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COOK INLET
AND KNIK NEWS
VOL. 1
Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, June 19, 1915
NO.
Railroad News
Covering Past
Week’s Work
Work on the big government
railway project is progressing
satisfactorily and the officials ex
pect that by September 1st, or
soon thereafter, the track will be
completed from Anchorage to
Eagle river, a distance of some
twenty miles. There is now
employed on railroad work, out
on the line, 950 men. With those
employed in and about Anchor
age, in various capacities, the
aggregate number will reach
1,200 men.
The contractors engaged in
clearing and grading are doing a
good quality of work, according
to the statement of experienced
railroad men who have been over
that portion now under construc
tion. The roadbed will, in 'arge
part, be of gravel.
Official announcement is made
of the appointment of Mr. A. M.
McDermott as chief clerk, suc
ceeding Mr. R. D. Chase, who
has assumed the important post
of store keeper in charge of the
commissary.
New Contracts Awarded
Contracts for clearing right of
way and grading roadbed award
ed during the week are as follows:
Contract No. 61—A. Zulani et
al., nine men, station 4440 to
station 4460. Grading.
Contract No. 63—Strigich et
al., eight men, station 4468 to
station 4479. Grading.
Contract No. 64—Juravich et
al., thirteen men, station 4360 to
station 4440. Grading.
Contract No. 66—G. W. Scott
et al., five men, station 4620 to
station 4673. Clearing.
Contract No. 74—Olsen et al.,
fifteen men, station 4340 to 4360.
Grading.
Wills et al. have been awarded
a clearing contract between Knik
river and the Matanuska coal
fields.
Contracts for Residences
Contracts for building resi
dences for permanent employes
of the railway project were let in
the early part of the week, as
follows:
Willow Creek Is Banner Camp
The Willow creek gold camp, in this recording pre
cinct and located thirty miles, by wagon road, from Knik,
starts the season under the most encouraging circum
stances in the matter of gold production, and the year
promises to be the best in the camp’s history. So far as
free gold quartz is concerned, Willow is the high line camp
in all Alaska.
The Martin mine, operating 15 days with a 11-foot
Lane mill, recovered amalgam to the value of $18,000.
The Independence mine, operating 8 days with a 2
stamp mill, produced 100 ounces in gold.
The Gold Bullion mine has yielded a substantial clean
up, the exact amount not being made public. The man
agement admit that recent development has revealed
larger and richer ore bodies than heretofore dicovered.
Dick Dawson Is In the Money
An $18,000 clean-up in less than one month’s run is
the encouraging achievement of the Crow Creek Mining
Company, operating a hydraulic plant on Crow creek, in
this recording precinct. Four and five dollar sluds are
quite numerous. The redoubtable Dick Dawson, oldtimer
from Nome, is the moving figure in the company. Some
twenty miners are employed.
M. Lind et al., for the cottage
to be occupied by Lieut. Mears,
Commissioner in charge here.
Handon et al., for three cot
tages for employes.
McGilvary et al., for three cot
tages for employes.
G. Seaburget al., were award
ed a contract to install a pipe line
to convey water to the residences
of permanent employes.
Jack Thom et al., were award
ed a contract for grading north
and opposite the townsite bridge.
POSTOFFICE TO MOVE
When the new townsite is ppen
ed, the postoffice will join the
stampede and take up permanent
quarters there. The office was
moved from the Commission
building to another structure
built for postoffice purposes Wed
nesday. This building is built on
skids so as to permit its removal
to the new townsite. When taken
across the river, an addition will
be built so as to provide larger
quarters. Boxes, etc., for the
accommodation of the public, will
be installed.
It is learned from reliable
sources that Chairman Edes will
arrive here on the Mariposa, and
he, Commissioner Mears, Mr.
Christensen and Mr. Moore will
make a selection of lots in the
new townsite for public building
purposes.
SITE IS DETERMINED
Two hundred and forty acres
of land located in the townsite
reserve at what is known as the
junction has been selected for
the government agricultural ex
periment station to be establish
ed. The choice was made by M.
D. Snodgrass, of the government;
agricultural service, assigned to
the work, after an investigation of
the various sites proposed.
The area is located in the north
west corner of section 15, town
ship 17, range 1 east, in the Mat
anuska valley.
Mike Murphy, master of the
launch Explorer, is reported ser
iously ill at Susitna, a victim of
pneumonia. Dr. D. L. Carmi
chael of Anchorage was sum
moned and departed Wednesday
night on the launch P. V., which
came down to get him.
New Townsite
to Be Opened
About July 1st
It now seems certain that the
new townsite will be open to the
public by the 1st of July. J.
Frank Warner, in charge of the
survey, whl complete the field
work toda^* The 'tjpwnsite will
contain 121 blocks anUjractional
blocks, for those that front on
Ship creek are not full sizei, as
they are governed by the contour
of the country. Each full block
will contain 12 lots, 50x140 feet.
The fractional blocks will, of
course, contain whatever number
of lots the area permits. Tne
streets running north and south
are named in alphabetical order
from A to P, save that there will
be East B street and East C
street. This is because the area
of the townsite was increased
after the survey work, which be
gan at A street, had been started.
The streets running east and
west are numbered from 1 to 9.
The blocks are staked with posts
3 inches square, the number of
the block being on the respective
posts. The lots are staked with
stakes 11 inches square.
How the lots will be disposed
of has not been made public, nor
will any information be available
until the land office men now here
get advices from Washington.
The general talk around town is
to the effect that the lots will be
sold at auction, and Mr. Chris
tensen admitted to the Pioneer
man that this would probably be
the manner of disposal. Public
sentiment here favors the draw
ing plan, but an investigation of
the bill passed by the congress
which provides for the building
of the government railway sys
tem, the reservation of townsites
along the proposed line, etc.,
says that the lots shall be “sold”
and the funds derived therefrom
shall gc toward the building of
the railway project. This, of
course, is not the express lan
guage of the act, but is the sub
stance of the matter. In this
situation, therefore, It would ap
pear that both the drawing and
leasing plans are not applicable
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