IS
THE ILOJZSTSGc OREGOOTA3T, TUESDAY, JAXTABT 1, 189o.
t
and the substantial iranner in, -which they
have been built reflects no more on the
water committee than It doe3 on the Bul
len Bridge Company, under whose direc
tion all this important -work -was done.
A CHEAT VI.XST.
Mhere the Pipes for the Bull Bun
System "Were Made.
HE Wolff & Zwlcker Iron
"Works was Incorporated
in 1892. It Is the out
growth of the former
business of Wolf &
Zwieker, who for many
years conducted one of
the leading iron-working
plants and foundries in
the city. "Wolff & Zwiek
er were the successors
of Messrs. Trenkman &
Wolff, also prominent
people In this same line,
and the history of the
present firm and its Im
mediate predecessors for
many years back has
been one of constant advancement.
" In 1S93 the contract for
the pipes of the Bull Run system
was awarded to Hoffman & Bates, lead
ing contractors of the Northwest. This
firm, having no plant of its own
which could manufacture these pipes,
UII" 1
BSJF3i
&fiJL
to any of the
the continent.
reat Industrial centers of
I
IIOFF3LVN fc BATES.
Larse Contract AV11U ilie
"Water Committee.
Jta nection with the construction
01 me nun nun pipe line was
that for the manufacture and
laying: of the riveted steel
pipes, which was awarded to
Hoffman & Bates, for the sum
of $4G3.G7. This contract
called for the construction of
the pipe line from Mount Ta
bor east to the head works on
Bull Run, a distance of 21
miles, more than half the dis
tance being beyond the point where the
pipe line left the county roads, and
through a rough, hilly and heavily tim
bered country.
In order to manufacture the pipe it was
necessary to provide a plant and erect a
shop in which nearly 7000 tons of steel
plates and rivets could be made into pipe
in a period of 10 months, five months in
each of the years 'S3 and '94.
The work under this contract Included
the receiving and storing of the steel
plates as they arrived from the Pennsyl
vania rolling mills, the manufacture of
these plates Into pipe, the hauling and de-
livery of these pipes along the line, the
. til hk-'
' i i T-
turn by the Aborigines of California" In
the Scientific American supplement of
February 3, 14- The natives gathered
their pitch as it floated ashore from the
submarine sources in Santa. Barbara chan
nel. These springs still flow as they did a
hundred years ago. Opposite them, on
shore, lie the immense beds of asphaltum
from -which Is now obtained the Alcatraz
asphalt used in the Portland reservoirs.
From the primitive practice of the abo
rigines who gathered the mineral tar
along the shore, modern Inventive skill
and enterprise have developed the pro
cesses of asphalt production Into great In
dustrial importance, and within a stone's
throw of where the savage picked up the
material before civilization drove him
away, the Alcatraz refinery now pours
out night and day this unique and valu
able product.
The ancient artisans used the soft, pure
asphaltum from the fountains of Is and
from the shores of the Red sea. Their
works, uncovered by modern searchers,
show the material in as good condition as
ever. The disinterred -works of the Cali
fornia Indians bear the same testimony.
It has not changed by time. The foun
tains of Is, the springs of the Red sea, the
submarine sources in the Santa Barbara
channel of the Pacific ocean, all gave
forth the same character of material. The
Alcafraz refinery Is now doing the same
by mechanical means, merely hastening
purification.
The Syrians, the Egyptians and the In
dians took it and applied it as they found
It; therefore, it lasts eternally, as it "would
in its native beds. In Itself it is inde
structible except by fire. It is only the
spurious article, adulterated and -weakened
by the addition of deleterious sub
stances, such as coal tar and residuum
oil. that fails.
The lesson taught by the testimony of
centuries has been applied in the Portland
work. The asphalt used in the reservoirs
is pure natural bitumen, and It seals every
pore of tne brick and concrete backing as
wax seals a jar of fruit or a bottle of
wine. There can be no leaks so long as
the linings stand, and the asphalt finish is
so elastic that, even though considerable
cracks and subsidences should occur, the
asphalt coating -would stretch and make
them tight again.
of men. and some of the machinery of
the largest coast vessels was turned out
by this company.
The Rlsdon Iron "Works was establish
in San Francisco 20 years ago. The gen
eral reputation It has earned during this
time is a sufficient guarantee that any
work intrusted to the company will be
handled to the best possible advantage.
