Alaska Stories

Where the forests nose into the lake, where the salmon spawn each year; where the camps were, that’s where you’ll find Blind Siku’s place. Siku is not here, nor are his bones. But stand on the shore, look through the mist to the hills on the other side, and you’ll feel his presence, as sure as if he was behind you. It was my late grandfather, Billy Thomson, who first brought me to this spot, a full hour’s hike from the ne...

"I need a job."The boat owner looked up at me for a long time. "Let me see your hands."I put the backpack down carefully against the pier and held out my hands."You're no fisherman.""No, but I'm strong and work hard."The man looked at me as he took off his dirty Mariners hat and ran a dirty hand over the back of his neck. "You know mistakes kill you here.""Yep.""Well, my mate is in Juneau with his girlfriend for a couple...

Dead Horse Creek Based on a story by Rich Eskew In nineteen and ten, five adventurous men headed out to the treacherous cold – and propelled by their hope, would engage the North Slope in pursuit of their fortunes in gold. So ‘Big Bill’ was there with his buddy ‘Sinclair’ and a guy they referred to as ‘Slick’ – there was ‘Roger McCoy’ and another old boy that his buddies would call ‘Yukon Dick’. But none of the five were...