COOK INLET
AND KNIK NEWS
PIONEER
VOL. 1
Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, July 3, 1915
NO.
Important Statement With
Respect to Commission’s
Plans for Anchorage
The following improvements
are in contemplation by the En
gineering Commission at Anchor
age:
The present track from the dock
to the office building is only tem
porary and will be replaced by a
straight track as soon as the other
improvements contemplated have
reached the proper stage. There
will be a track built from the main
track to a point a little east of the
Crist House at which place an en
gine house will be built.
Machine and repair shops will
be installed in the same vicinity
as soon as the equipment arrives
from Panama, which will be with
in 60 days. A material storehouse
will also be built near the same
point.
Freight yards with eight side
tracks will be built north of the
present main line, and a “Y”
constructed north of the middle
of the railroad yards.
The corral and stable will be
moved from their present loca
tion to a point a little east of
where the Pioneer lodging house
now is. A frame commissary
building will be erected near the
site of the present blacksmith
shop, which commissary will be
for use of the local camp, while
the big warehouse on the dock
will be the wholesale distributing
commissary for all commissaries
at the different camps.
About 6000 tons of steel rails
will arrive during the summer,
for the storage of which addition
al tracks and sidings will be in
stalled, as the rails will be stored
on the sidings, sorted in different
lengths, ready for shipment along
the line. A patent rail bender
will arrive to curve the rails as re
quired. A great amount of room
is required for the storing of this
class of material so as to handle
same quickly and at the least pos
sible cost.
The present dock is only tem
porary and wall be replaced by
the -permanent coal dock. It will
be recalled that at the time the
railroad route -was announced by
Secretary Lane, the statement
was made that Ship Creek would
be made the shipping point for
Matanuska coal. The plans for
creating the terminal for the
handling of coal are under way,
but of course will not be complet
ed until next year.
Harbor Improvement
In connection with the perman
ent coal dock terminal, the Com-1
mission is now engaged in driv
ing piling off the mouth of Ship
creek to form staging for drilling
machines to determine the char
acter of the material which will
have to be dredged for the im
provements contemplated. This
is a preliminary investigation to
determine the cost and feasibility
of constructing a 30-foot deep
basin which will be 100 feet wide
at the bottom and 300 feet wide
at the top and will run 1000 feet
up the creek from the present
dock to the office building and
will also extend about 2500 feet
from the present dock out to deep
water. When these plans are
carried out Anchorage will have
facilities which will enable Gov
ernment and others ship to large
amounts of coal and other pro
ducts at a minimum cost.
The railroad grading will be
completed from Anchorage to
Matanuska by Nov. 1st and track
laid by Jan. 1st. The steel and
proper equipment to finish the
line for that distance will arrive
here by Oct. 1st.
At present there are 1014 men
employed out of Anchorage on
railroad construction, including
men clearing townsite, but ex
cluding locating engineers and
their parties, The number will
be increased to 1500 as soon as
additional material and equip
ment come, which will be within
30 days.
Passengers on Watson
Monday’s Gateway contains the
names of the following as being
on the Watson enroute to Knik
and Anchorage: W W Wood
ward, Guy Woodward, B Moore,
R McCullough, L Fox, Will Rich
ardson, W M Mathewson, J
Fields, E Stone, C Summersell,R
A Judkovich, F Bindley, Dr.Lind
ley, Harry Kitchen, H Kitchen,
Dorothy Lindley, M Sutherland,
F Bartholf, D Sayer, M Lovett, C
Bade, Mrs. W Woolley, Josephine
Ziman, Edith Jayne, II Fowler,
Jessie George, Elinor Hoyt. Flos
sie Heck, Catherine Asehr, Miss
A Ashton, A Bade, C Reinhardt,
Rev. and Mrs. Howard.
Dr. Stoughton, assistant to
Dr. Reedy, government physi
cian, arrived on the last steamer
and has assumed his duties.
Wanted, restaurant work~Cook, wait
ress or dish washer. Apply this office.
If you want a bookkeeper who know's
how to keep books, write A, care this
office.
