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 Praise for Human Resource
Management: Optimizing
Organizational Performance

“This well-written compendium is a must on the shelves of all educational leaders who
work with human resource management. Easy to read, this book is chock-full of insights
that will be beneficial for all administrators.”

—Charles Russo, CJR, JD, EdD,

Joseph Panzer Chair in Education; research professor of law; director, PhD
program in educational leadership, University of Dayton, Ohio

“The role of human resources is critical to all school districts and companies and this book
is a practical and understandable resource. The authors present an excellent step-by-step
process for establishing and managing those elements essential to effective HR
management. I highly recommend this book.”

—Fred G. Parrish, president and CEO,

The Profit Experts

“The authors provide an excellent basis for understanding human resource management.
I’m confident that this book will provide a positive contribution to education.”
 —Susan Sosoo, EdD, AP, administration/organization,
New York City Department of Education, New York

“The authors provide an excellent basis for understanding human resource management. I
am confident that this book will provide a positive contribution to the field of education.”

—Dr. Bill Robertson, superintendent of schools,

Fremont School District 79

“Tomal and Schilling have done a brilliant job of writing a smart, practical book. This is
essential reading for educators who want to advance their knowledge of human resource
management.”

—Dr. Claudia Santin, dean and professor of leadership,

College of Business, Concordia University Chicago

“As a principal with a strong interest in human resource management, I found this book to
be extremely practical, well thought-out, and an excellent overall guide for anyone looking
to go into this field.”

—Jeff Knapp, principal, Rockland School,

Libertyville School District 70, Illinois

“A new, fresh, and engaging approach to human resource management with an emphasis
on true management skills and a long overdue guide that sets a new standard for the public
and private sector. This book is not only to a great consult to actually use, but is enriching,
engaging, and a relevant presentation of the key elements of successful human resource
management. Tomal and Schilling have captured the essence of resource management for
today. They set a new standard for others to follow—you won’t be disappointed.”

—Michael Harkins, professor of history,

William Rainey Harper College, Palatine, Illinois;
president of the Illinois conference of the AAUP

“The educational environment is consistently involved in a variety of change processes,

often with limited financial resources. This is an outstanding guidebook filled with
practical strategies and solutions for managing human capital and improving school district
operations—a must-read for all teachers and administrators.”

—George Zimmer, EdD, associate professor,

Concordia University Chicago

“The authors provide an excellent basis for understanding and applying human resource
management. I highly recommend this book to all educators and companies who want to
advance their knowledge and mastery. Most outstanding!”

—Robert N. L. Browning, founder and CEO,

Success Solutions International

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human resources for student achievement and success. The practical strategies offered
make this a fascinating book that will provide new insights into school administration. It is
an invaluable resource for educators no matter their level of experience.”

—Dr. Robert Libka,

school central office administrator, retired

“I congratulate Drs. Tomal and Schilling on this sterling accomplishment. This is a good
read for those serious about school improvement and increasing the effectiveness and
efficiency of any school or schools.”

—R. E. Everett, PhD, executive director, retired,

Illinois Association of School Business Officials

“The authors have provided an outstanding book on understanding human resources with
clear, concise, and concrete examples that anyone can relate to.”

—Dr. Curtis A. Smith, professor;

former assistant to the deputy superintendent,
Chicago Public Schools

“Human resources play a pivotal role in the success of school improvement in detecting
and securing the best qualified teacher and leadership candidates. I highly recommend this
book to all educators who want to advance their knowledge in human resource
management. This book is outstanding!”

—Dr. Beverly A. Hives, school leadership intervention specialist/AU/MD K–

2/Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Ohio

“Dr. Tomal and Dr. Schilling have done it again. This is an excellent resource for students
of school human resources. It unpacks a myriad of topics and brings clarity to a complex
topic. A must-read for all aspiring and existing school leaders.”

—Jeffrey T. Brierton, PhD, author, professor, and school consultant; former

teacher, administrator, and high school principal

“This book provides both theoretically sound and practically valuable insights into human
resource management. It is an outstanding and instructive tool for school and business
leaders.”

—Dr. Brenda F. Graham, former school district superintendent; professor,

Department of Leadership,
Concordia University Chicago

“An exemplary book on managing human resources in the school organization. The critical
piece to a successful school district is how are people managed, supported, and treated,
legally and professionally. This well-presented book addresses these issues and more.
Required reading for anyone providing leadership to an organization.”

—Dr. A. Donald Hendricks,

former school superintendent, Illinois

“Human resource management employs an ideal theory-to-practice approach to provide

current and aspiring administrators with the necessary tools for effective leadership. This
comprehensive yet succinct content makes this essential reading for all school human
resource managers and school leaders.”

—Dr. Sandra Coyner, professor of education;

past ATEA editor, The University of Akron
“An excellent book on human resource management and collective bargaining for all
school administrators and graduate students in school leadership.”

—Dr. Robert Wilhite, dean, College of Graduate Studies, Concordia University

Chicago

“There is no more important job responsibility for school leaders than the proper
management of human resources. This book provides a framework for understanding the
basics of selection, development, compensation, and management. I recommend it as a tool
for training administrators and as a handy resource for HR professionals.”

—Dr. Robert F. Schultz, human resource trainer and consultant, Westerville,

Ohio
Human Resource
Management
 The Concordia University Chicago Leadership Series

An Educational Series from Rowman Littlefield

Education

Series Editor: Daniel R. Tomal, PhD

Education leaders have many titles and positions in American schools

today: professors, K–12 teachers, district and building administrators,
teacher coaches, teacher evaluators, directors, coordinators, staff specialists,
and so on. More than ever, educators need practical and proven educational
and leadership resources to stay current and advance the learning of
students.
The Concordia University Chicago Leadership Series is a unique
resource that addresses this need. The authors of this series are award-
winning authors and scholars who are both passionate theorists and
practitioners of this valuable collection of works. They give realistic and
real-life examples and strategies to help all educators inspire and make a
difference in school improvement and student learning that get results.
This Leadership Series consists of a variety of distinctive books on
subjects of school change, research, completing advanced degrees, school
administration, leadership and motivation, business finance and resources,
human resource management, challenging students to learn, action research
for practitioners, the teacher as a coach, school law and policies, ethics, and
many other topics that are critical to modern educators in meeting the
emerging and diverse students of today. These books also align with current
federal, state, and various association accreditation standards and elements.
Staying current and building the future require the knowledge and
strategies presented in these books. The Leadership Series originator Daniel
R. Tomal, PhD, an award-winning author who has published over 20 books
and 200 articles and studies, is a highly sought-after speaker and
educational researcher. He, along with his coauthors, provide a wealth of
educational experience, proven strategies that can help all educators aspire
to be the best they can be in meeting the demands of modern educational
leadership.
 Human Resource
Management

Optimizing Organizational
Performance

Second Edition

Daniel R. Tomal and Craig A. Schilling

 ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
Published by Rowman & Littlefield
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com

6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL, United Kingdom

Copyright © 2018 by Daniel R. Tomal and Craig A. Schilling

First edition published 2013 by Roman & Littlefield Education as Managing Human
Resources and Collective Bargaining

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

ISBN: 978-1-4758-4404-7 (cloth : alk. paper)

ISBN: 978-1-4758-4405-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN: 978-1-4758-4406-1 (electronic)
 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Other Books by Daniel R. Tomal and Craig A. Schilling

Resource Management for School Administrators: Optimizing Fiscal,

Facility, and Human Resources (2013)

Managing Human Resources and Collective Bargaining (2013)

Leading School Change: Maximizing Resources for School Improvement

(2013)

The Teacher Leader: Core Competencies and Strategies for Effective

Leadership (2014)

Leading with Resolve and Mastery: Competency-Based Strategies for

Superintendent Success (2017)

Forthcoming

Managing and Optimizing School Resources, 2nd Edition (2019)

