Adventures in Alaska by Samuel Hall Young ebook

About Adventures in Alaska by Samuel Hall Young ebook

About the Author


Samuel Hall Young was born in 1847 in Butler Pennsylvania. He was weak and sickly during his young days. He took to himself of going to Alaska as an adventure. His deduction was it would either make him famous or kill him.


Young completed his studies from the University of Wooster in Ohio and the Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church, and was addressed as Reverend Young.


Arrived in Alaska on July 10, 1878, Reverend Young was the pioneer in missionary work in that remote primitive part of the world. Upon stepping his foot there, he was never afflicted with the headaches and pains which he was so accustomed to throughout his growing years. He described that as not “living at a poor dying rate” ever again. In 1904, he built the first Protestant Church in the new town of Fairbanks. Alaska, and appointed superintendent of Presbyterian missions in Alaska.


Reverend Young dedicated his life to serve both Alaska Natives and American settlers in the interior Alaska. He died on September 2, 1927 after a fatal road accident. Mount Young in the Chilkat Range, Young Island in Glacier Bay, and Young Rock, which he discovered near Wrangell, were all named for S. Hall Young


About the book


Adventures in Alaska is a collection of real life short adventures stories, chronicling Reverend Young's some 40 years of missionary experiences in Alaska.


When thousands of prospectors landed in Alaska in search of their fortune in the gold nuggets, during stampede of the Gold Rush era, he lived their life and played the game with them, cautious at the same time to keeping himself free from the deadly gold-lust.


In Adventures in Alaska, the author attempted to draw a bold outline of some dramatic episodes of his experience, cover topics such as his ministry in Alaska, the dramatic elements of life, the human ambitions, affections and passions on top of the dangerous and punishing sub-zero climate conditions among the gold miners and early settlers.


The author endeavored to draw a true picture of the life and conditions of the first Northwestern gold-rush. In Adventures in Alaska, readers get to read about the story of Nina. Every incident is actual history, and even the names are real.


It was established that every pioneer missionary in Alaska should be an ardent hunter. The author's life has often depended upon his gun and fishing tackle. How is life for ten years in Southeastern Alaska without beef or pork or mutton? The game, animals, birds and fish made up for the lack of these.


In Interior Alaska , one particular animal, furnishes not only the food of the people, both native and whites, but also their winter clothing for the "sixty-below weather". Apart from meat, clam chowder, light and fuel; its skin is used to make foot-wear, the walls and roof of house and boats; its ivory furnishes the tools and implements of the chase for the hunters. Read more in the The Absurd Walrus story.


The Author wrote passionately about his dogs team, which formed an integral part of his expedition in Alaska. Find out which is the dog that responded well to "Gee" and "Haw". Readers get a better understanding about the 3 main breeds of native dogs found in Alaska. He gave interesting explanation about the word “mush” in the local context too.


Reverend Young is an excellent storyteller. Let him transpose you to how it was like in Southeast Alaska over a century ago, to see the pristine beauty of the region before it was despoiled by the gold rushers and modern day settlers. See through the eyes of a missionary, breathtaking Alaskan wild beauty and the people he ministered to. And, agree with him, “Oh, boys, you'll never know the real joy of living till you take a winter trip with dog-sled in Alaska”.


Enjoy!