Fifty-Five Years in the Alaskan Bush

Over a half century ago, John Swiss acquired a remote property on the far shore of Cook Inlet 100 air miles southwest of Anchorage. Polly Creek is a place of dreams. With a backdrop of snow-draped peaks, razor clam beds stretch out from the cabin’s front door, salmon race through nearby seas and fresh brown bear tracks pockmark the sand at his doorstep. Moose and bear, beaver, eagles and whales are his neighbors. Over the years, he has trapped, fished, hunted, prospected, guided and flown his way into the realm of legend. John’s career as a bear guide spans Alaskan bear hunting from the immediate post war period to the present time. He has guided black and brown bear hunters for all these years and polar bear hunters for 18 of the 20 years it was a popular sport.

This book is told for the most part in John’s own words. John’s spellbinding stories unwind slowly at first, from his upstate New York childhood. He is a true pioneer of the North and just as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett did before him, he blazed a trail into the unknown land to the west of civilization and carved a life out of the wilderness.