Legacy of the Chief, Chapter 22: "Cap Rescues Johnny at McCarthy - 1924" pt 3, conclusion | ||||||||||||||||||||
click on picture for larger image: some of these images appear in the book for this chapter.
Cap viewed a mountainous panorama which included Fireweed Mountain, Donohoe Peak, the Bonanza Ridge, and Mt. Blackburn. In front was the light-colored loose rock which covered the ice-mound known as Kennicott Glacier. It hovered over the railroad trestle and the small town. To his left was the Mother Lode power plant with its tall single stack. The bridge crossing next to the plant, along with most of the creek, was hidden by the black spruce trees that grew along the bluff just below his camp. He looked directly down on the Row. It was right below his camp. The cabins showed no activity. Beyond the Row stood several rows of taller buildings that made up McCarthy. The entire town was only a few blocks wide. It ended very suddenly at the edge of the vast wilderness of the Wrangells.
The sun was out now, but Cap needed to sleep. The party at the Row cabin had lasted too long. Cap lay down in the thick grass next to the log amidst the fireweed. He dozed off. His tin cup containing the tea fell over. Cap did not awaked again until late. Then he realized was not even under the canvas tent. Light raindrops hit his face. He looked around. The fire pit was some distance away. The fire had worked down to a few hot coals. The clothes were still hanging on the brush, flapping gently to a light breeze. Johnny remained asleep under the canvas, completely oblivious to the world. The dog had moved under the canvas next to Johnny. Cap pulled himself up off the ground so he could view the town. The shadows in the valley below were long and black. He could see lights coming from some of the buildings. The power plant downstream from the Row was a dark, sleeping hulk. Over the constant roar of McCarthy Creek he could hear the hum of several small generators. Then he picked up the faint sounds of a player piano. Cap watched as a two large men staggered out of the Golden holding onto female escorts. They were Rose and Bubbles. He pondered over the events of the last few days. He and Johnny drank and partied with Rose and Bubbles until nothing else mattered while they were waiting for work at the small copper mine near the town. He thought about his people back home. Many had given up everything they had for the bottle. It seemed easier than dealing with the white man’s world--trying to compete under rules which they did not make and did not understand. Cap was tempted to fall back onto the liquor on several occasions, but he did not like what he saw in those who had dropped out, never to return to the sober world. His adventurous spirit was too strong to abandon the world to a bottle. Since he first started working with Johnny at Cascade, the two sla’cheen had proved to be a good team who shared a strong yearning for something beyond Chitina. They were not sure what it was. They just knew they both wanted more out of the world than existed in the village. They had grown up together in Cap’s father’s household. Things always worked out well for the both of them as long as they worked together. They were rivals only in a sporting way. Cap was a boxer and a wrestler. The only one who could stand up to his power and skill was his sla’cheen, Johnny. Johnny was good, but Cap was better. Much better. He boxed and wrestled until he had developed quite a reputation. He wanted to be like the Chief Nicolai of the old days. Everyone had feared Nicolai. He was a small, but deadly man who never lost in a confrontation. He seldom had to fight because of his fearsome wolverine-like reputation. Cap wanted to explore his physical limits. So far, no one could beat him. Johnny was fast, but Cap was deadly. The world of boxing seemed to be the key. Cap was a natural at the sport. He had to travel to Cordova and Valdez to find competition. A promoter at Cordova even wanted to bring him to the states to fight professionally. Cap was still considering it. Johnny was an excellent scrapper and wrestler, but his true strength was in his ability to read and write. He made sure that Cap read. Johnny tutored him and did whatever was necessary to make sure that Cap left school an educated man. Johnny never gave up on Cap. He shamed him, if that’s what it took. He kept bothering him until Cap did his homework. Cap learned well. Grandfather Nicolai wanted them both to be educated. He insisted that the two of them learn everything they could of the white-man ways, while not losing themselves in the white-man world. Johnny had done his part. Cap learned to read and appreciate novels. His math skills were nearly as good, thanks to the tutoring of his sla’cheen. He now felt that he was easily the equal of any of the white men who came to the country to work for the mine or the railroad. It was his education which gave him the confidence he needed--even more so than his renowned boxing skills. Cap was second only to Johnny in both reading and writing when he graduated from school. He owed a great debt to Johnny for taking the time to ensure that Cap succeeded in his school work. Since he met Rose, Johnny had begun to change. It greatly bothered Cap. Johnny was infatuated with Rose. Cap’s inner sense told him that this was a doomed relationship regardless, but Johnny might throw everything away for Rose. Cap had to get Johnny out of McCarthy or Cap would have to return to Chitina alone. He was not about to work in this rugged white man’s world way up this valley without the backup he enjoyed with Johnny. He knew better. Indians got picked off that way. Johnny had the best grasp of white man ways that Cap had ever seen. Cap wanted to see what might be in it for himself, just like Doc Billum who never let ill-feelings about white men get in the way of a good money-making deal, especially if there was a chance of pulling one over on a white man. Johnny’s feelings for Rose threatened all that.
