North to Alaska - Sam McGee

Well I needed that long winter's nap last night.   In my blog space where I write "More About Me," I mention that I never let facts interfere with a good story.  Well what I am about to relate may seem odd or a little queer (in the old since of the word) and many of you will dismiss it out of hand immediately.  I will not try to persuade you that my latest adventure is true.  Those who believe will, and those who don't wont and there is no amount of persuading that will change ones mind one way or another.   All I will say is that there are very strange things that happen in the land of the midnight sun and the things one sees and experiences on the Arctic Trails might make ones blood chill.

As I left off yesterday my friend was just coming around.  He had taken off all his clothes except the long underwear and covered himself with blankets.  He did not go to sleep, he just wanted to be warm.  He accepted a cup of tea that I had brewed from the store of supplies the cabin's owner had provided and began to cook a pot of beans that also was so graciously provided, albeit not necessarily known to our benefactor.

I thought it was about time to find out who my friend was and what he was doing so far away from things.

His name was Sam, but most everyone called him Mac he said.  He was a gold prospector.  Sam was from Tennessee like he had first said and why, he asks himself now and then, he ever decided to leave the cotton fields of Plumb Tree, he'll never know.  He had retired from the military and he and another retiree, he only referred to as Captain, Cap or Ole Cap, set off on their own great adventure to look for gold.  They found some and on the way back to transfer gold dust to green paper Mac got sick and really thought he was going to die.  In his delirium he made his partner promise to cremate his last remains and not leave him in a cold snowy grave.  Apparently Mac passed out and only regained consciousness when he opened his eyes and found he was surrounded by flames.  He was trying to figure out what was going on when he felt a chill wind blow across his face and heard a scream.  He looked towards the sound of the scream and saw Cap just as he was turning around and leaving hurriedly leaving the door  ajar.   Mac scampered toward the opening and saw Cap running towards his snowmobile, jump on and speed off into the distance.  Mac decided he would stay put because he was warm by the harth of the furnace roar and after a quick survey he realized that the flames were from an old boat tied to a lake dock.  He said it began to dawn on him what had happened.  Cap had taken what he thought was Mac's inert dead body along the trail looking for a place to cremate him.  One of the stern codes of the trail is that a promise made is a debt unpaid and Cap was an honorable man.  He must have come across this old derelict boat, realized it was no good for anything and decided to use it as a crematorium for his frozen chum.  Little did Cap know, Mac said, that Mac was not dead, just frozen to a catatonic state which "happens now and then up here."  When Cap wanted to see if Sam was cooked he looked inside and saw Sam in all is glory looking cool and calm.  Ole Cap panicked and lit out probably thinking that he had lost his mind.

After warming up, making a survey of his provisions, he mounted his own snowmobile which Cap had been towing Mac's "body" and with some dead reckoning he reckoned he headed to the nearest settlement he knew about.  He needed to refit and go find Cap.  However he had some engine trouble tried to fix the machine and the storm hit, he froze up again and then I found him. 

I listened to his yarn and wondered what the real story was but this was not the time or the place to challenge ones account of a life episode.  We spent two nights in the cozy cabin and although I cannot say we became good friends I did find Sam very enjoyable to talk to and was amazed at the knowledge he had about gold prospecting and living in the "land of death" which he called it a lot.

The wind and snow had stopped so we spent the next day repairing his snowmobile.  It only needed a belt and wouldn't you know it our Cabin owner had one of those too along with some extra gasoline.

I mentioned to Sam that I felt like a thief and he said not to worry, we only need to leave the guy a note telling him who we were, what we used, and how to reach us so we could resupply his "loss."  It is standard policy up here he said.

We both put down the information, pinned it to the inside of the door, shook hands, and said our goodbyes.  He was headed north and I south and were pretty well sure how to get to our final destinations.  I got about a mile down the road when I realized I had forgotten to reattach my sleigh.  When I returned to the cabin and got ready to go again, I also realized that I did not even know Sam's last name nor how to get hold of him if the mood so struck.  I went to where we had left the notes.  His said,  "Thanks for the provisions, I will be back this way again I am sure and will drop off everything I took plus some more.  Thanks,  Sam McGee, from Tennessee  where the cotton blooms and blows.  P.S.  If a guy comes by looking for me and he says is name is Ole Cap tell him I headed towards the Dawson Trail."

Same McGee?  I know I have heard that name before but just can't place it.