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and New York. On his way back north, his ship hit an uncharted rock and sank. Heney went under deck to rescue his horses, but the last boat left without him when he returned on deck. So he swam to a boat and held on to the stern while it was rowed ashore as there was no room on it. Shortly afterwards
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inside of the St. James hotels lobby. A deal was struck and Heney was hired, first as labor foreman and then as contractor. Built through mountainous wilderness, far from supplies, using labor that was returning from the gold fields, the 110.7 mile
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area to survey potential routes to the interior. By chance, he met
Erastus Hawkins representing the Pacific Contract Company, Limited, which was organized to build through the
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was one of the most difficult construction projects ever undertaken. The line crossed in-between two glaciers, under primitive conditions, far from any supplies. The
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Big Mike Heney : Irish prince of the Iron Rails, Builder of the White Pass and Yukon and Copper River
Northwestern Railroads
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Widely popular, Heney was known as "Big Mike" or "The Irish Prince of Alaska". A glacier, mountain and range of mountains in
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22:(October 24, 1864 – October 11, 1910) was a railroad contractor, best known for his work on the first two railroads built in
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334:, Seattle: Peacock Publishing Company. Reprinted in 1972 by Shorey Bookstore and 2009 by Barnett House.
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At the pinnacle of his career, Heney left
Cordova to complete some business arrangements in
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Heney next turned his attention to the copper and coal deposits recently discovered on the
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After having many problems building the railway they appointed him contractor. The
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was an outstanding achievement and gained Heney an international reputation.
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and started construction, while rival companies built on different lines.
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Heney Glacier
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The dramatic conflicts between the various crews included gunfire. The
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Heney was bought out for $ 250,000 and he retired for a second time.
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At age 14, Heney ran away from home to work on the newly announced
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Grit, Grief and Gold: a true narrative of an Alaska pathfinder
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Michael James Heney was born on
October 24, 1864, near
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369:, Seattle: Alaska Northwest Publishing Company.
279:. The University of Utah Press. pp. 72–73.
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136:, sought access to the copper ore deposits at
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264:. D'Aloguin Publishing Co. pp. 149–151.
389:the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
346:Alaska's Railroad Builder : Mike Heney
140:. When an alternate route starting at the
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173:and died within a year. He is buried in
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425:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
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152:Copper River and Northwestern Railway
32:Copper River and Northwestern Railway
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188:overlooking Cordova bears his name.
450:People from the Territory of Alaska
208:Laura Angotti; David Wilma (1998).
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353:The Iron Trail: an Alaskan romance
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275:Charles Caldwell Hawley (2014).
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262:Iron Rails to Alaskan Copper
210:"Calvary Cemetery (Seattle)"
89:Building Railroads in Alaska
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430:People from Cordova, Alaska
358:Tower Elizabeth A. (2003).
344:Herron, Edward A. (1960 ).
330:Whiting, Fenton B. (1933).
20:Michael James "Moose" Heney
16:Canadian railway contractor
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435:People from Renfrew County
108:White Pass and Yukon Route
28:White Pass and Yukon Route
374:On the White Pass Payroll
260:Alfredo O. Quinn (1995).
355:, New York: Harper Bros.
67:Canadian Pacific Railway
365:Janson, Lone E (1975).
302:"Heney Range, AK, USA"
372:Graves, S.H. (1908).
156:Million Dollar Bridge
115:Copper River (Alaska)
348:, New York: Messner.
337:Minter, Roy (1988).
83:Anchor Point, Alaska
214:www.historylink.org
351:Beach, Rex (1913)
238:(1921) at IMDB.com
95:Klondike Gold Rush
277:A Kennecott Story
216:. HistoryLink.org
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130:J.P. Morgan
126:Guggenheims
56:Canada West
48:Stonecliffe
399:Categories
376:, Chicago.
192:References
132:, via the
103:White Pass
42:Early life
168:pulmonary
93:When the
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308:. Geody
179:Seattle
163:Seattle
99:Skagway
186:Alaska
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