First of Great Alaskan Hunting & Fishing Series
Rusty Annabel was a great writer of outdoor 'yarns' about his adventures as a hunting and fishing guide in Alaska from the 1920's through the 1950's or so when he moved to the more unspoiled areas of Mexico and continued in the same vein. His earlier books, Tales of a Big Game Guide, and Hunting and Fishing in Alaska, from the late 30's and late 40's respectively, are highly valued collectables, especially the original Derrydale Press edition of the former. He describes the old Alaska, before the growth of roads after WW II, and before the use of Seaplanes to get into remote areas. He describes his old mentor, Tex Cobb, who broke him into the business and also his adventures with a 'sport' who was cousin to the famous Nash Buckingham, and quite a hunting character in his own right. His stories are vividly real and usually have a humorous as well as an adventurous bent. Many of his stories involve pack train espeditions which took weeks to get back into the bush where they had built or established a base camp earlier, and then went on forays from that basecamp for mountain sheep or goats, moose, grizzlies, caribou, etc. Some are yarns about extended pack train expeditions in which they just gadded about and enjoyed whatever action their wanderings took them to. Annabel was a regular and prolific writer to the outdoor sporting magazines such as Sports Afield and Field and Stream from the late 1920's through the 1960's, with some reprints in the 1970's. He is one of the finest outdoor writers ever, and Hemingway said he was the best. His stories are filled with campfire stories which usually had a basis in truth but were often elaborated on to make them more entertaining. Other stories talk about his adventures alone and with Tex Cobb in wintering up way back in the wilderness and trapping during the off season, which was longer than the 'on' season. At various times, his cache or his cabin were raided by wolverines who ruined their winter food supply and left them in very troublesome straits. Safari Press in 1997 assembled all of his magazine stories, with Annabel's family's support, and organized them into a series of five books, organized by the eras or stages of Rusty's life, and for the first time ever, printed them all in book form. The Early Years was the first of that series, and is almost impossible to now find in the limited slip cover edition. This is a must read for anyone who wishes they could visit Alaska, and even more so for those who would like to experience what was like when it was untrodden wilderness.
