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about where
Moklan has gone, now he is dead. There be large fires in that place, and if
missionary make true talk, I know that Moklan will be cold no more. Also the
missionary talk about where I shall go when
I am dead. And he say bad things. He say that I am blind. Which is a lie.
He say that I am in great darkness. Which is a lie.
And I say that the day come and the night come for everybody just the same,
and that in my village it is no more dark than at Cambell
Fort. Also, I say that darkness and light and where we go when we die be
different things from the matter of payment of just debt for bad water. Then
the missionary make large anger, and call me bad names of darkness, and tell
me to go away. And so I come back from
Cambell Fort, and no payment has been made, and Moklan is dead, and in my old
age I am without fish and meat."
"Because of the white man," said Zilla.
"Because of the white man," Ebbits concurred. "And other things because of
the white man. There was Bidarshik. One way did the white man deal with him;
and yet another way for the same thing did the white man deal with Yamikan.
And first must I tell you of
Yamikan, who was a young man of this village and who chanced to kill a white
man. It is not good to kill a man of another people.
Always is there great trouble. It was not the fault of Yamikan that he killed
the white man. Yamikan spoke always soft words and ran away from wrath as a
dog from a stick. But this white man drank much whiskey, and in the
night-time came to Yamikan's house and made much fight. Yamikan cannot run
away, and the white man tries to kill him. Yamikan does not like to die, so
he kills the white man.
"Then is all the village in great trouble. We are much afraid that we must
make large payment to the white man's people, and we hide our blankets, and
our furs, and all our wealth, so that it will seem that we are poor people and
can make only small payment.
After long time white men come. They are soldier white men, and they take
Yamikan away with them. His mother make great noise and throw ashes in her
hair, for she knows Yamikan is dead. And all the village knows that Yamikan
is dead, and is glad that no payment is asked.
"That is in the spring when the ice has gone out of the river. One year go
by, two years go by. It is spring-time again, and the ice has gone out of the
river. And then Yamikan, who is dead, comes back to us, and he is not dead,
but very fat, and we know that he has slept warm and had plenty grub to eat.
He has much fine clothes and is all the same white man, and he has gathered
large wisdom so that he is very quick head man in the village.
"And he has strange things to tell of the way of the white man, for he has
seen much of the white man and done a great travel into the white man's
country. First place, soldier white men take him down the river long way.
All the way do they take him down the river to the end, where it runs into a
lake which is larger than all the land and large as the sky. I do not know
the Yukon is so big river, but Yamikan has seen with his own eyes. I do not
think there is a lake larger than all the land and large as the sky, but
Yamikan has seen. Also, he has told me that the waters of this lake be salt,
which is a strange thing and beyond understanding.
"But the White Man knows all these marvels for himself, so I shall not weary
him with the telling of them. Only will I tell him what happened to Yamikan.
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The white man give Yamikan much fine grub.
All the time does Yamikan eat, and all the time is there plenty more grub.
The white man lives under the sun, so said Yamikan, where there be much
warmth, and animals have only hair and no fur, and the green things grow large
and strong and become flour, and beans, and potatoes. And under the sun there
is never famine.
Always is there plenty grub. I do not know. Yamikan has said.
"And here is a strange thing that befell Yamikan. Never did the white man
hurt him. Only did they give him warm bed at night and plenty fine grub.
They take him across the salt lake which is big as the sky. He is on white
man's fire-boat, what you call steamboat, only he is on boat maybe twenty
times bigger than steamboat on Yukon. Also, it is made of iron, this boat,
and yet does it not sink. This I do not understand, but Yamikan has said, 'I
have journeyed far on the iron boat; behold! I am still alive.'
It is a white man's soldier-boat with many soldier men upon it.
"After many sleeps of travel, a long, long time, Yamikan comes to a land where
there is no snow. I cannot believe this. It is not in the nature of things
that when winter comes there shall be no snow.
But Yamikan has seen. Also have I asked the white men, and they have said
yes, there is no snow in that country. But I cannot believe, and now I ask
you if snow never come in that country.
Also, I would hear the name of that country. I have heard the name before,
but I would hear it again, if it be the same - thus will I
know if I have heard lies or true talk."
Old Ebbits regarded me with a wistful face. He would have the truth at any
cost, though it was his desire to retain his faith in the marvel he had never
seen.
"Yes," I answered, "it is true talk that you have heard. There is no snow in
that country, and its name is California."
"Cal-ee-forn-ee-yeh," he mumbled twice and thrice, listening intently to the
sound of the syllables as they fell from his lips.
He nodded his head in confirmation. "Yes, it is the same country of which
Yamikan made talk."
I recognized the adventure of Yamikan as one likely to occur in the early days
when Alaska first passed into the possession of the
United States. Such a murder case, occurring before the instalment of
territorial law and officials, might well have been taken down to the United
States for trial before a Federal court.
"When Yamikan is in this country where there is no snow," old
Ebbits continued, "he is taken to large house where many men make much talk.
Long time men talk. Also many questions do they ask
Yamikan. By and by they tell Yamikan he have no more trouble.
Yamikan does not understand, for never has he had any trouble. All the time
have they given him warm place to sleep and plenty grub.
"But after that they give him much better grub, and they give him money, and
they take him many places in white man's country, and he see many strange
things which are beyond the understanding of
Ebbits, who is an old man and has not journeyed far. After two years, Yamikan
comes back to this village, and he is head man, and very wise until he dies.
"But before he dies, many times does he sit by my fire and make talk of the
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strange things he has seen. And Bidarshik, who is my son, sits by the fire
and listens; and his eyes are very wide and large because of the things he
hears. One night, after Yamikan has gone home, Bidarshik stands up, so, very
tall, and he strikes his chest with his fist, and says, 'When I am a man, I
shall journey in far places, even to the land where there is no snow, and see
things for myself.'"
"Always did Bidarshik journey in far places," Zilla interrupted proudly.
"It be true," Ebbits assented gravely. "And always did he return to sit by
the fire and hunger for yet other and unknown far places."
"And always did he remember the salt lake as big as the sky and the country
under the sun where there is no snow," quoth Zilla.
"And always did he say, 'When I have the full strength of a man, I
will go and see for myself if the talk of Yamikan be true talk,'"
said Ebbits. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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