Roll Over Play Dead

by Dan Milton

  Ernie and Jeff asked the team a lot of questions and learned quite a bit about the lake, the people around the lake and the fish and seals in the lake. There was even a discussion of the monster legend. One of the team said, “I was talking to one of the locals the other day, a fellow named Fred, who asked if you were trolling for the monster using humans for bait.”

  Jeff said, “Ha! You mean when we tow each other behind the boat on the sea sled!”

  Ernie and Jeff were invited to join the research team for dinner. Jeff had brought a sack of fresh apples that the group said they would enjoy.

  During dinner, the crew supervisor told Ernie and Jeff that a multi-country Commission funded the work they were doing. The purpose of the Commission was to support the commercial sockeye fishing community in Bristol Bay. He said, “The work, we have done over the past five years, has been useful in determining how best to have a healthy and abundant fishery.”

  After dinner, Ernie, Jeff, and the crew supervisor discussed what areas the Research Team would like surveyed and what data collected. Ernie said that they would do their best to get the results to them before they left for Lake Clark.

  The crew supervisor asked, “Have you arranged for a boat yet on Lake Clark?”

  Ernie responded, “No. Not yet. Do you have someone that we should call?”

  “There is a fellow who we call ‘the Russian’ that has been on Lake Clark since the war. He has a boat that should be usable. He is very fair in his dealings and very knowledgeable about the lake and the surrounding area.”

  “Good. Do you have his radio contact information?”

  “Here’s the frequency you can reach him on and the call sign. He is usually around in the evening.”

  “Thanks. We’ve already arranged for Owen Hammond to fly us up. Thanks to you and your crew for the evening’s hospitality. We’ll sleep on the boat tonight since we need to get an early start in the morning.”

  The Community of Kokhanok

  The weather next morning was not much better than the previous day. A light drizzle had continued to fall since they had left Porcupine Island. They skirted around a few small islands until they reached the main part of the lake and then set a compass course for Kokhanok.

  Ernie radioed King Salmon to get the latest weather. He said, “Jeff, the meteorologist said the weather will be like this the rest of the week.”

  About an hour out, Ernie radioed the call sign he had for Kokhanok. An answer came from the general store. He said, “We’ll be there in about an hour. Should we anchor in the bay or tie up at the dock?”

  The reply came back, “Go ahead and tie up at the dock there is plenty of room.”

  “Thanks. We’ll see you shortly.”

  It was still misting when they tied up at the dock in Kokhanok. They stowed and locked all the sensitive gear below. They covered the towed sonar with a tarp and secured it. If anything came up in a conversation concerning what they were doing on the lake, they would use as their cover that they were part of the University Research Team.

  After following a slightly rising path leading to the village, they found the general store. They entered and introduced themselves to the owner. He said, “Welcome to our little community. What are you doing in this part of the world?”

  Ernie said, “We are part of the University Research Team and will be surveying the south side of the lake. We will probably be around for the next couple of weeks.”

  “It’s almost dinner time. How would you boys like a home cooked meal? My wife is a real good cook.”

  “Sure she won’t mind having two strangers for dinner?”

  “No. She would welcome the company.”

  “I’ll lock up. It’s just a short walk from here.”

  As they walked up the road through the village, Jeff pointed to his left and asked, “Is that the Russian Orthodox Church?”

  The store owner said, “Why, yes it is. We are still waiting for a parish priest to arrive. It has been almost a year since our previous parish priest died. He was here a long time—ever since the war. Everybody liked him. He took over when they reassigned Father Duncan to a parish near Fairbanks. That was just before we lost Captain Boyd and the Russian boy. It was a real tragedy.”

  Jeff said, “When I was in Iliamna last month, the missionaries had me to dinner and told me the story as they had heard it. As I understand it, they found the Captain’s body the next spring after the ice melted, but they never found any trace of the boy.”