 Contents

Foreword
R. E. Everett, PhD

Preface

Acknowledgments

1 Human Resource Planning

2 Recruitment and Selection

3 Mentoring, Professional Development, and Performance Evaluations

4 Leading and Motivating Employees

5 Building Collaboration and Disciplining Employees

6 Benefits and Compensation

7 Unions and Collective Bargaining

8 Managing Human Resources

Epilogue
Appendices

A Employee Rights

B Employer and Union Rights and Obligations

C Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor

D Laws Enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission

E Prohibited Employment Policies and Practices

Index

About the Authors

 Foreword

For many, many years the role of school business manager, regardless of its
plethora of other titles, has been perceived as one primarily dealing with
accounting and finance. This can be demonstrated by reviewing the job
descriptions and the available published literature of the 1960s and 1970s.
Unfortunately, the profession of school business management contributed to
this misperception.
Over the past thirty years the growth in the number of tasks and functions
assigned and performed by the school business manager has been
significant. Not only this growth in responsibilities but also the growing
understanding of the relationship between the use of resources and student
achievement has brought the position of school business manager into the
spotlight.
The need and opportunities for the incumbent and the new career seeker
in school business management for professional development has not
always kept pace with that of “what and how” the school business manager
is expected to perform at a high level. This is true at the university level and
at the association level and in the United States and abroad. Degree
programs specific to school business management and state certification
requirements have been narrow and/or nonexistent. In the past, there were
few universities that did offer graduate degrees in school business
management.
The major degree was basically a master’s degree in Educational
Administration (the usual principalship course offering), an additional
finance and accounting course, and in some instances a facility course. In
this day and age this is clearly inadequate for what society needs as far as
trained school business managers go.
Scholarly field-based research in the total domain of school business
management which could serve as the basis for a knowledge base reflected
through a body of literature has been lacking. Over the past several decades,
publications that treat in a comprehensive fashion all elements of school
business management have started to appear. This work by Professors
Daniel R. Tomal and Craig A. Schilling is a welcome addition to the
literature relating to school business management. What make this text such
a valuable addition to our literature?
First, both Dr. Tomal and Dr. Schilling are scholar-practitioners. Both
have followed career paths that many would find hard to duplicate. Both
have served in the profession with distinction, worked in the trenches, and
thereby gained an experience base that is clearly reflected in their work.
Both have served their profession in leadership positions at the local, state,
national, and international levels and made significant contributions at each
level.
Second, the overall organization of each chapter has been thoughtfully
laid out. All chapters have been written in a consistent format, and the
sequence of content has been consistent in scope and relevancy.
Third, the book has been written in a practical approach, offering
strategies that are straightforward and easy to apply. All the numerous
principles and strategies have been developed from a research/theoretical
base and then accompanied with a comprehensive summary of chapter
topics, case studies, exercises, and discussion questions that are well
thought out, clearly defined, and thought-provoking. The material is not
“busy-work” for the students who are serious about their study of school
business management or for incumbent school business managers seeking
to improve their own performance and enhance their value to their
employer.
Fourth, the reference section that follows each chapter provides a rich
starting point for the reader who wants to take a deeper journey into the
chapter topic. The references also demonstrate that the authors are current
and familiar with the field.
Fifth, each chapter begins with a set of objectives that are cross-
referenced to the standards of PSEL (Professional Standards for
Educational Leadership) and ELCC (Educational Leadership Constituent
Council). The content of each chapter then supports the objectives in a clear
and succinct manner.
Sixth, it is a book that can serve well those who work at all levels of
education such as universities and public, private, and charter school
systems. While reference and appendices reflect heavily on the standards,
laws, and practices in the United States, this book has utility beyond the
U.S. borders and in fact it can be a source of reflection and impact on any
school in positive ways. What may not be required in one setting may still
have use as a voluntary paradigm in another.
I congratulate Drs. Tomal and Schilling on this sterling accomplishment.
This is a good read for those serious about school improvement and
increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of any school or organization. It
is a welcome addition to our literature. It will serve as a great tool for those
who are shaping the minds of the next generation of school business
managers.

R. E. Everett, PhD
Professor of School Business Management—Retired,
Northern Illinois University;
Executive Director—Retired,
Illinois Association of School Business Officials
DeKalb, Illinois
 Preface

Human resource management is one of the most critical responsibilities of

all organizational leaders. This book has been written based upon years of
study, research, and consulting, in school administration and companies.
The strategies described in this book have been found successful in
operating at the school district, school building level, and companies and is
especially centered on providing information on the connecting human
resource management and organizational performance.
While primarily directed toward public schools, the strategies in this
book can also be effective for private elementary and secondary schools,
charter schools, and any organization. The information and strategies are
practical and useful techniques that can be used by any school administrator
or graduate of human resources and collective bargaining student, who
desire to optimize human resources.
Chapter 1 provides practical strategies for human resource planning.
Extensive examples are provided in developing strategic plans, succession
planning, and how to plan successors for incumbent positions. Lastly, a
comprehensive description of Federal Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission laws and executive orders are given with practical examples
on how they impact human resource management.
 Chapter 2 covers the recruiting and selecting applicants. Topics include
methods of recruiting, selecting the best candidates, and laws and policies.
Several examples and sample forms are also included in this chapter.
Chapter 3 includes the topic of the mentoring of new employees. Also,
professional development, learning and growth frameworks, establishing
and conducting performance appraisal system, and alternative evaluation
programs are included. Practical examples and forms are provided in this
chapter. A challenging and realistic case study is included at the end of the
chapter to test the comprehension of the material.
Chapter 4 covers the topic of leading and motivating employees.
Relevant topics, such as principles of leadership, are covered. Several
popular leadership theories such as situational leadership, the X and Y
model, the Leadership Grid, Expectancy Model, Two-factor Motivational
Theory, the Equity Motivation Model, Team Leadership, and Total Quality
Management are presented as they relate to school leadership.
The topics of building collaboration and disciplining employees are
covered in chapter 5. Other topics include managing conflict and
terminating employees. Several practical examples and forms are also
provided, and the chapter concludes with a comprehensive case study.
Chapter 6 includes the topics of benefits and compensation. Several areas
including establishing benefits and compensation programs, salary
structures, and types of compensation programs are discussed. Several
exhibits and examples of compensation programs are provided.
Chapter 7 covers the topic of unions and collective bargaining. This
chapter also includes the history of unions, negotiation strategies, and the
collective bargaining process. There are also case situations and practical
examples of collective bargaining in the chapter. There is a challenging,
concluding case study that can be helpful in understanding and applying the
principles and strategies in the chapter.
Chapter 8 includes the area of managing human resources, core
competencies of human resources professionals, conducting audits, creating
efficiencies, position control, and technology. Several process mapping and
technology checklists are included. Several illustrations and a
comprehensive case study are included at the end of the chapter.
 At the end of the book there are several helpful resources. Some of these
include employee rights, employer and union rights and obligations, a
summary of major laws, laws enforced by the United States Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), prohibited employment
policies, and practices of the EEOC. These reference materials can be very
useful in understanding governmental policies, laws, and executive orders
regulating human resources.

FEATURES OF THE BOOK

Nothing can be worse than reading a book that is boring, dry, and
impractical for educators. This book is unique in that it provides many
engaging examples that can be used by all educators. One feature of the
book is the correlation of the objectives of each chapter with professional
organizational standards of the Educational Leadership Constituent Council
(ELCC) and the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL).
Another valuable feature of the book is the incorporation of many diverse
strategies related to school leadership; motivation, recruiting, and selecting
candidates; and disciplining, compensating and bargaining, and terminating
employees. They are provided in a straightforward and practical manner.
The topics in this book are useful for any administrator who desires to
optimize fiscal, facility, and human resources.
Other features of this book include:

• Practical examples of human resource management

• Examples of basic school compensation structures
• Strategies for leading and motivating employees in the school
environment
• Models of leadership and motivational theories that have been proven in
the business world as applied to the educational setting
• A comprehensive description of conducting strategic and succession
planning of up-to-date guidelines, EEOC laws, and legal considerations
• Practical strategies in giving employees feedback and taking action for
improvement
• Examples of discipline offenses and how to administer disciplinary
action
• A review of some of the major federal and state laws and guidelines
• Strategies in managing conflict and how to promote teamwork and
collaboration
• Strategies in collective bargaining

Lastly, this book also contains a rich source of educational and reference
materials so that educators can apply the concepts for school resource
management. Some materials include:

• Case illustrations and figures in applying leadership and human resource

strategies
• Examples of motivation strategies that can improve academic
performance
• A sample of field-based educational issues
• Actual examples of assessments and real-life case studies

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK

The organization of this book has been written in a straightforward manner

so educators can understand the critical school resource management. Each
chapter builds upon the other. However, each chapter is also distinct in itself
because it covers a specific topic that relates to the three topics. Lastly, each
chapter includes basic theories and examples of applying these theories, and
case studies and exercises and discussion.
 Acknowledgments

Appreciation is extended to the many people who have assisted and worked
with the authors. Special appreciation is given to the authors’ students,
colleagues, and former business associates in the corporate world. Lastly,
the authors would like to extend gratitude to the many people who endorsed
this book and provided insight for this project.
 Chapter 1

Human Resource Planning

Objectives

At the conclusion of this chapter you will be able to:

1. Understand the human resource planning process (ELCC 3.3, PSEL 1,

3).
2. Define the steps of strategic and succession planning (ELCC 3.3, PSEL
1, 3).
3. Understand critical team values necessary to collaboratively develop a
vision and effectively manage human resources (ELCC 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,
5.1, 5.2, 5. 3, PSEL 1, 2, 3, 5).
4. Define critical laws and executive orders of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC; ELCC 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, PSEL 3, 6).
5. Describe how EEOC laws and regulations impact human resource
planning (ELCC 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, PSEL 3, 6).

STRATEGIC PLANNING
Human resource management consists of a multiplicity of responsibilities
that are vital to all organizations. Key to the human resource function is
ensuring that there are adequate and qualified people in the best positions to
achieve a thriving and successful organization. One way to help meet this
objective is through effective human resource planning. There are three key
planning functions that are presented in this chapter, which are strategic
planning, forecasting, and succession planning (see figure 1.1).
Strategic planning is a common activity of most organizations and can
help to ensure that all resources are identified as required by the
organization. While there are many facets to managing human resources,
the foundation begins with good strategic planning. There is an old adage
which states, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” Planning in human
resources involves assessing organizational needs, predicting the future,
establishing and communicating operational goals, conducting job analyses,
and identifying key positions needed by the organization.
Figure 1.1. Three key planning areas of human resources.

Human resource planning ensures that an organization has the correct

number of people in the right places at the right time who have the
necessary skills and performance to complete the institution’s objectives.
An organization cannot accomplish any goals without qualified people. In
education, it also means human resource planning is aligning staffing needs
with the needs of students to increase performance.
Proper planning allows administrators to ensure successful transitions
and ensure that people can accomplish the tasks needed of an organization
in a smooth and harmonious manner. While some school districts approach
human resource planning differently, all administrators need to be involved
in human resource forecasting to ensure that there are capable people
performing the necessary tasks of the organization.
Strategic planning is one of the most popular strategies utilized by
educators to prepare a comprehensive plan for meeting workforce needs for
the future (see figure 1.2). Essentially, strategic planning involves
answering the questions of “What is our situation today?” “Where do we
want to go?” “How can we best get there?” and “Who are the people who
are going to champion the strategies in getting us there?”

Figure 1.2. Three fundamental questions for strategic planning.

Strategic planning is a technique that originated in corporate America and

has become a popular tool in education. This process allows administrators
to identify critical issues that need addressed, establish an overall vision,
develop critical goals and key strategies to accomplish the vision, establish
metrics to measure performance, and plan resources.
 Some of the benefits of strategic planning include:

1. Builds upon collaboration and the expertise of people.

2. Allows for creativity in addressing major issues.
3. Stimulates visionary thinking to improve an organization.
4. Provides empowerment for people to accomplish goals.
5. Improves the performance of the organization and helps in predicting
financial budgets for a school district.

