Ch 12, Pt 3: "Mary & Stephen Birch Arrive at Childs Glacier

Chapter 12, Pt 3, conclusion: "Mary and Stephen Birch Arrive at Childs Glacier"

click on picture for larger image: these pictures are the one which appear in the book for this chapter.

1914 Map showing the segment from Cordova (red asterisk) to Bremner (B). Other whistle stops: S = Sheridan, A= Alaganik, F= Flag Point, H= Hot Cake channel bridge, K = Katalla Junction, M= Million Dollar Bridge/ Miles & Childs Glacier, L = Abercrombie Landing.  Click map for larger version.    --Simpson Files

Hot Cake Channel bridge, with an unloaded ore train headed east toward Kennecott   --Candy Waugan collection

Below: Consist #70 returns to Cordova   --Cordova Museum

The 1,500-foot bridge contained four spans and headed in a northerly direction, cutting a path between the nearby Childs Glacier to the west and the more distant Miles Glacier beyond iceberg-filled Miles Lake to the east. Miles Lake discharged a constant barrage of these icebergs which calved off the distant glacier. These floated toward the bridge, some of them sticking out of the water as much as twenty feet and often striking the concrete icebreakers just upstream from the bridge. Other pieces hit the bridge piers directly at up to twelve miles per hour before entering the main channel under the 450-foot third span of the bridge. Everything then flowed toward the 300-foot tall ice wall that was Childs Glacier. Because of its relatively close distance to the bridge, Childs Glacier appeared to be the larger of the two. It was barely more than a bridge-length away from the bridge itself. In reality, Miles was about twice the size of Childs. The Copper River entered the ice-choked lake from the north at a point about midway between the two glaciers. The river undercut both glacier toes, causing glacial calving which was spectacular to behold. The ice blocks which fell off weighed as much as ten tons and caused tremendous waves. This is most noticeable at the nearby Childs Glacier, where the falling ice sent huge waves of water across the river in the direction of the river bank below the bridge. It frequently beached the migrating salmon, attracting bears which had found the glacial calving to result in a ready source of easy meals. Those waves also threw up tons of sand, gravel and boulders. It was not prudent to stand too close to the east bank of the river opposite the face of Childs Glacier. Childs Glacier calving.  --Simpson Files Tourists at Childs Glacier  --Candy Waugaman collection Special No. 74 pulled short of the Million Dollar Bridge, stopping on the south end, enabling the passengers to leave the train for a close-up view of the glaciers. Mary chose to stay in the private club car. She, like the others, was amazed at the beauty and massiveness of the 300 foot tall Childs Glacier with its thousands of feet of wall face, but had no desire to step out into the wilderness which lay just beyond the tracks. Even so, wild Alaska has its own way of taming even the most jaded of its visitors. Mary could only gaze on at this spectacle in a state of stunned disbelief and awe. At last she was beginning to understand the attraction which this wild territory held for the great men of action such as her husband. I never imagined the greatness of this part of Stephen’s world. It truly is magnificent. The work it must have taken to bring this train way out here truly has to be a wonder. This really is a superb, scenic train ride, so much more spectacular than the Great Northern. He was right about that. I have to admit, if only to myself, there really is something to this Alaska. I had to see it for myself to believe it. Here I am, further away from culture than I could have ever dreamed, yet I’m actually enjoying this.  At least I will allow myself to enjoy it for a few minutes. This reminds me of the cruise through the Southeast waters. I’d never admit my sense of awe and wonder to Stephen, though. He might think I’m slipping. The car rocked as a gust coming down the canyon caught the car directly on its long side. It was followed by an even larger gust that came blasting through the area. The warmth of the car shielded Mary from the iciness of the wind gusts. Million Dollar Bridge   --E.B. Schrock, 84-80-15N, UAF AK & Polar Regions archives Bradford Washburn aerial photo of the Million Dollar Bridge looking west toward Childs Glacier and showng the RR wye on the north side of the bridge. A Native man, who was dressed in a heavily starched white uniform, offered her some freshly brewed tea. She graciously accepted. Mary was beginning to feel ashamed for the way she had treated the help on this trip. “My name is Mary Birch.” “Yes ma’am, I know. I am the cook and sometimes also the waiter. My young helper is out there with the guests in case any of ladies need assistance stepping around the large rocks.” “Are you an Eskimo?” “No, madam. My people are Ahtna Indians. I’m from the Copper River. We’re all Indians around here. No Eskimos except maybe near Cordova.” “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. What is your name?” “Tom Bell, madam.” “Tom, it is good to meet you. You have a fine, pleasing smile and I like your courteous service. Have you worked here long?” “Almost from the beginning. I like the railroad, ma’am.” Well, it’s been pleasant chatting with you, Tom. Could you find me some playing cards?” “Yes, ma’am.” He skillfully poured the tea and then quietly departed. She turned in the other direction toward the east. She was completely