Chapter XV: The Fur Trade

The memoranda which the historian of the party set down regarding Fort Yukon had more or less to do with the scenes and incidents connected with the fur trade which had come under his observation. But before coming to these Rob put down a few things regarding the nature of this American settlement on the great river of Alaska:

"_Saturday, August 9th._--We had forks and napkins at the
archdeacon's house. Went out to see the town. Indian tents
scattered over three-fourths of a mile. Three stores, a
post-office, a church, and a road-house. Found the owners of
the store at Old Crow which we burglarized, and paid them
for what we got. They said it was all right. Seems as though
there are hundreds of dogs here. Boat expected up the Yukon
almost any day--there is no regular time for their landing
here.

"_Sunday, August 10th._--Went to church in the log church.
The archdeacon preached. A full-blood by the name of David
interpreted. Another native read the liturgy, but not very
well. The sermon was simple and plain. He touched the
natives' pride. Told them how they used to get along with
bows and arrows and stone axes, how they conquered the
wilderness; told them not to forget those virtues and not to
give way to the vices of white people. Many strange faces in
the audience. Saw one like a Japanese samurai, with
bristling beard and stiff black hair. Have seen this type
everywhere these last 1,500 miles--people who look like
Japs. I don't think much law and order here. White men
married to Indian women. There is a government school and a
good many Indian children go there. The men get too much
whisky here.

"The archdeacon is a great traveler. He told me why people
up north like bright-colored clothes. He says that the hind
sack on his sled is brilliantly embroidered, and when he is
mushing dogs he finds himself looking at this bright piece
of color. All the landscape is very monotonous, and the
night is hard to endure so long. He says that is why the
natives like bright colors.

"This afternoon in the archdeacon's house I found a strange
old book. It seems to have been written by some preacher
some hundreds of years ago. His name was Bartolomeo de Las
Casas. He must have been a Spaniard, for he is writing about
the Indians. He says, 'We are killing them, and have done so
relentlessly.' Seems to me that was a good deal like the fur
trade. He goes on and says some more from Ecclesiastes: 'The
Most High is not pleased with the offerings of the wicked.
Neither is He pacified for sin by the multitude of
sacrifices. Whoso bringeth an offering of the goods of the
poor doth as one that killeth the son before the father's
eyes.'

"Well, that sounds as though some one were writing at the
big fur monopolies and the way they handle the Indians. Las
Casas says that his Church thought they owned all the middle
part of this continent. The Hudson's Bay Company started in
to own all the northern part of it. I can't see the
difference. Las Casas says the discovery and conquest of the
American dominions has wrought ruin to Spain as a nation.
The results were 'disastrous to her power.' I am only a boy,
and don't know much about things, but I know perfectly well
the fur trade is based on injustice. I consider it the most
ignoble form of business in the world. I think it is pulling
down the Indians--as the archdeacon said in his sermon, they
were more manly and self-respecting before the traders came.
If the government of Canada claims to be so good, it might
look into the injustice done to the native people by some of
the traders, both the old companies and the independents. I
have read somewhere, 'No right is or can be founded on
injustice.' So what rights have they got?

"The Spaniards were after gold, and these big companies are
after fur. They have both relied on keeping the natives
down. That's why they are so jealous of outsiders getting
any knowledge about their ways.

"I have heard that an Indian always pays his debts to the
trader. On this trip I heard a man say that the big
companies never forgive an Indian a debt in all his life.
He would not dare to let his debt run if he could pay it,
because if he did he would starve.

"I wonder if old Mr. Las Casas was any relation to the
archdeacon here. They both preach a good deal alike, it
seems to me. He says, 'The system of oppression and cruelty
in dealing with the natives makes them curse the name of God
and our holy religion.... For should God decree the
destruction of Spain it may be seen it is because of our
destruction of the Indians, and that His justice may be made
apparent.'

"Well, I guess that will be all I will write out of the
book. I was just thinking that what the Spaniards did in
getting gold was something like what the white men are doing
to-day in getting fur in this northern country. It never did
look good to me.

