Shadows on the Koyukuk

by Sidney Huntington

  Angela is also an expert at making birchbark baskets, and has taught the art to all of our youngsters. Now she teaches this traditional skill to our grandchildren, and she spends time at Galena schools as a volunteer, teaching basketmaking.

  Give some kids an opportunity and they grab it. For some years at Galena I had a dealership selling Polaris and Yamaha snow machines and Mariner outboard motors. My son Roger now owns that business. One spring a woebegone little Indian boy around thirteen years old came to me. I knew that his parents neglected him because they were often drunk. He barely had enough to eat or clothes to wear, but his greatest desire was to own a snow machine, and he told me he wanted to work for me so he could earn one.

  “Fine,” I said. “You come to me every day and I’ll give you a job to do. You keep track of your time. When you have earned enough for a snow machine, I’ll see that you get one.”

  That little guy arrived faithfully every day, and each day I assigned him a job, usually pure drudgery. He cleaned boats, shoveled refuse, straightened up a workshop, retrieved parts, and ran errands, helping with our salmon business.

  He asked me to keep track of his time, but I insisted that he write down his own time. I wanted to show my confidence in his honesty, and I hoped he would see the practical value of arithmetic.

  By Christmas he had earned a snow machine. Through this process he learned the value of work, and so was proud of his new machine and was determined to care for it properly. Today that young man is married, and a sober, hardworking citizen. He made himself what he is; my contribution was small but, I like to think, significant.

  In 1966, a book, On The Edge of Nowhere, by James Huntington (my brother Jimmy) as told to Lawrence Elliott, recounted Jimmy’s adventurous life to that date. In that account, the ages of Marion, Jimmy, and me, when our mother died in June 1920, were incorrectly given as “seven, five, and not quite two.” The editors chose not to print our real ages, claiming that readers wouldn’t believe the story. To set the record straight, I was born on May 10, 1915, and was five; Jimmy, born August 14, 1916, was three; and Marion, born December 2, 1918, was a year and a half.

  In the late 1970s, Jimmy was elected to a two-year term in the Alaska House of Representatives. After that, Governor Jay Hammond appointed him to the Board of Fisheries, where he served two three-year terms. We didn’t agree on many issues, for he was inclined to be liberal while I’m generally conservative. But that didn’t keep us apart: we sometimes argued, but we respected each other’s views.

  When he was fifty-nine, Jimmy had a heart attack while trapping marten in the Hog River country. He lay under a tree for seven hours before he recuperated enough to get back to his cabin. After resting a few days, with the help of one of his sons, he pulled his traps and drove his snow machine all the way to Galena in one day—a hard day’s work even for a man in good health. He boarded a plane that evening and flew to Anchorage and the next morning surgeons performed an emergency heart bypass operation on him.

  That spring he had his Yukon River fish wheel running. His camp was six miles below my fish camp. Every morning during salmon season, at five o’clock, sometimes earlier, I went to check my fish wheel, three miles below Jimmy’s place. I’d stop and we’d visit for a moment, or sometimes I’d just wave as I passed, happy to see him out and about.

  That fall, amazingly, he hunted moose. Annually he made several trips by boat from Galena to Hog River, hauling fuel for his snow machine, planning to be back trapping in winter. He loved the Hog River country.

  In March 1987, he fell ill and tried to drive his snow machine to the Galena Medical Clinic. He almost made it, but in great pain he stopped at a friend’s house, and his friend got him to the clinic and called me. Jimmy and I talked while waiting for a medevac airplane to arrive from Anchorage.

  “It’s been kind of a bad year for me, Sidney,” he said, not complaining, just stating a fact.

  I told him we had both lived good clean lives that we could look back on with pride, that I felt we did what God intended for us to do—help make the world better for others.

  “Sidney, I know. I don’t think I’ll see you again,” he said.

  The attendant closed the airplane door, and I watched the plane lift into the darkening sky. Jimmy died five minutes after takeoff.

  In the summer of 1987 a reunion was held at Anvik Mission to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding. I attended that reunion and treasured meeting again with ninety-two-year-old Henry Chapman. It was my pleasure to thank him for making a home for me as a sad five-year-old in 1920. At the reunion I found the grave of Homer Collins, my childhood friend. Tears came as I stood by the grave and remembered my dear friend, gone for all of those sixty-seven years.

  My grandfather, the trader, was probably born about 1850, perhaps earlier. That’s about a decade after the first Russians arrived at Nulato. I was born ten years after my grandfather’s death. Thus only two lifetimes (although mine hasn’t ended yet) plus twenty years span the period since first contact with whites in Koyukon Indian country. At Galena I live in a modern house with electricity and all that goes with it, including television, telephone, automatic heat, and hot and cold running water. My grandfather saw many changes in his life, but I’m sure he never dreamed of anything quite like my comforts.

  The Koyukon people no longer must roam, searching for better hunting and fishing. They live in permanent homes, with conveniences, and have good medical care. Few babies die, and starvation is no longer a danger. Medicine men no longer dominate their lives. The people still depend upon the land for most of their food, but that food—the fish and game—is abundant.