While strategic planning has many benefits, it needs to be undertaken in a

structured manner. If managed poorly, the costs of strategic planning can
exceed the benefits. Individuals may waste valuable time in brainstorming
ideas that are unproductive if the process is not facilitated well. Some
limitations include: people may concentrate on the most immediate needs
without regard for long-term needs, administrators may fail in successfully
implementing strategies, poor accountability, lack of resources, and lack of
follow-up to the strategic initiatives.
Therefore, when strategic planning is undertaken, proper resources are
needed to ensure success. Some of these resources include providing
sufficient time to develop the strategic plan, allowing for creativity,
selecting proper people who will participate and develop the plan, and
providing sufficient financial resources to implement the strategic plan.
Good preparations for the strategic planning activity and proper allocation
of resources are keys to the success of the overall effort.
The procedure for conducting strategic planning can vary from
organization to organization. Typically, strategic planning should begin at
the top level and then be facilitated throughout the entire organization. For
example, strategic planning may start at the district level, conducted at the
school building level, and then conducted at the department level. In this
way all organizational units are supporting the top district-level initiatives.
However, strategic planning can be independently conducted at the school
building level as long as the people understand the established goals of the
district.
 The process of conducting strategic planning involves several critical
steps:

1. Assemble the team. Select the members of the strategic planning team.
2. Determine resources and logistics. Agree on the logistics and
resources needed for completing the strategic plan.
3. Determine format. Agree on the final format and components of the
strategic plan.
4. Write values statement. Discuss critical values and behaviors and
formulate a values statement for the organization.
5. Write a vision statement. Write a vision statement, and if necessary, a
mission statement.
6. Complete a SWOT analysis. Complete a detailed SWOT analysis.
7. Write major goals. Write major goals for the strategic plan based upon
the SWOT items.
8. Prioritize major goals. Prioritize the major goals and determine time-
frames (1, 3, 5 years).
9. Write key strategies. Develop key strategies for each of the major
goals.
10. Include metrics. Include metrics (measurable score cards or
performance indicators) for each strategic goal and financial estimates
for funding key strategies.
11. Assign champions. Assign champions to major goals to be accountable
for them.
12. Write the strategic plan. Write the strategic plan and gain approval.
13. Integrate the strategic plan into the performance management system.
The goals and people who are accountable should be included into the
goal-setting and appraisal process.
14. Conduct awareness sessions. Inform people of the strategic plan their
roles. Get people involved into the process and implement the strategic
plan.
15. Monitor and assess progress. Establish a system of monitoring the
progress of the strategic plan and documenting results.
16. Conduct reviews of individuals’ performance. Conduct individual mid-
year and year-end reviews of people and the goals. Provide rewards
and incentives.
17. Evaluate the strategic planning process. Evaluate what went well and
not so well with the strategic planning process and improve the
process for next time.

The first step is to assemble the strategic planning team. Typically, this team
will consist of the top administrator (e.g., superintendent or principal) and
his or her administrators and selected teachers and staff members. This team
will not only be responsible for developing the final product but will also be
critical in driving the process and determining the resources that are needed
for completing the strategic plan, step two.
Typically this team will meet to plan all the resources needed and decide
whether an outside facilitator will be used for the process. The use of an
outside facilitator can be helpful in allowing the entire team to concentrate
on the content of the plan rather than needing to facilitate and record all the
information which can be done by the facilitator.
The facilitator can also conduct the process, reduce pressure from
superiors, and help keep the group on track. While there may be costs in
utilizing an outside facilitator, this person can be valuable in providing
input regarding his or her experience in conducting strategic planning with
other organizations as well as helping the team when they encounter
difficult interpersonal and process issues.
The strategic plan is a road map for the organization and should include
specific human resource initiatives that support the educational goals of the
district. The strategic plan should also be a comprehensive document which
supports all the units of the entire organization such as building facilities,
human resources, equipment and supplies, engineering, technology,
financial and budgeting resources, and educational programs and materials.
The School Improvement Plan (SIP) is similar to strategic planning, but
it generally centers on student learning such as curriculum and instruction,
student and faculty programs, and student behavior that impacts the school.
Therefore the strategic plan is the overall road map that includes all these
facets in operating a school district or school.
The third step necessitates the team agreeing upon an acceptable format
for the strategic plan document. There are many variations in the
components comprised in a strategic plan. For example, some schools may
not have both a vision and mission statement. Also depending upon the
complexity of a school district, the number of departmental or unit plans
can vary. There may also be a plan for all the essential units of an
organization such as academic departments, engineering department,
transportation, safety and security, custodial, and so forth. The components
of a strategic plan might consist of the following:

1. Executive summary
2. Table of contents
3. Core competencies
4. SWOT analysis
5. Critical success factors
6. Vision statement (and mission statement)
7. Major goals
8. Key strategies and financial needs
9. Metrics (performance indicators)
10. Department-level goals and strategies
11. Status summary spreadsheet
12. Appendix

It is important that the team determine the logistics in completing the

strategic plan such as how often they will meet, location, schedule, and
materials and resources. Some teams may schedule multiple sessions, which
range from two to four hours over an extended period of time such as six
weeks. However, other teams may conduct a retreat where they may spend
a couple concentrated days developing the plan. Each team must decide the
overall logistics that are best for them and least obtrusive to the operation of
the school.
 Step four involves the team constructing a values statement. It is
important to establish the key values that drive the behavior of people
within the organization. Establishing values is a prerequisite to writing a
vision statement. For example, if the school is a religious-based
organization, the values will be different than a public institution.
Establishing these values can help in crafting the ultimate vision and
mission statements. When examining the values, some of the questions that
can help guide the team include “What values are important to us?” “What
do we stand for?” “What specific behaviors do we value?” “How do we
desire to treat each other?” and “How do we want to be viewed by our
stakeholders?” Typically, by answering these questions, a team will arrive at
a values statement. In addition, team members can participate in values
exercises to establish common team values for the group.
Described next is a list of typical values that team members could review
and rank in order of importance for their team’s success in working together
in a group.

• Achievement (achieving and exceeding our school or organizational

goals)
• Altruism (giving of our time, passion, energy, and commitment)
• Collaboration (teamwork and working well with others)
• Creativity (being innovative, offering new ideas, change)
• Honesty and trust (being honest and trustworthy with each other)
• Justice (fairness and respect to each other)
• Knowledge (continued learning beyond what we already know)
• Commitment (total faithfulness to each other and school or company)
• Morality (doing the right thing, having good ethics)
• Power (ability to get what you want)

For example, in this exercise the team members might determine that a
value of individual power can be destructive to the overall cohesiveness of
the team. In other words, the team members may decide that seeking
individual power should be restrained, while other values such as honesty
and trust should be encouraged and reinforced for achieving team success
for the organization.
Step five, writing the vision statement, typically includes thoughtful
reflection regarding the desired culture of the organization. Some helpful
statements consist of “Striving for the highest quality learning within the
school,” “Striving to treat each other fairly through honesty, respect and
open communications,” “Providing an opportunity for everyone to grow
professionally,” or “Having a passion for innovation, originality, and
continued intellectual growth.”
Some teams may elect to write a mission statement in addition to a vision
statement. Either a vision statement or a mission statement, or both, can be
written. A mission statement tends to be a broad goal such as “To explore
the galaxies.” Many organizations have a mission statement and use it to
give general descriptive information regarding their purpose and as a
statement of expression.
A vision statement is typically much more concrete such as “To land a
person on the moon and watch him or her walk.” While the statements are
similar, the vision statement concentrates more on behaviors and is often
more concrete and measurable. For example, a school district may have a
mission statement such as “To allow all students to grow to their fullest
capacity,” versus a vision statement such as “All students will score in the
top 20 percent of the nation on standardized tests.” However all
organizations are unique organisms and need to determine what kind of
vision and mission statements best reflects the desires of the stakeholders.
Step six consists of completing the SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In this step, the team
identifies the strengths of the school. Examples include a good core
reputation, strong leadership, competent and experienced teachers, and high
employee morale and satisfaction.
Weaknesses might include lack of technology equipment and
competencies, inadequate facilities, poor safety, and inadequate
transportation for students. Opportunities are those situations that offer
potential additional support to the school district in achieving higher
performance levels that include establishing business relationships, utilizing
university expertise, writing grants, and increasing financial resources.
Threats are typically situations that might hinder the success of the
school district that could include an aging faculty, high employee attrition,
political unrest within the community, and potential high immigrant growth
that may require additional programs and resources. Establishing the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can become the basis
from which the strategic plan is developed.
Often, the strengths are recognized and sometimes improved, but the
weaknesses need to be addressed by establishing concrete goals and key
strategies. In addition, opportunities and threats need to be examined, and
strategic goals can be written based upon them. The opportunities often
emerge from the examination of the weaknesses. Also, the threats should be
identified as internal and external threats in achieving goals and
opportunities.
Step seven entails writing the major goals for the strategic plan. These
major goals should be written using SMART criteria. SMART goals consist
of being specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Once the
major goals are written, it is important to carefully examine the goals and
prioritize them, step eight. A team may write too many goals that cannot be
realistically achieved. The team members should decide which are the
highest priority goals and establish time frames for each of the goals such as
one-, three-, or five-year increments.
Step eight, prioritizing the major goals and establishing time frames for
goals, involves negotiation, collaboration, and resource management. Team
members need to be respectful of each other and establish ground rules in
how they conduct themselves in the meetings. Typical functional behaviors
include seeking and giving opinions, elaborating and encouraging people to
praise others, and being open to new ideas. Nonfunctional behaviors are
being too aggressive, self-confessing, playing politics, pushing self-interest
above the group, withdrawal, or clowning around and disrupting the group.
Once the major goals are written, key strategies must be developed, step
nine. “A goal cannot be done.” For example, if someone wants to become a
millionaire, the key strategy outlines the process in “how to get the
money?” If a major school goal is to advance the knowledge and technical
skills of the faculty, then one key strategy might be to hire a technology
consultant and to conduct technology training sessions.
Also, included within the strategy should be well-written metrics, step
ten. Metrics, sometimes called performance indicators, are the scorecards
upon which the level of performance is to be established. For example, if
the major goal is to improve technological knowledge and the key strategy
is to provide training for people, a metric might be to achieve 50 percent
competency within three months.
Step eleven requires assigning champions to the goals so that people can
be held accountable for accomplishing them. Champions act as crusaders in
promoting the goals, providing resources needed to accomplish the goals,
and measuring the results. Without passionate champions supporting the
goals, it is easy to lack the follow-through necessary to achieve them.
The champions for the goals may or may not include members of the
strategic planning team, and they should periodically meet to review their
progress. Champions should be selected based upon the criteria of high
credibility and strong desire for achieving results. They also should be
people who have good interpersonal skills and who can work
collaboratively with people to support their efforts in accomplishing the
goals.
Step twelve involves writing the strategic plan, which requires careful
review and editing by the members of the team to produce the final
document. Outside readers can be obtained to help critique the final
document and ensure that it is of acceptable quality and standards and that it
is in line with federal and state policies and guidelines. The final strategic
plan is often approved by the strategic planning team, superintendent, or
school board.
Step thirteen consists of integrating a strategic plan into the performance
management system. This entails selecting the key goals and people and to
hold them accountable through the goal setting and performance appraisal
process. This step is often overlooked in the strategic planning process. It is
important that there is linkage between the goals and individuals’ goals, so
people can be evaluated based upon the results. In some organizations
actual bonuses are established and given to individuals who exceed the
goals, which provide incentives for meeting and exceeding the goals.
Step fourteen involves making everyone aware of the strategic plan. The
plan is not going to be accepted or worthwhile if it is locked up in a cabinet
and no one knows about it. The strategic plan is a living document that
should be integrated within the entire organization and everyone should
become involved in implementing it. Therefore, conducting awareness
sessions for everyone within the organization and how they will be
involved in achieving them are critical.
Also, once the strategic plan is done, then a copy should be given to the
departmental chairs so that they can, in turn, develop department goals
based upon the overall school goals. The success of any strategic plan can
never be achieved without proper monitoring and assessing its progress,
step fifteen. Therefore, it is critical that a process for evaluating the goals is
established, which might consist of periodic review meetings and
conducting district-wide update sessions with everyone.
Step sixteen includes a review of the performance of individuals who are
responsible for achieving the goals. This can be done through the
performance appraisal process and periodic review meetings. Lastly, step
seventeen includes an evaluation of the strategic planning process through
extensive follow-up sessions by the original strategic plan members.
The evaluation might consist of what things went well, those things that
did not go well, and ideas for improving the process in the strategic plan.
Also, in monitoring the goals of a strategic plan, it can be helpful to develop
a spreadsheet listing each of the major goals, the key strategies for each
goal, who is responsible, target completion date, metrics, and status. In this
way the goals can easily be reviewed, and comments can be written in the
status section on the progress of each of the goals.

