Kodiak Has Appearance Of South Sea
Island Seattle Times Writer Says
The following article, written by
well-known writer Byron Fish ap
peared in the Seattle Times issue
of August 1st.
KODIAK — In this big loose
jointed state, Kodiak is almost a
separate unit. Except for big-game
hunters, it is rarely visited by tour
ists. Its business is commercial
fishing, canneries and being the
Alaska headquarters base for the
Navy.
It is served by one air line,
Pacific Northern, but directly from
Seattle as well as from Anchorage.
With the direct connection, and all
the Puget Sound fishermen and
boats, it is a little like Seattle’s
most remote suburb.
Anchorage and Kodiak are the
same distance from Seattle, so
either one can be a stopover if a
ticket is bought with the other «s
the destination. The cost for both
is only slightly more than for one.
Kodiak’s appearance was a mild
surprise to Bob Spring, the photo
grapher, and me. The green, sharp
ridged mountains behind the Navy
base and the town look as though
they belong in Hawaii or the South
seas.
Kodiak’s second surprise was
dust, which coats roads and auto
mobile with a layer that shows rain
has been scarce on these islands.
The annual precipitation is double
Seattle’s, but not much moisture
falls in the summer.
KODIAK ISLAND is huge moun
tainous and fringed with fjords,
wooded and full of lakes. Scattered
around the two large islands are
hundreds of smaller ones.
The town sits on a narrow chan
nel between the Kodiak “mainland”
and Woody Island. Its harbor is
further protected by breakwaters,
behind which the fishing fleet mo
ors, along with a number of local
pleasure craft.
The airport, southwest of town,
is on the military reservation. The
planes swoop in from Chiniak Bay,
and the landing strip ends against
a hill. So, they take off in reverse
drection, the only way they can
head.
The highway to town is a marine
view drive half the distance. The
rest of the way winds through val
leys full of deserted or wrecked
military buildings from the Second
World War, when thousands of
men were stationed here.
One of Alaska’s most spectacular
views, by car, is the panorama from
the top of the high hill behind the
town. A road goes to the peak, to
reach the White Alice station that
handles all communications with
the outside.
The island is known to big game
hunters round the world as the
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home of the Kodiak bear. Kodiaks,
brownies and grizzlies are substant
ially the same bear, but the Kodiak
variety grows biggest.
The Great White Hunter of Ko
diak is Alf Madsen, who has been
leading hunting parties since 1928,
when he came to the island with
his father, Charles. He operates
from nine camps.
Bear hunts take a week to 12
days. The season begins about
April 20 and lasts until mid-June.
There also is a short fall season.
Madsen says the bear population
of Kodiak is around 2,000. The av
erage yearly kill is 185, which ap
pears to be somewhat less than the
natural increase.
The bears’ most dangerous en
I—— _
emy is not human hunters, but old
male bears. They kill and eat cubs
up to two years old.
Madsen takes out a few fisher
men and sightseers in his boat,
particularly to the sea lion rocks
off Cape Chiniak. His main busin
ess, though , is bear huntng. He is
booked up for two years ahead.
(Continue^ on Page 8)
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