The hollow sound of a distant steam whistle reverberated through the area.
Even Kay-yew-nee wined in reaction to the eerie sound. The skies begin to dark as heavy clouds moved in. The wind picked up. He felt more raindrops hit his face. Cap stood up and moved to the cover of the canvas.
The air was chilly, but felt good. He stood up and walked over to the pot on one of the large flat rocks surrounding the firepit. The pot was still nearly full of water. He stirred the coals, moved the wood around and resurrected the fire. Then he moved the pot containing the Lipton’s tea closer to the heat. Cap pulled his potlatch blanket tighter around himself. The breeze and light rain was making him feel chilly. Finally the water in the pot heated up. He poured a cup of the tea.
Cap laid back, wondering how simple it must have been in the days before the prospectors and even before Lt. Allen. Soon he would be dreaming about his childhood when he was out with his father, the great Chief Goodlataw, on the trap line in the country only a few miles south of McCarthy--the country no longer used by the Indians.
The Siberian Kay-yew-nee kept an uneasy vigil as both young men slept under the canvas tent on the bank overlooking McCarthy. Kay-yew-nee held his post, sitting between his two masters, guarding them from bears and other predators of the night. In the distance he heard that hollow sound again. It mimicked a steam train whistle, but the dog knew the difference. A dog lives not only in an intense world of sounds and smell, but also the world of the spirits. The Siberian moved closer to Cap. Something in the mere presence of this Native who had already learned many of the skills of the sleep-doctors was reassuring. Bears were one thing. Kay-yew-nee could keep them away. The spirits were another. That was Cap’s realm. Cap was the true successor to Nicolai and Goodlataw. Kay-yew-nee knew when he had encountered a spirit. Whatever was out there making that steam whistle sound was a powerful spirit. Cap suddenly shifted, knocking over yet another cup of tea. He seldom moved in his sleep. Kay-yew-nee sensed that Cap had connected in his dreams with the spirits in his world of the sleep-doctors--the spiritual leaders and healers of the Native clans. Johnny opened his eyes and looked at the dog between him and Cap.
“Kay-yew-nee, it’s just the spirit of Nicolai mimicking the white man. Indian spirit power! Native way! Join us! Go to sleep!” Johnny closed his eyes and was instantly asleep again. Kay-yew-nee placed his head on his paws and dozed off, entering the same spirit world as Cap and Johnny. The winds began to pick up, pounding at the canvas, causing it to ripple. Below the bluff even the town had grown silent and much darker. Overhead the skies opened up in a torrent of rainfall as heavy clouds moved in to block whatever light still remained. Under the four-foot high canvas, three peaceful souls shared a common destination as they followed the railroad tracks in the direction of the bright sunshine, working their way to C’eyuuni Nicolai’s spirit-camp. Continue with Chapter 23, "Cap Tells His Story" |
17 November 2010
Ch 22, Pt 3: "Cap Rescues Johnny at McCarthy"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment