Andrew Berg (Anders Berg; October 16, 1869 — March 1, 1939) was an immigrant to the

District of Alaska The District of Alaska was the federal government’s designation for Alaska from May 17, 1884, to August 24, 1912, when it became the Territory of Alaska. Previously (1867–1884) it had been known as the Department of Alaska, a military des ...

who was a prominent fisher,

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

, and trapper. He became the first licensed big game

guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Exp ...

in Alaska.

Early life and emigration

Andrew Berg was born Anders Berg on October 16, 1869, in

Nykarleby Nykarleby (; , ) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. The town is situated in Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population is approximately , while the Jakobstad sub-re ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. His father Johan and mother Lovisa owned a small farm. The family also hunted and fished. Because of extreme poverty, Andrew left Finland in 1887 at the age of 16. Along with two other boys from his town, Berg sailed to Hull in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, before travelling to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

by train. He was one of 500 emigrants that were to sail to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

aboard the ''St. Andreas''. Because of a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

outbreak, the ship instead sailed to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The boys travelled to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, then to

Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It had a population of 32,075 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Lake Michigan in the Michiana region, the city is about east of Chicago and is west o ...

, where they obtained work at a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

.Cassidy, pg. 2 After working at the mill for a short time, Berg travelled to his uncle Erik's home in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Berg travelled to the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, likely with his uncle, and took a job at a

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although unde ...

. Living in the village of Kenai, Berg spent his winters

trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch and often kill an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur trade, fur/feathers, sport hunting, pest control, and w ...

and fished for the Alaska Packers' Association during the summer.Cassidy, pg. 5

Hunting and guiding

In addition to fishing and trapping, Berg became involved in hunting and exploring in the

. During the late 19th century, large

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

antlers made their way to the Lower 48 and

trophy hunting Trophy hunting is a form of hunting for field sports, sport in which parts of the hunted wild animals are kept and displayed as trophies. The animal being targeted, known as the "game (hunting), game", is typically a mature male specimen from a p ...

became a popular business on the Peninsula. A picture of a set of antlers measuring taken by Berg and acquired by a dealer in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, was published in ''

Field and Stream ''Field & Stream'' (''F&S'' for short) is an American magazine focusing on sport hunting, recreational fishing and other outdoor activities. It was a print publication between 1895 and 2015, and became an online-only publication in 2020. After ...

'' in March 1897.Cassidy, pg. 9 After seeing the picture and desiring to discover who had collected the antlers, Dall DeWeese, a wealthy entrepreneur from

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

with an interest in hunting and wildlife, became the first known person to travel to the Peninsula to hunt. In September 1897, DeWeese found Berg at the cannery where he worked and arranged his release to serve as a guide. On their trip, DeWeese killed eight

Dall sheep ''Ovis dalli'', also known as the Dall sheep or thinhorn sheep, is a species of wild sheep native to northwestern North America. ''Ovis dalli'' contains two subspecies: ''Ovis dalli dalli'' and ''Stone sheep, Ovis dalli stonei''. ''O. dalli'' li ...

, two bears, and three moose with antler spreads ranging from 58 to 69 inches. DeWeese published articles about his expedition in at least three journals.Cassidy, pg. 11 DeWeese returned in 1898, 1899, and 1901, noticing decreased populations of wildlife as a result of the new interest and lack of hunting regulations in the region. He wrote a letter to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

in 1901, asking for regulations and conservation in Alaska. Following surveys of the region, regulations were established in 1908 that required

game warden A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician/technologist, game warden, park ranger, forest watcher, forest guar ...

bag limits A bag limit is a law imposed on hunters and fishermen restricting the number of animals within a specific species or group of species they may kill and keep. Size limits and hunting seasons sometimes accompany bag limits which place restrictions ...

, and licensed guides. Berg was issued license "No. 1", which he held for over twenty years. He later served as a warden from 1920 to 1921, and worked for the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

from 1924 until 1936.

Later life and death

Berg retired from guiding in 1929, as the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

led to fewer hunting trips and decreased fur prices. In February 1939, Berg was found ill in bed at one of his cabins. He was flown to a hospital in

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

, where he died on March 1, 1939, after suffering from heart and kidney problems for ten years.

Cabins

Berg built a total of 11

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

s on the

. He built his first, which served as his home, in 1902 on

Tustumena Lake Tustumena Lake (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Dusdu Bena'') is a lake on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska, within Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and near the town of Kasilof. Access is only via the Kasilof River, as ...

. Berg used

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

logs to construct the home cabin, which measures 17 feet wide by 17 feet long. The cabin is located within what is now the

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife habitat preserve located on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, United States. It is adjacent to Kenai Fjords National Park. This refuge was created in 1941 as the Kenai National Moose Range, but in ...

and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2000 as Andrew Berg Cabin. With Also in the Refuge is Berg's last cabin, built in 1935, also on Tustumena Lake. In 2000 the cabin was disassembled and moved next to the Refuge's visitor center. The 1935 cabin is open to the public.

References

* Cassidy, Catherine, and Gary Titus
Alaska's No. 1 Guide: The History and Journals of Andrew Berg, 1869-1939
Spruce Tree Publishing, Soldotna, Alaska, 2003.

Notes