FORECASTING STUDENT ENROLLMENT

Human resource planning is an integral part of the strategic planning

process and involves forecasting student enrollment for the school district,
which helps administrators plan for future finances, and human resources.
Forecasting student enrollment is like looking into a crystal ball, but not
having 100 percent accuracy. It is an attempt to make the best educated
guess based on analysis and available data.
Administrators can use several methods to help predict student
enrollment, such as quantitative statistical analysis and qualitative
techniques. Quantitative statistics involve calculating the number of
children in an elementary school district and determining the number likely
to enroll in high school. Specific trends in elementary school enrollment
over two- to four-year periods of time can be used to help predict
enrollment trends. It involves using analytics based on specific census data.
In addition, feedback from local realtors and statistics from the planning
commissions of local municipalities can provide statistics on housing trends
and residency.
Qualitative measures consists of administrators using inductive analysis
to make conclusions based upon discussions with people through the local
chamber of commerce, identifying potential new businesses coming or
leaving the area, residential and commercial developments that are being
planned, the general economy in the area, and geographical potential for
expansion. It relies heavily on past enrollment and trends to make
judgments on future enrollments. For example, some school districts may
be within a community that is landlocked or has older residents with
decreasing numbers of children in school.
Also, new emerging communities that have high growth and new
residential and commercial developments can provide valuable clues as to
the direction of enrollment trends. However all this information must be
perceived with caution in that a community may be rapidly growing but
suddenly, due to economic reasons, the development can come to a halt,
leaving school buildings empty and future plans for school expansion
dormant.
The human resource planning strategy essentially involves matching the
school’s human resource needs with the projected student enrollment.
Administrators must make a good-faith effort in determining this match in
order to avoid shortages of teachers, overstaffing issues, or employing
teachers who are the wrong people with the wrong certifications needed for
the students. For example, if a community is experiencing a high growth in
foreign immigrants, the necessity for bilingual and ESL programs may be
more critical than other areas.
Likewise, nothing may be worse for an administrator than to overstaff a
district and then experience a drastic decline in enrollment. This may
necessitate a reduction in force. Recent legislation regarding desegregation
and affirmative action has supported other means than using seniority as the
basis whenever possible.

SUCCESSION PLANNING

Succession planning is a common practice in identifying and securing

internal and external people to fill key administrative leadership positions
within the organization. This process can be one of the most valuable ways
to ensure that human resource needs are met. Generally succession
planning, or sometimes called replacement planning, is used for identifying
successors for key administrative and staff positions.
Oliver Wendall Holmes once stated that “the great thing in this world is
not so much where we stand as in what direction we are going.” The whole
essence of succession planning is to be able to look into the future and
ascertain which key positions need to be replaced. The succession planning
process ensures that there is a successful transition of a candidate for a key
position for the eventual retirement or unexpected separation of the
incumbent from the position.
More simply stated, having a viable succession plan in place in the event
of an unfortunate or abrupt departure of a key person can help weather the
transition period, maintain operational continuity, and ensure the successful
selection of a replacement in a timely manner. Moreover, it is good business
sense to be well prepared for needed transitions in key management as well
as all human resources.
Generally it is important that the superintendent of the school district
establish a succession plan working with the school board. There needs to
be a culture of honesty, trust, and mutual respect among members, because
inherent conflicts and misunderstanding are natural during this process.
Therefore the necessity of self-examination, critical analysis of current
performance, spirited discussions, and candidness are hallmarks in
balancing the multiplicity of viewpoints that can commonly occur.
The succession plan should be an ongoing and dynamic process that is
regularly updated. It isn’t something that should be viewed as a one-time
exercise. The process can also serve as a useful process for self-
examination, assessment of organizational current and future needs, and
continuous improvement. It should be a thoughtful activity that serves the
organization and ensures continuous improvement.
The succession planning process often begins by identifying possible
candidates for selected positions to be filled. It is important to determine the
future needs of the organization and having the end in sight versus focusing
on past needs. Administrators who work collectively with an incumbent are
more likely to establish a successful plan that is right for the future needs of
the organization.
In other words, if a key person is replaced, the dynamics of the
administrative team may be impacted due to the varying skill sets that all
the team members and the incumbent have. Some typical questions for
thoughtful reflection include:

• Is there an up-to-date job description and set of core competencies for

the position?
• What are the mutual expectations of the school board and administrative
leadership team?
• What are the major responsibilities for an ideal person in this position
(versus the current job responsibilities of the position that might have
evolved based upon the skills and talents of the incumbent, existing
administrative team members, political dynamics, and organizational
needs)?
• Who could be an immediate interim leader, and has he or she been
notified in the event of an incumbent’s departure?
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 CHAPTER XXII
THE NEW ARRIVAL AT FORTY MILE

The man known as Strengel was probably as great a rascal as

could be found in all Alaska. His sole object in shipping aboard the
steamer Norsk at San Francisco had been to make his way, by fair
means or foul, to the Yukon gold-fields, of which he had gained
extravagant ideas. On the night before the Norsk left St. Michaels he
stole from the chests of several of his shipmates such small sums of
money as they contained, slipped into a canoe, and deserted the
ship. He remained in hiding until she sailed, and then, claiming to
have been discharged at his own request, offered his services to
Gerald Hamer in exchange for a passage to Forty Mile. This
proposition being accepted, and Strengel regularly shipped as one of
the Chimo’s crew, he made a secret proposal to the old company
through one of its clerks, who happened to be Simon Goldollar, to so
delay and cripple Gerald Hamer’s expedition that he should be forced
to abandon it. In attempting to carry out this programme he was
foiled by Phil Ryder’s quick wit and prompt action.
Making his way back to St. Michaels, after Phil set him ashore at
the Pastolik wood-yard, Strengel fell in with Jalap Coombs, and, in
company with Goldollar, so managed the money affairs of that
unsuspecting sailor that he was unwittingly made to defray all their
expenses to Forty Mile, though he only expected to accompany them
a short distance up the river. Strengel’s sole object was still to reach
the gold-fields, while Goldollar was intent on winning a reputation
for himself by forestalling Gerald Hamer at Forty Mile, and at the
same time inflicting what injury he could on Phil Ryder. From the
outset they agreed to rid themselves of Jalap Coombs at some point
so far up the river that he must necessarily remain where they left
him for the rest of the winter. They learned at Nulato that the Chimo
was frozen in at Anvik, but took care that this information should not
reach Jalap Coombs, whom they soon afterwards so cruelly
deserted.
As they travelled beyond the point where they left him, the well-
mated pair had such frequent and bitter quarrels that, when Simon
Goldollar fell seriously ill, Strengel did not hesitate to rob him of
what money he carried and desert him at a native village near the
abandoned trading-post of Fort Yukon. Before doing this he
discharged the Indians who had come with them from Nulato, and
sent them back, telling them that he should remain with his sick
friend until he recovered or died. As soon as they were gone he
engaged other natives, and set out for the diggings that had for so
long been the goal of his desires.
He planned to enter Forty Mile under a new name, and as a
traveller from one of the interior Hudson Bay trading-posts, who was
ignorant of the lower Yukon, its people, and its happenings. He was
confident that Jalap Coombs would never appear to contradict him,
and almost equally certain that Simon Goldollar would never reach
Forty Mile. If by a miracle he should recover from his illness, he was
helpless to continue his journey before the boats came up in the
summer, by which time the man who had robbed and deserted him
would be lost to sight amid the season’s rush of prospectors. In the
meantime he had plenty of money to live on until he should meet
with an opportunity for making a strike of some kind.
Thus it was that on a pleasant day of late January Mr. Strengel
approached the mining camp of Forty Mile, riding comfortably in
Jalap Coombs’s own sledge, with a light heart and no intimation of
aught but an agreeable reception by its citizens. But in all his
carefully-worked-out plans he had made several miscalculations.
It had never occurred to him that there was any other route than
the one he had followed by which this point might be reached from
the lower river. Nor did he believe it possible that any word of Gerald
Hamer’s expedition could have come up the river unknown to him.
Finally, his gravest mistake lay in supposing the population of this
camp to be of the same lawless class as is to be found in most
Western mining camps, and believing that here he should meet only
with as great rascals as himself. In this he displayed great ignorance
of Forty Mile, which was wholly in the hands of honorable old-time
miners, who had framed a simple set of laws for the regulation of
their isolated little community that they were determined should be
respected. They had chosen one of their own number as judge, and
from his decisions they allowed no appeal. They had also elected a
marshal, whom they loyally assisted in the discharge of his duties.
Several lawless characters had already been driven from the camp,
and many others warned not to venture within its limits.
As Forty Mile had received warning of the expected coming of
Goldollar and Strengel, and had learned many interesting things
concerning the previous history of these gentlemen, their arrival was
eagerly anticipated. Thus, upon Phil Ryder’s announcement that
sledges were coming up the river, an expectant throng was quickly
gathered at the landing.
Mr. Strengel fired several shots from his rifle as he drew near, and
was surprised that his salute was not answered in kind. He was, of
course, gratified to observe the sensation that his approach was
creating, and undertook to arouse some enthusiasm among the
silent spectators by yelling, “Hurrah for Forty Mile! Hurrah for the
diggings! Hurrah for our side!” Then, as his sledge reached the bank
and he sprang out, he cried, in tones meant to convey hearty good-
fellowship:
“How are you, boys? You bet I’m mighty glad to see white men
again after camping with a lot of low-lived Injuns for more than two
months. You see, I’ve just come down from Pierre’s House on the
Porcupine. My name’s Bradwick, and—”
Here the speaker’s fluent words seemed suddenly to fail him, his
face turned pale, and his eyes were fixed in a bewildered stare. He
had caught sight of the Yukon Trading Company’s sign.
 “Ha, ha!” he laughed, recovering himself with an effort. “Seeing
the name of an old friend who’s long since dead kinder give me a
turn. But, as I was saying—”
“Yes, you were just about to tell us what had become of Goldollar,”
interrupted Mr. Platt Riley, who had received word from Phil that the
new-comer was Strengel.
“Goldollar!” stammered the stranger, at the same time starting as
though he had been shot. “Goldollar!” he repeated, reflectively; “I
don’t know the name; never heard it before in my life. I think I
mentioned that I’d just come down from Pierre’s House on the
Porcupine, and hadn’t seen a white man since leaving there. There
wasn’t no one of that name at Pierre’s House when I left. What do
you mean? Who is Goldollar, anyhow?”
“He’s a feller that we heard was coming up from below with a dog
train,” replied Mr. Riley, deliberately, at the same time gazing full in
Strengel’s face. “And we didn’t know but what you and him might
have met up and concluded to travel together.”
“How could you hear of him?” inquired the new-comer. “I didn’t
know there was any way for news to reach Forty Mile in the winter.”
“Oh, we might have heard by mail, or telegraph, or seen it in the
daily papers, or a dozen other ways. Anyhow, we did hear it, and
that another feller was along with him. So of course when we saw
you coming up the river—”
“You didn’t hear that the other fellow’s name was Bradwick, did
you?” interrupted the stranger.
“No, that wasn’t the name. It wasn’t so good a name as that.”
“Well, then, you didn’t hear that I was coming with him; for
Bradwick’s my name, and I don’t know nothing about any Goldollars,
though I hope to find out something about them right here in these
diggings,” replied Mr. Strengel, boldly, and with attempted jocularity.
“Now, seeing that I’m tired, and cold, and hungry,” he added,
“supposing we adjourn to some place that’s warmer than out here in
the snow, and better suited for making acquaintances.”
“All right,” replied Mr. Platt Riley, who, possessed of a keen sense
of humor, was disposed to prolong the farce that promised so much
entertainment. “We don’t know much about Goldollars ourselves, but
we’ll try and teach you all we do know, and at the same time put
you in the way of meeting acquaintances. As you say, though, this is
a cold place for talking, so I suppose you might as well come up to
my select family boarding-house for the night, seeing as it ain’t
overcrowded just at present. Then in the morning we’ll look round
for a place that’ll suit you better.”
So the new-comer walked away with Mr. Platt Riley, while the
spectators of this interesting meeting chuckled and winked
significantly, poked each other in the ribs, and remarked:
“Ain’t the jedge a honey-cooler, though? He ain’t the kind that’ll
hang a man first and try him afterwards. Not much; that ain’t his
style. Fair play’s his motter, and turn the rascals out every time.”
It is needless to say that during the interview just described Phil,
Serge, and Jalap kept themselves out of sight; nor had any one let
fall an intimation of their presence in the camp.
All that evening a constant stream of visitors flowed in and out of
Mr. Platt Riley’s cabin. Each wore an expression of expectancy and
suppressed mirth, and each bowed gravely, without trusting himself
to speak, when introduced to Mr. “Bradwick.” It was also to be
noticed that none of them shook hands with him. When he
complained of this to his host he was gravely informed that hand-
shaking was not one of the customs of the camp. All the visitors
listened with great interest to his glib talk of the Porcupine and of
other regions to the eastward, while some even went so far as to
express regret that he had not met their friend Goldollar.
He always turned the conversation at this point; nor did he again
refer to the name of his dead friend that had confronted him on the
sign of the Yukon Trading Company. At the same time it caused him
a great deal of uneasiness, and led him to think seriously of
shortening his stay in the camp to a single night.
When he, in turn, inquired about the prospects of the diggings,
and learned that most claims had to be stripped of frozen moss and
thawed out before they could be worked, he declared that he’d see
the whole country and its gold in Jericho before he’d strip moss,
which he denounced as work only fit for “Injuns” and convicts.
On the whole, his impressions of Camp Forty Mile were so
unpleasant that he fully determined to get his dog teams in motion
the very next day, and push on farther up the river. It was only upon
the urgent request of Mr. Platt Riley that he consented to delay his
departure long enough to attend a public meeting of the greatest
interest to all Yukon miners, that was to be held the first thing in the
morning.
 CHAPTER XXIII
LAW IN THE GOLD DIGGINGS

The latest comer to Camp Forty Mile was not particularly anxious
to attend the public meeting to which he was invited by Mr. Platt
Riley. Still he thought it better to do so rather than run the risk of
offending his host, who was evidently a man of influence in the
diggings. His overnight reflections having convinced him that this
camp was not such a place as he had expected, and also that he
might find greater safety elsewhere, his first act in the morning was
to order his Indian drivers to harness the dogs and be prepared for a
start within an hour.
Kurilla, who was with them under instructions not to lose sight of
them, grinned when he heard this, for he had picked up an inkling of
what was going on, and felt pretty certain that the order need not
be obeyed.
When Mr. Riley’s reluctant guest entered the store of the Yukon
Trading Company, in which, on account of its size, the meeting was
to be held, he fully intended to take a back seat and slip out as soon
as he could do so unnoticed. The place was so filled with miners,
however, that there were no back seats, and, to his surprise, the
crowd pressed aside as he and Mr. Riley entered, so as to leave a
passage to the farther end of the room. A moment later, without
knowing just how it had been done, he found himself seated beside
Jalap Coombs’s friend, Skiff Bettens, who obligingly made a place for
him. He noticed, with some curiosity, that twelve men were seated
on benches directly opposite to him, while all the rest of the crowd
were standing. Between him and these men was an open space, at
the upper end of which were a table and a chair raised on a rude
platform.
 To this platform Mr. Platt Riley made his way, and seating himself
in the chair, rapped on the table for silence. Then rising, he said:
“Gentlemen of the jury and fellow-citizens,—This court is now
open for business, and I as its judge, elected by your votes, am
prepared to administer justice in accordance with your laws and
such verdicts as may be rendered by your jury.”
“It is a court,” thought Strengel, with a shiver.
“The case to be tried this morning,” continued the judge, “is one
that touches the pocket, the life, and the honor of every miner in the
Yukon Valley, for the prisoner at the bar is indicted on three separate
counts as a thief, a murderer, and an unmitigated scoundrel. He has
come into our camp under a false name and with a false story, after
having attempted the destruction of a steamer that is bringing goods
and machinery of which we are greatly in need.
“He is charged with robbing and leaving helpless in the wilderness
a man whom we all know and respect, and also with robbing and
deserting while seriously ill his own companion, who was on his way
to visit us in behalf of our old-established trading company.”
Strengel listened to these terrible words with an ever-increasing
paleness and visible agitation. Finally, clapping a hand to his face, as
though seized with a sudden illness, he started to rise and leave the
room.
“Sit down,” ordered Skiff Bettens in a low tone, at the same time
jerking him back to his seat. Then the man knew that he was indeed
a prisoner.
“To prove these serious charges,” continued the judge, “I am
about to call several witnesses. At the same time the prisoner will be
given the privilege of cross-questioning them, and of pleading in his
own behalf. Mr. Philip Ryder.”
At this summons Phil advanced from the farther end of the room,
and the prisoner regarded him with undisguised amazement.
 After answering the usual questions regarding his personality and
business, Phil was asked if he knew the prisoner.
“I do,” he answered.
“What is his name?”
“I understand that he now calls himself Bradwick, but a few
months ago he went by the name of Strengel.”
“That’s a lie!” shouted the prisoner, hoarsely.

