The Chechahcos

1
A White Dominion - lonely -
    - unfathomable -

2
Glaciers are great mountains of
  ice - impassable - constantly
pushing toward the water's edge
where tremendous blocks, millions
of tons in weight, sluf off with
      a sickening roar - -

3
It was a whisper that echoed
   "'round the world" and
started an epochal stampede.
Fired with the faith of fools,
   thousands poured madly
   into the treasure trail.

4
Everything had to be packed.
  A bank clerk carried his
pen, a barber carried his
chair, but if you were a
   boiler maker - - ?

5
To lengthen this human
  chain, ill-chosen ships
sped northward in 1897
with their cargoes of
  eager Chechahcos.

     [Note: "Chechahcos" an
     Alaskan word meaning
         tenderfoot.]

6
"Stow the family album,
Dad, and think about the
fortune you're going to
      take back."

7
"Horseshoe" Riley - an old
   timer around mining
camps, who hated two
things - women were both
of them.
       ... William Dills

8
Bob Dexter - - An
  adventure-craving
young engineer who
was due to have that
craving glutted to the
limit.
... Albert Van Antwerp

9
"Them lambs handle a pan
like they was mixin' a drink
- they'd be lucky to find
     gold in a mint."

10
"I'm goin' to grab a
grubstake, teachin'
them the A.B.C.'s of
   gold pannin'."

11
"Sure it's gold - the
  kind you're goin' 
 through hell for."

12
Mrs. Stanlaw and her child
  had been swept along
with the mad fever that
had overtaken her husband,
a young college professor.
       ... Miss Eva Gordon
           ... Baby Margie

13
"One would think them jays
was already millionaires,
the way they're spendin'
 money on them painted
        biddies."

14
"- and when these glaciers
moved on, they left the gold
exposed. It only remains for
us to pick up the larger
nuggets and return home."

15
"Careful, son - they'll
 all trim you if they
   get the chance."

16
"Would you please tell
 my husband I'd like
     to see him."

17
"She's awful. Let's get
the professor's wife to
      sing again."

18
In those frenzied times
  speed meant more
  than human life.

19
"She's got all the
   steam she can
       stand."

20
"Mid pleasures and palaces
    tho' we may roam -"

21
"- be it ever so humble,
there's no place like
         home."

22
"She's the professor's
         wife."

23
Richard Steele was one
  man going North who
didn't expect to dig his
fortune from the ground.
        ... Alexis B. Luce

24
"Come on, old kid, give
us a lively tune for a
       change!"

25
"I wouldn't be scared 
   if my mama was
        here."

26
Marine history of that
  Northern coast is
rife with the tales of 
  disastrous wrecks.

27
But the survivors all
 joined the eager army
at Chilcoot Pass where
they pressed on to a
blizzard-beaten crest.

28
There was one who would
  have gladly turned back
except for an insistent
       yearning.

29
"If the young engineer
is alive our best chance
to find him is at Lake
       Bennett."

30
It was not in the gambler's
  plans to tell Mrs. Stanlaw
that her baby was being
sheltered in the very camp
    they were leaving.

31
"Riley, it's kind of nice
   to be a - a mother."

32
Being a "mother", however,
  has its trying moments.
Riley was glad little Ruth
      wasn't "twins".

33
Beaver Camp marked
  the first lap on the
way to the Klondike.

34
"This is Pierre's cabin -
  we'll stay over here."

35
A good-night kiss.

36
"How can I ever thank
you for your kindness?"

37
"By permitting me 
  to call you -"

38
"Margaret."

39
The "Chilcoot" was ruthless
  - it dared the strong and
  crushed the weaklings.

40
"Got his feet froze up at
Beaver - - and don't
know yet they've got to 
      come off."

41
"Saw the kid's mother with
that gambler Steele, but
didn't get a chance to talk 
         to her."

42
"Riley, if that mother is
on ahead, it's our duty
      to find her."

43
"Maybe so - but it's darn
funny she's gallivantin'
around with a tin-horn
        gambler."

44
"We're not sure of
     that - -"

45
After "mushing" 
   the trail for
eighteen hours.

46
"Wait here 'til I find
   a warm place for
     the kiddie."

47
"Sorry I disturbed you
and your lady friend -"

48
"Huntin' quarters for the
night - reckon I came to
    the wrong place."

49
"It's too bad we have
 to travel with that
    scurvy crowd."

50
"Margaret - you need
someone to protect
you against it all - -
   you need me!"

51
Winter made its sullen
  retreat - the ice in
the Yukon moved down
     to the sea.

52
And the reindeer came up
 to bowse along the warm
 slopes of Mt. McKinley.

   Note: This is the first filming
         of Mt. McKinley, highest
         peak in North America.

53
The eager army converged
  on the shores of Lake
Bennett, building crude boats
that were to carry them
to the "Eldorado of their 
        Dreams."

54
"She's ready - and
 some boat, too."

55
"Yep! But God help some
of them poor devils - they
think they're buildin' boats
when they're only buildin'
         coffins."

56
Sour-dough bread, 
  bacon, beans, rice
and hard-tack was the
menu, when you put
in your stomach what
you packed on your 
       back.

57
"I'll give her plenty! Do
  you want her to grow
  up to be a midget?"

58
"Them beans certainly
add a nice flavor to the
         salt."

59
Across the lake and down
 through the treacherous
White Horse Rapids - - a
death trap to many a gold-
   lured Chechahcos.

60
Riley finally did some
  plain talking to his
  young partner.

61
"You must be wrong -"

62
"Maybe - but I saw a
plenty that night at
    Beaver Camp."

