Giant Of The North

[Music] the rich variety of deer and elk and caribou which delicately tread through the fastnesses of its forests [Music] the vigilant goats on their inaccessible mountain peaks the observant owl philosopher of the forest and possessor of the secrets of the vast price islands quad flotillas of looms and ducks sailing serenely over alaska's million streams and ponds until winter sends them south and the salmon driven by the inflexible law of their life cycle struggled to return to the place of their birth to lay their eggs and die death comes from another source too a black bear out of the darkness with the speed of light in his claws [Music] the grim law of survival of the fittest is demonstrated constantly in this vast wilderness it is a kind of heaven and a kind of hell and it comes complete with its prince of darkness indeed a second prince another seven foot black bear has also marked his fat fishing ground as his own knowing full well as does his rival that these fools provide an endless source of salmon too exhausted to escape survival of the fittest its scores must be settled by every creature that shares the abundance of this vast reservoir of space and life [Music] man too must master his environment to survive and the athabascan indian employing the primitive but ingenious fish wheel finds it a simple even restful matter the swift river current provides the power to turn the wheel and cause the twin nets to comb the stream constantly for fish [Music] some white fish are caught in season but when the king salmon are running the wheel grows choked with its catch which daily numbers in the thousands [Music] it is the natural oil on the fish's scales which causes them to slide along the nets and boards to their final destination [Music] the infinite resources of alaska have drawn the white man too and though he has cast his eye also upon the streams he has sought another kind of quarry men like this have braved the giant of the north to tap his most inaccessible treasure it was they who opened the wilderness adventurers often fugitives pioneers seeking the pot at the end of the rainbow the gleaming nuggets in the pan the heavier pebbles that did not shake loose the glowing dust called gold [Music] today one finds rather an improved pan employed in the mining of alaskan gold industrial genius has replaced the prospectors crude kitchenware with enormous dredges even as the less colorful but more competent engineer has replaced the prospector [Music] squatting in the gold field like a giant insect the dredge scoops up the muck filters the metal and ejects the waste in one coordinated operation [Music] here in the vicinity of fairbanks just below the arctic circle and in the great central valley of alaska lie the richest gold deposits on the continent and possibly in the world because a mistake could be measured in multiple dollars the men who [Music] such dredges reduce mountains to valleys clawing their way down to the subterranean layer where the metal occurs guided by their skilled masters these machines have performed plastic surgery on the giant of the north in the wake of the prospector the adventurer the fugitive the engineer has come the homesteader containing even more courage seeking an even greater prize roots in the land young men and women many of them veterans have appeared on the frontier braving the sub-zero winters the half-year of darkness the loneliness and hard labor for the promise of a better tomorrow for themselves and their children's children some places the skills sweat and faith of the homesteader has borne fruit there are farms under siege by mountains bombarded by pests assaulted by frosts but farms nonetheless and with harvests behind them yes man that most stubborn and resourceful of creatures has succeeded in planting a permanent address in the colossus of the north with each passing year this last american frontier draws increasing numbers of settlers many of them come by boat following either the sea or the traditional river routes going up the yukon aboard the old stern wheelers that still fly the stream [Music] yes alaska's population has more than doubled in a decade despite the stalwart defense that a powerful and uncompromising nature throws up to hold its last remaining redoubt under the stars and stripes [Music] but how can nature pin down the pioneer who brushes aside 30 foot snow drifts [Music] who will sit out of fairbanks winter which looks like this at three in the afternoon and who will shiver through at 45 degrees below zero [Music] no progress is not to be denied and alaskan cities like anchorage bursting their municipal seams testified to the fact that modern man with all his quirks is here to stay homes like this of alaskan logo speak eloquently of the existence of a new and permanent society and the flowers blooming on the fringe of the arctic surely they are as a multi-colored banner of victory displayed by the sourdough over the giant of the north events of recent history have caused a sharp re-examination of alaska in terms of national defense conflict in korea and the prospect of global war have brought alaska into sudden focus as the most strategically located area under the stars and stripes in past years fighting men and machines have poured into the territory in our effort to build a bastion against possible aggression [Music] the giant stirs flexes its muscles searches its soul seeking resources upon which to draw that it may rise to the