“THAT’S A LIE!” SHOUTED THE PRISONER, HOARSELY

“Silence!” commanded the judge. “Now Mr. Ryder, tell the jury
what you know concerning the accused from the time of your first
meeting with him up to the present.”
This Phil did as briefly as possible, and when he had finished the
prisoner sprang to his feet, his face black with rage, and exclaimed:
“Why should this fellow’s story be believed rather than mine? Who
knows anything about him, or even who he is? He was picked up in
Bering Sea, drifting about in a stolen canoe. At St. Michaels he was
known as a thief and a brawler. I happen to know that he has been
locked up in a Victoria police-station, and I demand that his
evidence be thrown out.”
“That will do, sir,” said the judge. “I happen to know this young
man and his family so well that I am willing to vouch for him if
necessary. Do you wish to question him? No? Then we will proceed.
Mr. Serge Belcofsky.”
Serge, of course, identified the prisoner as Strengel, and
corroborated Phil’s story in every detail.
“This ends the testimony on the first charge,” announced the
judge when Serge had finished, and the prisoner sullenly declined to
question him. “In proof of the second charge, that of robbery and
desertion, I call as witness Mr. Jalap Coombs.”
As the ex-mate of the Seamew advanced to the stand the prisoner
stared at him as though he were a ghost, nor could he imagine by
what miracle this witness had reached Forty Mile in time to appear
against him.
Jalap Coombs told his story in his own picturesque language, but
in a perfectly straightforward manner, and without the slightest
hesitation.
When he finished, the judge questioned him very closely as to the
amount of money given him by Mr. John Ryder, and the prices paid
for various articles of his outfit at St. Michaels.
As a defence against this charge the prisoner claimed that Jalap
Coombs had not been deserted by Simon Goldollar and himself, but
had voluntarily turned back, and that the dogs they had left with him
had run away to follow them much against their wishes. He also
stated that they had taken the dogs and sledge back to the place
where they last saw Jalap Coombs, but that they could not find him.
“They were not his dogs, anyway, judge,” he continued, “nor did
he furnish any of our outfit except a few provisions, most of which
he traded to the Indians on his own account. This man Coombs was
a sailor, supposed to be a deserter from some ship, and was loafing
around St. Michaels half starved when we picked him up. He claimed
to have some friends on the river who would help him, and so we
brought him along out of charity.”
“May I toot a horn, jedge?” asked Mr. Skiff Bettens, rising as the
prisoner concluded his remarks.
“Certainly you may, marshal.”
“Waal, I only wanted to say that I’ve knowed Mr. Jalap Coombs off
and on for a good many years, and in all that time I’ve never
knowed him to tell a lie nor yet do a mean thing. Moreover, I’m
willing to stake my pile on his honesty agin that of any living man,
for a better sailor, a squarer man, and a truer friend never trod a
deck.”
This sincere tribute so affected the simple-hearted sailor-man that
he could only stare open-mouthed at the speaker, as though he were
talking in some mysterious language, though in after-years he often
referred to this as the proudest moment of his life. The remainder of
the audience greeted the marshal’s little speech with an outburst of
applause, which the judge was finally obliged to check.
“Letting charge number two rest with the testimony taken,” said
the judge, when quiet was restored, “we will take up charge number
three, which is the most serious of all. We have already learned that
the accused, under the name of Strengel, passed old Fort Adams
about a month ago, bound for this place in company with a man
named Goldollar, who appears to be a pretty tough character
himself, though that of course has nothing to do with this case. The
accused at that time had little or nothing of his own, either in the
way of money or outfit, while Goldollar appears to have been well
fixed with both. Now this man turns up in this place alone under the
name of Bradwick, telling a story about having come from up the
Porcupine that he has since admitted to be false, and in possession
of the outfit formerly owned by Mr. Coombs and Simon Goldollar. Of
course, under the circumstances, the question naturally to be asked
is, what has become of Goldollar?”
“He got sick of the trip and turned back from Yukon,” explained
the prisoner, sulkily.
“Yes, we’ve heard he took sick,” replied the judge; “but whether
he turned back or was left to die in an Indian rancheria is another
question. Mr. Coombs, will you please take the stand again?”
This time Jalap Coombs testified that he had carefully examined
the outfit brought into camp the night before by the prisoner, and
found it to contain the same number of sledges, the same number of
dogs, and the identical articles, with the exception of a certain
quantity of provisions, that had composed it at old Fort Adams.
“We will now call on one other witness,” announced the judge,
and the prisoner started as though he expected to see Simon
Goldollar himself appear on the stand. What he did see was one of
his own native drivers from Fort Yukon, with Kurilla to act as
interpreter.
“Do you admit Injun testimony in this court?” he asked,
disgustedly.
“Certainly we do,” replied the judge.
“If I’d known that,” he muttered, “I’d have bought a dozen or so
to testify on my side.”
The Indian’s testimony was to the effect that this white man had
left another white man in a native hut at Fort Yukon so sick that all
the Indians thought he would die.
“Of course I can’t buck agin Injun testimony,” growled the
prisoner; “but I say it’s a lie, all the same, and don’t prove nothing.”
“There is one thing that we must not neglect,” said the judge.
“Marshall, you may search the prisoner.”
The latter struggled furiously, but was overpowered and held by
strong hands while the marshall searched his pockets. From these
were produced a number of articles, including a wallet, which the
judge opened, spreading its contents on the table before him.
“Do you recognize anything here?” he asked of Jalap Coombs.
“I can identify this as having been in Goldollar’s possession,”
answered the mate, picking up one of the articles that had dropped
from the wallet, and holding it so that all might see.
Both Phil and Serge uttered exclamations of amazement, for the
object thus exhibited was nothing more nor less than the
mysteriously carved and almost forgotten fur-seal’s tooth that had
already exerted so great an influence upon their fortunes.
 CHAPTER XXIV
REAPPEARANCE OF THE FUR-SEAL’S TOOTH

