“Your move, Johnny.” Cap set his stick down and moved over to one of the large, south-facing windows. The thermometer showed no mercury. “It’s been showing colder than forty-below for over a week now. Probably closer to sixty-below. We should be up on the hill in the cabin where it’s warmer.” “But boring. Need to get out of there once in a while.” It was dark outside, but the clear skies allowed a full moon to bathe the small cluster of frontier style buildings in an eerie glow. It was still and silent. At the railroad yard was a fully loaded ore train waiting for the locomotive to be pulled out of the shop so the load could be run to the Alaska Steamship wharf just beyond Cordova. The lights in the depot building were off but the locomotive repair barn lights were running as usual. Mikado No. 73 was pulled inside for some type of repair before continuing south. The Siberian lifted himself up to look out the window as well, but seeing nothing of interest, padded over to the billiards table. The air near the glass pane was uncomfortably cold. The edges of the glass had iced and frosted toward the center. Frost had formed around the door, making it difficult to close. Cap was keeping the fire in the pot-belly stove going. He had brought in a large load of wood for Smitty when the weather was much warmer. He opened the door and shoved another eighteen-inch log into the hole, then slammed the iron door shut. The pile was diminishing rapidly. Johnny made his shot, took a shot of whiskey and positioned himself for a follow-up. “When are you returning to your trap line, Cap?” “I’m not going anywhere until this cold spell lifts. I’m staying with you up there in the warm cabin we built for Shee-ya. Too cold and dangerous to be out there away from a fire. When it warms up I’ll pick up some supplies on Dad’s credit at the Cash Store. Credit at the Cash Store. Sounds strange, doesn’t it?”
“It’s just how we have to live, Cap. Ever since the white man brought his first trading post he brought us credit. What can you do when you can only get cash a few months out of a year?” “Live off the land ?” “That’s funny, Cap. But you know how it really is around here. Right. Live off the land. Good one.” “Dad still does.” “But you bring him goods from the Cash Store on credit.” “Oh, yes. You got me there, Sla’cheen.” “He’s not out on his trap line up the Tonsina, is he?” “Dad? He has more sense than that. He seems to know when the weather is about to turn cold. He always returns home until it breaks. Said he spent too much time out in it when he was a kid. “How is your trap-line going, Johnny? I haven’t taken as many pelts as last year, and that was less than the year before.” “It’s been the same up the Kotsina . I’m beginning to think we’ve trapped out this whole area. We may have to look to moving or extending the trap-lines.” “Oh, I don’t know, Johnny. It has always been up and down. Dad is getting too old to change, and he relies on me to keep it alive. We seem to be in the right area. The lynx and fox travel through, all right. So do the wolves. There just aren’t as many of them right now.” “Do you think it’s improved any down by Taral since we moved away?” “Maybe, but that’s spirit country over there. Dad doesn’t want to go back. Says it’s engii. Too many kay-yee-geh there. Maybe even Chaw-glith-tah-he himself.” “The devil? He really believes that ?” “They made bad medicine over there. Remember the Saghanni Ggaay. They only appeared after the curse of Nicolai. The ravens were always there with Nicolai when he lived alone. It’s best not to disturb what is there. We should never go back. Dad says some of us may return there as spirits. He says Nicolai is over there. Nicolai will never rest.” “I guess I should have asked if you really believe that, Cap.” “You don’t ? You will live to believe it, Sla’cheen.”
Johnny missed his shot and sat down on the bench by the window. He turned around and looked out toward the cold bright moon. “Speaking of kay-yee-geh, there’s Spirit Rock over there, with Spirit Mountain behind it, looking just as ghostly as anything I can imagine. This is strange country we live in, Cap. “But back to the business. Maybe it’s just that I’m not as interested in trapping as I used to be. Brother Charlie is still there to help, so we keep it alive, but I was really let down when Rose told me she did not want to leave McCarthy to come here. She says this place is too primitive.” “Maybe that should tell you something, Johnny.” “I notice you tend to call me Johnny whenever I mention Rose, but otherwise I’m Sla’cheen. I suppose that should tell me something.” “Rose would take you away from us forever. I don’t want that. If you want to be with her, you will have to give up Chitina and the rest of us, too. Then what happens when the mine runs out? Do you really think there will be a McCarthy after that? You know what will happen. What always happens? The white men take their precious metals and they run. All those gold rush towns from twenty-five years ago that were all over the territory--how many would you say are still real towns, Johnny? There aren’t many left now. McCarthy won’t last either. It will become history just like most of those others.” “But Cap, McCarthy is not a gold rush town. Yes, it serves May Creek and Chititu and Dan Creek, Chisana and that area, but it’s there because of Kennecott. And Kennecott is there to stay. Look at that ore train out on the tracks. It’s loaded fully, just as it has been for years. There will be one tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.” “Yes, Johnny, it makes you wonder about that deal grandfather made. But it can’t keep going on like this. I know everything up there looks like it will be there forever, but I can sense that it’s nearing its end. The people there just don’t know it yet.” Johnny stared at Cap for awhile, contemplating Cap’s words. He sat down on the bench near the window. Then he jumped back up. It was too cold close to the window. He moved over to the stove and shoved in another stick of wood. He pulled up a wooden captain’s chair and sat down right in front of the fire. |
07 February 2011
Chapter 33: "Billiard Hall Conversation," Pt 1
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