Michael James "Moose" Heney (October 24, 1864 – October 11, 1910) was a railroad contractor, best known for his work on the first two railroads built in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, the

White Pass and Yukon Route The White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&Y, WP&YR) is a Canadian and U.S. Class III narrow-gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. An isolated system, it has no direct connection to any other railr ...

and the

Copper River and Northwestern Railway The Copper River and Northwestern Railway (CR&NW) consisted of two rail lines, the Copper River line and the Northwestern line. Michael James Heney had secured the right-of-way up the Copper River in 1904. He started building the railway from Co ...

. The son of

Irish immigrants The Irish diaspora ( ga, Diaspóra na nGael) refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland. The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner and Meeder, The ...

, Heney rose to the top of his profession before his death. His life inspired several books and at least one movie.

Early life

Michael James Heney was born on October 24, 1864, near

Stonecliffe Head, Clara and Maria, officially the United Townships of Head, Clara and Maria, is a municipality and incorporated township in Renfrew County in eastern Ontario, Canada, It is on the Ottawa River and on the northern edge of Algonquin Park. Vir ...

Renfrew County, Ontario Renfrew County is a county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It stands on the west bank of the Ottawa River. There are 17 municipalities in the county. History Bathurst District When Carleton County was withdrawn from Bathurst District in 183 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was the son of Thomas Eugene Heney and Mary Ann McCourt, Irish immigrants. His family farmed in the upper

Ottawa Valley The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. Because of the surroundi ...

. At age 14, Heney ran away from home to work on the newly announced

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. He started as a water boy, then graduated to a track laying crew assistant and mule skinner. In 1883 he was included in a survey and location crew in the

Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...

, eventually becoming foreman. In 1887 he was hired to construct a rail line for the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway. In 1897 he was contracted to build a gold mining hydraulic line at

Anchor Point, Alaska Anchor Point ( Dena'ina: ''K’kaq’'') is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2010 census the population was 1,930, up from 1,845 in 2000. The communit ...

Building Railroads in Alaska

When the Klondike Gold Rush came, Heney was ready. He visited the

Skagway The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with ...

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

White Pass White Pass, also known as the Dead Horse Trail, (elevation ) is a mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the border of the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia, Canada. It leads from Skagway, Alas ...

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

was an outstanding achievement and gained Heney an international reputation. Heney next turned his attention to the copper and coal deposits recently discovered on the

Copper River (Alaska) The Copper River or Ahtna River (), Ahtna Athabascan ‘Atna’tuu (), "river of the Ahtnas", Tlingit Eeḵhéeni (), "river of copper", is a 290-mile (470 km) river in south-central Alaska in the United States. It drains a large region of ...

. He surveyed a route, bought land, named the city of

Cordova, Alaska Cordova ( ) is a city in Chugach Census Area, Alaska, United States. It lies near the mouth of the Copper River, at the head of Orca Inlet on the east side of Prince William Sound. The population was 2,609 at the 2020 census, up from 2,239 in ...

and started construction, while rival companies built on different lines. The dramatic conflicts between the various crews included gunfire. The

Guggenheims The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from th ...

and J.P. Morgan, via the

Alaska Syndicate In an effort to thwart statehood and Alaskan home rule from Washington D.C., the "Alaska Syndicate," was formed in 1906 by J. P. Morgan and Simon Guggenheim. The Syndicate purchased thKennicott-Bonanza copper mineand had majority control of the Alas ...

, sought access to the copper ore deposits at

Kennecott, Alaska Kennecott, also known as Kennicott and Kennecott Mines, is an abandoned mining camp in the Copper River Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska that was the center of activity for several copper mines. It is located beside the Kennicott Glacier, ...

. When an alternate route starting at the

Katalla, Alaska Katalla (pronounced ''KA-tell-ah'') is a ghost town in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, southeast of Cordova. The name of this town was sometimes spelled Catalla. It is now abandoned. Geography Katalla is located w ...

, port was "wiped out in a winter storm", the syndicate acquired the Close Brothers-Heney interest." Heney was bought out for $250,000 and he retired for a second time. After having many problems building the railway they appointed him contractor. The

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

Million Dollar Bridge The Miles Glacier Bridge, also known as the Million Dollar Bridge, was built in the early 1900s across the Copper River fifty miles from Cordova in what is now the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a multiple-span Pennsylvania truss bridge which compl ...

, which is between the two glaciers, was completed just hours before the spring ice would have destroyed it. At the pinnacle of his career, Heney left Cordova to complete some business arrangements in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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 he developed

pulmonary The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of th ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and died within a year. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in

. Widely popular, Heney was known as "Big Mike" or "The Irish Prince of Alaska". A glacier, mountain and range of mountains in

over-looking Cordova bears his name.

References

External links

Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heney, Michael James 1864 births 1910 deaths Canadian people in rail transport Canadian people of Irish descent 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis People from Cordova, Alaska People from Renfrew County People of the Klondike Gold Rush Tuberculosis deaths in California

Early life

Building Railroads in Alaska

References

Further reading

External links