by the promoters and insiders of the Railroad Company to do the actual construction. Several experiences with individual contractors had demonstrated that they could not be relied upon, in fact that it required more in the way of capital-influence, and omnipresence than any individual could exert, consequently all original contracts for the construction and equipping of the line were handled by the Credit Mobilier who subcontracted it with firms and individuals, they by their close relations with the Company and financial interests as well as by their wide ramifications, being able to purchase materials and supplies to better advantage.

Everything was still held at war prices, iron, ties, lumber, provisions, etc., while currency and the Government bonds on which they were relying, were greatly depreciated in value. Labor was scarce and only to be had at extravagant figures.

In the report of one of the Government inspectors, made in 1864, when the grading had progressed some twenty miles out of Omaha, he stated: "There are now some two hundred men employed on the work and a like number of horses and oxen, together with two excavating machines that are doing the work of many men. It is confidently expected that this Section (the first forty miles) will be ready to be laid with rails by June 1st, next." This he regarded as very commendable but as compared with four years later, when there were nearly twelve thousand men engaged and track was going down from two to ten miles a day, it seems anything else but satisfactory.

A great amount of the preliminary work in the way of reconnoissance, surveying, and even locating was done under Governmental auspices previous to 1860, most of it by officers of the army. All of their reports and surveys were by action of Congress given to the Railroad Company, thus saving them greatly in time as well as in money. In addition to the Government surveys the Company investigated and did more or less surveying before deciding upon the route to be followed through the Rockies.

In the report of the Government directors for 1866 they refer to the following eight routes as having been investigated during the preceding year by the Company, viz.:

• 1st Via South Platte River and Hoosier Pass.
• 2nd Via Platte River and Tarryall Pass.
• 3rd Via North Fork of South Platte River.
• 4th Via Berthoud Pass.
• 5th Via Boulder Pass.
• 6th Via Cash le Poudre-Dale Creek and Antelope Pass.
• 7th Via Evans Pass.
• 8th Via Lodge Pole Creek, Cow Creek, and Evans Pass.
• 9th Via Lodge Pole Creek and Cheyenne Pass.
• 10th Via Lodge Pole Creek and South Pass.

The first seven of these routes included Denver en route. Something that the Company considered essential and which was very reluctantly abandoned.(Back to Content)

CHAPTER V.

Progress Made.

Completion of Eleven Miles — Excursion — Officers — Labor Supply — Ex-Soldiers — Methods Employed — Progress Made — Headquarter Towns — Rough Times — Competition With Central Pacific for Territory — Stations — Buildings, Etc.

As we saw in our last chapter, ground was broken at Omaha, December 2nd, 1863. This, however, was more in the nature of a jollification on the part of the citizens of Omaha over the selection of their city as the eastern terminus of the line,—it being under the auspices of "the leading citizens," organized and enthused by the irrepressible George Francis Train.

Grading was commenced in July, 1864, and track-laying the spring of 1865. The start was not auspicious, the line was originally located directly west from Omaha, but after one hundred thousand dollars had been spent, it was abandoned on account of the hills and consequent heavy grades, and two new lines were surveyed, one to the north and then west and the other south nearly to Bellevue, Kan., and then west. This latter was called the "Ox-bow Route" and was finally selected by the Company, notwithstanding violent opposition on the part of the people of Omaha, who feared that the Company would cross the Missouri at Bellevue, thus leaving Omaha out.

September 25th, 1865, saw eleven miles finished, and in November an excursion was run from Omaha to the end of the track, fifteen miles. This was gotten up by Vice-President Durant, who took an engine and flat car, inviting about twenty gentlemen to go with him on the first inspection trip to Sailing's Grove. Among the excursionists was General Sherman who gloried in the undertaking and expressed regret that at his age he could hardly anticipate living until the completion of the work. The party was very enthusiastic, and as the narrator naively puts it "as the commissary was well supplied, the gentlemen enjoyed themselves."

For a number of reasons the work dragged. It took one year to complete the first forty miles. The lack of rail connections east of Omaha were, previous to January, 1867, when the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad reached Council Bluffs, a very serious occasion of expense and delay. The work was new, those in charge were not at that time experienced, funds were scarce, and the credit of the Company not yet established, and as a result the average rate of progress during the first twelve months was but a mile a week.

The work of construction was in charge of Vice-President and General Manager, Thomas C. Durant.—The location, General Granville M. Dodge, Chief Engineer, formerly General of the United States Army and who had up to this time been in charge of the department. The operation of the line, forwarding of material and supplies, actual construction, etc., was in charge of Samuel B. Reed, General Superintendent and Engineer in charge of Construction. The track laying was done under contract by "Casement Brothers" (General and Daniel) while Mr. H. M. Hoxie was ubiquitous with the title of General Western Agent. Colonel Silas Seymour of New York was Consulting Engineer and Mr. W. Snyder, Assistant Superintendent and General Freight and Ticket Agent.

Another of the reasons for the slow progress made up to 1865 was the scarcity of labor. The surrounding territory had no surplus workmen and the East had not as yet grasped the idea that the road was actually under construction. With the disbandment of the armies, both North and South after the war, this situation was changed for the better. Large numbers of the ex-soldiers drifted West and were glad to find steady work at remunerative wages with the construction forces.

The Secretary of the Interior in his annual report for 1866 stated that out of fifteen hundred laborers employed on the Pacific Railways, three hundred were negroes and performed their duties faithfully and well, and he recommended legislation looking to the employment of more of the surplus freedmen on the same work. Among the officials,—engineers and bosses,—there were many who were ex-officers in the army. Thus the Chief Engineer had been a General, the Consulting Engineer, a Colonel, the head of the track-laying force, a General. This can best be explained by quoting from a paper on trans-continental railroads read by General Dodge, before the Society of the Army of the Tennessee at Toledo, Ohio, September, 1888.

"The work was military in character and one is not surprised to find among the superintendents and others in charge, a liberal sprinkling of military titles.