  But the number of Koyukon people along the Koyukuk and Lower Yukon is about the same as when my grandfather was alive. And he would recognize the Koyukuk valley if he could see it today, for it hasn’t changed much. The summer sun circles endlessly, and clean white snow blankets the land every winter. Spire-topped spruces still dominate the forests, and the white birch trees still shine in the winter moonlight. And through it all, the Koyukuk River still flows clear above Hughes, and slightly murky below.

  EPILOGUE

  Sidney Huntington has been accorded many honors for his civic services to Alaska and Alaskans. A few include:

  1980, named the founding father of the Galena, Alaska, city school system, and presented with an engraved silver plaque.

  1986, Conservationist of the Year (Alaska Outdoor Council).

  1987, Trapper of the Year (Fairbanks Trappers’ Association).

  1988, Trapper and Conservationist of the Year (Alaska State Legislature).

  In 1989, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks conferred upon Sidney Huntington the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service. The citation accompanying this degree read:

  Community leader, cultural link, and supporter of education, Sidney Huntington: During his lifetime, Sidney Huntington has successfully spanned two cultures—one dependent on hunting, fishing and trapping for food and money, and one which has led him to the highest levels of official service to his community and the State of Alaska.

  Born in Hughes, Sidney Huntington received only a third-grade education, but through his own efforts and self education, he was able to compete politically and professionally in a changing world.

  By reading carpentry books while working on a trapline, he taught himself the skills needed to land a job at the Galena Air Force Station. Once in Galena, he convinced the community to become a first-class city, which allowed it to raise the revenue necessary to save its school.

  Despite his own lack of formal education, Sidney Huntington spent 25 years on the Galena School Board, and has personally supported many students who would have otherwise been unable to receive a higher education. He and his wife Angela have raised 15 children, several of whom have been awarded degrees at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

  Sidney Huntington’s fairness, integrity and ability are attested to by his 17 years on the Alaska Board of Game,
and the willingness of governors from every political background to put their trust in his decisions. Not only a community and state political leader, Huntington has established two salmon processing businesses in Galena in order to bring economic opportunity to the people of his region.

  The University of Alaska, Fairbanks, salutes this distinguished leader who has clearly demonstrated his dedication to his family, his community, his region and his state, and proudly confers upon Sidney Huntington the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service. This citation presented at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Commencement Exercises, May 7, 1989.

  RELATED READING

  Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Section of Epidemiology. State of Alaska Tuberculosis Report. Anchorage, 1986.

  Alaska Geographic. Alaska's Great Interior, Vol. 7, No. 1. Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1980.

  Alaska Geographic. Aurora Borealis. The Amazing Northern Lights, Vol. 6, No. 2. Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1979.

  Alaska Geographic. Up the Koyukuk, Vol. 10, No. 4. Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1983.

  Brooks, Alfred Hulse. Blazing Alaska’s Trails. Fairbanks: University of Alaska and the Arctic Institute of North America, 1953.

  Dall, William H. Alaska and Its Resources. Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1870.

  Fortuine, Robert. Chills and Fever; Health and Disease in the Early History of Alaska. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 1989.

  Gruening, Ernest. The State of Alaska. New York: Random House, 1954.

  Hulley, Clarence C. Alaska, Past and Present. Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort, 1953.

  Huntington, James, as told to Lawrence Elliot. On the Edge of Nowhere. New York: Crown Publishers, 1966.

  Madison, Curt, and Yarber, Yvonne. Edwin Simon, Huslia, a Biography. Blaine, Wash.: Hancock House Publishers, 1981.

  Madison, Curt, and Yarber, Yvonne. Martha Joe: Nulato. Fairbanks: Spirit Mountain Press, 1987.

  Marshall, Robert. Artic Village, a Portrait of Wiseman, Alaska. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 1991.

  Murray, Alexander Hunter. Journal of the Yukon 1847–48. Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1965.

  Stuck, Hudson. Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1914.

  Thomas, Tay. Cry in the Wilderness. Anchorage: Color Art Printing, 1967.

  Wickersham, James. Old Yukon Tales—Trails—and Trials. Washington, D.C.: Washington Law Book Co., 1938.

  INDEX

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title was intentionally removed from the eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Adams, John

  airplane

  Call Air

  Swallow

  Alaska Board of Fish and Game

  Alaska Board of Game

  Alaska Railroad

  author rides

  history of

  alcohol

  author’s first “high,”

  bootlegging whiskey

  forty-day binge

  illegal sale to Indians

  last drink

  withdrawal from and hallucinations

  alcoholism

  Alice

  Allard, Ed

  Anchorage

  at the beginning of the war

  author travels to in 1927

  Anderson, James L. (“Andy”)

  Andrew, Paul

  Anna (author’s mother)

  author visits grave of

  death of

  trip to Nome in 1904

  Anvik mission

  reunion at

  Arctic Circle

  Ark

  Attla, Eliza (also Eliza Regan)

  Attla, George, Sr.

