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Bag, only $949 - like the person who reaches (Roman author) There are some men and women who are possessed of a kind of divine restlessness which rises out of. an ability to see things not only as they are but as they could be. Arestlessness which not only animates their own'- drive for change but fires the imagination and energies of those about them. They, in fact, are kind of yeast which leavens the bread of the society of which they area part. Such a man, I believe, was Ralph (R.A.D.) West. In pursuit of my deter- mination to write an informal - history of Castlegar and its people, I had gone to see Marjorie West for an hour's chat about Ralph. Almost three hours later I left, (reluctantly) feeling a little out to remove the “loose” EARLY SNAPSHOT of present West's Department Store location on 21 Pine Street, where the thread and ends up with half the sweater unwound in his hands. ing, ‘we need this or we need ‘that,’ observed Mrs. West. “Then he would get busy, get help and get it done.” ( VERSEAS cround 1916 o1 or 1917, a 16-year-old R.A.D. West (left) is pictured with H.R. Foxlee. business moved in 1940. By HAROLD WEBBER An account, by the Castlegar area's historian and amateur archivist on a particularly memorable pioneer. In the pioneer days of ‘the Lower Arrow Lake and Trail area, there were many men whose deeds and personalities. are well remembered. Among them were Alex Christian, possibly bet- ter known as Alex the Indian or Indian Alex. Borna Kootenay Indian, he spent most of his life amongst the Colville, Wash., tribe. In the spring of each year he would migrate up the Columbia _ to Trail and the lower lake region. f His favorite route was boarding the Great Northern at Colville and travelling as far as Columbia Gardens. At this point the Trail Livery Stage (a surrey-type wagon drawn by two horses, which operated into the early 20's) would transport him to Trail. (Barl Duntar later . replaced this stage with a seven passenger 1918 or 1919 Stude- baker). On other occasions he caught the Great Northern at Northport which went to Ross- land, running on the old Red Mountain Railway .line. The CPR then took him to Trail. If he could manage a free boat ride up river he was not above taking advantage of that medium of travel as well. He always travelled light, being able to précure all the materials and supplies he would need for the season's work from his friends along the river. He had a philosophy that. if you borrow something—return it. If it was perishable, a healthy chunk of venison or a string of fish would replace the favor. He always kept in touch with his friends and as W. O. {Bill) Devitt put it: “He never let the welcome mat get upside down.” (The name Devitt is synonymous with law and order in the Kootenays, R. H. Devitt having been a relationship maintained with his friends is one of the fondest, memories they have of: him today. He is also remembered as being a very clean person, but living the way Indians did at that time he had a strong odor of fish and wild game. There were several places where Indian Alex made his home along the river during the spring and summer months. The first cabin he made use of was between Sandy Island and what is now known as Sunning- dale in Trail. He used this cabin while fishing around the Trail area. His next “home away from home” was a cabin, across the river from Birchbank. This one he used while ing the “get it done” philosophy is the fact that today, I feel, you creating. could stand in the doorway of “Ralph was always say- the present West's Depart- ginning: ment Store and fire a gun — or point a finger (ruder, but less dangerous) — . point of the compass and The consequence of this point at something that “Ralph was al- ways saying ‘we need this or we need that’ Then he would get: busy, get help and get it done.” Mr. Devitt visited Alex at this place one winter and re- calls seeing close to 100 martin, muskrat and beaver skins hang- ing around the cabin. “Good winter, good winter, lots of skin,” Alex commented. These skins were later sold to a fur buyer in Colville. The next log cabin Alex made use of was at the junction of the Kootenay and Columbia rivers. This was his fishing camp. His last known cabin was in the heart of Castlegar, on the property that was occupied by the late A. T. Horswill on Columbia Ave., not too far from the ferries. From here he set out on his hunting trips. As well as these cabins, Alex had several smoke houses at Champion Lakes region in winter. The unique feature in this cabin was that it had an inside fireplace with no chim- ney. Directly above the fire- place was a hole in the roof that Bill Devitt remembers to be about four feet square. This was the exit for the smoke and cinders that rose in the heat. As the hot air rose out of this hole, fresh cold air, blown along the roof line, would be’ drawn down into the cabin bet- ween the hot air and the edges of the hole. This cool air was immediately warmed as it flowed ‘into the room and consequently one end of the * cabin was as warm as the other. This cabin was destroyed in the forest