"You are very welcome, my friend," said the Senator, grasping the hand of the Diplomat5, as he came ashore6. "Your arrival gives my countrymen much pleasure, and I earnestly hope that we may be able to make the ties of friendship between your people and mine very much stronger."
"His Majesty7, the Czar, charged me to make plain to you his sentiments of good will and his desire to render your government a service."
The two men pushed their way through the crowd and were soon being driven rapidly toward the Senator's residence. After dinner that evening, while sitting by the fire the Diplomat said: 263
"Do you know the Russian story of the discovery of Alaska, the Great Land, as we called it?"
"No," replied the Senator, "I do not. I only know that it was a curious freak of fortune that your people should be the ones to discover the fabled8 'Straits of Anian' so long sought by the Spaniards, Portuguese9 and English navigators. Bering's Sea is very far from India, but it is the famous northwest passage, that separates Asia from America." The Diplomat said:
"While Europe was exploring and settling the Americas my countrymen were throwing off the yoke10 that made them subjects of the Khans of Tartary. Even at that time we had a great caravan11 trade with China and Persia, but our merchants suffered severely12 from the depredations13 of the Cossack freebooters roaming over the steppes of Siberia. These reckless horsemen would charge down on a caravan and rob it of all its silks, spices, teas and perfumes."
"Then you can sympathize with the galleons14 of Spain that were harassed15 by the buccaneers and pirates infesting16 the high seas ready to scuttle17 and sink any ship that fell into their hands," said the Senator, greatly interested.
"Our merchants had no redress18 and they complained bitterly to Peter the Great, who immediately undertook to chastise19 the unruly Cossacks. They fled into Siberia, and it was not long before they found rich silver mines on the Amoor river, and began to traffic in the ivory and sable20 skins which make that vicinity notable. As they 264 advanced toward the Pacific Ocean they were able to slaughter21 herds22 of musk23 oxen, and before many years the fame of the ivory deposits brought hundreds of adventurers into that barren region. Diligent24 inquiry25 among the natives disclosed the fact that there was a Great Land toward the North Pole where remains26 of the hairy elephant were plentiful27, and its beautiful tusks28 were heaped up in huge mounds29."
"It was a desire for gold that brought the first white men to California," said the Senator, "and the building of the railroad across the continent is the result of having found it."
"Ivory and furs were the lure30 that nerved the Russian freebooter to brave the frozen sea and six months of night," said the Diplomat. "They went to sea in open boats made of planks31 tied together with rawhide32 straps33 and thongs34. Their sails were of soft dressed reindeer35 skins, and in place of rope they used elk36 skin strips. The anchors were pieces of wood weighted with stones. They had no beds, and carried a wooden plate and spoon tied to the sash around their waists."
"They must have suffered very much from cold and hunger," said the Senator.
"They did; and many of them died with scurvy37. They were greatly hindered by glaciers38 and icebergs41, and would never have been able to make the journey at all except for the sleds and dogs furnished by the natives."
"Were the Eskimos and Aleuts always 265 friendly?" asked the Senator. The Diplomat hesitated for a moment, then said with a smile:
"The freebooters found it necessary to fight after they had once ill-treated the natives. At first the white men were supposed to be superior beings, but they proved themselves unworthy of confidence and then there was serious trouble."
"We have had a somewhat similar experience in dealing42 with the Indians in this country," replied the Senator.
"In one of the numerous attempts made by the freebooters to reach the Great Land, they fell in with some Japanese castaways who claimed to have found gold and silver there in abundance. When this was reported to Peter the Great he organized a scientific and military expedition under Bering to find Alaska, with the hope that it would lead to commercial relations with America and Japan."
"It seems a hard fate that Bering should die of scurvy in the winter when all was dark as night and exceedingly cold," said the Senator.
"Yes," answered the Diplomat, "especially after he had survived the six weary years of hardship and toil43 necessary to march across Siberia. It is possible that he would have failed at last had he not noted44 the flight of the land birds and known that there must be a shore-line not far away."
"Did he or his family profit by the discoveries he made?"
"Very little. It has been the fate of all the Russian explorers in America to die poor," 266 responded the Diplomat. "It has cost my government vast sums of money and more than two hundred years have elapsed since the first efforts were made. We have profited greatly by the seal fisheries and so will your people when once Alaska becomes a territory of the United States."
"It has always been a puzzle to me why the Czar recalled the Russian colonists45 living in peace and prosperity in California under Spanish rule," said the Senator, after a pause.
"It was because he wished to maintain friendly relations with the United States and he was far-sighted enough to see that California would some day come under the American flag. It is to increase that feeling that he now offers to sell Alaska to you. He does not wish to have any possessions on this continent. The destiny of Russia lies in another direction."
Both the Senator and Diplomat went to see the President and it was not very long until the purchase was made. When the Senator came back from Washington he said:
"We have paid exactly two cents an acre for Alaska, and its seal fisheries are well worth that amount. We will not have to fight for its possession, and I am certain that we have made a good bargain."
Since then many men have sailed into the northern waters and come back with cargoes46 of whale oil, or seal skins or canned salmon47, but no one paid any particular attention to them. A party of scientific men explored the Yukon river which 267 is as long and as wide as the Mississippi and made the ascent48 of Mount St. Elias, one of the loftiest peaks in North America, but nobody was interested in Alaska except as a place where the sun shines for six months and then leaves the whole country in partial darkness for another six months.
Imagine the sun apparently49 traveling around in a little circle all the time. There are no sunrises and no sunsets, and no need of lights at night. Then when it goes down, lamps or candles must be burned all the time. When the extreme cold comes the aurora50 borealis sends out splendid rays of many colored lights to burnish51 up the vault52 of heaven and make a grand electrical display.
