Chapter 34: "Strelna Work Crew Sets Up," Pt 2

"In the early days a white man had been given charge of each Native crew. The white bosses never acknowledged the Indians by name, preferring to assign numbers instead. They would count one through twelve. If there were twelve men, no matter which twelve they were, the crew was considered complete. Sometimes the Indians would substitute one of the men for another without telling the white crew boss, but the twelve men whose names were on the payroll were the ones who would get paid. The Indians would replace one of their own if he was sick, or had to be with h is family, or even if he was too drunk to be present. That way the hired Indian would still be paid and would not lose his job. The substitute who replaced the regular would receive other compensation from the Indians themselves. All Natives protected each other in a system they developed from the very earliest of the railroad days."  A work train consist with a pile driver heads toward Chitina from Tiekel. --UAF, Julie Sweeney Collection, 97-139-322 A CRNW Railway piledriver    --Laurie Nyman "Tanas, how far to Strelna ?" "About nine miles, Charles. You boys come with me. We have to grab some wheelbarrows and help the others." "Tanas, I spotted a large moose out there in the brush. Let’s hunt it down for lunch. Let the others run the wheelbarrows. We’d all rather have moose than most anything else." "Charles, now you’re talking. Cap! Johnny! Go with Charles. He says there’s a moose out there. See if you can bring it in. Yes, dead, you half-white jackass! Butcher it up and give it to the cook. Maybe we can have it in time for a late dinner." "Beats working the wheelbarrows and hefting 450 pounds of rails." "The company’s going to pay for the food one way or the other. Get out there and bring it in!" The three skeel’eh needed no further encouragement. Each grabbed a thirty-thirty rifle and headed north through the heavy brush. It wasn’t long before Tanas heard three shots. One bullet each. Guess they weren’t taking any chances. Moose meat! The crew’ll be happy tonight. Good thing. I’d hate to have to explain to the rest of ‘em why they’re working so hard while those three bumpkins are beating the bushes. Several hours later, the crew finished removing sixty feet of rail, and hauling in the gravel fill. The skeel’eh were quick to skin and butcher the large horned animal. In the meantime, the rest of the crew arrived on No. 22. In the rear of the consist was the familiar Baldwin pusher. Johnny and Cap walked the long distance to the front of No. 100 to uncouple it from the second consist. Having been freed for a second time, the old engine once again headed down hil in reverse for its slow return trip to the maintenance shop at Chitina. After the crew had dumped about a hundred yards of gravel on the low spot, Tanas finally called the work to a halt. "We’ve done it. That’s good enough. It’s time to put the track back in place. Food break first. The cook says it’s chicken soup and beans for lunch, but it’ll be fresh moose stew for dinner." Above: Indian hunter;   Below: Hunting party / work train crew on the CRNW right-of-way  --Laurie Nyman The cheers from the crew confirmed Tanas’s decision to send his three nephews on the moose hunt. Few moose had been taken that winter. Many Chitina families had to subsist on salmon, rice and beans the entire winter. Toward the end of winter, even the salmon had run out. After lunch, the men re-installed the three, twenty-foot sections of rail. Foreman Jack Corey asked engineer Art Holt and conductor Matt Stevenson to hold up the train at Kotsina siding overnight. The engineers agreed. It was getting too dark to see the condition of the track. Matt telegraphed McCarthy and Chitina, notifying them that the Chitina Local was closed from Strelna to Kotsina at least until the next day. "Charles, how’d you get so lucky? We’ve looked for moose all winter. Couldn’t find anything since nen’testende." "You mean freeze-up, Cap ? No moose at Tonsina ? There weren’t any moose near Chitina, either. This must be the first. Sure has good taste. The cook did a great job with it on such a short notice." "I’d have joined the crew just to eat the carrots, I’m so hungry." "You mean you’re sick of beans with Pilot Bread, Cap ?" "That’s it, Sla’cheen. Too many beans. That was all we had. Sometimes I think this railroad is a good thing. It brought us real food." "You must be getting soft, Cap. You don’t sound like your usual self." "Starvation around here, Sla’cheen." "It’s a tough life, Cap." Cap chewed a sinewy piece of moose meat, then grinned back at Johnny. "Not tough at all, Sla’cheen. Just right !" After their dinner, the skeel’eh walked west down the tracks, carrying their Winchesters just in case. "Maybe we’ll find some rabbit this way. It’s a good area." "I suppose since I’m the youngest, you’ll expect me to skin it." "You brought your knife, didn’t you, skell’eh ?" "I always have my knife on me, Johnny." They headed to a point where the track starts to veer to the northwest. It was the top of the long slope to the river base. The forested area opened up there, allowing a magnificent view of the wide, braided Chitina River hundreds of feet below. "Look at the, Cap. The Tsedi Na’--the very center of our people’s way of life." It was still covered with ice, though an open channel had broken through. "It won’t be long now, " Charles observed, pointing to the open water, which was already starting to flow over the top of the ice. "That’s called kataleni. The ts’itu’ and its tendelzaghi are what you see." Charles gave a puzzled look to Johnny. "Open water and ice chunks on the river, Charles. Never mind Cap. He confuses me, too. Cap tries to keep our Ahtna words alive, even though the teachers beat him to stop it. They beat me too. I learned quick. I had to help Cap because they kept throwing him out of school." A strong wind blowing through the canyon worked its way up the high ridge to the rail grade, sending cold snow dust blowing around the open area. "Whew ! It’s too cold to stay out here in the open. Let’s head back to the bunk car. Long day tomorrow." The three returned with five snow-shoe hares they encountered on the way back. The temperature on the hill that night dropped to zero. In the black spruce-lined area where the two maintenance train consists sat at Kotsina siding, the wind rustled the trees, but the trains themselves were sheltered amidst the heavy growth. The engineers and firemen kept the boilers fired all night. Unlike the newer 70-series, these two had been converted back to coal. They required constant shoveling. Crew members alternated on duty with the firemen all night long. The 1910-era engines hummed in quiet contentment all night. The light was sufficient at seven to begin moving the trains forward. The cooks had breakfast ready by six so that everyone would be ready to continue the slow run into Strelna. Maintenance Local No. 22 was now in the lead, since it was on the main line all night. It would work its way on to Porphyry, once it picked up its Strelna crew. The rail followed a largely straight line past Strelna and Silver Lakes. Then it hit a large curve. The sudden jerk as the rear train skidded to a halt knocked Charles off his seat in the cupola. He fell down to the floor of the caboose, hitting the wood hard. "What was that?" Charles, are you all right?" Johnny jumped down, followed by Cap. They pulled Charles off the floor. He was stunned, but not hurt. Matt had already rushed out the front door of the caboose. Johnny and Cap helped Charles out. Far ahead they could see the place where engine no. 22 had derailed on the wide curve. It would be another long day. Matt returned for Cap. "Cap was among the first to spot the smoke somewhere in the distance. He watched for the flames through the trees.  It was not long before the raging fire could be seen by everyone.  It was a large one. As the train hit the straight stretch that passed by Strelna, the form of Dwyer's Inn came into view, heavily involved in flames.  A small gathering of people was trying to save the structure with a hose from the nearby water tower, but the effort was clearly futile.   The crews from the three work trains jumped out to help, but little more could be done.  The large two-story log building would burn to the ground.  A historic piece of Alaska was going up in flames. Dwyer's Inn at Strelna Continue