stature required of it by destiny and this search has led to a rediscovery of its own primitive peoples among those primitive peoples are the point hope eskimos cousins to the indians and here gathered in thanksgiving for the whales harpooned that season this is a solemn occasion in the life of a people who exist on a whaling economy the entire village participate tasting of the whale whose meat will see them through the long dark winter ahead even infants who are worn under their mother's pockeys are fed the tidbits the great delicacy is the muck duck or whale's fin which is sliced into steaks and distributed by the skippers of the long boats that accomplish the harpooning the drum passes from man to man and the simple dance continues each man has a song of his own rocking the drum from side to side he beats on the frame of slow but persistent rhythm he forgets the harshness of his land in the simple pleasures which enrich life for all men everywhere even in the land of perpetual snows man [Music] everyone in the village personally receives a slice of muck duck from the skippers and their wives and thanksgiving being a joyous occasion the muk duck feast is followed by the nalightok or blanket toss the rollicking sport of the eskimo he who can rise highest and hold his balance when he lights is considered most proficient women too join in and though they set no altitude records they generally managed to land with dignity here at point hope on the furthermost shingle of america's roof the eskimo creates those qualities which enable him to survive in spite of the most difficult natural environment on the face of the earth he is a hunter of seals and a harpooner of whales only as he can outmaneuver his quarry track it down destroy it and retrieve it on the shimmering surface of the frozen arctic so can he live his dog sled and his team of huskies are perfectly suited to his needs lightweight and yet tough enough to take him a thousand miles if necessary long enough to span the widest crevice in the ice maneuverable enough to get him over any obstacle the frozen ocean [Music] after swinging around by dog sled until the wind is in their favor the hunters take to stalking the quarry their white clothing blending them into the background the seal is difficult game quick on the ice lightning in the water but the eskimo is more than his match [Music] it is nearly impossible to hit that bobbing head at several hundred yards and difficult to to retrieve the seal in the open water just missed but the sound causes another seal to reveal itself in the summer the seal will come up on the ice to sun itself dozing and yet remaining alert to danger he never strays far from the hole through which he can dive to safety in a fraction of a second but not fast enough to escape these hunters who bag as many as a dozen seals a day the meat makes for dog food the oil becomes fuel the liver supplements the eskimo winter diet and refrigeration on the roof of the world is never a problem at little diomede island fog bound and remote russian soil lies but a few thousand yards from the united states eskimos here know only the bowhead whale is a titan to be reckoned with are too busy searching for herbs and other food on this frigid rock to be much concerned with the international aspects of that channel offshore the people exist on the birds they can catch coming around the wind blasted corners of the island using their nets with great dexterity [Music] and yet the size of the diomede channel may change the course of history certainly it has made current another kind of bird life in alaskan skies these birds are nested at united states air force bases in alaska they are marked with stars and they are jet propelled [Music] the men who fly them are a special breed hand-picked for courage and coordination each pilot knows that the next unidentified plane reported the next intruder in the radar net could be the one carrying an atom bomb yet though they live on the very frontier of destiny they know how to relax [Music] unidentified plane to the north could be a careless bush pilot or it could be scramble six [Music] in six seconds the alert shack cleared of life the warm friendly brick-a-brack of peace abandoned and the sprint against time is on with every tick of the clock bringing a possible enemy closer to america's cities the sixth man slow start but flying in the stretch trained with his ground crew to get that ship hurtling skyward in a matter of minutes here indeed is the very pinnacle of perfection and teamwork it is a precision operation must be for there is no margin for error on the frontier of destiny [Music] she's taking her medicine like a lady heating up for what could be a hot mission heating up ready two lead off roaring their defiance noses shattering the startled air pointed northward on the scent america's 20th century sentinels or the ramparts we watch just checking perhaps nothing perhaps everything there is a giant to the north a stirring colossus grown suddenly aware of itself like atlas it holds the roof of the world on its shoulders and perhaps the fate of the world as well it flexes its muscles proud of its size and sweep proud that it can base a mountain like mckinley and it searches the soul for resources upon which to draw among its discoveries is the untapped dignity and strength courage and creative imagination of its primitive peoples who have spoken to the present through the past in a spirit transfixed on tall timbers you