“What do you know about this thing?” asked the judge of Jalap
Coombs, taking the fur-seal’s tooth from him and examining it
curiously.
“I know that there were an old Eskimo at St. Michaels what were
shipped by Goldollar to go with us to Nulato as dog-driver. He wore
this bit of ivory hung about his neck, and seemed to set a heap by it.
One time when he were looking at it I heerd Goldollar say that by
rights it belonged to him, seeing as he got it from some natyve, and
it were afterwards stole from him. He didn’t say nothing to the
Husky about it, but when we got to Nulato he give him so much
liquor that in the morning the old chap couldn’t be woke up.
Goldollar fooled round him a while, and then saying he’d have to
give up the job of waking him, left him, and ordered the teams to
pull out. I afterwards seen Goldollar take that very identical tooth
outen his pocket several times and look at it like it were a diamond
or some sich, and heerd him tell Strengel that any man as owned it
would surely have luck. It didn’t seem to bring him none, though.
Leastways no good luck, for he hain’t had nothing but bad luck
sence.”
“Was it your impression that you could win good luck by stealing
this tooth?” inquired the judge of Strengel.
“I didn’t steal it,” answered the prisoner, sullenly.
“How did you get it, then?”
“Goldollar give it to me.”
“Where did you leave Goldollar?”
 “At Fort Yukon.”
“Was he in good health when you last saw him?”
“I refuse to answer any more questions,” replied the prisoner,
suddenly realizing how deeply he was committing himself.
“Very well,” said the judge. “I think you have already told enough
to give us a pretty fair idea of the particular kind of a scoundrel you
are. So, if you have nothing more to say, I declare this case closed
and in the hands of the jury. Gentlemen, the court awaits your
verdict.”
As there was no room to which the jury could retire, they put their
heads together and consulted in whispers, during which time Phil
told the judge what he knew about the fur-seal’s tooth, together
with the legend of good and bad luck supposed to accompany its
possession. The spectators of the trial buzzed like a swarm of angry
hornets, and cast wrathful glances at the prisoner who had just been
proved so worthy of their contempt.
In a few minutes the jury ended their conference and resumed
their places. Then, as order was restored, the foreman, standing up,
announced that they were unanimous in finding the prisoner guilty
on all three of the charges preferred against him, and recommended
that he be so punished as to afford a warning to others of his kind
who might be contemplating a visit to the Yukon diggings.
“Hang him!” cried some one in the crowd.
“Shoot him!” shouted another.
“Drive him out of camp, and set him adrift like he done to Jalap
Coombs,” suggested a third.
“Silence!” roared Judge Platt Riley, standing in his place and
gazing sternly about him. “You forget, gentlemen, that this is a court
of law, and though maybe it isn’t run with all the frills of some, it’s
bound to be respected. Likewise, it proposes to pronounce its own
decisions. In regard to the prisoner now awaiting sentence, he has
been proved by the testimony of reputable witnesses, and by his
own admissions, to be a liar, a traitor, a dog-stealer, which in this
country is the same as a hoss-thief in the States, and a robber of his
travelling companion under circumstances that make him at the
same time come pretty near to being a murderer. For such as he
hanging would be none too severe. But we have never yet hanged a
man in Forty Mile, and we don’t want to begin if we can help it. The
prisoner has expressed a desire to learn something of our methods
of working these diggings, and we promised to teach him. He has
also remarked that moss-stripping was a job well suited to convicts.
So be it. Prisoner at the bar, stand up and receive your sentence.”
When the wretched man, who had fancied himself in a country
where he could commit any crime without fear of punishment, had
been assisted to his feet by Marshal Bettens and a volunteer deputy,
the judge said:
“By a fair trial, according to Yukon law, you are convicted of
crimes such as this community does not allow to go unpunished. On
account of them you are hereby sentenced to strip moss from the
several claims of this camp during every working-hour of every
working-day from now until such time as the first steamer reaches
here from the lower river and is ready to return. Then you will be
allowed to work your way on her to St. Michaels, where may the
agent have mercy upon you.
“In the meantime, when not at work, you will be closely confined
in the camp lock-up, under guard of the marshal, who shall be
entitled to your services for two days in every week for his trouble.
On other days he will hire you out to any miner who has moss to be
stripped, and who will pay for your keep during such time as you
may work for him.”
This unique but just sentence was greeted with a murmur of
approval from the spectators; but this was quickly silenced by a
frown from the judge, who continued:
“All the property that you brought into this camp, including money
and outfit, excepting your personal clothing, is hereby confiscated,
to be disposed of as follows: One team of dogs, one sledge, and half
the cash found in your possession shall be restored to Mr. Jalap
Coombs, from whom you helped to steal them. The remainder of the
money, after the Indian drivers who came with you have been paid,
and one dog team shall be devoted to the relief of Simon Goldollar,
who, though he seems to be a pretty bad lot, is still a white man,
and so must not be allowed to perish if it can be helped. The third
dog team shall become the property of Marshal Bettens in place of a
fee for his services. The remainder of the property, provisions, and
so forth, shall be devoted to the support of the prisoner during such
times as he is working for the marshal. Mr. Bettens will now remove
his prisoner, and I hereby declare this court adjourned.”
This triumph of the law and Judge Riley’s decision gave such
universal satisfaction to the spectators of that trial that they yelled
with delight as they poured from the court-room door. They
congratulated one another on the perfection of their home-made
code, and the promptness with which its provisions were dealt out to
evil-doers.
From that day on every man in camp exhibited such a lively
interest in the moss-stripping operations of Mr. Bradwick-Strengel
that many times when, thinking himself unobserved, he attempted
to shirk his work he was roused to renewed industry by the playful
pop of a gun, and the warning note of a bullet in close proximity to
his place of business. Thus was he given such ample experience of
gold-mining on the Yukon that when, some months later, a boat
arrived from the lower river, he thankfully departed from Camp Forty
Mile, mentally vowing never to return.
After consulting with Phil, Serge, and Jalap Coombs, Mr. Platt
Riley, who objected to being called “judge” outside of court, decided
to intrust Simon Goldollar’s rescue from the Indian village in which
he had been left to Kurilla and Chitsah, who were persuaded by a
liberal payment to return home that way. Another Indian was hired
to accompany them as far as Fort Yukon, and bring back word to
Forty Mile of their success. If they found him alive and able to travel,
they were to carry him with them to Anvik.
Phil wrote and sent him a letter, in which he apologized for having
accused him of stealing his money or the fur-seal’s tooth, Jalap
Coombs having told him the facts concerning these things, and
hoped he would return to St. Michaels in safety. Long afterwards he
learned that Simon Goldollar did make his way down the river, aided
by Kurilla and Chitsah, and was sent on by Gerald Hamer from Anvik
to St. Michaels. There he was discharged from the company’s
employ on account of the failure of his expedition, and finally left
Alaska in the same ship that bore ex-convict Strengel from its
shores. An amusing feature of it all was that both these rascals
attributed the ill success of their undertakings to the unlucky
influence of the fur-seal’s tooth.
This industrious bit of ivory, which exhibited such a fondness for
interfering with the affairs of men and boys, as well as such activity
in rapid travel and change of ownership, reposed for several days in
Mr. Platt Riley’s vest-pocket, where it had been unconsciously thrust
and forgotten. Finally, tired of being thus neglected, it worked a hole
through the pocket and fell to the floor. From there it was snapped
up by Mr. Riley’s favorite dog, who lay at his feet, and doubtless
imagined it to be a choice morsel provided for him by his indulgent
master. A moment later the judge was aroused from a reverie by the
frantic struggles of his dog, who seemed on the point of
strangulation. When he succeeded, by prompt effort, in removing
the obstruction from the animal’s throat, and, with a feeling of
superstitious amazement, discovered its nature, he started at once
for the store of the Yukon Trading Company, determined to be rid of
the uncanny object as quickly as possible.
It so happened that none of the three occupants of the premises
was at home, nor were they to be seen in any direction. They had
been preparing for departure, and many articles ready for packing
on the sledges lay scattered about the room. Among these was a fur
sleeping-bag, on which Mr. Riley’s eye no sooner rested than he
thrust the magic tooth into it and shook it to the very bottom.
“There!” he exclaimed, “they are sure to take it with them; one of
them will find it sooner or later, and maybe it will bring him good
luck. At any rate, I hope it will.”
It was now the month of February, and high time for our travellers
to be on their way if they wished to have snow to the end of their
sledge journey. Phil had made most satisfactory business
arrangements for Gerald Hamer, had sent that gentleman a long
report of their progress to date by Kurilla, who also bore letters from
himself and Serge to their kind friends at Anvik, and was now
impatient to push forward.
So on the morning of the 5th of February, although the
thermometer registered forty-eight degrees below zero, the little
party set forth from Forty Mile with three sledges and seventeen
dogs. Above the first sledge fluttered a small flag, on which
appeared the magic letters “U. S. M.,” signifying that Phil had
undertaken to deliver on the coast a large packet of letters, the first
mail ever sent out from Forty Mile in winter.
The entire population of the camp was assembled to see them off;
and amid sincere expressions of good-will, a round of hearty cheers,
and a ringing volley the sledges dashed away up the Yukon, with
seven hundred miles of their journey still to be accomplished.
 CHAPTER XXV
SERGE DISCOVERS A CURIOUS CAVERN

At the point where our travellers had again struck the Yukon,
nearly fifteen hundred miles from its mouth, it was still a mighty
stream two miles wide. Above this they found it bounded on both
sides by mountains that often approached to its very waters, where,
in sheer precipices hundreds of feet high, they form gigantic
palisades similar to those of the Hudson, which are known as the
“Upper Ramparts.” On the lower river the sledge party had
journeyed over a smooth surface, offering but few obstructions.
Their course from Anvik had at first been due north, then northeast,
then east, and was now due south, the source of the Yukon towards
which they were travelling being some ten degrees south of its great
arctic bend.
Owing to this they now found themselves confronted by the
hardest kind of sledging over rough, hummocky ice that was often
piled in chaotic ridges twenty and thirty feet high. As the river
freezes first at its most northerly point, and this belt of solid ice is
gradually extended south, or back towards its source, the floating
cakes of its upper reaches, borne by the swift current, are piled on
the ever-advancing barrier in confused masses that stretch across
the river like windrows.
In the spring, when the ice breaks up and is hurled irresistibly
down stream on the swollen current, the same effect is reproduced
on a vastly increased scale. Then the upper river breaks first, and a
sudden rise of water from some great tributary starts the ice over
the still solid barrier below. The huge cakes slide, jam, push, and
crash over the still unbroken ice sheet, until they are piled in a vast
gleaming mass seventy or eighty feet in height, from a quarter of a
mile to one mile in length, and extending from bank to bank.
This mighty gorge must give way at length, and when it does it
goes with a roaring fury that is terrifying and grand beyond
description. After grinding and tearing onward for several miles, or
perhaps less than one, the furious impulse is again checked by
another solid barrier, which must in turn be broken down and swept
away, its added weight giving increased energy to the mighty force.
So the ice crashes its resistless way down the whole Yukon Valley
to Bering Sea, two thousand miles distant, sweeping everything
before it, mowing down vast areas of forest, submerging islands,
tearing out banks, and leaving everywhere traces of its terrible
progress in the shape of huge ice cakes, weighing many tons,
stranded high above ordinary water-level.
Although Phil Ryder and his companions were not to witness this
grand exhibition of one of nature’s mightiest forces, they were sadly
inconvenienced and delayed by the uncomfortable fashion in which
their frozen highway had been constructed some months earlier. If
they could have left the river and followed along its banks they
would have done so; but this was out of the question, not only on
account of their rugged character, but because on their timbered
portions the snow lay many feet in depth, while from the river it had
been so blown by strong north winds that for long stretches the ice
was barely covered. This enabled the sledge men to walk without
snow-shoes, which was a great comfort to all three, but especially to
Jalap Coombs, who had not yet learned to use the netted frames
with “ease and fluency,” as Phil said.
To this light-hearted youth the sight of his sailor friend wrestling
with the difficulties of inland navigation as practised in arctic regions
afforded a never-failing source of mirth. A single glance at Jalap’s
lank figure enveloped in furs, with his weather-beaten face peering
from the recesses of a hair-fringed hood, was enough at any time to
make Phil laugh. Jalap on snow-shoes that, in spite of all his efforts,
would slide in every direction but the one desired, and Jalap gazing
at a frosty world through a pair of wooden snow-goggles, were
sights that even sober-sided Serge found humorous.
But funniest of all was to see Jalap drive a dog team. This he was
now obliged to do, for, while they still had three sledges, they had
been unable to procure any Indians at Forty Mile to take the places
of Kurilla and Chitsah. So while Phil, who was now an expert in the
art of dog-driving, and could handle a six-yard whip like a native,
took turns with Serge in breaking the road, Jalap was always allowed
to bring up the rear. His dogs had nothing to fear from the whip,
except, indeed, when it tripped him up so that he fell on top of
them, but they cringed and whined beneath the torrent of
incomprehensible sea terms incessantly poured forth by the strange
master, who talked to them as though they were so many lubberly
sailors.
“Port your hellum! Hard a-port!” he would roar to the
accompaniment of flying chunks of ice that he could throw with
amazing certainty of aim. Then, “Steady! So! Start a sheet and give
her a rap full. Now keep her so! Keep her so! D’ye hear? Let her fall
off a fraction of a p’int and I’ll rake ye fore and aft. Now, then,
bullies, pull all together. Yo-ho, heave! No sojering! Ah, you will, will
ye, ye furry sea-cook! Then take that, and stow it in your bread-
locker. Shake your hay-seed and climb—climb, I tell ye! Avast
heaving!” And so on, hour after hour, while the dogs would jump
and pull and tangle their “running-rigging,” as Jalap named the
trace-thongs, and the two boys would shout with laughter.
But while the journey thus furnished something of merriment, it
was also filled with tribulations. So bitter was the cold that their
bloodless lips were often too stiff for laughter or even for speech. So
rough was the way that they rarely made more than eight or ten
miles in a day of exhausting labor. Several dogs broke their legs
amid the chaotic ice blocks of the ever-recurring ridges, and had to
be shot. Along the palisaded Ramparts it was difficult to find
timbered places in which to camp. Their dog feed was running low,
and there was none to be had in the wretched native villages that
they passed at long intervals.
At length the setting sun of one evening found them at a point
where the river, narrowed to a few hundred yards, was bounded on
one side by a lofty precipice of rock, and on the other by a steeply
sloping bank that, devoid of timber, seemed to descend from an
open plateau. They halted beside a single log of drift that, half
embedded in ice, was the only available bit of firewood in sight. It
was a bleak and bitter place in which to spend an arctic night, and
they shivered in anticipation of what they were to suffer during its
long hours.
“I am going to climb to the top of the bank,” said Serge, “and see
if I can’t find some more wood. If I do, I’ll roll it down; so look out!”
Suiting his action to his words, the active lad started with a run
that carried him a few yards up the steep ascent. It was so abrupt
that he was on the point of sliding back, and dug his feet sharply
into the snow to secure a hold. At the same instant he uttered a cry,
threw up his arms, and dropped from the sight of his astonished
companions as though he had fallen down a well.
Before they could make a move towards his rescue, they were
more astounded than ever to hear his voice, somewhat muffled, but
apparently close beside them.
“I’m all right!” he cried, cheerily. “That is, I think I am, and I
believe I can cut my way out. Don’t try to climb the bank. Just wait
a minute.”
Then the bank began to tremble as though shaken by a gentle
earthquake, and suddenly a hand clutching a knife shot out from it
so close to Jalap Coombs that the startled sailor leaped back to
avoid it, stumbled over a sledge, and plunged headlong among his
own team of dogs, who were lying in the snow beyond, patiently
waiting to be unharnessed. By the time the yelling, howling mass of
man and dogs was disentangled and separated, Serge had emerged
from the mysterious bank, and stood looking as though he did not
quite understand what had happened. Behind him was a black
opening into which Phil was peering with the liveliest curiosity.
“Of all the miracles I ever heard of, this is the strangest!” he cried.
“What does it mean, old man?”
“I don’t exactly know,” answered Serge. “But I rather think it is a
moss blanket. Anyhow, that’s an elegant place to crawl into out of
the cold. Seems to be plenty of wood, too.”
Serge was right in his conjecture. What appeared to be the river-
bank was merely a curtain of tough, closely compacted Alaskan
moss, closely resembling peat in its structure, one foot thick, and
reaching from the crest of an overhanging bank to the edge of the
river. It had thus held together, and fallen to its present position
when the river undermined and swept away the earth from beneath
it. That it presented a sloping surface instead of hanging
perpendicularly was owing to a great number of timbers, the ends of
which projected from the excavated bank behind it. Serge had
broken through the moss curtain, fallen between these timbers to
the beach, and then cut his way out. Now, as he suggested, what
better camping-place could they ask than the warm, dry, moss-
enclosed space from which he had just emerged?
“I never saw nor heard of anything so particularly and awfully jolly
in all my life,” pronounced Phil, after the three travellers had entered
this unique cavern, and started a fire by which they were enabled to
see something of its strange interior. “And, I say, Serge, what a
thoughtful scheme it was on your part to provide a chimney for the
fire before you lighted it! See how the smoke draws up? If it wasn’t
for that hole in the roof I am afraid we should be driven out of here
in short order. But, hello, old man! Whew-w! what are you throwing
bones on the fire for? It reminds me of your brimstone-and-feather
experiment on Oonimak.”
“Bones!” repeated Serge, in surprise. “Are those bones? I thought
they were dry sticks.”
 “I should say they were bones!” cried Phil, snatching a couple of
the offending objects from the fire. “And, sure as I live, this log I am
sitting on is a bone, too. Why, it’s bigger than I am. It begins to look
as though this place were some sort of a tomb. But there’s plenty of
wood. Let’s throw on some more and light up.”
“Toughest wood to cut I ever see,” growled Jalap Coombs, who
was hacking away at another half-buried log. “’Pears to be brittle,
though, and splits easy,” he added, dodging a sliver that broke off
and flew by his head.
“Hold on!” cried Phil, picking up the sliver. “You’ll ruin the axe.
That’s another bone you’re chopping. This place is a regular giants’
cemetery.”
 CHAPTER XXVI
CAMPING ’MID PREHISTORIC BONES

