“IN EVERY HEART THERE
BREATHES A HUMAN STORY”
- ___!
(Editor’s note: Quite often
there comes to our desk literary
effort that is worthy of note. We
present the following in the
hope that more of our readers
will enjoy the fullest import of
the writer’s sense of the literary.
The Nugget wishes to compli
ment Mrs. Robinette on her at
tempt at the higher art and
expresses hope it shall not be the
last one appearing in these col
umn):
By JUNE ROBINETTE
• There he stood, old tattered,
dissipated and seemingly unin
telligent. Yes, there he was, one
Albert Falcon, a 98-year-old In
dian.
It’s not only good breeding, but
it can also be profitable ’ to give
courtesy, however small, to the
underdog. Albert was an under
dog and everything else that he
was accused of being; a worth
less old pauper, a salmon-scented
siwash, a relic of a bygone era in
this changing world. He was
not used to being greeted civilly
and especially by young women,
so my friendly “good morning”
lekl to the acquisition of one of
the most pathetic and interesting
stories I’ve ever come upon.
My “good morning” brought
light to his tired old eyes and
quaked his body with more emo
tio» than I believed possible for
ope of his age to possess. I had
heard something of old Albert,
and seeing the effect my greet
ing had upon him, I invited him
ipto a restaurant for coffee. Al
bert apologized for acting queer
^rhen 1 spoke to him. I had re
minded him of a young white
woman whom he had known
years ago jSnd, confidentially, he
said, the only white person he
hpd ever had any respect for.
60 there in the restaurant booth
I get the story and though com
ing from this old native man it
was the greatest tribute eveT
paid to a brave woman.
Many years ago, there came to
the hills, a family of four who
built a log cabin near the Indian
camp where Albert lived as a
young boy with his parents.
These strange whites both awed
and frightened him. He was
thrilled by their ability to read
and write, their clock, that could
tell the time, the spices and flav
or of their food. But he had no
respect for their hunting meth
ods It was Mary Vail’s kindness,
her cookies and her accordian
that endeared this young mother
to Albert.
It was spring now, and time for
the tribe to move down the river
to fish and hunt for the sum
| mer, and time for John Vail,
the father, to go to the coast
to whale. The whales, the big
fish, Albert thought was in keep
ing with the white man’s fan
tastical exaggerations. The rest
of the white family, Mary, the
mother and two daughters, Emily
aged eight and Dixie aged three,
would stay behind until winter
would bring the tribe back to
I the mountain camp and also John
Vail' from the coast.
In those days women like Mary
Vail never, thought of the long,
! lonely months alone in a moun
1 tain wilderness with their young.
They worked. And Mary worked
too hard. One day in mid-August
Mary collapsed and was uncon
scious for several hours. When
she regained consciousness she
realized the suspicion of a doc
tor wa correct. She had tuber
. culosis. A sixth sense told her
that she wouldn’t last long but
if she could only hold out until
John came home to be with the
girls, she wouldn’t mind much.
In late September a light flur
ry of snbw told her that winter
would bring John home and her
death from tuberculosis was run
ning a close race. She couldn’t
do outside work any more and
as her anxious trips to the door
to gaze down the road became
' frequent, it wras impossible to
^ keep the children from notic
ing that she was very ill and
worried. Should she tell them
the truth? She thought not. She
wanted them to remember their
mother as she had always been.
She had* no fuel. Only the small
sticks and twigs that the children
could fetch each day cooked their
meals and kept them warm at
night. Each day the snow on
the mountains that started as a
little white lace cap, would move
a little further down like a can
cerous, hideous thing slowly
easing its way to the cabin. Could
John beat it here “I won’t last
until John comes. Dixie is too
young to understand; only three
years old. Emily is eight. She is
smart and such a good worker.
She could gather woodl to keep
them warm until the snow came
and buried it too deep for little
hands. She could cook for her
self and Dixie for a while. Emily
wouldn’t understand about death.
We have told her only about
things alive, but she is so good,
she will do as her mother says,
always. It’s no telling how long
I would have to lay here in this!
room. They wouldn’t understand
why Mommy wouldn’t wake up
or talk to them. Why does Mom- |
my stink? I must do it a dif- j
ferent way!”
‘‘Emily, come here, mother’s
tired. She is going to lie down ;
out here in the shed on this
board. Mother is going to sleep.