The officers of the company are "W. H.
Taylor, president; R. S. Moore, vice-president;
and L. R. Mead, secretary.
RAXSOME'S PATENTS.
Value of the Concrete Mixer In Con
structing the Reservoirs.
HE cut accompanying this ar
ticle represerts whatisknowu
as Ransomes patent concrete
mixer. Six of these excellent
little machines were used on
the reservoirs. Their reputa
tion had preceded them, but
still every one, with the ex
ception of those who had seen
them work, was surprised
that one such a small porta
ble machine could turn out 123 cubic yards
-j.
kind on the coast and as complete as any
In the United States. The great pumps,
pipes, etc, of this system were all put in
under the direction of Colonel Smith. The
proposition to convey water from Bull
Run river to Portland was first conceived
by Messrs. Talbot and Cunningham nearly
10 years ago. It was the recommendation
of Colonel Smith, after he had made a
most careful examination of the feasibil
ity of the project of bringing this water to
Portland, that was a most important fac
tor toward inducing the water committee
to purchase the rights of Talbot and Cun
ningham along Bull Run river, and the
subsequent success of the work on the
Bull Run water system, as before stated,
has been largely due to the untiring ef
forts of Colonel Smith, who has devoted
nearly seven years of his life to the work
of directing the construction of the great
est water-works system ever completed in
the Pacific Northwest.
MR. JAMES D. SCHUYLER.
The office of consulting engineer on the
construction of the new water works was
one requiring a high order of engineering
talent, special skill and experience, com
bined with well-balanced judgment. The
IIAVLIXG PIPE ALOXQ TEE BULL ZUX PIPE LIXE.-Photo by Tovmc
fcublet the contract to the "Wolff & Zwlck
er Iron Works. In order for this latter
company to handle an undertaking of the
magnitude necessary to turn out the pipes
for the line as fast as the specifications
of the contract called for, it was neces
sary for them to enlarge and equip here
one of the most complete plants of the
kind on the coast. In order to accomplish
this It was necessary to have additional
capital, and a partnership was formed
with Mr. Philip Buehner, who for 13 years
had been prominently connected with the
Holly Manufacturing Company, of New
York. This company Is one of the largest
manufacturers of waterworks machinery
in the world. In addition with being iden
tified with the Wolff & Zwlcker Iron
Works, the firm now being Wolff, Zwlck
er & Buehner, this gentleman is also the
Pacific coast agent of the Ohio Pipe Com
pany, who furnished, through Mr. Bueh
ner, the pipe used by the Oregon Bridge
Company and Perry Ilinkle In laying the
submerged pipe of the Bull Run system
under the waters of the Willamette river
at Portland.
The partnership formed by Mr. Buehner
with Messrs. Wolff & Zwlcker, under the
firm name of Wolff, Zwlcker & Buehner,
was a temporary expedient only, it having
been mutually agreed that this partner
ship should terminate on the completion
of the work of supplying the pipes for
the Bull Run system as per the contract
with Messrs. Hoffman & Bates. The
contract price for this work, as let to
Hoffman & Bates by the water commit
tee, was about $460,000. The entire amount
of steel pipe supplied by Messrs. Wolff,
Zwieker & Buehner on this contract
amounted to over 7000 tons, about 2iJA
miles of pipe as it is laid. The diameter
of this pipe ranges from 33 to 42 inches.
While the work of supplying and laying
this pipe was in progress, 173 men were
constantly employed, and part of the
time day and night, on the work, and in
addition the Wolff & Zwieker Iron Works
employed an additional force of 73 men.
Tne Importance of this work to the work
ing masses of Portland is fully appreci
ated when it is noted, as stated above,
that for during the working seasons of
two years the making of the pipe alone
furnished steady employment to about
230 men.