alone in the car now. It was quite a distance across the ice-filled lake to the glacier. It appeared to be nothing but bright white in that direction as far as her eyes could see. How unique. The bridge crosses between two glaciers. Where else on earth . . ? I would never admit this to Stephen, but this is the country which seems to suit him best. He seems so at peace and happy out here. Too bad. Instead he’s got a high-bred, sophisticated city girl. Maybe he should have just stayed up here and married an Ahtna Indian, or even an Eskimo. Their simple ways seem to fit him and his humble style only too well. She quietly chuckled to herself at this piece of divinely tasteless bad humor. She was beginning to feel better after several days of illness. Except, of course he’s too big for even this country, and far too arrogant to last long among these Natives. He needs my sense of taste and style and European culture to fit his ruthless, insatiable, power-hungry, aggressive nature. Yes, that’s why I married him. The party had enough of the bone-chilling gusts. The cold wind was causing some of the men and women to develop ear-aches. They began re-boarding the train very quickly after that second large gust almost tore the tied-down large-brimmed hats off of some of the women. The men were able to retrieve theirs. It looked pleasant out there from the warmth of the luxury coach, but the winds were most definitely building up. Stephen found Mary happily playing poker against Tom Bell while sipping on some tea. She was even humming to herself. As soon as Stephen entered the room, Tom stood up and left. Birch directed the train to move to the wye-siding on the north end of the bridge, away from the open area over the center of the bridge which was in the direct path of the wind. The party would enjoy a gourmet lunch prepared by Tom Bell before proceeding on to Chitina. Mary looked up at Stephen from her table and smiled for the first time since they had left Juneau. “Would you and the guests care for a cup of tea before lunch, dear? The tea is very hot after those cold winds you must have found out there. In here it’s simply delightful amid all this spectacular glacial scenery.” Stephen was taken aback. Maybe this trip could be salvaged after all, for Mary was finally adjusting. Stephen and his male guests lit cigars and enjoyed the tea while the cold gusts pounded at the large plate-glass windows, rocking the coach ever so gently. The guests relaxed to a full view of a wild Alaskan panorama which would never again be duplicated once the Copper River and Northwestern Railway ended its relatively brief life. But that was still twenty-two glorious years away. The greatest days of the railroad and the mines which it served lay just ahead. Stephen was optimistic The reports he received from Stannard showed that this had been the best year of copper production ever. His copper mines had no end in sight. A Childs Glacier Tourist Train "Photo Special"  --UAF, Frederick Mears, 84-75-387 “Gentlemen, a toast. We have carved a copper empire out of this wilderness. The treasures of Alaska are ours for the taking. Everything is paid for, including the steamship line, the railroad, the mines and mill. It’s all profit now. What a glorious future lies ahead for Kennecott!” F.A. Hansen and the other men stood up in response. Hansen responded. “May this, the honeymoon trip of Stephen and Mary be a most memorable occasion worthy of the great man who has made all of this possible.” In those early days when everything on the railroad and in the mines was new and worked well, the general feeling was that Stephen Birch had indeed created an Alaskan copper empire miracle which would go on forever. Over a million dollars worth of copper was crossing the docks at Cordova every month with no end in sight, but the edges of Stephen’s far-flung empire, built on an old notion which mirrored the general western attitude which so unthinkingly supported the outdated concept of American Manifest Destiny, would soon begin to fray, unravel, and finally crumble. In the headiness of the moment, every one of the elite members on board the Kennecott conveniently forgot that the route of the CRNW Railway had already been rejected as the official railroad to Fairbanks in favor of a much more antiquated system out of Seward known as the Alaska Central Railroad. The easy access to the Alaska Syndicate’s Bering River coal fields, which would have guanateed the relatively inexpensive operation of the railroad, had similarly been denied. Most significant of all, the Kennecott engineers were not nearly as optimistic about the longevity of the mines as were the board of directors. The observation car "The Kennecott" in 1916.  --Candy Waugaman Collection What looked like a multi-purpose railroad made up of both passengers and freight with a guaranteed bright future was only an elaborate mining railroad which dead-ended at the head of what was effectively an enormous box canyon lined with ice. The railroad ended in the middle of nowhere along the side of a dying glacier. That’s the way it would remain, for that was the ultimate fate of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway that it would never go far beyond the shadow of Uk’eledi.

Mariposa on the rocks:  Perhaps the most fitting symbol of Mary Birch's disastrous trip to Alaska was the wreck of the S.S. Mariposa--their cruise ship to Alaska-- only a few months after the ill-fated honey moon trip. .

Continue with

 Chapter 13, "Ketcheeteneh Birch & Johnny Gakona"