The Nenana daily news., 1919-10-04

ing for the railroad bridge across the Nenana river south of Nenana. The coal had to be hauled by 1 teams on the river ice from Lignite creek to the Crossing, a distance ] of about ten miles. There was no possible way of transporting coal during the summer months, and all that was mined here was hauled to 43-Mile and stored there.
 The coal mined by Van Houten and White was of very good quality and it's use by the Commis- sion was very satisfactory in every way; but owing to transportation difficulties, operations were suspend ed and the mine closed down imme- diately preceding the breakup of 1918.
 ! The Burns Mine.
 As early as 1916, Andrew An derson, licensed mine examiner, and R. E. Burns became associated with the object of mining in the Nenana coal fields. Some explora- tion work was done during the fol- lowing two years, and in the spring of 1918 a camp was established in the neighborhood of the Nenana Crossing, at 43-Mile, and prospect ing over an area from 35-Mile to the Nenana canyon was begun. John Bernard, a civil engineer, be- came associated with Anderson and Burns, and the present mine, known as the Burns mine, is the result of the efforts put forth by this trio.
 This property very recently passed into the hands of the Healy River Coal corporation, a new company organized for the purpose of taking over the mine and developing It on a scale sufficient to supply the fue! requirements not only of the Alas kan Engineering commission, but also those of Nenana and adjacent mining districts. The corporation Is amply supplied with capital and the principal stockholders are men who have long been identified with the development of Central Alaska, each having record of achieve ment. August Peterson and Thom- as Mckinnon, president and vice president. respectively, of the cor poration, are the two largest min ing operators in the Interior coun- trv, the largest consumers of fuel and the largest employers of labor. George Markus, secretary, while en- gagged in mining to some extent, has chiefly followed mercantile pursuits. having been connected for many wears with the Northern Commercial company at Dawson and Fairbanks, at the latter place as manager of the company's hardware and ma chinery department. Before coming North, he had the distinction of erecting the first flour mill in the city of Seattle. thus laying the foun- dation of what is now one of that eity's greatest industries.
 The personnel of the company is such that confidence in their ability to supply fuel for the needs of the Interior is a foregone conclusion, They have sufficient capital to meet any demands, plenty of push and enterprise to keep things moy- ing, and the executive ability neces, sary to insure the success of the undertaking, which will have an i'm portant bearing on the future de. velopment of Interior Alaska's re, sources
 It is the plan of the company t. continue to mine coal at the present level to meet the immediate de mands of the Alaskan Engineering commission for fuel And at the same time a working shaft will b. sunk near by, to tap the veins at { lower level. Machinery sufficient tc handle large output in an economi cal manner will be installed anc permanent buildings erected for the accommodation of considerable number of employees. Coal will be placed on the market as soon a: ,L .l