Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, May 6, 1894, Page 10

THE GOLDEN SPIKE . the first through transcontinental THE OMAHA DAILY 6, BEE:- SUNPAY, MAY Quarter Cent>~nial of the Completion of the Pacific Railroads, WONDER OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY The At'antic and Pacific Forever Linked by Bands of Steel. OMAHA AND SAN FRANCISCO SHAKE HANDS Night of Flickering Hope Contrasted with the Meridian of Realization, WHA1 MIND AND MUSCLE WROUGHT Inception and Completion of ihe Stupendous rvolous Frult- Enterprise and Tts M age—The Progressive Romance of Ameriean History. Twenty-five years ago next Thursday (May 10) the ticking of the electric telegraph in a thousand offices over the length and breadth of this country noted the strokes of the ham- mer of sllver with which the golden spike was driven into the tie of laurel wood at Promontory, when the junction of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads was effected, and the task of building the first great transcontinental line was formally completed. Twenty-five years ago, when the projectors of that stupendous work witnessed its suc- cessful termination, they beheld a practical transformation in the geography of the coun- try. New York and San Francisco were picked up from their former position of weeks apart and set down within a few days’ distance of each other; millions of acres of rolling prairie, the undisputed home of the Indian and the buffalo, were placed invit- ingly at the very feet of the civilized hus- bandman; the untold wealth of the nation’s ore flelds was placed at the mercy of the miner's muscle, and the myriad mysteries of that but little known country between the mad Missouri and the Golden Gate became an open book. The Atlantic and Pacific were Joined by bands of steel, and then and there a revolution was accomplished in the com- merce of the world. Thirty years ago on the 2nd of last Decem- ber the first spadeful of earth was moved on the Missourl bottom within the old clty limits of Omaha, formally in- augurating this unprecedented work. On that day the great Union Pacific railway was regarded as very much of a myth even by many of those who en- thusiastically participated in the ceremonies attendant on the initial ground breaking, while the men engaged in and controlling the enterprise were largely regarded as a set of stock jobbing, Wall street speculators. Five and a third years later innumerable seemingly insurmountable obstacles had been overcome; thousands of miles of road had been constructed in a country destitute of labor, materials and supplies, with nothing but the dangerous and uncertain navigation of the Missouri river to rely upon during the summer months as a base of operations; trains laden with government stores and pri- vate freight sped with the energetic force of steam propusion toward the western slope of the continent; passengers for the occident had abandoned the stage coach and ox or mule train for the palace car, and a new era in the history of railroad construction had been successfully inaugurated. The Union Pacific had been completed and was known and felt to be a reality. On this occasion of the quarler-centennial of the completion of that gigantic undertak- ing The Bee presents a brief history of the enterprise with an account ‘of the exercises that were held in this city at the time of the beginning and completion of the work. It is impossible to present the difficult and disheartening circumstances that confronted the men who invested their money, and, in some instances, risked their lives in this enterprise, yet it cannot be denied that the pushing of the Union Pacific railroad for over 2,000 miles over trackless plains and over the Rocky mountains and Sierra Nevadas scems more like a romance than a reality, and no one can read the history of railway without admiring the pluck and indomitable energy of the builders of the great national i * highway, and the progressive spirit of the nation that made that success possible. “ After the loation of the road had been de- termined in favor of Omaha several attempts were made to secure a change to other points, but President Lincoln invariably re- plied that the road had been located in con- formity with the charter requirements, and that he had neither the right nor disposition . to revoke his decision. Omaha naturally ex- perlenced something of a boom as a result of _It, ‘and grew rapidly under the stimulus of the new enterprise. Active building operations were begun in the early spring of 1564, contracts being let for work to a point 100 miles west In the Platte valley, from which surveys were con- tinued to the 100th meridian. After $100,000 had been expended on the course due west- ‘erly it was abandoned on the ground that it would be fmpossible to complete 100 miles of road through such a hilly country in time to save the charter, which required that much to be completed between the Missouri river end the 100th meridian within three years “from the filing of the company's assent to the organic act, June 27, 1863 Two new routes were at once surveyed; cne north and thence west, and the other south nearly to Bellevue, and thence northwest and west. The latter was called the ‘“ox-bow,” and was the route chosen by the company, notwithstanding the violent