Andrew Berg tells much of his story himself. Transcribed here, verbatim, are the journals he kept from 1920 through 1938 at his remote cabin on Tustumena Lake. His daily entries depict a life tied to work rhythms of the seasons -- running trap lines, hunting, fishing, gardening and other tasks essential for staying warm and fed. Through Berg’s simple, and often humorous, descriptions of activities, the reader acquires an understanding of the effort, ingenuity, patience and forbearance required for life in the wilderness.

1928 - Journal Entries (transcribed verbatim)
August 18    Early morning started out to examine Birch Creek     went up stream for about two miles... just as we got to the opening where 1923 flood tore out the timber we beheld two larg brown bears in about two hundred yards distance     so they saw us they charged as a mad dog would I yelled to Capt Cole "run"     at that we both raced down along the creek     I relised at ones that I had no buisnes in that race so I jumped to the creek bank into a patch of young alder sprouts     I no soner had time to conceal myself than the bear ran by me at the speed of a race horse     he evedently know that he was being tricked     stopped with a bellow of rage & started back up stream to look for me...

 
December 24   Heard wind blowing this morning so I did not get out of bed to daylight     after I had breckfast and put tings to order it was afternoon     I tok the shiff pulled to flats     ran the trap line     coming back of hogback I got a lynx in the last trap     got home just as it was getting dark found two moose standing close to house when I cam home     one is here now     I just heard it few minuts ago skinned & stritched the lynx     put out net & been reading several pages of the Three Musketeres     how I celebrate x mass

 
December 25   At home celabrating christmass     did not know just how to go about it but have heard that cleanlines is next to godlenes so I heated water and had a bath     made a cake for myself & cooked a nice fat lynx for my dog Schotte     just at dusk Erling came visiting     weather mild with light drisling snow

Correspondence, photos, maps and newspaper articles illustrate this journey
back into Alaska’s past:
Kenai Alaska
January 8th 1921
Mr. G. Folta Secretary to the Governor
Dear Sir. I gat your sample voucher, showing how to fill out the same properly. For wich i thank you. Sorry to have made sych a mess of it, and still you have by this time another just as bad wich shows that office work is out of my line of busines if it was just to get a brown Bear out of alders i would know wat to do. I wants some copies of game circulars I find a lot of people who live out in the country who have not seen a copy of the Game laws I am down to the last Copy.
 
Respectfully Andrew Berg Game Warden

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