In addition to making the pipes called
for in the contract with Messrs. Hoffman
& Bates, Messrs. Wolff, Zwlcker &
Buehner were awarded the contract for
73 miles of distributing mains to be laid
throughout the city by the water com
mittee. The diameter of these pipes
ranged from IS to 30 inches. The contract
price was $100,000. This firm, during the
past year, also furnished the pipes for
the Spokane city waterworks system at a
cost of $70,000, and they have also done
digging of the pipe trench, the laying,
riveting and calking of the pipe in the
trench, the inspection and painting of the
pipe and the refilling and tamping of the
earth over the pipe again. After secur
ing this contract, Hoffman & Bates gave
up their origi'ial idea of building their
own shops at Fairview or Troutdale for
the manufacture of the pipe, and let a
sub-contract for the shop work to Wolff,
Zwieker & Buehner. This latter firm
built an extension to their new shops at
the east end of Madlscn-street bridge, in
which the pipe was made, work beginning
in June, '93.
The sub-contract for hauling the pipe
was let to Cook & 'Klernan, who em
ployed a traction engine, as well as horses
and oxen. For the wcrk of digging the
ditch and laying and riveting the pipe,
Hoffman & Bates employed a large force
of men, their pay-roll amounting in one
month in the season of '93 to over $20,000.
These men were lodged and boarded in
tents, generally in two camps about two
miles apart. Camps were made in 13 dif
ferent places during the construction of
the line, and no small part of the work
consisted, in making and moving camp and
providing supplies for the men.
The work of digging the ditch was gen
erally from one-half to two miles ahead of
plpelaylng. The pipes came from the
shops in lengths of abcut 29 feet, made of
six plates. These were laid in the ditch
with derricks and belted together. The
plpelayers were followed by the riveters.
who drove hot rivets in the holes at the J
joints. The edges of the plates outside
the rivets were then chipped to the proper
bevel and calked to make the joints tight.
In this way the whole pipe was connected
together like a steam boiler. Upon the
final test the pipe was found to be as
tight as any new boiler, the only leaks be
ing of the size of a pin through minute
openings between the plates.
Mr. Lee Hoffman, the only remaining
member of the old firm of Hoffman &
Bates, is well known from his successful
career as a contractor In the Pacific
Northwest, and it Is creditable to his en
ergy and foresight that this immense con
tract was carried through and finished on
the date provided for in the contract.
Mr. Hoffman was ably seconded by Mr.
H. D. Bush, an engineer experienced in
iron and steel construction, who was su
perintendent of the work.
The office work was In charge of Mr. A.
I. Donnell, who acted both as purchasing
agent of supplies and as paymaster. Mr.
E. M. Arthur was bookkeeper during the
entire time of the contract.
The principal forerren on the line were
William Bates and E. A. Stone, old em
ployes of the firm of Hoffman & Bates.
The riveting and calking was in charge of
of concrete each dav.
These machines were rented to the water committee early realized the diffi
THE STEEL PLATES.
Fnruinlied by the Rlsdon Iron
"Works, of San Francisco.
N the development of the
great industries of the coast
much credit is due the suc
cessful manufacturer. This
success has been the growth of
years and of unremitting la
bor, and the expenditure of
vast sums of money. Until
within a few years past, man
ufacturing on the Pacific
slope had not yet passed the
experimental stage, and the
prestige which the Eastern-made article
enjoyed in this market insured a local de
mand for the Eastern product, which was
one of the greatest stumbling blocks to
the success of the home manufacturer.
That this prejudice against goods manu
factured on the coast has been overcome
within the past few years is evidence that
that the manufacturer here has the plant,
the capital and the brains to compete on
equal terms with his Eastern competitor,
and it is this standing which has already
been attained by the home factories which
promises the most for the early recovery
of the old-time prosperity the coast so
long enjoyed.
In the history of the development of
large manufacturing industries of the
coast, the Risdon Iron Works of San
Francisco occupies a particularly prom
inent place. This is today one of the most
extensive manufacturing plants of the
West, and in size and importance It is
second to none on the Pacific coast.
In the selection of n aterlals for the Buii
Run water-works plant, no one was more
carefully considered than that of the steel
plates for the pipe line. The importance
of this contract can be appreciated from
the statement that in the construction of
ine pipe line over iz,;w,uuu pounas oi sieei
plates were used. The contract price for
these plates was about $400,000. One of the
strongest indorsements of the ability of
the coast manufactories to compete witn
the Eastern factories on more than even
terms was the awarding of this contract
to the Risdon Iron Works. In bidding for
this work this company was forced to
enter into competition with the large
plants in the East, which had been in ex
istence for years, and it was only after a
most careful inspection of the figures of
the Risdon Iron Works on this contract
and special inquiry regarding the ability
of the company to fill a contract of this
magnitude that the bid of the local com
petitors was finally accepted.