She is going to sleep a long,
long time and she doesn’t want
to sleep in the house. She is so
tired she can sleep better out
here in the cold. Pull this sheet
over me. Emily you’re a good
girl. Please do not disobey
Mommy and don’t disturb her till
Daddy comes home. Be sure to
feed little Dixie good. See that
she is covered up good and tight
at night. If the snow comes and
you can’t get wood, try to pry
some of the shakes off of the
I
outside sheds. That’s it, Emily, |
kiss Mommy goodnight. Dixie 1
kiss Mommy too. Goodnight
sweet angel girls. That’s it, close
the door.”
“Isn’t Mother coming in the
house?” !
“Hush, Dixie. We promised her
we wouldn’t disturb her.” I
I
When the Indians returned to !
their camp it fell to Albert to
carry the news to the white wom
an that her husband had been
lost at sea and would not re
turn. Albert found the white
woman dead and laid out on a
bench in the shed and Emily and
Dixie in bed, chilled and seri
ously ill with pneumonia. A stew
pan on the table held a crudely
cut ch-unk of venison, half cook
ed and untouched. A little blaze
flickered from the ends of two
long skin stretching boards that
Emily had stuck in the stove. The
stove door was open and the
boards protruded out almost to
the center of the room. Emily
no longer had the strength to
chop them in two.
The squaws came and nursed
the children until they were well.
But when spring came they fell
ill and died. Emily two days after
Dixie. It was thought by the
oldtimers of the tribe that—In
dian food no good for white girls, i
The Indians buried them beside
their mother in the soft earth
that had been the garden behind
the cabin.
* * *
Whether this story is true or
not, I have no way of knowing.
I was three hours getting all the
story out of Albert. He told it
with so much conviction that it j
left him an emotional wreck, and
me with the coffee tremens.
THE END
Tell them you saw it adver
tised in The Nugget.
I t
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ANNUAL REPORT, 1943, AND
ESTIMATED BUDGET, 1944
i
Due to the fact that we have not had a regular minister dur
ing part of this year, our expenses and income have been lower
than usual.
!■
rt was not necessary, therefore, for the Federated Church
to ask the public for current expenses this year.
In 1944, however, we will need in pledges and gifts an esti
mated $1,779.84. We now have a full-time minister and our pro
gram will be greatly expanded this coming year. In accordance ]
with our regular custom we are now presenting pledge cards for !
1944. The estimated expense and income is based on actual fig- 1
ures to date and esti,mated items for the remainder of this year
and the estimation for the year 1944.
EXPENSES (Actual and estimated) 1943 (Estimated 1944) |
Salaries: Minister, Organist, Sexton $1,878.50 $2,952.00 !
Fuel .... 131.00 300.00 '
Light . 32.40 82.00 I
Printing and advertising . 90.00 200 00 '
Repairs . 204.00 100.00 ’
Music ._.... 30.00 50.00 -
Insurance . 81.00 81.00 '
Payment on Mortgage .. 10.0.00 100.00 !
World Service . 100.00 100.00 •
Council of Churches (America) .... 10.00 10.00 ’
Local Benevolence - 25.00 100 00 ■
Retirement Fund - 75.00 75.00 1
Miscellaneous - 34.46 25.00 I
$2,791.36 $4,175.00 !
INCOME (Actual and estimated) 1943 (Estimated 1944) -
Balance on hand (Jaauary, 1943) ...,$ 982.81 (January, 1944 561.16 !|
Pledges and Loose Plate Collection 1,435.15 (Loose Plate) 500.00
Sunday School - 150.00 160 00 '
Ladies Aid (Janitor) -- 181.00 - 200 00 !
Mission Board - 825.00 900 00 <
Miscellaneous - 68.56 75.00
$3,352.52 $2,396.16 ’
Balance on hand, January 1944 _ 561.16 |
$2,791.36 ;
TO BE RAISED BY PLEDGES OR GIFTS FOR 1944 .$1,779.84 •
_______ 4
$4,175.00 J
<j
..-, In addition to the contribution the Sunday School and Ladies
Aid have made to the regular budget, they have contributed greatly j
in other ways. Their total budgets are as follows: , •
SUNDAY SCHOOL LADIES AID ]j
budget —i—.$190.90 Church Board for j 4
To World Service-60.00 Janitor ____*181.00 *j
For Supplies- 26.64 Parsonage, Repairs and h
■- Improvements j,..... 679.63 •)
$188 .64 Sunday evening social 1
. . hour —--- 115.00 -i
Miscellaneous _ 8.90 J
$982.53 5
DON’T FORGET—WE ARE RT ^ODSI-ING OUR CHURCH! ,
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