  “That’s right. It was a real interesting story. We found a journal wrapped in oilskins on the Captain’s body. Written in Russian, we had one of the village locals, who could read and write Russian, translate it for us. It detailed the young boy’s journey since leaving his small village during the war until the time he and the Captain left Iliamna to come here. The Russian boy was to stay with Father Duncan until the war was over. We sent the journal to the Alaska Historical Society in Fairbanks. We felt it might have some relevance to the area. We also included a report on the searching that took place.”

  “Here we are. Hang your coats out here on the porch and come on in.”

  They were greeted with a warm fire, the smell of a home cooked meal and the store owner’s very charming wife.

  After a splendid dinner and enjoyable conversation, Ernie and Jeff offered a gracious thank you, bid goodnight and headed back through the village to their boat at the dock.

  As they stepped on board, they both noticed several other boats anchored in the bay. They both collectively thought: A busy place, this Kokhanok.

  They motored slowly out of the bay very early the next morning. As they arrived to begin the first of several surveys, they dropped an anchored buoy over the side to mark their starting point. They would subsequently drop buoys at each location where they started a new survey.

  Jeff suited up for the first dive on the sea sled. Each leg of the investigation would cover approximately one mile. Traveling a little less than 4 knots would have the diver in the water for about 20 minutes. That was the optimum length of time to spend on the sled. Ernie would keep the boat about 200-300 yards off the beach which would give Jeff enough maneuvering room to study the beach area adequately.

  When they were about to start the fifth mile in their survey, and Jeff was gearing up, Ernie said, “There’s a boat that’s shadowed us since we left this morning. They are about 2 miles northeast of us. It may be nothing—just someone fishing. Stay alert whenever you are piloting the boat.”

  After about one more mile, they decided they had had enough for the day. They packed up and stowed their gear. Ernie took the wheel and headed for the dock at Kokhanok.

  They stayed on the boat that night documenting all they had seen during each leg of the survey. Just before turning in, Ernie scanned the bay for the vessel that had been following them during the day, but he could not spot it.

  During the next few days, they covered and then recovered the 10 mile stretch they were surveying for the Research Team. They documented all of their visual observations. Starting the next day, they would use the towed sonar to scan the same area they had visually surveyed. Ernie also wanted to sonar scan a number of the islands leading into the Kokhanok Bay village.

  In the next two days, they were able to use the towed sonar to scan and record the entire 10 miles of beach twice.

  On the second day of scanning the survey area, Ernie spotted what appeared to be the boat that had shadowed them the previous day. It stayed with them for an hour as they scanned with the towed sonar.

  Their focus for the next few days changed to a detailed scanning of the islands in and around Kokhanok Bay and recorded the data from the towed sonar array.

  On their last night, they tied up at the dock at Kokhanok. Ernie radioed ‘the Russian’ to let him know they would be flying in the day after tomorrow. They had already let him know that they wanted to rent his boat to conduct some research on Lake Clark. Ernie also radioed the Research Team supervi
sor and let him know that they would arrive in Porcupine Island early afternoon tomorrow.

  Next morning they walked to the general store to pick up a few supplies and bid goodbye to the owner. Ernie said, “We will be leaving shortly to meet up with the rest of the Research Team to give them the results of our survey. We will then be heading up to Lake Clark. Owen Hammond will be flying us there.”

  “Owen is an excellent pilot. He was part of the search team that looked for Captain Boyd and the young Russian boy I told you about the other night. Ask him about it.”

  ‘The Russian’

  “I’m still surprised at how spectacular the scenery is,” said Ernie as the Grumman Widgeon flew at a steady 170 knots toward Lake Clark. “Owen, I understand why you love it up here so much.” Owen Hammond, a very seasoned bush pilot, was at the controls, while Jeff kept his face glued to the window.

  They had left Lake Iliamna from near Hat Island less than a half hour ago. It had taken them almost three hours shuttling back and forth in the skiff between the boat and the aircraft to get all the equipment loaded.