In addition to supplying all the steel
plates the Rlsdon Iron Works also fur
nished the iron work- for the gate cham
bers, and these chambers have all been
put in under their dltect supervision.
It has been the aim of the management
of the Risdon Iron Works in fulfilling
their contract with the Portland water
committee, to do even more than the con
tract stipulated. This is in line with their
policy of sending out nothing from their
shops that has not passed the most rigid
inspection of their experts, and it is this
careful test of everything from their
forges that has earned for them the repu-
ALCATRAZ ASPHALT ItEFIXERY.
water committee for the work by Messrs.
Keatinge & Leonard, of this city, who
keep a number of there mixers to rent.
Another Ransome patent largely used
was what is known as the "concrete and
twisted iron patent." All steel beams in
the floors, roofs, etc., of gate houses and
dams were supplanted with twisted iron
bars, the use of which was most satis
factory, and effected a great saving in
JiAXSOXrS t0XCRETE MXEIi.
the floof lights are the "Ran
nt light,", also all the face of
cost. All
some patent
the dams, gate houses and retaining walls
were of the "Ranseme patent concrete
face." Full particulars of all these most
valjable methods of concrete construction
can be obtained by applying to Keatinge
& Leonard, the sole agents at Portland,
Or.
culty of planning and executing such an
enormous amount of work in one short
season, and no higher recognition of en
gineering skill could have been shown
than in the appointment of Mr. James
Dix Schuyler, of Los Angeles, Cal., to
that responsible position. The special du
ties to which Mr. Schuyler was assigned
were the design and construction of the
reservoirs, with their dams, pipe connec
tions and appurtenances, as well as the
Portland Heights pumping station. All
visiting engineers from the East who have
seen the unusual difficulties which have
here been met and overcome have ex
pressed great admiration of the ingenuity
shown by Mr. Schuyler in this work in
the way of special adaptations out of the
usual order. Mr. Schuyler is a New York
er by birth and education, but has prac
ticed his profession for 26 years past ex
clusively in the Western states and terri
tories, his early career being devoted to
railroad construction in Kansas, Colo
rado, California and Old Mexico. For 15
years, however, he ha3 devoted his atten
tion to his chosen specialty of hydraulics,
and in the pursuit of that branch has at
tained a national reputation. He was for
several years chief assistant state engi
neer of California, in charge of the irri
gation investigation, and subsequently
designed and constructed the great Sweet
water dam, near San Diego, Cal., a
structure whose massive and graceful
lines are admired by thousands of vis
itors annually. Mr. Schuyler was engi
neer of the Hemet dam, in Riverside coun
ty, California, which is considerably high
er than the Sweetwater, both of them
standing far in advance of all others of
their character in Western America. Mr,
Schuyler has been engaged as consulting
sible position of chief draughtsman in the
Willamette Iron works, the leading iron
works plant of the state. Mr. Lesourd
made the -plans for the first marine com
pound engine ever built in Oregon, and
this engine Is now doing duty in the
steam coaster Alliance. He also superin
tended work In the construction of en
gines and machinery for some of the fast
est river boats of the coast. The machin
ery for the powerful tug Wanderer, the
magnificent steamer Victorian, the pride
of the O. R. & N. Co., and the fast little
steamer Cricket, built by Captain Spen
cer, was built under Mr. Lesourd's direc
tion. This latter boat is the fastest of Its
size on the coast. When active work was
first commenced on the Bull Run system,
the position of chief draughtsman was
tendered Mr. Lesourd, and that everybody
connected with this great work has the
highest appreciation of Mr. Lesourd's
services must be taken as attesting his
ability as a draughtsman.
Mr. Lesourd is a native of France. He
has been long enough in the United
States, however, to become thoroughly
wedded to the forms and customs of the
American republic He first arrived in
San Francisco 40 years ago last Septem
ber. Pursuing the precarious calling of
mining for a short time, he finally decided
that the Northern field would afford him
better opportunities for advancement than
he could look for in California, and In 1S57
he came to Oregon. His residence in this
state has been a continuous one since that
time. It is not only the success of Mr.
