Articles | Alaskan History Magazine

The cover of Volume 5, Number 4 features the U.S. Revenue Cutter ‘Bear,’ and an excerpt from a book by Alaska historian Gary C. Stein shares the 1889 voyage of the “Bear” as seen through the eyes of the ship’s surgeon, Dr. James Taylor White.

This issue also features the story of the ‘Tanana Chief,’ a sternwheeler which plied the waters of Interior Alaska, told by the great-granddaughter of one of its builders, J.E. Orme, who journeyed north with the ship in 1898 in search of Alaskan gold. Mary Lynn Roush shares her great-grandfather’s letters to his sister, which includes the rescue of one of Alaska’s earliest explorers, Second Lieut. J.C. Castner of Edwin F. Glenn’s 1898–1899 military expedition, who had been presumed lost for months.

Also: The story of the Eskimo lad, Emiu, known as ‘Split-the-Wind’ for his fondness for fast dog teams, is included. An Eskimo guide for Vilhjalmer Stefansson’s expeditions, the Seattle Times named him “the greatest musher the country ever produced.”

The great 1912 eruption of Novarupta in the Mount Katmai region, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, includes the official report of Capt. K.W. Perry of the Revenue Cutter ‘Manning,’ which was in port at Kodiak at the time of the eruption, and sheltered over 400 people, providing fresh water from her evaporators (which were an innovation at the time).

Plus the visit of then-Senator John F. Kennedy to the 1960 Alaska State Fair, and several pages from a 1929 brochure for the Alaska Steamship Company.

Alaskan History Magazine brings interesting and in-depth articles about the history of Alaska and its northern neighbors to readers in a “no advertising all history” format. Every 64-page issue features well-researched articles, book excerpts, historic photographs, maps, and images, presenting a look at several topics, events, people and places which played a role in the history of the North.

Alaskan History Magazine Collections

Articles are also collected into three books, making it easy to share the history with friends and family, or just enjoy these convenient, fully indexed collections containing one hundred articles in total. Ordering links for each book can be found under Books in the menu above or to the right, and there’s a special offer for all three books as a set!