opposition of the people of Omaba, “Who entertained great fears that the com- pany intended to cross the river at Bellevue and leave Omaha out in the cold, The ‘greatest anxiety existed in Omaha at this time, but everything was finally harmoni- ously settled, “even after an order had actually been promulgated directing tha starting of the line from Bellevue, and after that idea was abandoned the Omabhans breathed easy once more. Grading was pushed rapidly forward on the “ox-bow" route, and track laying fol- lowed almost as fast. The ties for the road from Omaha to the Platte were obtained from the Missourl bottom lands, and being of cottonwood, were put through the “burnetizing process,” which made them impervious to water, as well as to animal or vegetable parasites. The ties for the re- mainder of the road were of hard wood, and were obtained from Peunsylvania, Michigan and other distant states, and frequently cost as high as $2.50 per tie laid down in Omaha. Some idea of the difficulty of constructing the road may be obtalned from a knowledgo of the fact that there was a break of 133 miles n railroad communication between Des Moines and Omaha, and that everything had to be transported by team from that point, or by steambeat up the Missourl. The company employed six large steamers on the river, as well as bundreds of teams be- twaen Omaha and the lowa capital, The Omaha shops were started soon after the work of bullding the road was com- menced, and they were completed in t fall of 1865. The seventy-five horse power engine for the shops was hauled overland from Des Molnes by wagons. The com pletion of the first fifteen miles of track was celebrated by an excursion from Omah Thomas C, Durant, who got up the excur- #lon, ook & locomotive and flat car and Mviied twenty prominent gentlemen to go #0h M on the frst luspection trip to the oad of the track at Ballng's grove. It was M suthusiastic party, and as the commis- wory Gepertumsut well supplied the ewlieses snjoyed themselves. Among the honmionsots wers Hon. A J. Poppleton and Setarnl Bhorman. The latter gontleman, #hs wes cuded wpon for u spesch, related M superiones 0 winkiog several thousand in an He re- and con- dollars effort viewed years before in Callfornia to start the Pacific rallroad. the dream of other days, cluded with the expression of a hope that he might live to see the day, though he said it could scarcely be expected at his age, when the two oceans would be united by a complete Pacific raflroad. Contrary to his expectations, he did live to see the day, and in less than four years from that day at Saling’s grove he went over (ue complete road, traveling by rail from ocean to ocean. Every twenty miles of completed road was Auly inspected by properly appointed parties and numers excursions were made to the end of the line as it moved from time to time. Fifty miles of the road was com- pleted and in running order March 13, 1866, and on April 15 the commissioners of the government, General R. Curtis, Colonel J. H. Simpson and W. M. White, came to Omaha, going over the road the next day and accepting the work. In July it was an- nounced_that 135 miles were ready for the cars. The grading continued very rapidly and the Casement Brothers, who had the contract for track laying, frequently put down the rails at the rate of five miles a day. They had completed 260 miles during 1886, 240 miles in 1867, and a total of 655 miles from the 1st of January, 1863, to May 10, 1869, when the road was completed and con- nection made with the Central Pacific. In the construction of the Unlon Pacific there were used 300,000 tons of rails, 1,700,000 fish- plates, 6,800,000 bolts, ,375 ties and 505,600 spikes. Meantime the Central Pacific had been plished with equal rapidity, and had crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains, being a mar- velous triumph of engineering skill. There was a lively race between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific to see which should build the greater number of miles, and a dange ous rivalry sprang up, which seemed likely to involve both roads in unpleasant and se- rious difculties, which, however, ~were averted April 9, 1869, by the railroad com- mittee of the house of representatives agree- ing to ask the passage of a joint resolution declaring that no bonds be issued to either corporation for the elghty-mile section be- tween Ogden and Monument Point, until congress arranged a plan for the junction of the roads. Soon after that the represen- tatives of the two roads met and agreed that the place of junction should be at Promontory Point, and there the roads were united on the 10th of May, 1869. The celebration at Omaha in honor of the completon of the Union Pacific and fts junc- tion with the Central Pacific was a grand and enthusiastic affair. It was a_general holiday for everybody, and both public and private buildings were in gala decoration— flags, festoons, banners, mottoes and:bunt- ing. A telegraph line was run to a build- ing on Capitol hill, and direct connection was made with Promontory, where the golden spike, at the junction of the roads, was being driven intc its laurel wood rest- ing place. When the last blow was struck at’ Promontory It was instantly known in Omaha, where 100 guns were fired in rapid succession when the announcement was