Arctic MK

Chapter 4: Chinking the Outhouse

When we got off the plane in Ft. Yukon, a man was waiting for us.

"Good to see you again, Oliver," he said, shaking Daddy's hand.

"Ellie Lee, girls, this is Brother Cavanaugh," he said. "He's the Episcopalian minister I met when I came to check things out. He agreed to bring our vehicle and pick us up."

"Right this way," the man said.

He led us to a green truck. He and Daddy loaded our suitcases in the back.

"Ellie Lee, you and Myra can sit in the front," Daddy said. "Rhoda, Deborah and I will ride in the back with the luggage."

Mama looked at the dirt road leading away from the airport. She frowned. "You girls sit all the way down," she said. "Hold on to the side in case we hit a bump."

"They'll be okay," Daddy said. "I won't let them bounce out."

"I'll drive slow," Brother Cavanaugh said.

We started down the dirt road. There were log houses along the road. All of them had doghouses by them. Dogs were chained to the houses. As we passed, the dogs began barking.

Hollering over the dogs, I screamed, "Why do all of the houses have dogs chained outside?"

"Those are dog teams," Daddy hollered back. "The Indians don't have trucks like our Jeep. They use dog sleds to get around in the winter. I'll tell you more later when we don't have to holler."

I remembered seeing dog sleds on Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, so I knew what Daddy was talking about. I wondered what the Indians did to get around in the summer if they didn't have trucks, but I didn't try to ask.

We came around a bend and saw a huge river. The water in the river was moving fast, not slow like in the Gastineau Channel. There were some buildings along the river.

"That's the Yukon River," Daddy said. There were no dogs here, so he didn't have to shout as loud. "That big building there is the N.C. Company," he said. "It's the main store in the village."

I had lots of questions I wanted to ask, but we were turning on another road that led away from the river. We were coming up on a big building that Daddy said was a school. "And that," he pointed to a building that looked like a half moon turned upside down with a door in it, "is our church. The two-story log house behind it is your new home."

"What kind of church is that?" I blurted as we turned towards the log house. "It doesn't have a steeple or anything."

"True," Daddy said. "It's a Quonset hut that is used as a church. God doesn't require a steeple."

We stopped by another truck next to the log house. A bunch of kids were standing across the road watching. The dogs chained to houses behind them started to bark. One of the boys turned and hollered something at the dogs. I didn't understand what he said, but the dogs stopped barking.

"We're home," Daddy said.

He picked me up and handed me to Mama. Rhoda climbed over the side of the truck. Daddy and the other preacher started taking our suitcases out of the truck. Mama and us girls were just standing there.

"You can take the girls inside, Ellie Lee," Daddy said.

"The house isn't locked?" Mama asked. "No," Daddy said with a laugh. "Nobody locks their doors in the village."

"We'll see about that," Mama mumbled. She pasted a smile on her face and said, "Come on girls, let's take a look."

Mama opened the door and we walked inside. A huge barrel turned on its side dominated the room. There was a door in front and it had legs. A round tube went from the top of the barrel and through the ceiling. Beside it was a box filled with logs. Warmth was coming from the barrel, so I decided it must be some kind of heater. I found out later I was right. It wasn't just a heater. It was our only heater. The barrel stove heated the whole house.