Lisianski Inlet Lodge

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Gus

Paul Corbin came to Alaska many years ago to commercially fish for salmon.  The lifestyle suited him and he had many boats, caught many fish, raised a family and maintained a wilderness homestead in a remote area of southeast Alaska that would become Lisianski Inlet Lodge.  Here is his story, enjoy!

GUS


   Old Gus lived on his boat and mostly kept to himself.  He was
   getting on in years but still was able to untie his troller from
   the dock and go out and fish in the pass for salmon.  When he got
   tired, he would come back into the harbor, tie up the boat and
   disappear down into the focsle.  Nobody knew much about Gus except
   that he liked to read what books people gave him, and newspapers,
   and old magazines.  Once in awhile,  he would come up to the
   general store to buy a few groceries but that was about it.  There
   was no doubt that Gus was a man of few words.  However, he was
   always polite in greeting somebody on the boardwalk saying not much
   more than a good day with a nod of his shaggy head.  One day Gus
   headed out of the harbor but did not return.  After several days,
   people began to wonder if old Gus was alright and where he might
   be.  For days the other fishermen kept an eye out for the missing
   boat but with no luck.  Several weeks went by but still no sign of
   Gus or his boat.  More time went by until finally one day another
   fisherman spotted the boat anchored up in a remote cove.  The
   fisherman dropped his anchor and rowed in his punt over to Gus's
   boat to see if everything was alright.  When he came alongside, Gus
   stepped out of the pilot house.  The fisherman said,” Gus, are you
   alright?”  Gus replied, “Yaaah, I'm fine.”  Gus then explained why
   he had not returned to the boat harbor.  It seems that he had
   decided to drop his anchor and take a nap for awhile.  It was then,
   after the anchor was down, that Gus discovered a bird’s nest
   directly under the anchor roller on the bow of the boat  As he
   looked into the nest, he saw several tiny birds eggs in it.  It
   wasn't long before the mother bird flew by and landed near the
   nest.  After awhile, Gus decided to spend the night there and see
   what would happen. He knew that if he raised the anchor, there
   would be a good chance of destroying the nest and crushing the tiny
   eggs in it and so when morning came, he decided to stay a while
   longer.  It wasn't long before Gus resolved to wait until the baby
   birds hatched.  This decision would prove to turn out to be a long
   wait.  Ole Gus hardly had any food left or water either but he was
   set on sticking by his decision.  Fortunately, the other fisherman
   who discovered Gus and his boat gave him some food and water before
   returning to the boat harbor.  Word got out about the nest and the
   baby birds that were due to hatch.  Soon, some of the other folks
   of the tiny fishing community would bring food and water to where
   Gus was anchored and look at the eggs.  Everybody, it seemed, was
   waiting for the baby birds to hatch out of those tiny eggs.  The
   day did arrive of course. And Mama bird was busy feeding her young
   babies.  Gus had to wait for the young birds to grow up enough to
   learn how to fly.  He didn't seem to mind though.  The good ladies
   of the fishing community were mother-henning those baby birds
   bringing Gus some pretty nice home made pies and cakes. He probably
   never ate so good or had so much good company in his entire life.