THE YOUNG ALASKANS

by

EMERSON HOUGH

Author of "The Story of the Cowboy" "The Mississippi Bubble" Etc. Etc.

Illustrated

Harper & Brothers Publishers New York and London MCMVIII

Copyright, 1908, by Harper & Brothers. All rights reserved. Published October, 1908.

[Illustration: See p 66 SUDDENLY DROPPING TO HIS KNEE HE FIRED WITHOUT LONGER HESITATION]

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. AT HOME IN ALASKA 1 II. AFLOAT ON THE PACIFIC 7 III. THE JOURNEY TO THE NORTH 16 IV. LOST IN THE FOG 23 V. THE MISSING DORY 28 VI. ADRIFT ON THE OCEAN 35 VII. THE HUT ON THE BEACH 41 VIII. THE SALMON RUN 49 IX. THE BIG BEAR OF KADIAK 58 X. THE SAVAGE REFUGEE 68 XI. A TROUBLESOME PRISONER 76 XII. WAYS OF THE WILDERNESS 80 XIII. MAKING A LIVING 93 XIV. THE SURPRISE 101 XV. THE WHALE-HUNT 111 XVI. THE MISSING PRISONER 122 XVII. THE ALEUT BOY 126 XVIII. UNWELCOME VISITORS 130 XIX. HOPE DEFERRED 136 XX. THE SILVER-GRAY FOX 143 XXI. AN ALEUT GOOSE-HUNT 159 XXII. SPORT WITH THE SALMON 170 XXIII. AMONG THE EAGLES 182 XXIV. AN ADVENTURE ON THE GULL ROCKS 191 XXV. CRIPPLES' CASTLE 207 XXVI. THE JOURNEY AND THE STORM 223 XXVII. THE MAN-HUNT 245 XXVIII. A HUNT FOR SEA-OTTER 255 XXIX. UNCERTAINTY 263 XXX. "BLOWN OUT TO SEA!" 271 XXXI. THE SEARCH-PARTY 276 XXXII. THE DESERTED CAMP 282 XXXIII. SAVED! 287

ILLUSTRATIONS

SUDDENLY DROPPING TO HIS KNEE HE FIRED WITHOUT HESITATION _Frontispiece_

HE SHIFTED HIS GUN TO HIS LEFT HAND AND HELD OUT HIS RIGHT WITH A SMILE _Facing p._ 102

THE ALEUT BOY LAUNCHED HIS MISSILE INTO THE MASS OF FLYING FOWL " 164

Table of contents (by pages)

• 1: The Young Alaskans by Emerson Hough
• 2: These boys might be called young Alaskans
• 3: The Yucatan slowly forged ahead
• 4: Along the shores of Kadiak Island
• 5: The boys will be ashore in town at Kadiak
• 6: And shouting excitedly to one another
• 7: Sung out Captain Zim from his station
• 8: She was wrecked far to the south of Valdez
• 9: Where's the revenue cutter Bennington lying
• 10: If an Aleut can do anything wrong
• 11: Agreed and swung the dory shoreward
• 12: Choppy waves pitched alongside the dory
• 13: Which make into the east shore of Kadiak Island
• 14: One or two of which are established near Kadiak
• 15: Back there under the eaves there are a lot of klipsies
• 16: Now you boys go over to the boat and get the bedrolls
• 17: And a run of salmon was nothing new to them
• 18: Once or twice he struck with his gaff
• 19: And maybe cross the next creek beyond
• 20: They unearthed a broken cast iron frying pan and
• 21: It's an old she bear and her cubs coming down to fish
• 22: Had again sat up on her haunches
• 23: The second cub stood but a moment longer
• 24: Again the Aleut seemed to understand
• 25: The Aleut paid no attention to this
• 26: If the Aleut had any companion
• 27: But something caused Rob to feel suspicious
• 28: Motioned for the Aleut to go and get some wood
• 29: Rob left the Aleut's gun on the deck of the bidarka
• 30: Mooring the dory alongside the bidarka
• 31: A kamelinka is made out of these membranes
• 32: And although we might get there in our dory
• 33: But look at his seal boots with high tops
• 34: The Aleut language now is a mongrel
• 35: He pointed at the door of the barabbara
• 36: Neither did they know that the nogock
• 37: And the Aleuts now began to jabber among themselves
• 38: One after another bidarka joined these
• 39: Even as his bidarka shot forward with its own momentum
• 40: The nogock had done its work
• 41: Followed by the entire fleet of bidarkas
• 42: Passing into the barabbara they searched every corner of it
• 43: XVIITHE ALEUT BOY They advanced toward the intruder
• 44: The three friends turned toward the door of the barabbara
• 45: They seated themselves around the edge of the barabbara
• 46: Rob sat and looked at the Aleut chieftain steadily
• 47: They got off long strips of the blubber
• 48: They returned to the barabbara
• 49: Felt more lonesome and more uneasy than they had been before
• 50: He is heading over toward the beach
• 51: Skookie looked from one to the other
• 52: Having bent the grass above his klipsie
• 53: While they were all safely in the barabbara around the fire
• 54: Smilingly took up his klipsie
• 55: John turned to his friend Skookie
• 56: But Skookie knew his own business better
• 57: Skookie did not seem to notice
• 58: XXIISPORT WITH THE SALMON Natu salmon
• 59: But salmon won't take any bait
• 60: And finding that the hook still held
• 61: But a slow way of getting salmon
• 62: He made one or two ineffectual attempts to gaff the salmon
• 63: Osprey is working for his breakfast now
• 64: The hen eagle fell upon it with short
• 65: Not unless it was a piece of real cherry pie
• 66: Skookie here looks pretty strong
• 67: I'm sure there's a lot of sea parrots there
• 68: Skookie was the first to divine what had happened
• 69: Then inch by inch the boys edged the rope along
• 70: As he stooped to enter the door of the barabbara
• 71: In which Skookie joined uproariously
• 72: Skookie took command of the expedition
• 73: Which Skookie insisted were better than codfish
• 74: S'pose got plenty barabbara now
• 75: They saw their new barabbara completed
• 76: And those that don't carry blankets will carry grub
• 77: But Skookie seemed anxious to move on
• 78: Were used to Alaska wilderness travel
• 79: To leave a little grub at each camp
• 80: Skookie had had enough of travel away from camp
• 81: Skookie also was plainly nervous
• 82: Perhaps this was precisely what Skookie had feared
• 83: Rob was wise enough to ask counsel of Skookie in this matter
• 84: When all at once the young Aleut
• 85: And near the elevation of the smoke at the canyon side
• 86: We've got Skookie here to watch him now
• 87: While he and Rob circled far to the right in the bidarka
• 88: The native edged the bidarka up toward his game
• 89: I mean to start back to Kadiak
• 90: Whether or not those natives took our message to Kadiak
• 91: We'll try the journey back in the dory
• 92: Hazlett on that day in early spring as
• 93: Hazlett should report on board the Bennington
• 94: The cutter crawled on around the wild coast of Kadiak
• 95: Says the renegade Aleut over there was a good hunter
• 96: Hazlett kicked open the door of the hut and pushed in
• 97: They say the Aleut was afraid to go to town
• 98: The crew of the Bennington were along the rail