2023 - ‘70’s Immersion Reading Challenge

Coming Into the Country: A remarkable voyage of spirit and mind into America’s last great wilderness - Alaska by John McPhee (1976; 1979 ed.) 417 pages.

If you are from Alaska, then you are definitely going to want to read this book. Alaska was going through huge progressive changes in the 1970’s. The author smoothly interweaves a bit of history and politics with interviews of the natives, especially in and around Eagle, which was the first incorporated town of interior Alaska situated on the Yukon River. In the ’70’s, Alaska was in its third gold boom and now the oil boom. The U.S. government was moving in and changing the climate in Alaska. The author, from New Jersey, traveled to Alaska to feel and experience the last wild piece of America, and to interview these locals and natives to get their feelings about the changes taking place. This book is divided into three sections: The Encircled River, What They Were Hunting For, and Coming Into the Country.

(1) The Encircled River

McPhee and four other guys, who worked for the U.S. government, began a canoe and kayak expedition at the head of the 60 mile long Salmon River in the Brooks Range that runs through the Baird Mountains in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. It is the most northern river above the Arctic Circle. Their purpose was to study the river as a national wild river that Congress would be voting on the following year, 1978, to become part of the Kobuk Valley National Monument, along with 15 other millions of acreages they were to vote on for national parks. The natives would soon have to accept the idea of now owning property and having boundaries; whereas, before they were roamers, following the herds of moose and caribou. The legislation passed under Jimmy Carter on December 2, 1980.

McPhee learned from his adventuring guides, that it takes money to go into the bush to hunt and fish. These men moved to Alaska only to find their dreams of hunting or fishing squashed because the reality of it is you need lots of money to charter planes out to areas where the fish, moose and caribou even exist.

(2) What They Were Hunting For

What they were hunting for back in the 1970’s was a new place to move the capital from Juneau, which had been the state capital since 1906. There were no roads into Juneau. One had to hire a bush pilot and fly in. McPhee flew around with the committee in charge to scout out the three possible sites for the new capital: Lake Larson, Mount Yenlo, and Willow, which all three would have been more centrally located between the two rival cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks, but much closer to Anchorage. Willow won the vote and construction was supposed to begin in 1980. (p. 169) The author didn’t know at the time, when the book was published in 1977, that the capital of Alaska would not be moved in 1980 because here it is year 2023 and Juneau is still the capital, and, by the way, you still have to charter flights into the city. This section of the book gives interesting insight into the steps the Alaskan government took to try and change it….and the expense, into the millions of dollars spent, just to try and find a suitable place that never panned out.

(3) Coming into the Country

The upper Yukon is referred to as “the country”. A stranger arriving up there is said to have “come into the country”. (p. 175)

This part of the book is the longest and is all about the native locals who live and survive on the Yukon River, in and around Eagle. The author stayed at the homes of these natives and participated with them in gold digging, hunting and hiking expeditions, while getting their views on the progressive changes taking place in Alaska. He gives great insight into the lives of these people and their environment, with a little history, on Eagle.

The hard truth about living “in the country” of Alaska…

A lot of these people who keep coming into the country don’t belong here. They have fallen in love with a calendar photo and they want to live under a beautiful mountain. When they arrive the reality doesn’t match the dream. It’s too much for them. They don’t want to work hard enough; they don’t want to spread out – to go far enough up the streams. (Richard Okey “Dick” Cook, came into the country in 1964 from Lyndhurst, Ohio, p. 253)

Page 410 tells of the authors own struggles to pick sides. He enjoys the beautiful national parks and wildlife refuges….and I do too. I’m so glad we have them. At the same time, I do realize that progress, and even just the preservation of land, comes with a double-edged sword, putting an end to one way of life for another. Many of the natives are implementing, and prefer using, modern tools and equipment (aluminum boats with their Evinrude motors, ski-doos, fuel, guns, purchased rations, and, of course, government subsidies). And because of this, they are forced into taking jobs in the bigger cities, away from their families, for a season to make money to pay for those conveniences they have come to depend on. That’s part of the payoff!