made. A procession was formed on Farnam strect in the afternoon, and with flags and banners flying, the citizens marched to Capitol square, where the meeting W presided over by Governor Saunders. Eloquent speeches were made by General Clinton B. Fisk of Missouri _and General Manderson and Judge Wakeley of this city, amid the most unbounded enthu- siasm. The illumination in the evening was a brilliant spectacle. The city was ono blaze of light, while the display of pyrotech- nics was exceedingly beautiful. It was the grandest day ever recorded in the history of Omaha, and the jubilation did not end with the rising of the next morning's sun. HISTORY OF THE ENTERPRISE. In 1861 congress chartered the Pacific tele- graph, of which Edward Creighton of Omaha was the projector and builder, and who, upon its completion, July 4, 1862, located its terminus in this city. The Pacific telegraph was the forerunner of the Pacific railway, which followed closely upon the heels of the former, as the railroad bill was pending in congress while the telegraph was under con- struction, and it was only four days before the electric spark flashed across the con- tinent in one continuous circuit that the Pacific railroad act was signed by President Lincoin. The first Pacific railroad bill was intro- duced in congress in 1850 by Senator Benton of Missouri. Such a project had, however, been discussed at times for several years prior to the introduction of the initial bill, In 1851 Hon. S. Butler King submitted a plan which was universally approved, It was to the effect that the government should guarantee to any company or persons who would undertake and complete the road a net dividend of 5 per cent for fifty or 100 years; the road to be constructed under the supervision of an engineer appointed by thé government, the cost of the road not to ex- ceed a certain sum, and the guaranty not to begin until the road was completed and equipped for operation. In 1853-54 nine routes were surveyed across the continent under the supervision of Jefferson Davis, then secretary of war. Incidentally it may be remarked that had not the war of the rebellion occurred the first transcontinental railvay would very likely have been by a southern route. With each succeeding session of congress the benefits and peculiarities of the various routes were submitted, and the results were summarized in the interests of the extreme southern line. Finally it was demonstrated that the route along the north side of the Platte river was the most practicable, and in June, 1857, a number of distinguished gen- tlemen ' from the various portions of the United States visited Omaha and conferred with parties having in view the construc- tion of the Paciftc road by way of the Platte valley and South Pass. The visiting party consisted of Colonel Orr of South Carolina, General Robinson, John Covode and Mr. Bradshaw of Pennsylvania, Judge Barber of Wisconsin, Colonel Curtis of Iowa, Mr. Hos- mer of Ohio, Mr. Pierce of Indiana and others. They united in a recommendation to congress that such a reasonable grant of land and other aid be contributed as would prove a suficlent indgecient to build the road, and they also recommended the Platte valley route. The project of a Pacific rail- road was also agitated at every session of the Nebraska territorial legislature, and it became one of the cherished hopes of this then new country. A Pacific railroad committee was appointed during the session of the Thirty-sixth con- gress, and on the 20th of January, 1858, that committee, through Senator Gwin of Cali- fornia, reported a bill which proposed to lo- cate the eastern terminus of the road at some point between the Big Sioux and Kansas rivers. The bill provided for the donation of alternate sections on each side of the road, and $12,600 per mile, the same to be ad- vanced on the completion of each twenty- five miles, until §25,000,000 should be reached, The amounts thus advanced were to be r turned in mail service and the transpor tion of men and munitions of war. Five per cent of the stock was to be issued, and the president of the United States was to re- ceive bids and locate the road. This bill was killed in the semate. Another effort was made during the session of 1859-60, when a new bill was introduced by Mr. Curtis of Towa, 1t met with more favorable considera- tion, but with no better results, A mass meeting of the citizens of Omaha was held at the Pioncer block on the even- ing of January 2, 1859, at which a memorial was adopted that had been prepared at a previous meeting by a committee consisting of William A. Gwyer, G. C. Monell and A. D. Jones. This memorial was forwarded to Washington and there the matter rested until February 6, 1862, when Mr. Rollins of Missouri, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill to aid in constructing a railroad and telegraph line from the Missourl river to the Pacific ocean. It was substantially the same as that introduced by General Curtis at the provious session and was referred to the Pacific railroad committee. The bill, with various amendments, passed the house May 6, 1862, by a vote cf 79 to 49, and went to the senato for concurrence, In the upper house decisive action was delayed until June 20, when the bill was passed by a vote of 35 to 5. By a vote of 104 to 21 the house adopted