Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 97 The Strange Indigenous Chief (Please Subscribe)

In Zhou Xin's imagination, the tribal chief must also be an elderly native covered in colorful paint, naked, and wearing even more exquisite ornaments on his head.

But when the other person opened the door, Zhou Xin was stunned and could hardly believe his eyes.

The indigenous chief in front of me was wearing a baseball cap, a floral T-shirt, and jeans.

His face was clean, without any paint, except for a tuft of white beard.

The only thing that matched Zhou Xin's expectations was his aged appearance; he looked to be around seventy or eighty years old.

How could an elderly man dressed in civilized clothes, even looking somewhat fashionable, be the leader of this indigenous tribe?

Just as Zhou Xin was filled with doubt, the indigenous chieftain spoke.

"Why are you, an Asian, here?"

"You can speak English?" Zhou Xin asked with a look of surprise.

The indigenous chief smiled and said, "Although it's been a long time since I've said it, thankfully I haven't forgotten."

"But----"

The chieftain noticed his confusion and smiled, saying, "Let's go inside first. Although we are savages, savages also know how to respect guests."

Led by the chief, Zhou Xin entered his house.

This is a round house made of wood, with the ground raised and the roof a pointed, conical shape.

The house was very simply furnished, with only a rough wooden stump serving as a makeshift table.

As for the bed, it was just a pile of dry grass in the corner.

Apart from a diary and a fountain pen spread out on the wooden table, there is no trace of modern civilization here.

"Sorry, I don't have any chairs here, we're all just sitting on the floor."

After the leader finished speaking, he demonstrated by sitting cross-legged on the ground.

Since he was a guest, Zhou Xin didn't care that the ground was covered in dust and sat down as well.

"You must be wondering why I seem out of place here, yet I'm the leader."

Zhou Xin didn't stand on ceremony and nodded.

"I was born and raised here, but later I left the tribe and lived in the outside world for decades."

That's when I learned English, and I also learned many skills required for civilized society, such as writing a diary.

The leader pointed to the open diary on the table as he spoke.

"Then why did you return here later?"

In Zhou Xin's view, once people have experienced the convenience of modern civilized society, almost no one would want to return to primitive society.

The leader in front of them was clearly the unexpected one.

The leader smiled and said, "I'm just tired of the outside world and want to return to my hometown before my life ends, to experience the purity of life."

To abandon everything of modern civilization and return to this primitive life of almost eating raw meat and drinking blood requires immense courage.

Although Zhou Xin did not appreciate this approach, he greatly admired his courage.

"You are a person who has transcended material enjoyment and possesses extremely high spiritual pursuits."

His words truly came from the bottom of his heart.

"I just want to make my life simpler and purer. The outside world is good, but it's too complicated and suffocating," the leader sighed.

The two chatted for a while, and Zhou Xin gradually gained some understanding of the chief and the tribe.

The chief's name was Evans, and he lived in the tribe until he was sixteen before going to the civilized world.

To Zhou Xin's surprise, Evans had actually been to the United States and earned a master's degree in biology there.

He even started a family in the United States and has a daughter.

However, after divorcing his wife and losing contact with his daughter, he gradually grew tired of civilized life and began to miss the simple life he had in his tribe when he was a child.

This thought grew stronger and stronger, and finally, in his sixties, he abandoned his identity in civilized society, put down all worldly possessions, and resolutely returned here.

In his words, after returning to the tribe, he felt as if he had finally found his soul again.

Zhou Xin was deeply moved and amazed by Evans's experience.

"You're here looking for gold?" Evans had already guessed Zhou Xin's purpose based on their conversation.

"Yes, I haven't been able to reach your level on a spiritual level yet. I yearn for things in the secular world." Zhou Xin was very frank.

Making money is nothing to be ashamed of.

"It's nothing, everyone has different pursuits. I've never thought that my approach is superior."

Hearing this, Zhou Xin's admiration deepened even further.

He did not impose his own ideas and pursuits on others, nor did he use them as a standard to judge others.

Suddenly, Zhou Xin remembered something and took out the gold star-shaped badge that Leo had given him from his pocket.

Leo was one of the two who brought him here.

"Where did Leo get this? I don't think they would forge such a complex gold artifact themselves."

Evans glanced at the badge and said calmly, "It was indeed not forged by our tribe. Leo obtained it by chance."

Although gold is precious, to the people here it's just a prettier stone. Keep it; it should be more useful to you.

Zhou Xin nodded and put the badge away again, but then Evans continued, "However, the location where Leo found this gold is a very interesting place. I think you can go and take a look."

""

Zhou Xin's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "I'm very interested."

Since we've found one piece of gold, there might be even more.

What Evans said next surprised him even more.

"That place is upstream from the stream where Leo and the others found you."

It's actually located upstream of Dream Creek!

Could that place be the dream mine I've been searching for?

Could this not be a natural gold mine, but rather a man-made one?

Unexpectedly, the two things have come together, so no matter what, we have to go to that place.

"Please arrange for someone to take me there immediately. I would be very grateful," Zhou Xin said.

Evans smiled and said, "No rush. It's a long way there, and we probably won't make it today."

We rarely have guests here, so please stay here for the night and let us take good care of our guest. I will personally take you there tomorrow.

Zhou Xin checked the time; it was already 3 PM. He knew that Evans was right.

"Thank you for your help!"

That evening, Zhou Xin received a warm welcome from the tribe.

The indigenous people first dug a pit in the ground, lit a fire, and then put stones in.

After the stones are heated to a scorching temperature, banana leaves are laid on them. Then, various pieces of meat, offal, fruits, wild vegetables, and palm cores are thrown onto the banana leaves, sprinkled with local spices, and covered with more banana leaves and branches. Finally, the surface is covered with soil.

This creates a natural oven, where food is slowly cooked by the residual heat of the stones.

The moment the soil was removed and the banana leaves on the surface were lifted, a rich aroma of food wafted out.