fire that swept the Columbia Valley from Brilliant to Waneta in 1926. points along the river. Two better known huts were at the junc- tion of the Kootenay and Columbia rivers and at Water- loo Eddy, which’ is located across the river from Kin- naird’s DuMont Subdivision. The latter seems to have been his favorite. - Mr. VYevitt vividly recalls the structure being about four feet square by five feet high. A trench several inches deep was dug first, into the four-foot size, then salvaged boards and other usable driftwood were stood up in the trench, making the walls. The sand replaced around the boards, then stomped down, held the walls in place. The roof was generally made of strips of cedar bark. On one smokehouse Mr. TNevitt remembered seeing a “After we were in the bush a while we split up, and it wasn't long before | heard a small ‘pik’ in the distance, and thought that's one grouse for Alex. After some time | headed in the direction from where the shot was fired and came upon a scene never to be forgotten. Alex was cleaning out his third bear.” dated." Then, true to his “get it days to warm themselves at done” and some slight mis- its cozy flanks. representation concerning Marjorie ‘also remem- his age, he joined the For- bers the marble slab with its estry Batallion and saw ser- big round of cheese and vice in Franch. cheese cutter, the men's After the war he worked Work clothes, cases of no- _ as a Canadian Customs Of. tions, shelves of groceries, ficer at Patterson for five tobacco and particularly the years, In-1925, in Rossland, little round boxes of “snoose” he married Marjorie, daugh- for the mill workers. “It had ter of veteran trainman J.S, to be fresh and it had to be Bloomer, and herself a native dated Like many other country Ralph West had had a part in But to begin at the be- : He + was born at Willow along any Point on Kootenay Lake at the turn of thé century and went to school in Nelson. daughter, born in Nelson and "later resident of Rossland, general stores, the business while teaching in a tworoom 4rea included both the post school in Castlegar. Work in the g office, with Ralph as post- master, and the long distance service was followed by a «for calling the doctor fen three-year period of work in the Zine Plant office at Cominco. By this time Mr. Robson.” One day a tree fell across the lines and — shades of the starship Enterprise West was ready to go into __ the resulting short circuit business for himself, and in tow the switchboard off the’ 1930 bought the W.J. Farmer general store, with a stock valued at $670. The store, built in 1903, at the time the CPR removed its station from Robson to wall in a shower of sparks — without any injuries for- tunately, but it caused a big fright. And on that explosive note we will recess until next Castlegar, wasone of the two -week, with thanks to Mr.s fiat commercial buildings in West and Mrs. Jenkins for (the Castl their g Hotel being the other}. It was a two-storey af- fair, with the business on the main floor, and the second storey serving as a church, Sunday school, Christmas (and other) concert hall and general meeting place. Later it served as an office and | apartment for Castlegar's first police man, George MacAndrew, and still later for Castlegar’s first doctor, Dr. J.L. Grayton. * When the Wests took over, the candle and kerosine lantern lighting system had ‘gone from the store but the old, long, wood and coal stove was still a feature, much to the satisfaction of the train- 7 men who come up cn-cold— and tea. sheet of tin which served the purpose of a roof. A door that was easily removed finished off the structure. A pit of about 18 inches in depth was dug in the center of the smokehouse to hold the fire. As the fire was- burning fiercely, Alex would throw cedar bark on top which created the smoke necessary in this process. If the fire was burning too quickly he would sprinkle sand on it to slow it down, as he had the difficult task of keeping the - flame down, yet keeping the. heat to a good baking level. His smokehouse was anything but fireproofl The smaller fish were . hung on a wire near the roof and the larger ones were hung individually on hooks during the process. Although fish was his staple food, Alex enjoyed a good piece of bacon more than anything. Grouse fried in bacon fat was definitely his favorite ‘dish, and a man who once shared this course with Alex remembers that pretty doggone good.” Alex earned money mainly by guiding and trapping, but annually when the huckle- berries were in season he brought two or three Indian women with him to pick, while he canvassed from door to door trying to sell them. The man who used his ser- vices most as a fishing guide was his old friend George “Addy” Clark of Trail. As Mr. Clark had been born a cripple, it was required of Alex to “line” him up the river in a boat from Trail to the favored .Waterloo Eddy. This “lining up” was executed by Alex walking on the shore, pulling the boat by two lines, one being attached to the bow and the other to the inside edge on the stern. By keeping the stern line tight, the bow faced out into the current keeping the boat from ground- ing on the shore. If the boat veered into shore, a quick pull on the stern line would again - calls a hunting trip he took with lots of bear now, go back to it was between Castlegar and Trail where they again encountered . trouble. Their boat was drawn into a sizeable whirlpcol and was pulled down into the centre. Alex was half drowned but managed to make it to shore. His partner was not so for- tunate. It is believed his body was never found. swing the bow out into the current, It was because of friend- ship and not only monetary re- turns that Alex went to such great lengths to bring the pleasures of fishing into Mr. Clark's life. As a hunter-guide he was second to none. Bill Devitt re- camp, hey?’ ” “His method of shooting bears was unique,” Mr. Devitt continued. “As it was spring, the bears were infested with wood ticks and to relieve them- selves they would rub against trees for hours in an effort to remove the ticks. These bears were doing just that when Alex Alex aroutid 1916 in’ the Ir- Yigation Creek area (close to Syringa Creek). “I .had my Dad's 30 U.S. Springfield bolt action rifle, while Alex had a ‘Marbles Game-Getter,’ a nickle plated ‘over-and-under rifle. It had a 25 calibre over and a 44 shot shell under. It was built along the lines of a survival gun, with a detachable wire stock, and full pistol grip. He never thought much of my heavy meat spoiler,” Bill re- flected with a grin. “Old Alex had only one eye, but with that muddy looking eye he could see more in a minute than I could see in an hour. After we were in the bush a while we split up, and it wasn't long before I heard a small ‘pik’ in the distance, and thought, that’s one grouse for Alex. After some time I headed in the direction from where the shot was fired and came upon a scene never to be forgotten. Alex was cleaning out his third bear. He had shot two brown his life. ones and a black since we had When he didn't arrive at separated. Shocked, I asked him if he had used the 44 and he replied: ‘Use 26. Good gun, shoot bear, shoot deer, am- munition cheap. ($1 for a box of 50 at that time). Guess we got close and one shot in the head with the 25 finished them. The skins on the ground were still crawling with ticks and they stunk like fury,” Mr. Devitt reflected. “There was very little hair left on the skins, but this didn’t matter as Alex was interested only in the hides. He wrapped two skins inside the other and tied the bundle together with the paws of the outside one. He then slung it over his back and carried it by the paws. By the time we reached the lake, Alex * had decided to head directly for Colville with his goods. I can remember him heading down river, with a swarm of flies following.” The Columbia was a source of food and income for Alex, but on two occasions it almost cost him his life. Around 1914 or 1915 he made a raft at Castle- gar for transportation to Trail. Along the way the raft broke pected, George Clark became concerned and called Victor Lamphear, CPR agent at Tada- nac, who in turn contacted Jim Lawrey, the agent at Castlegar. Mr. Lawrey organized a party came upon them. He crept up. apart and Alex had to swim for : Trail on the day he was ex- Travelling light, shooting straight on the Columbia Welcomemat'never upside down' for IndianAlex area for 38 years). This cordial . which located Alex down river in the process of building another raft. He arrived at Trail two days late. Death accompanied his next encounter with the river. The year is uncertain, but on this trip he travelled with a friend from the Colville tribe. It was between Castlegar and Trail where they again en- countered trouble. Their boat was drawn into a sizeable whirl- pool and was pulled down into the center. Alex was half drowned but managed to make it to shore. His partner was not so fortunate. It is believed his was never: found. In telling of the encounter to a friend later he related that his partner did not know enough to take a deep breath before they went under. Victor Lamphear. recounts the last time he ever saw Alex was around 1920 or 1921. “He used to borrow my 32-40 Win- chester for the odd hunting trip and it was always returned along with a portion of venison. On this last occasion Alex had borrowed the gun a few days before and when he came to my door this time he hadn't any meat with him. He handed me the gun, thanked me for it and said “Alex can't do!” He looked very old and very tired, Mr. Lamphear remembered. “Not long after this inci- dent I heard that he had con- tacted TB and Corporal John- son of the Provincial Police had made arrangements for Alex to be admitted into the sana- torium at Kamloops. Shortly after entering the clinic Alex passed away. “I don’t know how old he .was—with those people you can never tell,” Mr. Lamphear con- cluded. “In the years I knew him,” Bill. Devitt related, “he never changed at all. He was ageless.” And so, with the passing of Alex the Indian the Columbia Valley lost a fine old character, who, through his actions, per- sonality and philosophy, in- stilled in those who knew him a friendship that would never be. forgotten, enki toa cenrrihon ot! 03