Lesourd himself which crowns his life
time's work, but the opportunities for ad
vancement he has been enabled to afford
his son, Frank E. Lesourd, a native Ore
gonlan, has resulted in the younger Mr.
Lesourd's attaining a distinction as an
expert draughtsman that has secured for
hint a position among the leading
draughtsmen In the United States. Frank
E. Lesourd received his best training un
der his father's eye in the mechanical en
gineering establishment, the Willamette
iron works of this city. He Is now hold
ing the highly responsible position of in
spector and superintendent of construction
of the Cascade locks gates, one of the
most Important government undertakings
of the United States. These gates are
now under construction at Sparrow's
Point, near Baltimore, Md. This position
was tendered Mr. Lesourd by Major
Thomas H. Handbury, who was stationed
at Portland in charge of the government
works here, and. as the honor was one that
was entirely unsolicited by Mr. Lesourd,
the appointment can only be taken as a
most fitting recognition of the great abili
ties developed under the successful tutor
age of his father.
C. E. OLIVER.
One of the rising young civil engineers
of the coast is Mr. C. B. Oliver, who has
held the important position of assistant
engineer of the Bull Run system since
May, 1S93. Mr. Oliver has learned civil
engineering by years of practical effort,
and the result of his labors on the Bull
Run pipe line Is the best recommendation
of the benefits of this practical education.
Mr. Oliver was born in Marion, county,
tire work is but a slight recognition of thet
ability of Mr. Moore and of the capacity
of the Risdon Iron Works for turning outt
work of this character in all its perfection.
D. D. CLARKE, PRINCIPAL ASSIST
ANT ENGINEER.
Mr.. D. D. Clarke is of New England!
birth and education. He came to the Pa
cific Northwest in early manhood, and for
SO years has been Identified with the public
works of Oregon and Washington. Mak
ing his home in Portland from 1S64 to 1S73,
he was engaged first upon the staff of the
city surveyor, and later, during the rail
road construction of that period, served
as assistant engineer upon both the East
and West Side roads. After spending
three years in Olympia In connection with
the work of the United States land sur
veys, he removed to Tacoma, where he
resided from 1S75 until 1S90. During this
period he was almost continuously in
the service of the Northern Pacific Rail
road Company as assistant engineer, the
last two years Immediately in charge of
the terminal improvements made at Ta
coma. During the construction of the Tacoma
water works, in 1SS4-5, by Colonel Smith,
now chief engineer of the Portland works.
$ ,
Tjfi
P.D.Clarke.
Photo by McYIpin & Lamb.
-r -rtyfc.
THE WOLFF, ZWJCKER BUEITXER PIPE WORKS, AND TEE WOLFF ZW1VKER IRON WORKS.
other Important work, reaching to all
parti of the Pacific Northwest,
The immense plant of this firm is lo
cated along the banks of the river at the
eastern approach of the Madison-street
bridge. It occupies two blocks with a
deep-water frontage, and every advan
tage in transportation facilities is afford
ed by the Southern Pacific railroad, the
tracks of which system, covering all parts
of Western Oregon, and extending South
and East, are but one block distant, and
by steamers which ply south on the A ll
l&mette to the most southern points of
this highly fertile section, and also north
on the fame stream to the Columbia, on
which latter river boats ply both east
and west, Portland's route to the ocean
lying along the course of this great
btream. Excollcnt dock facilities are af
forded at the site of the plant, and boats
can land and discharge cargoes, right into
the principal manufacturing-rooms of
tats immense estabtishfaeat.
The Wolff & Zwieker Iron Works re
cently turned out over 79 hydrants for the
local Are department. These hydrants
not only met. but exceeded every require
ment of the contract. The facStittee of the
plant of this company for turning out all
kinds of iron and steel work and ma
chlHttry are equal to those enjoyed by
any of the largest iron-working plants of
the coast, and. with the great beneht the
establishment of this plant at Portland
has been to the industrial activity of the
city, it is hoped that every encouragement
wtti be made to this firm to maintain at
this point a plant that v.-ouW be of benefit
H. McConaughy in 'IS, and James Ster
ling in '94. That the work was well or
ganized in all its departments is shown by
tho fact that it was successfully com
pleted on time; this being the only con
tract on the pipe line which was so fin
ished, notwithstanding that it was the
largest and most difficult of all. m
THE RESERVOIR LIXIXGS.
