Alaska -- Description and travel; Frontier and pioneer life -- Alaska
Then Mary, (real Viking that she is, and from Tromso, in Norway,)
related the story of her journey by dog-team. Eighty-five miles, they
call it, from Nome by water to Chinik, but overland it is probably
farther. Nights were spent in the roadhouses, she said, but there was
little sleep to be had in them, for they were crowded and noisy, and she
was thankful the trip was now ended, and she had safely arrived.
The two young men who came with her seem nice, honest fellows, and I am
acquainted with one of them from seeing him at the "Star" many times,
where he often ground coffee to help evenings, or chatted in the kitchen
when we worked.
From Nome they had brought two sled loads, on one of them a cook stove
for the winter, as the big range in use here now will go later to the
Home, besides which they had food supplies and stove pipes.
At night Mr. L. came back from the reindeer station, saying that they
can have four reindeer for their prospecting trip to the Koyuk River,
and they are making up their party to go there.
November twenty-seventh: I was washing the dishes this morning in the
kitchen, when Mr. L. came quietly to say he will take my attorney paper
and stake a gold claim for me. He will do his best, he says, for me as
well as the others, for which I cordially thanked him, and flew on wings
to get the desired paper made out, as the others were also doing.
At half-past three o'clock in the afternoon today the lamps were
lighted, and at four o'clock in the afternoon a mail got in from Nome,
but brought no letters for me, as all steamers have long since stopped
running, and I am not corresponding with any one at Nome. I wonder when
I will hear from my home folks?
Our legal documents cost us each $2.50.
November twenty-eighth: This has been a fine day out of doors, and a
busy one indoors. Mr. H. with a man and two natives came with the
dog-teams to take what household stuff they could carry, and they took
the organ with the rest. I hated to see it go, but we are to have the
one in the church, which G. has just cleaned and brought into the house,
as the frost in that building is bad for it. They loaded their sleds,
then ate a lunch at half-past eleven o'clock in the morning, and
started. The two boys from Nome also left for that place, they being
quite rested, as well as their dogs. Drilling parkies they wore to
"mush" in, their furs and other traps being lashed to the sleds; and
bidding us good-bye, one ran ahead, and the other behind the dogs.
CHAPTER XIX.
NEW QUARTERS.
After thinking for some time of doing so, I finally decided to call at
the hotel and ask the captain and his wife if I might not teach their
little black-eyed girl English, as Miss J.'s leaving deprives her of a
teacher. The woman was not in when I called, but the child's father
seemed to think favorably of my plan, and said he would consult with his
wife, so I hope to get the child for a pupil.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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