The days were getting shorter..and the weather harder to take..this Canadian weather here and around the Yukon was something to behold in winter,MT and myself..
Well I'm getting a little ahead of what I need to say..my name is Fredrick..most all call me "Friz"..the two of us have been mining for awhile now in the Canadian mountains..way back away from everyone..but now winter was about upon us so we are now heading into the Yukon..After a couple days ride we are here.. It's something to behold in the Yukon this place of wonderment..
the wild elements still as it was a hundred years ago..MT is an excellent miner..he sure knows his stuff only by expierence only and with trial and error along with a hard life..he has done about everything connected to digging..dredging..or mining..and on top of that the man made a fortune..used it..waisted some..helped others..and invested through out the years..and back again for that second fortune..
he found nugget's nearly half as big as the palm of your hand..I would not have believed this had I not seen pictures of all the gold..at least he did keep records..where to go ..how long he had to mine at that spot.. and why it did or did not work in that area..and of course maps of the best places..the rugged land had a lot to do with it all I am sure..and in studying the maps I could see why some never did return..
Now here we are..knowing that the cold snowy winter is here..we will have to dig in for awhile..or until Spring..but that's okay too!..We have become fast friends..and will enjoy the company instead of being in this lonely spot each to his own..the thoughts of being here far from any thing or any one I don't relish and know I would have not come this far,you have to be a certain type of person to stay alone for months..and enjoy it..
I was from New York..and having some money got this idea I was going to once in my life do something I liked to do�for me and no one else..having heard about gold from my younger years and from those few who had scratched out a little I had always the hunger for it from reading and finding information from the mountains of California..Canada..Yukon..and other places..decided to take a leave of absence from my stuffy office job..no one could figure out why..but I had all the confidence in the world in myself..even if I did not get a nickle's worth of gold it was always there in the back of my mind..eating away like a rabbit in a lettuce bed..wanting to get full on the adventure if nothing else..the more I thought of this idea..the more I knew I was going to find someone to help..
I read about all the objects of use in gold digging..what you needed and why..and I finally figured out it sure took a lot of patience and strength..and fortatude to boot..
That's when I made arrangements to fly to Fairbanks..to meet MT and to check things out..he was really a lot younger than I thought he would be..sporting a short beard white as the driven snow..with sparkling blue eyes..and a mid way normal hair cut..he sure did not seem this man I had read about so often.
In reading some of the articles he had written in the Gold Magazines..I was pretty sure he had to be in his later years..but upon meeting MT found out he was around forty or so..and with me being around the same age..felt this was a good omen..
Now we had all we needed for the winter..supplies were many..with warm blankets..outer coverings..and his trusty four by four truck.. his wood cabin way back off the beaten path but MT had used this place year after year or when he was in this area..with the wood cook stove..and plenty of wood stored back..can good's by the box full..we were set..we could not be any more cozy..we killed a lot of time reading..me doing a lot of the cooking..simply because I liked to piddle on the stove something to do when things were bored for me..and MT had made me a pretty good leather man in teaching me to make about anything I might need..I was taking great pride in all this..and was glad this man had given of his time to teach me the mountain way of life..
Now the wind's..and the snow's grew each day..sometimes when it was not to bad and weather permitting which was not to often we would go hunting..only for fresh meat..who wants to eat beans all the time..or canned meats..it was known that you only kill for meat not sport..me, well I let more go than I actually killed but I was learning each day something different and new.. I had to respect and listen to MT..he knew about the harsh life..and the unfortunate turn this country could take on a person's life destroying it in a flash..
Now I had a beard..and wondered what the guys and gals at the New York office would think if they saw me..laughing to myself..I wished they could see what a mountain man I had really become..
Months went by..and we could start to see the thaw's of winter ebbing the cold sight of snow and high drift's..
Spring was starting and this is what we two had been waiting for..we could pretty soon start on our gold journey..what a relief it was to be able to walk out and enjoy the peaking sun among the thick pine trees..
you could still see some at a distance..but it would not be long and that dense forest would soon be here to cover and hide any one..or anything..
As we gathered out belonging's and started to put them into the four by four..we heard a loud crashing noise off in the distance..before I could turn MT was pulling out his revolver and firing.. yelling at me to get the rifle out of the truck..my senses were all crazy and I hear sounds.. people or something...what in the world is going on as I heard MT talking in a different language..grabbing the rifle out of the front seat I start shooting..all the while screaming..who are they??....
Kyusha��1999