A
The Important Part Tlmt Asphaltum
lMujed in This "Work.
MONO the most interesting fea
tures of the construction of
Portland s new water-supply
t- stem is the use of asphaltum
for the finishing coat of the res
ervoir linings.
Since the earliest history of
man. asphaltum has been ex
tensively used In structural
work in a variety of forms. The buikiers
of the ditches and reservoirs that sup
plied ancient Babylon employed it to save
leakage. Noah's ark, the cradle of Moses,
the mummies of Egypt, the wonderful
works of the Syrian and Egyptian build- '
ere, all attest the use of this valuable ma
terial; and in our own land It has been
used by the early Indian races and their
successors in a variety of applications.
A century ago the Indians in California
used the tame asphaltum to pitch their
canoes and prevent the water from leak
ing in that today is beiac ased in the Port
laud reservoirs to prevent the water from
leaking out. la this connection the read
er's attention oan be directed to an article
on "Some of the Ancient Uses of Asphal-
tation which is a most important factor
in the awarding of contracts of such mag
nitude as that given to the company Dy
the Portland water committee.
A description of the plant which has
supplied the steel plates and part of the
iron work for such an important under
taking as the construction of the Bull
Run pipe line will be of value to every
body interested in irechanlcal engineer
ing. The Risdon Iron Works early gained
the reputation of catering to the best
trade in their line. With this end in view,
they put In the most expensive machinery
of the latest improved patterns. In addi
tion to having today the largest pipe plant
on the coast, they are also large manu
facturers of mining, milling, marine and
other machinery. They enjoy the distinc
tion of not only conducting the largest
pipe plant in San Francisco, but they also
are the largest manufacturers of mining
machinery on the coast. During the pa;t
few years they have built a great number
of quartz mills. Among these mills Is
that of 24 stamps for the Alaska Mill &
Mining Company. This is the largest stamp
mill in the world The Risdon Iron Works
has also manufactured some of the larg-
' est pumping and hoisting plants in the
country. Among the great machinery
plants recently turned by the compaay
were those for the sugar-beet factories
at Watsonville and Chino. Each of tlie&e
plants has a capacity of 400 tons of sugar
every 24 hours.
The Risdon Iron Works, in addition to
its other complete departments, conducts
a most extensive shipbuilding and marine
engineoring plant. This department gi es
constant employment to a large number
THE MEX WHO BUILT IT.
Those "Who Directed the "Work of
Construction.
The construction of the Bull Run plant
has not only given employment to a large
number of men, but it has also called
for the display of the highest order of
skill on the part of those on whom fell
the responsibility of directing the men
engaged in the active work of construc
tion. It was the directing genius of the
engineers who had the entire charge of
the work of construction that was pri
marily responsible for the effective man
ner in which the work of building the
plant progressed, and It was the close ap
plication the gentlemen at the head of the
construction of this work gave to the
project that resulted In the completion of
what is today considered one of the best
built waterworks plants in the United
States. The gentlemen who were the
leading directing heads of the construc
tion work on the plant are mentioned
below.
COLONEL ISAAC W. SMITH.
Colonel Isaac W. Smith has devoted his
entire life to the profession of civil engi
neering. He was born In Fredericksburg,
Spottsylvania county, Va. He isgnad
uate of the Virginia Military institute, lo
cated at Lexington.
During Colonel Smith's long career as a
successful engineer he has handled some
very Important work. He was assistant
engineer and astronomer on the boundary
lines between the states of Iowa and Min
nesota, and between the Creek and Cher
okee Indian tribes In the Indian territory.
During the Mexican war he was a second
lieutenant in the Vcltiguer Rifle regi
ment. He was a captain in the engineer
ing corps of the Confederate army. After
the war he engaged In land surveys in the
territory of Washington, and he also did
much public surveying of lands after
Washington was admitted as a state.
Colonel Smith built the lighthouses for
the government at Shoalwater bay and at
New Dungeness, Smith's island and Ta
toosh island, on the Straits of Tuca. He
laid off the city and harbor lines of Ta
coma, and subsequently built the gas and
water works for the Tacoma Light &
Water Company. He was the engineer for
the Northern Pacific on the surveys for
the lines from Vancouver north to the
Yakima river, and up the Columbia. He
had charge of the location and construc
tion of the line from Kalama to Tacoma,
and he located the line now running from
Tacoma across the Cascade mountains to
the Yakima and Columbia livers by the
same company.
