"GUARDIANS OF THE
Below us stretched in all its Alaskan gran dour the glaciated valley,
floored with itslh; ck dopesit of gravel and fcoul ders through which wound the rive
whoso swift ..flowing watei-s were now low and divided into numerous sh6.lJ.ow, shift"
--hg channels for the month was Coember•> Across the valley the opposite distant
mountains viore a smeoth green aspect on their lov/or levels^ while above this thyy
grew rep illy rcughoi to finally culminate in serrated ridges and peaks whose
si Ihoa.iote, cast f-gaanit the evening 3k.yy appeal's d like the teeth cf seme gigantic
saw see *. ngowd ee to the horizon* Wear a large moss-encrusted rock, over the sur
lace or' wi- i ch e. tiny strorm fribbled :.nd trick?.ed„ wo decided to make our night*' e
camp*- as •„ mg cur . packs to the grcimd, spr eading oar blanket. sv gathering
wood from ur- near»»\ tot s, vo soon had our meal m*rri.?y cooking over the briskly
turning little fir a f: 0*1 which dr>, pungent smoke drifted upward to join the
nus:.c of the whispering spruce as the slow evening wmi crooned amor-pA, '-heir
oranches* The dusk, whi'-k had seemedto linger until wo had finished our ne&l
and were safeJy enciru7ed j.n our blankets, row* settled, glooming the distant
mountains in imperial purplo the settling cun, the last rays of which had tingdi
the sky various shades of ra-w and orange., departed* Night threw its sombre
mantle over all, sc alleging the kindling stars to \y.ek bravely forth* As I
lay on my bed my eyes turned upward toward them and on into the upper dome of
the sky in whose depth the silence of eternity seemed to exist„ I could under
stand why Alaska he] d ouch a sway e ve/' these who have spent their time "on the
trail" and viewed nightly the serene^beauties unfolded to my eyes- Night on the
trail in Alaska., untraiuireied an dun contaminated by the discordant noises and
smells of the man-made townsi Wodd smoke, tang of the spruce, silencei
A slight noise caused me to turn my head, and I saw Jimmie, my aged
Chilkat Indian friend (guide on my present trip) viewing me shrewdly from his
wj.se old wrinkle**encircled eyes*. 'The spell of the night beiig on me, I waved
my hand toward it and asked him if he, too, felt its call* He knedded slowly,
cleared his throat and said in his queer dialect, which translated, means:
"iiy friend, a Jong time age at the beginning of things all was darkj’
there were no star3 as tonight, no moon, no light* The darkness was as Elack
as the smoked bottom of the cooking pot* There was a rich man, however. Who
kept all the light just for himself- Yeahl, the great god. decided he wanted
it and caused himself to be born 63 the daughter of this rich man. About che
walls of this man’s house hung many bundles* Yeshl, being now large enough to
crawl, locatad these and started to cry at the same time pointing at the bun-*
dies. H© cried for many days until finally they gave him one of the bundles*
to silence him* As soon a9 he graspedit, he opened it, and the afcars leaped,
forth, settling in the sKy as you see them tonight- A few day3 later he starts.*
to cry again and obtained a second bundle; this, too, he opened, allowing the moon
to sp.il forth to bathe the world ii its golden effulgence* He later obtained
the sun, but that is anothe r story* However, the stars ar.. 1 the noon he ob
tained for us all by being born of the daughter of the rich man for that was what
he went there for/1
As Jimmy ceased speaking I lookei upward again and viewe 1 the twinkling
stars and glancing toward the distant mountain's beheld the ei;e of the moon
creaping slowly above their 3urxiit, both the gilts of Yeshl, and guardians of
the Alaskan nights*
CHICKED f •
“Halt I “ snarled the outraged colonel* “Don’t you kxiow enough to salute
an officer when ycu page hm?"
“Don’t you kid me, “ smiled the rookie benignly. “Suppose J• don*t know
what you are, with those chickens on your shoulder? You’re mess sergeant!“
.—Exchange.