Burg, Amos

"Amos Burg lived a life most people only dream about -- explorer, adventurer, writer, filmmaker, even secret agent. Burg, a long-time Juneau resident, died Wednesday, June 11, 1986 at the age of 84, but his exploits -- the stuff of legend- are likely to be permanently etched in history. Burg grew up in Oregon along the Columbia River and early on developed a love for rivers which would take him on treks down most of the major waterways of the West including the Columbia, Snake, Salmon, Mackenzie, Porcupine, Yukon, Colorado and Mississippi. As a youth he worked as a merchant marine along the West Coast, sailed to Hawaii and Australia and eventually around the world, surviving a typhoon and a collision at sea. He began his river expeditions in1920, starting on the Snake and Columbia rivers; He took time out from his adventures to attend the University of Oregon where he studied journalism, science and film making. In 1928, Burg took a canoe down the Yukon River, filming the crossing of a half million caribou in the process. He turned the experience into a film called "Alaska Wilds" and an article for National Geographic Magazine. In 1932, he was back in Alaska filming "Giants of the North" about the brown bears of Admiralty Island. In 1934, in an expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society,he took a 26-foot wooden sail boat around Cape Horn to study the people living in that stormy region.Two years later he used the same boat to explore the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. In 1938, he took the first inflatable raft down the Colorado River while filming "Conquering the Colorado." In 1939, he descended the middle fork of the Salmon River. In 1940, he traveled to Japan, Hong Kong and Chungking where he survived 21 bombings by Japanese planes. On his return through Japan he was arrested as a spy but released. In 1943, during World War II, he worked as a secret agent for the U.S. in Argentina and Chile. In 1946, he bought the sailboat "Endeavour" and sailed to Alaska where he lived on the vessel for years. From 1947-50, he made a series of 30 films for Encyclopedia Britannica. In 1955, he set up the information and education section of the Alaska Department of Fisheries (later it became the Department of Fish and Game) in Juneau and worked there until his retirement in 1974. He made 15 fish and game films during that time. Mark Kissel, a friend and former co-worker of Burg's, said the most amazing thing about Burg was that despite his incredible exploits, he remained humble. "Everyone who knew him had the greatest respect for him," Kissel said. "He was an amazing guy who had a very full life. What amazed me the most was he had such a fine out-look on life and always remained interested in other people not just himself. He was the closest thing to a saint I've ever seen." By Kirk McAllister, Juneau Empire, Friday, June 13, 1986.

From the description of Amos Burg papers and photographs, 1922-1989. (Alaska State Library). WorldCat record id: 499177354

...