On Vancouver island, B. C, Colonel
Smith laid off lands for the board of pub
lic works. He also had charge of the ex
plorations for the Canadian government
up Fraser river In connection with the
construction of the Canadian Pacific rail
road. He engaged successfully in mining
enterprises in the rich Cariboo district,
and he possesses a most accurate knowl
edge of the topographical features of the
province of British Columbia.
Colonel Smith has had charge of some
of the most important improvements of
Oregon, in which state he has long re
sided. He was the engineer of the North
ern Pacific railroad on the construction
and location of the line from Kalama to
Portland. He built the complete system
of steamboat locks around the Willamette
falls at Oregon City. He was chief engi
neer of the Oregon Pacific Railroad Com
pany, which runs a line of road from Ya
quina bay east to the summit of the Cas
cade mountains.
On January 1, 1SS7, Colonel Smith was
appointed chief engineer and superintend
ent of the Portland city water woiks by
the water committee He laid out and
planned the present efficient water-works
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Photo by DaIes.
5CHUYLER.
engineer on many other Important water
works and irrigation projects throughout
the West and in the Sandwich islands.
He has made some interesting and useful
contributions to the literature of his pro
fession, which have added to his reputa
tion among engineers, particularly in the
form of papers read before the American
Society of Civil Engineers, of which he is
a member and past director. He is also
one of the very few American members
of the British Institution of Civil Engi
neers, the oldest, the largest and the
most conservative engineering society in
the w orld. He is a director of the Ameri
can Society of Irrigation Engineers, a
member of the Technical Society of the
Pacific Coast, and also of the California
Association of Civil Engineers. The first
secretary of the water committee was his
brother the late Philip C. Schuyler, a
Portland pioneer, whose enthusiasm in
behalf of the projected Bull Run water
works, now so handsomely completed, is
pleasantly recalled at this time by his old
friends.
JOHN A. LESOURD.
Mr. John A. Lesourd, the chief draughts
man and inspector of iron work of the
Bull Run pipe line, is a srentleman whose
abilities are never qmstioned. Away
back in the '70s Mr. Lesourd held the high
ly responsible position of chief draughts-
7
GE Oliver
Photo by McAlpIn & Lamb.
Iowa, in 1S36. He was appointed principal
assistant engineer of Portland in 18S0. He
held this office until 1SS4. It was during
the period of Mr. Oliver's incumbency
that many of the most important works
in improvement of streets were laid out,
and the personal supervision which the
gentleman was called upon to exercise
over these improvements resulted in his
gaining much practical experience. In
188G Mr. Oliver did some preliminary work
in the surveys for the contemplated Bull
Run pipe line, and during 18S7 and the fol
lowing year he was engaged principally
in land surveying and in railroad work.
In 18S9 and 18S0 he made the surveys and
superintended the laying of the pipe line
from the city to Palatine Hill. In June
of the latter year he was appointed in
spector of the city water works, which
important office he held until he was made
assistant engineer of the great plant, on
which he has since been engaged.
In addition to the work connected with
his office as assistant engineer, Mr. Oliver
since May of the present year has per
formed the duties of superintendent of
construction of reservoirs. Among the
important services Mr. Oliver rendered in
the construction of the pipe line was his
securing the rights of way for the line
from Bull Run river to Mount Tabor, and
the subsequent rapid laying of the pipe
along this route was due largely to the
ability the gentleman displayed in set
tling the question of rights of way.
Mr. Oliver, from his long residence in
this city, is classed among the Portland
boys by his numerous friends and ac
quaintances, and they are all proud of
the record he has made here as a success
ful civil engineer.
RALPH H. MOORD.
A distinctive and original feature in the
Bull Run system is shown In the design
Mr. Clarke was his principal assistant.
He has been a member of the American
Society of Civil Engineers since 1S82. His
connection with the Portland works be
gan in March, 1S93.