  The previous night they had reviewed and turned all the data over to the Research Team for the visual and acoustic surveying they had done on the ten mile stretch of beach out of Kokhanok. It had taken them the rest of the evening to return to Hat Island and pack up.

  Jeff said, “Owen, we heard the story of Captain Boyd and the Russian boy lost in a storm near the end of the war. I understand you helped in the search for them. Could you fill us in on some of the details?”

  Sighing deeply, Owen said, “Yes… I was part of the effort as were a lot of people. Everyone, who lived on the lake, loved Captain Boyd. It was such a heart-breaking tragedy. The young Russian boy had been through so much.”

  “I read an abbreviated translation of the journal they found on the Captain’s body. It was the young boy’s journal he had kept since he left his little village in Russia. That was in 1944 just before they were to be overrun by the German Army. He was one of only two young men left in the village. He had a bad leg. The other one, a close friend of the boy, was blind. Every able bodied person from the village was at the front fighting.”

  “Rather than accompany the rest of the village to a refugee camp, the boy was asked by his grandfather, the Village Elder, to journey to Alaska. He would wait out the war staying at a Russian Orthodox Church in Kokhanok. It was a massive burden placed on his young shoulders. He carried a parcel with him which contained the entire wealth of his community to keep it out of the hands of the German Army. This package consisted of, according to his journal, a very rare 16th century Russian Orthodox Icon, and twelve one-carat investment grade diamonds. It also included the village register, which detailed the last two hundred years or so of their genealogy and history.”

  “His journey took him by boat, then by train and then to Alaska on a B-25 being ferried back to the U.S. I met the B-25 ferrying pilot. Her name was Pamela Potan. She and I flew together during the search for Captain Boyd and the boy. She was only able to spend a week searching because she had to get back to the war effort. We have kept in touch over the years. She is a private pilot for a major U.S. based corporation.”

  Jeff said, “That’s one heck of a story. Did any remains of the boy ever turn up or any trace of what he was carrying?”

  “No. There hasn’t been a trace of either. Nobody spotted anything from the wreckage. It was as if everything from the boat just disappeared.”

  Owen said, “We should be landing at Port Alsworth soon. It’s a gravel beach. Just before we reach the beach I’ll have you throw out an anchor. I’ll tell you when. That way we can pull ourselves off the beach if needed.”

  Ernie said, “What can you tell me about ‘the Russian’?”

  Owen said, “We’ll we don’t know a lot about him. In all the dealings I have had with him he has been honest and trustworthy. He evidently came to Alaska sometime during the war. He speaks Russian and English fluently. He began working, when he was young, for a well-to-do family. They lived at Lake Clark during the summer months. He kept the place maintained for them all these years. When the husband died, the wife didn’t want to come back, so she gave the place to him. He provides hunting and fishing guide services. He also owns a couple of the commercial fishing boats on Bristol Bay. He came here with virtually nothing and has, with a lot of hard work, done very well.”

  Owen brought the Widgeon in for a smooth landing on the lake, turned the plane around and headed for the beach. About 50 feet from the beach Owen shouted, “Toss out the anchor. There is a tie down just outside the door.” With that, the front-end of the Widgeon eased up on the gravel. Owen got out and tied the plane securely to a post.

  They walked a short distance up a well-worn path to a large log house with a beautiful view of the lake and the mountains. There were several separate small cabins adjacent to the house. Waiting on the porch was ‘the Russian’. He said, “Heard your plane arrive. How was the flight?”

  Owen replied, “It was very smooth. Let me introduce Ernie Donald and Jeff Roberts. I think you have already spoken with Ernie about what they need and what they will be doing. I told them that no matter what they needed you could probably help them!”

  “It’s good to meet you both. I look forward to helping any way I can. Owen, it’s a sad day. The old dog I had with me all these years just passed away. I buried him on that little knoll overlooking the lake.”

  “That’s a shame. He was a real friend.”