So strange and uncanny was the place in which our sledge party
thus unexpectedly found themselves that Phil was for exploring it
and attempting to determine its true character at once; but practical
Serge persuaded him to wait until they had performed their regular
evening duties and eaten supper. “After that,” he said, “we can
explore all night if we choose.”
So Phil turned his attention to the dogs, which he unharnessed
and fed, while Serge prepared supper, and Jalap Coombs gathered a
supply of firewood from the bleached timber ends projecting from
the bank behind them. He tested each of these before cutting into it
to make certain that it was not a bone, quantities of which were
mingled with the timber.
The firewood that he thus collected exhibited several puzzling
peculiarities. To begin with, it was so very tough and thoroughly
lifeless that, as Jalap Coombs remarked, he didn’t know but what
bones would cut just as easy. When laid on the fire it was slow to
ignite, and finally only smouldered, giving out little light, but yielding
a great heat. As Serge said, it made one of the poorest fires to see
by and one of the best to cook over that he had ever known.
Although in all their experience they had never enjoyed a more
comfortable and thoroughly protected camping-place than this one,
the lack of their usual cheerful blaze and their mysterious
surroundings created a feeling of depression that caused them to eat
supper in unusual silence. At its conclusion Serge picked up a freshly
cut bit of the wood, and, holding it in as good a light as he could
get, examined it closely.
 “I never saw nor heard of any wood like this in all Alaska,” he said
at length. “Do you suppose this can be part of a buried forest that
grew perhaps thousands of years ago?”
“I believe that’s exactly what it is,” replied Phil. “I expect it was
some awfully prehistoric forest that was blown down by a prehistoric
cyclone, and got covered with mud somehow, and was just
beginning to turn into coal when the ice age set in. Thus it has been
preserved in cold storage ever since. It must have grown in one of
the ages that one always likes to hear of, but hates to study about—
a palæozoic or silurian or post-tertiary, or one of those times. At any
rate, I expect it was a tropical forest, for they all were in those
days.”
“Then like as not these here is elephants’ bones,” remarked Jalap
Coombs. “I were jest thinking as how this one had a look of ivory
about it.”
“They may be,” assented Phil, dubiously, “but they must have
belonged to pretty huge old elephants; for I don’t believe Jumbo’s
bones would look like more than toothpicks alongside some of these.
It is more likely that they belonged to hairy mammoths, or
mastodons, or megatheriums, or plessiosauruses, or fellows like
that.”
“I don’t know as I ever met up with any of them, nor yet heerd
tell of ’em,” replied Jalap Coombs, simply, “onless what you’ve jest
said is the Latin names of rhinocerosses or hoponthomases or
giraffles, of which my old friend Kite Roberson useter speak quite
frequent. He allus said consarning ’em, though, that they’d best be
let alone, for lions nor yet taggers warn’t a sarcumstance to ’em.
Now ef these here bones belonged to any sich critters as them, he
sartainly knowed what he were talking about, and I for one are well
pleased that they all went dead afore we hove in sight.”
“I don’t know but what I am too,” assented Phil, “for at close
range I expect it would be safer to meet one of Mr. Robinson’s
taggers. Still, I would like to have seen them from a safe place, like
the top of Groton Monument or behind the bars of a bank vault.
Where are you going, Serge?”
“Going for some wood that isn’t quite so prehistoric and that will
blaze,” answered the other lad, who had picked up an axe and was
stepping towards the entrance to the cavern.
“That’s a scheme! Come on, Mr. Coombs. Let’s help him tackle that
up-to-date log outside, and see if we can’t get a modern illumination
out of it,” suggested Phil.
So they chopped vigorously at the ice-bound drift-log that had
induced them to halt at that point, and half an hour later the gloom
of their cavern was dispelled by a roaring, snapping, up-to-date
blaze. By its cheerful light they examined with intense interest the
great fossil bones that, in various stages of preservation, lay
scattered about them.
“I should think a whole herd of mammoths must have perished at
once,” said Phil. “Probably they were being hunted by some
antediluvian Siwash and got bogged in a quicksand. How I wish we
could see a whole one! But, great Scott! now we have gone and
done it!”
Phil’s final exclamation was caused by a crackling sound overhead.
The sloping moss roof had caught fire from the leaping blaze, and
for a moment the dismayed spectators of this catastrophe imagined
that their snug camping-place was about to be destroyed. They
quickly saw, however, that the body of the moss was not burning; it
was too thoroughly permeated with ice for that, and that the fire
was only flashing over its dry under surface.
As they watched these fitful flames running along the roof and
illuminating remote recesses of the cavern, all three suddenly
uttered cries of amazement, and each called the attention of the
others to the most wonderful sight he had ever seen. Brilliantly
lighted and distinctly outlined against the dark background of a clay
bank, that held it intact, was a gigantic skeleton complete in every
detail, even to a huge tusk that curved outward from a massive
skull. For a single minute they gazed in breathless awe. Then the
illuminating flame died out, and like a dissolving picture the vast
outline slowly faded from view and was lost in the blackness.

FOR A SINGLE MINUTE THEY GAZED IN BREATHLESS AWE

“Was that one of ’em?” gasped Jalap Coombs.

“I expect it was,” answered Phil.
“Waal, then, old Kite didn’t make no mistake when he said a
tagger warn’t a sarcumstance.”
“It must have been all of twenty feet high,” remarked Serge,
reflectively.
For more than an hour they talked of the wonderful sight, and Phil
told what he could remember of the gigantic hairy mammoth
discovered frozen in a Siberian glacier, and so perfectly preserved
that sledge-dogs were fed for weeks on its flesh.