63
"And we've been trailing
her like a pair of sapheads
when she didn't give a -"

64
Of the many who harkened
  to that "Whisper" only
the few were chosen to reap.
With years the make-
shift gold-pan gave way
to the hydraulic mining -
"Alaska was discovered".

65
Dexter and Riley had named
  their mine "The Golden
Girl", for the girl more
precious to them than all
the yellow dust on the
      Bonanza - -

66
The dozen years in the open
  had scarcely changed the
partners. But Ruth had
grown to sweet young
      womanhood.

67
"Pretty good for a couple
    of sour-doughs."

68
"Heap big talk - - 
    little do."

69
Ruth. 
   ... Gladys Johnston

70
The land lay beneath its
  white coverlet, and the
crisp air welcomed its
lovers to the open....

71
"I'm glad you're back.
Bob's inside, frettin'
   his life away."

72
"The poor calf's been
tryin' to tell me all day.
Go in an' show him
how it's done, child."

73
"No longer your little
  girl, but your -"

74
"You gettum papoose -
  me takem care of."

75
Where the creek showed
  pay dirt a town grew
nearby. Such was Mason,
nine hours by dog-team
from the "Golden Girl Mine".

76
The Dance Hall was a
  part of a gold-born
town - it served both for
business and pleasure.

77
No longer were they Che-
 chahcos, for the breath
of the Yukon had trans-
formed them into lonely
sour-doughs, eager to taste
the wine of happiness.

78
A man, known as "Cold
   Steele", had lately
acquired the "Miner's Rest".

79
Steele, recognizing
   Dexter, saw
trouble looming.

80
"Get these supplies
and load the sled."

81
"They call her the 'Nightingale'
- she just came in with the
         new owner."

82
"The drinks are on
    you, boys."

83
"To the Nightingale!"

84
Dance Hall girls received
  their pay in percentage
checks for inducing men
to buy drinks and dances.
 Ten drunks made it a
  profitable evening.

85
"You remember me - - 
please come where we
     can talk."

86
Mrs. Stanlaw told her story
  - it was not all pretty -
yet there was a tragic note
in her recital which troubled
    Dexter's conscience.

87
"I couldn't believe my
  baby was - - was 
 drowned - I wanted
    to stay - - "

88
"What else was left
   for me to do?"

89
"Just tell me she
  is alive - -"

90
"If I told you she was -
      what then?"

91
"Oh, I love my baby -
I'd do anything - I'd
  promise never to
      see her."

92
"When we learned you
were with - him - we
told her you were - -
       dead."

93
"Don't worry - I'm not
trying to steal your
        woman."

94
"So it was you who knifed
me on the boat! I've got
a hunch that rumpus isn't
      finished yet!"

95
"Pierre ees good hand
with dogs - you give
      me job?"

96
"We'll start soon as the
  supplies are ready."

97
A woman of the
   Dance Halls.

98
Came a blinding blizzard
  with the temperature
   sixty below....

99
"You save my life so I tell
you - Meester Steele he
hire me to keel you - -"

100
"Tell the skunk I'm
  coming back to
   thank him!"

101
"Don't worry, Honey -
Bob's mushed through
worse storms than this."

102
"I've got to get
      warm."

103
"Sure - Minnie's bringing
enough coal oil to thaw
the chill out of an iceberg."

104
Throughout a long Arctic
  night, fighting that
demon which chills the
  bone and cooks the
     flesh - Frost.

105
With the morning came
   relief and the story of
the meeting with Ruth's
        mother.

106
"I thought about it out in
the snow - - would she
have gone with him if
she'd had her child."

107
"Figurin' from what you've
said, Bob, I'm thinkin' we
might have made a mistake."

108
"Maybe I should have
investigated more the
time I found her with
the gambler at Beaver
        Camp."

109
"Zee storm et get him
jus' same, 'cause I find
      zee dogs."

110
"The next time you
muddle things - -
    remember!"

111
A cry from the spirit -
   that hour when man 
must face the tribunal
   of conscience.

112
"God forgive me, if
I've done what ain't
       right!"

113
The Mail Carrier.

114
"She's going out to the
States and says to give
  these to the girls."

115
"So you're going to leave
  me because you found
  out about your brat."

116
"Yes! You cheat! Liar!
You've known where she
was all these years."

117
"- and here's something
to tell that engineer - -
you're mine - and going
     to stay mine!"

118
On a pretext of mining
  business, Dexter and
Riley depart for the town
       of Mason.

119
"The Miner's Rest"
  claimed the street
  crowd, for the
 "Nightingale" was
singing her farewell
       song.

120
It was a mother's call that
  echoed to the girl - her
mother - alive - and then a
panic haste to reach her
before it was too late.

121
"I'll look after her - -
 you attend to Steele -"

122
A short cut to the
   dangerous glacier
       trail.

123
"Me an' my pardner
have talked it all
       over."

124
"So you've come back
  to thank me, eh?"

125
And nothing to fight it 
    with but snow!

126
"By the time you're well
toasted, I'll be out on
    the Dyea trail."

127
Fear hastens Steele's
      get-away.

128
Dexter rushes for
    his dogs.

129
The first flush of Dawn
 found Dexter hanging
grimly to Steele's trail,
determined to bring him
     to justice.

130
Lost - - dazed - -
  unaware of the
danger in venturing
onto the glacier.

131
Steele makes for
  the glacier edge
where he believes
Dexter will fear to
     follow.

132
Crashing, crumpling,
  roaring - an ever
moving mass of ice.


          The End
Alaska Moving Pictures Corporation
      Anchorage, Alaska