"But though the Indians don't always remember everything
they hear in church, I believe the Church is honester,
whether it is the English Church or the Catholic, or any of
them, because they haven't anything to get out of it, so far
as I can see, and the traders have. I don't think I shall
very much enjoy seeing fine furs worn by ladies in my own
country after this--I know where they come from and what
they cost. I wonder what Las Casas would say if he were
here.

"A good many Scotchmen are through this northern country,
and some Scandinavians. I read in a book by Mr. Stewart that
you could tell the Scotchman even in a half-breed because he
always says 'boy' and 'whatever' the way the Highlanders
do--no matter how old you are a Highlander always calls you
'boy.' He says the Bishop of Saskatchewan had a half-breed
boy working for him who always called him 'Boy my Lord.'
That seems odd to me! And then about their saying
'whatever'--a Scotch half-breed said, 'We use it because we
could not express ourselves without it whatever.' And then
he said, 'Is it not correct whatever?' And after a while he
said he could see no objection to that word whatever. A
Highlander always says 'whatever,' and you can't keep him
from it. I noticed that in some of the posts we came
through.

"A woman here was sixty years old, and she married a
carpenter, and he took her money and started a sawmill. They
haven't got any sawmill now.

"A good many people here talk about other people. I have
noticed that in almost any small place, but I think it is
worse up here in the North. I suppose they get lonesome and
have to talk.

"Another thing is, they drink so much up in this country
whenever they get a chance. They don't keep their gallon of
Scotch whisky, which is supposed to last them a year, but
sit down and drink it up in two days. So they get out of
whisky and some people get crazy for it. In this same book
by Mr. Stewart he tells about some men at one of the
trading-posts of the Mackenzie who didn't have any liquor,
but the summer before there had been a party of scientists
there who had left some insects, bugs, and snakes and
things, done up in alcohol. Some other traders visited this
agent, and he was sorry not to have anything to give them to
drink. So he thought he would pour off this alcohol from the
bugs and things. Still, he thought it might be poison, so he
tried it on a half-breed dog-driver. It did not kill him, so
he served it to his friends, and said nothing about it, and
they all thought it was very good! I believe this is a true
story, because so many things happen up in this country
that we don't hear about at home.

"_Monday, August 11th._--This is on the steamship
_Schwatka_, and we are bound up the Yukon! We said good-by
early this morning to the good archdeacon. It was dark when
he heard the dogs howling, and knew a boat was coming, so he
called us and we hurried and got dressed, and just got on
this boat in time. She isn't towing any barge, so ought to
make good time up to Dawson. We were sorry to leave the
archdeacon, but we are glad to be on our way home.

"We get four meals a day on the _Schwatka_, and very good
ones. John is happy! We think we will all put on a little
flesh before we get home. Uncle Dick is writing and going
over his notes. John is making his map. Jesse is reading. So
I write.

"_Tuesday, August 12th._--At 1.30 in the morning we made
Circle City, which, as everybody knows, is right on the
Arctic Circle, or was supposed to be. This was the first
time Uncle Dick could get out any word. He sent out a
message by wireless which will be relayed to Skagway and
cabled to Valdez. He said in about ten days we would be at
Skagway. Our folks will be mighty glad to hear from us--and
how glad we'll be to get home! We are still inside the limit
of the time schedule which Uncle Dick set for us. Now we
think we are safe to finish the journey inside our schedule.
Pretty good, we all think.

"_Wednesday, August 13th._--At 8.30 this morning got to
Eagle, which is an old Alaska settlement and was once an
army post. There is an Anglican mission here. The scenery
around here is far beyond anything that was on the Mackenzie
River. We all like the Yukon better than the Mackenzie. Some
Church people going out on the boat from here.

"I don't know how the Klondikers got up the Yukon after they
had come over the Rat Portage; but Dawson is three days
above Fort Yukon by steamboat. If they tracked or poled or
rowed up I bet it took them a good deal more than three
days.

"Uncle Dick has asked me to set down everything I see at
Dawson, which is the big gold-camp that caused the Klondike
stampede in 1897; so I think I will do that the best I can."