14. Summer Job

Then after my junior year I got a great job. I went to Sitka and applied for stream guard at the federal Bureau of Fisheries. I was hired over older men. The explanation was given that I could survive in a wilderness situation with the inference that these other white applicants couldn't. I almost haughtily agreed with Mr. Alex Brogle. Wasn't I an Eskimo. And weren't we survivors? Mr. Brogle told me that my duties were twofold. First I would keep a field diary on spawning activities at the streams and rivers near my station. Second I would enforce the fishery laws. Mostly I would prevent seiners from fishing within 500 yards of a spawning stream and no commercial fishing from 6 PM Fridays till 6 AM Mondays. Mr. Brogle warned me of the St. Nicholas which was a notorious stream robber; this boat was well muffled and liked to rob a stream in the dead of night. To rob a stream was to set seine near the mouth of a stream and catch the salmon while they were lingering. They needed a short time to change from being salt water fish to fresh water. Okay, Mr. Brogle, I think I understand what my job is. Then I went to the Sitka Cold Storage Co. and told them I needed grubstake for the summer and a rifle for bear protection(?). My word was good for credit and I bought mostly staples: coffee, sugar, flour, rice, salt, pepper, and lard. I also bought some canned fruit and vegetables. I intended to eat a lot of fish and clams and didn't tell Mr. Brogle I intended to (gasp!) poach a deer too. I also bought a 500 Savage with a box of 240 grain bullets. I would be provided with a 9' by 9' tent, tarpaulin, Coleman stove, sleeping bag with canvass cot, and a small fiberglass boat with a 15 horsepower outboard motor. With the latter would come a drum (52 gallons) of gasoline and a case of oil. I was eager to go! We loaded my provisions aboard the Skipjack, a 40’ cabin cruiser, which would be my occasional contact and set off with my little fiberglass boat in tow. On the third morning after we left Sitka we arrived to where I would spend the summer. It was located on the outside waters of Chichagof Island. Sisters Lake was a U shaped salt water inlet about 1O miles long. The narrow entrance was at the bottom of the U and I was warned that it was treacherous traveling this narrow entrance when the tide was running. I would learn that later. The nearest land was about 2 miles across the entrance. It was there where we decided I would set up camp. My tent and provisions were loaded on the beach and they helped me roll the drum of gasoline above the tide line. Then they quickly left me with everything on the beach. I was aghast. A quick goodbye and good luck and without even offering to help me set up camp. These guys weren't civilized. I was alone so I'd better get to work. Fast. Before I set up the tent my first priority was drinking water. Fortunately there was a waterfalls just across the lake. To my surprise there was a log cabin near the falls. Even more surprisingly, an elderly man who introduced himself a Cap Hansen was inside. I told him who I was. what I was doing there and left quickly. I only had the rest of the day to set up. There was a small rise with a little clearing. I could see the entrance of the lake through the tree. I cut three small trees to set up the tent. I anchored the three sides of the tent with sod to keep them from flapping in the wind. Then I cut some more small trees so I could cover the whole tent with the tarpaulin. It took most of the day but I was pleased. Luckily it wasn't raining. My foodstuffs and cot took up most of the tent but I made it as comfortable as possible. I made coffee and had a couple Sailor Boy crackers and thought about supper. Fresh trout and rice sounded like a good way to cap my first day. I made a fishing pole with a hook at the end of a ten foot line. Using a small piece of cheese I took off in my little boat in search of a stream. I found a stream at one end of the inlet and guessed that this would be a spawning stream. I got my trout and returned to camp. The aluminum cooking ware that was provided would be adequate. The fried trout and rice really hit the spot for I was hungry. I made another pot of coffee and sat down to think of the summer. It was beautiful. A cup of coffee at the edge of a pristine lake. Not a sound except the distant waterfalls. I was pleased with the day. Soon darkness came. I finished my coffee on the beach and realized how happy I was. .Then I lit the gas lamp and got ready for bed. I was tired. A mouse got caught in the Coleman stove and kept me awake most of the night. In the morning I found that mice had chewed through anything that was edible. I quickly made all my food mouse proof. Then I dealt with the mouse that was caught in the Coleman stove. I tied its tail with a string and hung it on a branch. Then I took my rifle and blew it out of existence. Only the tail was left. Overkill, I fixed the stove so it couldn't trap another mouse. I didn't want to go through life as an efficient killer of mice. I found there were only two streams in my area where salmon spawned. I kept a log. At the peak of their activity I estimated each stream had 300,000 spawning salmon. I must have been the first human that some of the brown bears had ever seen. Neither the bears nor I ever felt threatened of each other. I always sang songs or whistled so as not to surprise them. I could walk up the middle of a stream with bears on each side without fear. We were good neighbors. Only one time did I go visit Cap Hansen. I didn't ask him why he was living there. Acceptance of his presence on the lake was good enough for me. Besides that, he loved his solitude. I was beginning to love mine. One night I was awakened by the sound of a muffled engine. Stream robber! I thought. I dressed and went to my little boat, rifle in hand. With a 15HP kicker the little boat could zip along at about 25 knots. Maybe 30. In the black night I sped out to where I thought the boat might be. Then I saw the hulk of the boat by starlight, raced around it once, and returned to my campsite which I found by flashlight. I wondered what to do next. I heard stories of stream guards who disappeared without a trace. Then the fishing boat turned on all its lights and steamed out of the lake. Whew! I felt like I dodged a bullet. Other than that incident the summer flew by peacefully, almost idyllically. I made a calendar by hand and the days went by too fast. Some days I sat on an occasional sunlit beach and drank coffee all day. I tried panning for gold not knowing where to best try it. The streams would do. Three times the Skipjack came around to see how I was doing. I reordered staples. Potatoes. When I ordered popcorn seeds they asked if it was all I was going to do. I showed my field log to prove how busy I was. Was I living off deer? No. I lied. It was good to share a meal with other people. I demanded a big pay raise which I never got. On the government payroll I was only a GS-3. But I did look forward to money in my pocket when the Senior year started. One time I escorted Mr. Brogle up my streams. We almost walked on salmon. I wanted to show him the bears I had come to recognize but they stayed out of sight. Two human beings were too much. I thought. Mr. Brogle carried a .44 Magnum on his hip as bear protection. He showed me he was real good using it. I was glad the bear had stayed out of sight.