The Call of the Wild
The growth and stability of the United States has relied on key decisions by key leaders at key times: in 1804, Thomas Jefferson negotiated the Louisiana Purchase; in 1864, Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General of the Army; and, in 1867, Secretary of State William Seward acquired the Alaska territory. Labeled Seward's Folly by the press, it was anything but. Having defended our shores during the Civil War by holding the English at bay in Canada and restraining the French in Mexico, Russia agreed to sell its Alaska Territory to the United States for $7 million dollars. The sale was actually forced, due to a debt the Tsar needed to repay the Rothschild bankers. Alaska was a tradeoff, an unwitting pawn in a world of kings. Although the US Treasury had been bled dry by the Civil War, Seward pressed forward. It was a pivotal decision.
O, that I were a glove upon that hand - Athabascan leather & beaded gloves, Yukon Territory, Alaska, ca. 1920
Within months of acquisition, copper was discovered. Within years, gold. A tremendous amount of gold. Place names such as Klondike and Yukon attracted thousands of prospectors and yielded millions of dollars. 1870, 1871, 1880, 1886, 1888, 1893, 1896, 1902, 1905, 1913, 1914, discovery dates as milestones along the gold rush trail. The hopeful who arrived all believed fortune was just one pick strike away. These were heady times, froth with danger, anticipation, and instant wealth or total desperation. It is here we find ourselves, standing alongside grizzled men, defined by the tools in their hands and the bouillon belts about their waists. It was no place for women, as least wives for sure. Or was it? In a small backwoods cabin, we discover a golden vein.
North to Alaska
An eager young prospector arrived at a small hamlet in Ophir, Alaska in late 1915. For him, it was a beginning, a fresh chance for a new life. He, like many before, was intoxicated by the lure of Jason's Golden Fleece. Staking a claim, then enjoying some success, he asked his wife to join him. Perhaps without hesitation, but most certainly trepidation, she bravely made her way north, the journey made more difficult as she discovered she was pregnant. On April 11, 1916, little baby William staked a claim of his own. We can only guess the joy a mother and her newborn brought into the mining community. A cooing baby breathes life into any neighborhood, and in an intense mining atmosphere, these two new arrivals must have been cherished. If it takes a village to raise a child, imagine what a mining camp can do. As William grew, so too did his sphere. There wasn't a place in Ophir safe from his curious mind. The photographic image to your left captures it all - a happy boy, dressed in his finest Native American garb, ready to explore the world.
Signed. Sealed. Delivered. He's ours.
Young William in his finest. His youthful countenance says everything. Here, the only world he knows is the Alaska wilderness. Expectation and happiness fill his days. And in his childhood innocence, we see ourselves. All too soon, the world damages us all.
Tippecanoe and Young William too
One of the most interesting possessions of the young man, surviving to us in excellent condition, is his toy birch-bark canoe. It is an exact replica of a full scale model, from the stretched bark outer layer to the wooden gunwales and crossbars frame. A product of the Athabaskan Native Americans, these were working toys, salesman sample size. The birch bark canoe itself enjoys a proud heritage. They were light for portage, yet resilient, able to withstand rapids, and, if damaged, easily repairable. Minimal draft while carrying heavy cargo was an added advantage. Their construction required high skills from stripping one piece of bark from a tree, to the intricate stitching securing the entire frame together. Early European explorers admired them so much so they paddled across the continent in them. Over the years the canoe morphed in material and size, but the birch-bark's
24 inch length model Athabascan canoe, fit for a boy, Yukon Territory, Alaska, ca. 1920
legacy remained firmly fixed. The recognition of the canoe was complete when a Sprint Canoe Class was admitted into Olympic competition at Berlin in 1936.
Although the Yukon was his home, William eventually departed, his boyhood life now a dream. He attended secondary school in Michigan, then college at Western Ontario University, matriculating in 1937. His new home would be the east coast, his boyhood treasures safely stowed away in his closet, and in his heart. In his youth, he may have possessed little, but well he realized in later years, he had had everything.
As will you this September morning where the Yukon and the world converge at your fingertips.
Miner's leather bouillon belt, Yukon Territory, Alaska, ca. 1915-20
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- Tejada-Genie
- The Red Badge Of...
- Bob, Beatles, and the Boomers
- The Call of the Wild
- A Bicycle Built for Two
- Photo Finish
- Three Gables in a Glade
- Now I know my ABC's... Richboro Ephemera
- Hitting on All Sixes
- A Tail Gunner's Tale
- Take it from the Top
- Dreams Work
- A Night to Remember
- I Was There
- Land of the Setting Sun
- Ribbons in her Hair
- Unspoken Truth