F. H. YOUNG.
Mr. F. H. Young, assistant engineer of
the Bull Run pipe line, early had the ben
efit of a thorough education In the profes
sion to which he proposed to devote the
best years of his life. He was born in
Erie county, Pennsylvania, In 1S56. After
having taken a thorough course In civil
engineering at the Western Pennsylvania
university, he at once demoted himself to
field work, in which he gained a most val
uable fund of practical information. He
followed this work succesbfully for 17
years. He worked on many of the im
portant railroad surveys, both in this
country and in Mexico. Some of his most
Important work was done in the Improve
ments of harbors in the state of Wash
ington with Richard Nevins, jr. Mr.
Young enjoyed a high reputation as a
civil engineer before he came to Port
land, and it was not long after his arrival
In the city before his abilities were recog
nized by the tender of his present posi
tion on the Bull Run pipe line.
Mr. Young has been constantly engaged
on the water works since 1891. He located
the bridge across the Sandy river in Feb
ruary, 1892. In October of the same year
he located the distributing reservoir at
Mount Tabor. Commencing active work
on the pipe line Itself in January. 1S93, he
located the line from the Sandy river to
the headworks, eight miles up the Bull
Run river. At the close of last season's
work he was transferred to the office and
assigned to the duty of testing all mate
rials used in the construction of reser ,
voirs, such as cement, gravel, sand, brick,
etc. In this work Mr. Young has had the
fullest confidence of his superiors, and
the able and impartial manner In which
he has given his decisions in all cases has
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man on the construction work of the sys
tem of locks and canal around the Wil
lamette falls at Oregon City, and since
that time he has been actively engaged in
the practice of his profession on some of
the most Important works of the state.
He has devoted much time to the con
struction of large milling plants and to
building mills, and in their successful op
eration he has earned an enviable reputa-
system, which Is the best plant of the tion. In 1SS1 he was tendered the respon-
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Pl.oto by McAlpIn & Lamb.
and execution of the gatehouse chambers,
which comprise the entire distributing
system, and the complete mechanism for
controlling the water for the various res
ervoirs and the main city supply. The
otherwise complicated mechanism of the
distributing system is greatly simplified
by the interior arrangement of the gate
chambers.
This entire work, covering hundreds of
tons of iron and steel work, was furnished
and placed in position by the Risdon Iron
Works of San Francisco, under the imme
diate supervision of Ralph H. Moore.
Mr. Moore is a native of San Francisco.
That he has attained the great success he
has before reaching his 30th year is evi
dence of his great natural engineering
ability. In 1SS9 he graduated from the
university of California, at Berkeley, in
the coune of mechanical engineering, and
in 1S90 he accepted a position with the Ris
don Iron Works, with which he has since
been associated.
The careful and artistic manner in which
this Important work has been carried to
completion testifies to his thorough edu
cation aa a practical engineer, and the en-
won for him the esteem of everybody who
has furnished materials for this important
public undertaking.
E. E. COOPER.
Mr. E. E. Cooper has had direct charge
of the construction of jhe concrete con
struction work on the Bull Run pipe line
under Mr. Schuyler. His work has been:
principally confined to reservoirs 1, 3 and
4. The position has called for the constant
attention of a man thoroughly versed in
all the intricacies of the civil engineer's
profession, and the manner in which Mr.
Cooper performed the duties of this re
sponsible trust has entitled him to the
full confidence and support of his su
periors. Mr. Cooper is a native of Clinton county,
New York. He attended school at St.
Paul, Minn.,, where he took a full course
at the Minnesota state university. He
was first employed by the St. Paul &
Duluth Railroad Company. From this
work he entered tne service ct the xsortr.
ern Pacific Railroad Company in 1S71. One
of the most Interesting incidents of Mr.
Cooper's career in railroad construction
work was the help he rendered in start
ing the fire to thaw the ground which en
abled Colonel Smith to turn the first
shovelful of earth on the construction of.
the great transcontinental line, the North
em Pacific.
Mr. Cooper was engaged on the con
struction work of the Northern Pacific
until 1884. From this work he came to
Oregon in 1S73 to take charge of the con
struction of the mountain division of the
E.E CespER
Photo by McAIpin z Lamb.
Oregon Pacific railroad, running from
Yaqulna bay east to the summit of the
Cascade mountains. He afterward held
an important position on the Southern Pa
cific. For a number of years he was in
charge of the masonry and iron bridging
in the Siskiyou mountains on the line of
this road. Ha was employed oa the Iron