New Townsite Is
Being Made Ready
for the People
Superintendent of Sales Christ
ensen announces that the sale of
lots in the new townsite will be
gin July 9th at 9 o’clock in the
vacant space in front of the local
postoffice. It vffil continue until
all reasonable ucmands for lots
have been met.
The following blocks have been
reserved for the purpose men
tioned: Block 53, school build
ings; block 27, federal buildings;
block 42, municipal buildings;
block 10, city wharf; lots 1 to 6,
block 4, city wharf; blocks 35, 73
and 74, for recreation parks. A
cemetery site bas been selected
on the southwestern extremity
of the townsite.
Thirty-two blocks in the new
townsite. from B street to K
street and from 3d to 7th, includ
ing the streets named and the al
leys, are being cleared and made
ready for immediate occupation
by the purchasers at the coming
sale of lots. About 90 men are
employed in the clearing, which
must be finished by the morning
of July 9th. The work is being
done under the direction of the
Alaskan Engineering Commis
sion.
The grade on the road to the
new townsite will be nine per
cent. This grade is suitable for
heavy hauling and is less than the
grade on the road to the resid
ences of the permanent employes
north of town.
Up to date, contracts have been
let for the construction of 11
dwellings for permanent em
ployes and contracts for six more
such dwellings will be let in the
near future. In addition thereto
a contract will soon be let for a
building for bachelor employes
who are now livin * in tents, so
that they will be comfortable dur
ing the coming winter.
Rumors of Gold Finds
A small sized stampede is on to
Lewis river, lying between Susit
na and Beluga rivers, led there by
I reports of a strike of placer gold.
The facts regarding the discov
ery are that Sam Wagner and
Chittick, both oldtimersin the Su
: sitna country, found a little pay
on Lewis river, about a mile
above the point where a small
strike was reported two years
ago. Wagner and Chittick also
say they found coarse gold on the
stream two miles above where
they made the recent find. They
are working with a rocker, which
yields them about 75 cents each
; the hour, The country is a likely
New Contracts
Awarded During
the Past Week
Contracts let during the past
week by the Alaskan Engineer
ing Commission are as follows:
Contract No. 101 K. Swanson
et ah, five men, for 5000 ties.
Contract No. 102 Hans Paul
i son and partner, with crew, pil
! ing.
Contract No. 103 A. Niven et
ah. nine men, stations 3690 to
3720, grading.
No. 104 Dizana et al.. thirteen
men, stations 4780 to 4800, grad
i ing.
Contract No. 105—D. Horrigan
! and partner, clearing on new
townsite.
Contract No. 106 Dunlevy &
Whitberg, clearing on newtown
; site.
Contract No. 107 C. David et
ah, five men, clearing on new
townsite.
Contract No. 108 Malone et
ah, six men, clearing on newtown
site.
Contract No. iG9—iianson arm
partner, clearing on new town
site.
Contract No. 110 Vukilieh et
et ah, fourteen men, stations
4700 to 4750. grading.
Contract No. Ill Amestoy et
ah, six men, clearing on new
townsite.
Contract No. 102 Beekman et
ah, six men, clearing on new
townsite.
_ Contract No. 113 Keelyet ah,
eight men, clearing on new town
site.
Several contracts for clearing
right of way will be let early in
the week.
one for prospecting, although it
is said there are too many bould
ers on Lewis river for dredging.
Rumors have been afloat for
some days about a strike on Peters
creek, but diligent inquiry on the
part of the Pioneer elicited the
fact that while some coarse gold
has been found, nothing that can
be called pay gravel has been re
vealed as yet.
Coarse colors have been found
on Ship creek, but nothing of im
portance has yet been discovered.
Capt. G. W. Porter, With the
Alaskan Engineering Commission,
is at Controller bay making sur
veys to determine the harbor pos
sibilities of that place as an out
let for the Bering river coal
fields. The Cordova Times be
lieves his conclusions, when the
work has been completed, will be
the same as all experienced mar
iners—that. there “aint no such
toing.”