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INTERESTING FACTS

ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT OF 1971

Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867, but didn’t become a state until 1959. It wasn’t until 1971 when the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act gave the natives (Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts) one billion dollars and 44 million acres of land. A lot of this land, as we now know today, contained gold, silver, other minerals and oil and gas rights, which they were and would be able to profit from. (p. 145) A much different situation compared to how the natives were treated previously in the lower 48.


HOMESTEADING IN ALASKA

In the 1862 Homestead Act, homesteaders were given 160 acres, free of charge, for coming to Alaska. They had to live on the property for three years, build a dwelling to live in and grow a crop on an eighth of the land (p. 161), but that deal ended in 1974…according to this author. But, another source online states the 1862 Homestead Act officially ended on October 21, 1976 with a 10-year extension for Alaska. The last free, 160-acre homestead was claimed on October 21, 1986. (U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management: “History of Alaska Homesteading”, )

But, even after the homestead act ended, it appears people would still go and build small cabins deep into the interior Alaska, believing they had staked a claim to a piece of Alaska, and little was ever mentioned. But, if oil was discovered on the land, or even nearby, the U.S. Government would send officials through the area on helicopters to dish out eviction notices, and it didn’t matter how long you had been established there. (p. 232-33, 236) The State of Alaska had until 1984 to finish choosing its 103 million acres, which much was in the way of parks, government forests, wildlife refuges, huge petroleum reserves in the north, and the 44 million acres appropriated to natives. There wasn’t much land left for squatters, or want-to-be-homesteaders, to sneak in a cabin anywhere. (p. 234)

GOLD IN ALASKA

(1) 1890’s - $17/oz.
(2) 1934 - Government set price at $35/oz.
(3) 1970’s - for first time gold was allowed to float with the market and Americans were allowed to buy and keep gold. It rose to nearly $200/oz., settling to $150/oz. (p. 219)

Today, n 2023, the price of gold is $1,832/oz., fluctuating with the daily market (Forbes Advisor at Forbes.com online website). Recreational gold panning is still allowed on public lands, such as national forest, wildlife refuges, some state parks, national parks (higher restrictions), lands administrated by the Bureau of Land Management and the State of Alaska.

To determine if an area is open to mineral entry and if there are legal mining claims in an area, contact the state Division of Mining or, for claims on federal lands, the Bureau of Land Management. Once you have determined land status, know that it is public land, that it is open to mineral entry, and that it has no legal claims, check with the managing agency to determine what restrictions might be in force. (Recreational Gold Mining in Alaska @ myalaskan.com, accessed 3/3/2023)

For gold panning on private property, you must have owners permission. For the use of any heavy equipment, you must have a permit. ( )

I read this book in the mid-80's. I was encouraged to read it by a friend who had lived in Alaska in the early 80's and knew some of the people mentioned in the book. I remember I liked it and found it interesting but I don't remember too much about the details. ( )

Thoroughly enjoyable, great cast of characters. Not dated. Reinforces my desire to make it to AK. I added Eagle, AK to my weather app and was following current temps while reading. Good stuff. ( )

McPhee’s notes from small villages and the bush of Alaska contain echoes of the observational prowess and bald, fierce prose of Annie Dillard. Whether describing a landscape, an encounter with a bear, or the outliers living off the grid in the backcountry, McPhee’s insights are clothed in vigor and compassion and humor. I recommend this book not only for anyone traveling to Alaska, but also for fans of Dillard and nature writing. ( )

McPhee travels through Alaska, profiling the many, diverse people he meets along the way. Parts of it are dated, especially the extended section discussing possibly relocating the state capital from Juneau. McPhee is a little too sympathetic with some people, especially the gold miners who completely destroy the countryside for very little money, and who behave almost like terrorists. I had to grit my teeth through these long sections. Overall, like everything McPhee has written, it is smooth and engaging. I don't know that it is insightful, but he certainly introduces us to interesting people. ( )