Source: The Mining Journal
Marquette. Mi.
January 15, 1887
From The Other End
The Duluth News gives the following particulars concerning the progress of the survey - on the Gogebic and western divisions of the DSS&A, gathered from engineers just in from camp.
J. J. C. Davis and J. H. Davis, respectively, engineer amd mes- senger on the DSS&A, returned to Duluth yesterday for a brief visit. They were visited by a News reporter shortly after dinner and fur- nished some interesting facts regarding the great enterprise in which they are engaged. In and about the Gogebic country there are parties of surveyors at work, and the entire locating survey will probably be completed in a few weeks. The line touches the heel of Gogebic lake and runs in a southwesterly direction, striking the range at a point about 29 miles from Bessemer, passing through the center of town 48 range 44; thence a little south of the center or town 48 range 45, crossing the Black River in section 35-48-49.
Here the course runs directly west until Montreal River is crossed in the SW corner of town 48 range 47. A similar southern detour is made at the east end of Lake Gogebic and the grade obtained is very light. Good farming lands is encountered nearly the entire length of the country and the growth or hardwoods is very heavy. All river crossings have been fixed and the line is virtually establish- ed its entire length. In the vicinity of Watersmeet the standing pine is very extensive and the Diamond Match lumber company of Dah- koah, have several lumbar camps at work. Brown, Howard & Co., the contractors have agreed to have the entire line finished by December 1, this year. The road stretches back of Ashland to the proposed connection with the NP and the length of the route from here to the Sault is 240 miles, Gogebic Lake around which the road detours is 1 1/2 miles wide by 14 miles long, and M. J. H. Davis describes it as a most beautiful sheet of clear water, singularly like the lower joint of a man's leg, with a complete and well defined foot, as the top or which is the outlet into Ontonagon river. The town of Goge- bic is a lovely summer resort with good hotels and many of the mod- ern conveniences of many other towns on the range. At the Presque Isle river crossing for a distance of three miles there is absolute- ly a dead level, while for 20 miles until the Gogebic grade is reach- ed the entire elevation in less than 100 feet.
