"A barrel OP FLOUR”
By
George T# Masury
The day was one of those still, hot Alaskan summer days, the automobile* s
speed of fifteen miles per hour as it rambled along the government road that
leads from Hainesto V/e±ls caused a slight breeze that was cooling and welcome
to theoccupants, "Sandy” Gilbert, "Fat” Mathews, Pedro, "Hard Luck" Curtright
and Tom Leahey, the driver.
As they rounded " a bend in the road the old Donnelly Road House at Kluk
two appeared and "Sandy" Gilbert, being a newcomer to Chilkoot 3arracks taking
his first ride up the Chilkat Valley, asked what the building was, to which Pedro
replied as follows:
"That used to be a road house about ten or fifteen years ago and the ground
upon which it is built is an ancient slide which slipt from the mountains above
us, completely burying an entire Indian village and many of its people# This
happened, so I*ve been told, long before the coming o* the white nan# The sur
vivors decided not to rebuild but deserted the place and moved to Klukwan, the
present main Chilkat village which we will pass about five miles above here#"
Yihile Pedro was making this explanation, Tom Leahy lent an attentive ear and
upon its completion Tom asked if any of them had ever heard how the village at
the mouth of the Katzehine River came to be deserted.
"No, didn’t know there was a deserted village there," stated Pedro# "Shoot
the story."
"Sure, tell it to us, Tom," chorused the others#
"Well," said Tom, as he slowed the machine down so Hiat he could drive with
one hand while he waved the other as he talked# "ihere used to be a large vil
lage there# One day a sailing vessel came by and was wreck*d the bar and a
raongthe-other things w'1'1' M c 1 . - -
f <a.‘~ that were crashed asnore was a ba:.n*el which the Indians pull
ed up on the beach, broke in the head and found to contain a white substance
which they were unacquainted with# Calling one of their number who was familiar
with white man’s goods and ways, due to the fact he had packed prospector’s sup
plies over the Chilkoot Pass frori Dyea, they asked hin what it was# He pronounced
it flour, so the entire village declared a holiday# Ihey all assembled and
baked the entire contents of the barrel into bread, then sat down, all the bucks,
the klootches and the kids and ate the bread# Next day an old Indian who had
missed the celebration, due to the fact that he’d been off on a week’s hunt,
came into the village and found them all dead#"
"Dead," said "Sandy" Gilbert. "Well, can you beat that!"
"Yep’. Plumb dead," said Tom. "The stuff in the barrel killed 1 em!"
".i/hat was in the barrel,' Tom?" asked "Pat" Matthews#
"It was a barrel of line," said Ton as he regrasped the wheel with both hand© *
"Huh!" grunted "Hard Luck".
"Huh!" echoed Pedro#
"Well can you beat that!" queried "Sandy."
And as usual, they couldn’t#
l4Q»riso i *
Mrs, J. G. ■ V’T and daughter, Miss Mildred, cane up luesday on the Jef
ferson for a visit to their old hone, and returned on the Fornance Friday to
Juneau.
Mr. Mickie Barnett returned fro.i Pullnan College on the Jefferson.