  Jeff said, “Before it gets too late, we need to unload the equipment from the plane and get it on the boat that we’ll be using for the next couple of weeks.”

  Owen and Ernie said, “Okay. Let’s get it done.”

  The boat they had rented from ‘the Russian’ was a 27 foot fishing boat. It was tied to the dock not too far down the beach from the plane. The boat had a pilot cabin, galley and sleeping quarters. It was a little tight but would be okay for the time they would need to spend on it. It had enough working space for all the gear they brought. It also had a power winch.

  In about two hours they had transferred everything from the plane to the boat, including the towed sonar in its crate.

  Owen said, “I have to pick up some charters in Iliamna.” He said his goodbyes as Jeff pushed the Widgeon off the beach. Owen pulled in the anchor and then started up the engines. After a few minutes, he eased his way out into a takeoff position on the lake, put power to the engines and was off.

  ‘The Russian’ told Ernie and Jeff about a few things to watch out for with the boat and the engine. As he left the dock and headed up the trail to his home they noticed for the first time that he walked with a slight limp. He shouted over his shoulder, “As soon as you get your stuff squared away come on up for dinner. I’ll put some moose steaks on the BBQ.”

  About an hour later Ernie and Jeff headed up the path for dinner. It was an enjoyable meal. They learned a lot about Lake Clark and the people around the area. They spoke a little about the research work they were doing with the University Research Team. ‘The Russian’ told them that members of the University had been to Lake Clark to do work in previous years.

  During dinner, they heard a float plane come in and land a few miles up the lake. ‘The Russian’ said, “Don’t know who that might be. I’ll check it out tomorrow.”

  Ernie said, “We have to get an early start in the morning. We bid you good night and say thanks for the great meal and conversation.”

  When they were back on the boat, Ernie said, “Tomorrow morning early we’ll head to the upper part of the lake. That is where most of the glacial rivers come into the lake and where we’ll find the heaviest mineral concentration. It should be a good workout for the sonar. We will probably spend most of the week working that end of the lake.”

  Jeff said, “Sounds like a good plan.”

  They left the dock the next morning and motored up the eastern shore until they reached the upper end of Lake Clark. On the way, they no
ticed several floatplanes nosed into gravel beaches. The rest of the morning was spent examining the shoreline and mapping the bottom.

  After a quick lunch, they continued down the western shore to the south end of the lake. The final leg took them up the eastern shore back to Port Alsworth. By then, they had mapped out the areas in which they would concentrate their efforts. Two areas were perfect. One was at the north end of the lake and extended for two miles down the western shore. The second was three miles long on the eastern shore near the bottom of the lake.

  They had stowed their gear by the time they reached the dock at ‘the Russian’s’ place. He was working on the dock on another of his boats and hailed them as they tied up. He said, “How has your day gone?”

  Jeff answered, “It went fine. We covered the entire shoreline around the lake and found some interesting spots to conduct our research.”

  “That’s great. Remember the float plane we heard last night. Turns out the fellow had come up to do some fishing. He stopped by this morning to rent a small outboard boat from me as well as some fishing gear. Said his name was... let me think a minute... yes. Lewis. He rented a boat for a week.”

  Ernie and Jeff glanced at each other both thinking: We had better be careful while we’re here.

  The next morning, in the light, but steady rain, Ernie, and Jeff headed to their first work area. They placed anchored buoys at quarter mile intervals on the two mile straight course they had mapped out yesterday.

  They next had to plant the sound recording equipment. Jeff donned his diving gear and attached a net bag containing the audio recording equipment. He went over the side at every other buoy. He dove down the buoy anchor cable feeling his way through the semi-darkness of the very turbid water until he touched the anchor at the bottom. He thought: So much different from the perfect clarity of Lake Iliamna. When on the bottom, he fastened the recording instrument to the anchor. Now, not only would the sonar record the return signal, but the underwater recorder would capture the signal put out by the sonar.