north of the Chitina terminal.   A small party of greeters in dress suitable for downtown Seattle stood on the wide wooden platform in front of the depot waiting the arrival of the Birch honeymoon party. When the train reached a full stop, the party of four couples and two single men stepped off the rear of the train. They paused to view the steep hills which tower around the town. Chitina had only only two natural approaches One was the north-bound rail approach, while the other was the north exit which was the Edgerton Road to the Richardson Trail. The north railway exit was a tunnel driven through the low-lying shale ridge above which sat over over a dozen cabins known collectively as Chitina Heights. Beyond the tunnel the railbed descended a hundred feet to meet the 900-foot Copper River trestle one mile north of the depot. F.A. Hansen's private railcar somewhere near Chitina   --W.A. RIchelsen files The track south of Chitina approached the town just to the west of Spirit Rock, the 600-foot tall hill which dominated the southern view of Chitina, directly across Town Lake. The periphery of Town Lake became the turn-around, making it possible by 1915 simultaneously run two trains headed in different directions. The north-bound Mainline, also known as the Cordova Local, ran the 131 miles from the Cordova wharf to Chitina. The Chitina Local branch line was the mining branch extension from CRNW mile 131 to Kennecott. Only with two trains on the line concurrently was it possible to maintain daily service when the Jumbo aerial tram opened in 1915, more than doubling the Kennecott mill production. While the foothills to the north blocked Chitina’s view of the Wrangells, to the south, Spirit Mountain loomed above all else, jutting ominously above Spirit Rock, presenting a magnificently wild and primordial, if not spiritual appearance. Spirit Rock, Town Lake, and part of downtown Chitina during the 1920s and 30s. The Hotel Chitina is the large building near the center.  --Candy Waugaman Collection After taking in the stunning scenery around Chitina, the group standing on the wide platform began the brief walk to the first-class Hotel Chitina. One man clearly stood out from the others. He was accompanied by a much younger elegantly dressed woman, who appeared uncomfortably out of place in the primitive, dusty northern frontier town. Only the well-placed wooden walkways prevented the party from walking through streets which had turned rough with mud puddles. F.A. Hansen, the CRNW superintendent, along with his wife, had accompanied the arriving guests. The more prominent man walking beside Hansen had traveled through Chitina once every year since the railroad established the town in 1910, yet his face was familiar to only a select few. The two Indians had stepped back outside to observe the unusual scene. They stood alone in front of the billiards hall and card room silently observing the entire procession. The younger and taller one was the young half-breed . At only seventeen, he towered over all the other Natives, having already grown to a full six-foot-one. He was of a slender and wiry build. His long, straight, black hair was held in place with a bandanna headband. Due to his mixed background, half Athabascan and half Polish, Johnny was not only the tallest, but arguably one of the more attractive Native males in the area. He had many female followers, both Native and white. Sometimes with good looks and physical prowess comes arrogance. Johnny was hardly immune from the weakness, but certain members of his family, especially his mother Helen and his sister Violet, were more than willing to step in on occasion to remind Johnny that he was still just another mortal like the rest of them Google-Earth view of the Chitina area, Uranatina to Kotsina (old Tonshahti village). Continue with part 2, "Ketcheeteneh Birch & Johnny Gakona,"