The Frontiersman’s Diary

r.j. kushner
13 min readNov 23, 2022
Photo by Dawn Agran on Unsplash

In September of 1906, Elijah Dane Coleridge, heir to the Coleridge pastry fortune, defiantly set out to live in a secluded cabin in Alaska and, aside from continued cartoon caption submissions to the New Yorker, was never heard from again. Years after his disappearance, the following diary entries were discovered near what appeared to be a makeshift toilet deep in the Alaskan wilderness.

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September 9, 1906

The Alaskan land is thick and green. I feel almost as if I’ve stumbled upon a new Earth. A far cry from my city life, but that is what I wanted. I am inspired. Reborn.

I arrived at the cabin where I’ll be setting up my “home base,” as it were, for my expeditions. It is a small cabin, but cozy, and more than enough for my needs. Father was wrong — I am not regretting my choice in the least now that I am here. If anything, I’m more encouraged than ever. I’ve followed my heart, and that’s not something many people can say for themselves at the end of the day.

Tomorrow I will meet the guide for my treks through the wilderness, Yuri. He came recommended by many townsfolk when I made enquiries. I’m told he is reserved socially, but that his knowledge of these wild lands is unmatched.

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r.j. kushner

Dubbed by the New York Times as “all out of free articles this month.”