The Eskimos are a dwarfed53 race of men and women with flat noses, and eyes wide apart, and they dress themselves in heavy furs with the hair turned next to the body. They live on fish and whale blubber, and are experts in throwing a spear or managing a skin canoe. In front of their homes they have curious totem poles to show what tribes they belong to, and they are quite ingenious in weaving fish-nets, baskets, and in the carving54 of silver and ivory.
For many years no news came from Alaska, except by ship, and on a warm, sunny day in autumn not long ago, some sailors set up the cry:
"Gold has been found in Alaska! It is the new El Dorado! It is richer than California!"
At first people did not believe them, but when the experts passed upon the findings everybody said: 268
"Let us go to the Klondike! We can get rich in a few months."
The excitement was so great that it did no good to point out the hardships and dangers of such an undertaking55.
"We will take the chances of freezing," they said, carelessly. "We can walk over the mountain passes and we do not care about the discomforts56."
"But only a few can find the gold. It was the same in California. Not one in a thousand can possibly bring away as much gold as he takes with him to live on, for food will be very scarce and high priced," urged the prudent57 ones.
"You will freeze," said others, "or will die with scurvy, or be eaten by those terrible white polar bears and wolves."
"No matter what you say to us we are going," was the reply, and every ship that could be found was loaded with eager men, and some venturesome women bent58 upon wresting59 the gold from the frozen north. Many of them had never seen an iceberg40 or a glacier39, and had no idea what misery60 awaited them.
"Write us as soon as you can," said the wives and mothers tearfully, as they stood on the wharf in some seaport61 of the Pacific saying good by to some loved one, going to seek a fortune.
"It will be six months before this ship can return," said the captain of one of the first ships that carried gold seekers to Alaska in answer to an anxious inquiry as to how long it will be before the promised letters could arrive. 269
"Why will you be so long?" asks some little boy or girl whose heart is sad at parting with their beloved father.
"Because the great ice-floes will close in on our vessel and we will not be able to move until the weather moderates."
"Then will you bring my father back to me?" asks the simple child.
"I hope so, my dear," and then the kindly62 face of the captain looks serious and he mutters to himself, "God forbid that it should be a grave instead of a fortune that awaits this child's father."
The first season many a brave man sailed away, full of hope and expectancy63, but the next year returned haggard, worn and in some instances a hopeless invalid64.
"What do you think of the gold fields of Alaska?" asks his old friends as they shake his hand.
"It is a place to suffer and grow old in; a place to lose the earnings65 of a lifetime, and your health with them. In the long, dreary66, dark nights the stoutest67 heart loses courage, and next to longing68 for home is the longing for death."
If he were one of the fortunate few who found the grains of free gold deposited in the frozen sands, he had a sobered, prematurely69 old look and said:
"Yes, I have made money in the gold fields of Alaska, but I hope I may never be obliged to go back and live in the mines." 270
Strewn along the trail and over the Chilkoot Pass are the bleaching70 bones of those who sacrificed their lives in the effort to reach the new El Dorado. The simple Eskimos looked on in wonder at the frantic71 energy of their white brothers, and were content in their own security.
The Ice Queen is their guardian72 and she punishes those who venture into her frigid73 realm to unearth74 and carry away the hidden treasures. In Alaska, as everywhere else, one must work hard and build up the country instead of robbing it, if money is really to be made. The late comers have already learned this lesson, by experience, and are beginning to build railroads, good houses, schools and churches in the warmest and most fertile part of the country surrounding the seaports75.
And we know at last that El Dorado exists solely76 in the hearts and minds of men, and not in the everlasting77 snows of Alaska.
Eskimos
The End
The End
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收听单词发音
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1
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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2
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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3
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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5
diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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7
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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8
fabled
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| adj.寓言中的，虚构的 | |
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9
Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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10
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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11
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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12
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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13
depredations
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| n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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14
galleons
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| n.大型帆船( galleon的名词复数 ) | |
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15
harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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16
infesting
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| v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的现在分词 )；遍布于 | |
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17
scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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18
redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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19
chastise
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| vt.责骂，严惩 | |
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20
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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21
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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22
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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23
musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
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24
diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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25
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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26
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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27
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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28
tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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29
mounds
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| 土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆 | |
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30
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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31
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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32
rawhide
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| n.生牛皮 | |
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33
straps
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| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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34
thongs
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| 的东西 | |
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35
reindeer
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| n.驯鹿 | |
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36
elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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37
scurvy
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| adj.下流的，卑鄙的，无礼的；n.坏血病 | |
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38
glaciers
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| 冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
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39
glacier
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| n.冰川，冰河 | |
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40
iceberg
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| n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人 | |
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41
icebergs
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| n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 ) | |
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42
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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43
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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44
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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45
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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46
cargoes
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| n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负 | |
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47
salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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48
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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49
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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50
aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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51
burnish
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| v.磨光；使光滑 | |
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52
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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53
dwarfed
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| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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54
carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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55
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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56
discomforts
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| n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼 | |
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57
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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58
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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59
wresting
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| 动词wrest的现在进行式 | |
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60
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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61
seaport
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| n.海港，港口，港市 | |
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62
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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63
expectancy
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| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
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64
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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65
earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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66
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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67
stoutest
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| 粗壮的( stout的最高级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的 | |
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68
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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69
prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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70
bleaching
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| 漂白法，漂白 | |
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71
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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72
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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73
frigid
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| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
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74
unearth
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| v.发掘，掘出，从洞中赶出 | |
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75
seaports
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| n.海港( seaport的名词复数 ) | |
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76
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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77
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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