He repaired the cabin, chinked the spaces between the logs, put in a large south-facing window for light, and—with some financial help from Hawkins—put in a floor, stoves, and everything they would need for the winter.

Kent's son, also called Rockwell turned nine-years-old in October, and the two spent the winter on Fox Island with Olson, going to and from Seward on occasion to get the mail and supplies in a leaky, 18-foot dory with a finicky 3.5 horsepower Evinrude engine.

Kent kept an illustrated journal, painted, produced many black and white pen and inks, and wrote hundreds of letters.

At age 37, both the book and the art finally gave Rockwell Kent the fame and financial independence he had been seeking for many years.

In 1970, a year before he died, Kent published an expanded limited edition of "Wilderness" with much new material added from the original manuscript.