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 Alaska Territory. Previously (1867–1884) it had been known as the Department of Alaska, a military designation ...

who was a prominent

fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

, hunter, and

trapper Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

. 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 Ex ...

in Alaska.

Early life and emigration

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

Nykarleby Nykarleby (; fi, Uusikaarlepyy) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality is bilingual, with the majority speaking Swedish () and the minority Finnish (). The largest employers in the to ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. 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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, before travelling to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

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

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

aboard the ''St. Andreas''. Because of a cholera outbreak, the ship instead sailed to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. The boys travelled to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, then to Michigan City, Indiana, where they obtained work at a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where 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 (dimensi ...

.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 (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. 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 trib ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

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

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

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 ...

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

trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithi ...

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 (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

antlers made their way to the Lower 48 and

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

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, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

, was published in '' Field and Stream'' 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 (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

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, 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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

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 or technologist, game warden, forest ranger, forest watcher, forest g ...

s, bag limits, 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 an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

from 1924 until 1936.

Later life and death

Berg retired from guiding in 1929, as the Great Depression 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, 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 cabins on the

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

Tustumena Lake Tustumena Lake ( 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 there are no road ...

. Berg used spruce 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 198 ...

and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

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