  Attla, George

  Attla, Steven

  aurora borealis

  Barnard, Lieutenant

  bear, black

  as food source

  hunting of

  Jimmy’s encounter with

  bear, brown

  “big animal” hunt

  killed by author

  killing bears at den with a spear

  last Koyukon spear hunt for

  preparation for winter spear hunt

  summer hunt with spear

  winter hunt for

  Bear Creek

  Huntington prospect hole

  Beatus, Joe

  beaver

  early Koyukon method of harvest

  historic trapping seasons

  how to trap

  hunting of

  important food animal

  Koyukon tradition

  Bentley, Mrs.

  Bentley, The Reverend John

  Berglund, Eunice

  berries, wild

  Bifelt, Edith

  Bifelt, Fred

  Bifelt, Victor

  “big animal.” See bear, brown

  Big Mary

  Blind Andrew

  Blue Parka Bandit

  boatbuilding

  bootlegging. See alcohol

  bracket fungi, as mosquito repellant

  Braflet, Dr.

  breaking through ice

  breakup, of Koyukuk River in 1928

  Briffitt, Charles

  Broad Pass

  Brown, Harry

  Buchanan, Bob

  Bulegin, Ivan

  burbot

  Bureau of Indian Affairs

  Butler, George

  cache, at Batza River

  canoe, birchbark, use of and building

  of

  canoe, canvas

  canoe race, at Nulato

  Chapman, Henry

  Chapman, John, The Reverend

  Chief Henry

  Chief John

  Chief Paul

  Chief Thomas

  Chief Peter

  Chilkoot Pass

  Chimawa (BIA school)

  Chips Island

  Clear Creek

  Cleever, Martha

  Coghill, Jack

  Coghill, Mr.

  Collins, Ezra

  Collins, Homer

  crooked knife

  Dall, William

  Dalquist, Alfred

  Dalquist, Bill

  Dawson, Yukon Territory

  Demoski, Aloysius

  Demoski, Joe

  Denali (also called Mount McKinley)

  Depression, the

  Derrick, Ben

  Derzhavin, Commander

  Devaney, Tom

  Devil’s Island

  Dickey, A. W.

  dogs, sled

  as mail carriers

  dogsled

  Donaldson, Frank

  dredge

  Dubin, Sam

  DuFresne, Frank

  education, “white man’s” vs. “bush,”

  Egan, Governor William A.

  Eklutna John

  Eklutna Vocational School

  Elliott, Lawrence

  Enterprise, H.M.S.

  Evans, Charlie

  Evans, John

  Evans, Wilfred

  Evinrude motor

  Fate, Dr. Hugh

  Felix, “Happy Jack,”

  fish-killing knife. See knife, fish-killing

  fish wheel

  floods

  at Hughes

  Batza River

  at Koyukuk and Nulato

  Fort Davis

  Fort Egbert

  Fort Gibbon

  Fort Yukon

  Frank (author’s uncle)

  Franklin, Sir John

  fur catch

  General Jeff Davis

  gnats

  Golchik, Louis

  gold

  Gordon, Bishop William J.

  grandfather (the trader)

  grizzly. See bear, brown

  guitar

  Hammond, Governor Jay

  Hawk owl


  heart attack

  and bypass surgery

  Heart Mountain

  Henry, Haymon

  high words, in Koyukon tradition

  Hill, Amelia

  Hog River Johnny

  homesteaders

  Hootch, Molly

  horned owl

  Hudson’s Bay Company

  Huntington, Ada

  Huntington, Agnes

  Huntington, Andrew

  Huntington, Angela Pitka (author’s wife)

  Huntington, Annie

  Huntington, Arnold

  Huntington, Carl

  Huntington, Celia

  Huntington, Charlie

  Huntington, Christine

  Huntington, Electa

  Huntington, Elma

  Huntington, Elsie

  Huntington, Flora Charles

  Huntington, Franklin

  Huntington, Gilbert

  Huntington, Henry

  Huntington, James S. (author’s father)

  Huntington, Jenny Luke (author’s first wife)

  Huntington, Jimmy (author’s brother)

  death of

  heart attack

  in state legislature

  Huntington, John

  Huntington, Leonard

  Huntington, Marie

  Huntington, Marion (author’s sister)

  Huntington, Marion (Jimmy’s wife)

  Huntington, Mark

  Huntington, Roger

  Huslia Hustler (Jimmy Huntington)

  Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

  Indian Creek

  Irish, Charlie

  Isaac, Alfred

  Jacobs

  jawbone (credit)

  Jay, gray

  Jimmy, George

  Joe, Austin

  Keilly, Ben

  Klondike gold fields

  knife, fish-killing

  Kokrines, Andrew

  Kokrines, Old Man

  Kokrines, Tony

  Koyukon people

  appearance of

  attitude toward animals

  clothing of

  starvation of

  traditional stories of

  Koyukuk

  owned by John Evans

  built by author

  Laboski, Mike

  Larson, John

  Lawrence, Harry

  Lawrence, Herbert

  lend-lease warplanes