the bill as amended by the senate and July 1 it was approved by the president and became a law. THE COMPANY ORGANIZED Among other things the bill provided that quite a number of person: were given, should be created into a body corporate and politic in law and decd, by the name of the Unlon Paclfic Rallroad company. These pe:sons were #rom all sections of the north, the south being then in rebellion. Those from Nebraska were Gimert C. Monell, Augustus Kountze, T. M. Marquette, W. F Taylor and Alvin Saunders. Mr. Kowntze aftorward became one of the government directors of the foad. The time of com- pletion was fixed at 1576 and the land grant amounted to 12,000,000 acres, or 19,000 square miles, in alternate sections within a breadth of twenty miles on each side of the road and along Its entire length, An amendatory act dircctod that a meot- ing be held In Chicago in September, 1862, to complete the organization and open sub- scription books. Seventy-three of the com- missioners were present and the formal or- ganization of the convention was effocted by the eloction of W. B, Ogden of Illinols as president and H. V. Poor of New York as secretary. he great project was dis- cussed at length and a co-operative com- mittee of thirteen was appointed. The formal organization of this national enter- prise was projected at New York, October 29, 1863. Two government directors were ap- pointed and the following board of directors was electad: George Opdyke, John A. Dix, T. C. Durant, B, W. Dunham, P. Clark, B. T. M. Gibson, J. F. D. Loufer, G. T. M. Davis, A. G. jerome, August Belmont, L. C. Clark, Charles Tuttle, H. V. Poor and George Griswold, New York city; J. V. L. Pruyn, Albany; E. H. Rosekrans, Glen's Falls; A. A. Lowe, San Francisco; W. B. Ogden and J. F. Tracy, Chicago; Nathaniel Thayer and C. A. Lambard, Boston; C. 8. Bushnell, New Haven; J. H. Scranton, Scranton; J. Bdgar. Thompson, Philadelphia; Ebenezer Cook and John E. Henry, Davenport; H, T. McConeb, Wilmington; Augustus Kountz Omaha; John I. Blair, New Jersey; 8. C. Pomeroy, Kansas. General Dix was elected president; T. C. Durant, vice president; J. J. Clsco, treasurer, and H. V. Poor, secretary. OMAHA THE INITIAL POINT, Organization being completed the next step was the selection of the eastern terminus of the road. Omaha at that time had no rail- road whatever, but three lines were being built across the state of Towa toward this point. The B. & M. was in operation 100 miles westward from Burlington, the Rock Island had reached Grinnell and the North western was running to Marshalltown. Owing partly to the favorable location of Omaha, which was the objective point of these roads, it was decided to make this city the initlal point of the Union Pacific raii- road, and, on the morning of December 2, Chiet Enginedr Peter A. Dey received a telegram from New York announcing that the president of the United States had fixed the initial point of the road on the “western boundary of the state of lowa, opposite Omaha,” and directing him to formally break ground. This was a most important piece of news for the people of Omaha and they determin:d to inaugurate the great work on that very day and appropriately celebrate the event. It had been rumored on the preceding day that President Lincoln had located the road to start at Omaha, opposite Council Bluffs, and that ground would be broken the next day. The report stirred up intense excite- ment and was the cause of a big rush on the United States land office to secure land near Omaha. It was impossible, however, to ob- tain land nearer than sixtean miles from the city and property in and -around the city took a sudden rise, It was with the greatest anxiety that the people waited for the confirmation of the rumors and when, on the next day, the telegram ordering Engineer Dey to break sround at Omaha was received the greatest excitement and enthusiasm p evafled through- out the little city, which then numbered Jess than 5,000 inhabitants. So important an event could not he allowed to pass in any ordinary manner. It was to be the layIng of the cornerstone of the grandest enterprise of the age—the great structure that should unite the east and the west, the Atlantic and the Pacific—which would do more to develop the resources of the country than all other agencies combined, and be- come the great transcontinental highway for the transportation of the people and mer- chandise of the various nations of the earth, To be sure, not all the people in Omaha had unbounded faith in the enterprise, but there were many who had the utmost confidence In its eventual success, although none be- lieved that it would be completed in such a remarkably short time as really was, It was not strange, then, that with the intense interest felt in the undertaking, the celebra- ton, although ecutirely impromptu, should be a most enthusiastic success, HOW OMAHA CELEBRATED. . Within an hour after the receipt of the telegram, the following committee of ar- rangements had been appointed: Augustus Kountze, Enos Lowe, John McCormick, A, J. Hanscom, B. F Lushbaugh, A. J. Popple- ton, John I Redick, Ezra Millard, Experi- ence Estabrook, E. B. Taylor, George M. Mills, W. F. Sapp, Jesse Lowe, O. P. Hur- ford, Edward Creighton, J. J. Brown and George B. Blake. This committeo hmstily arranged a program of exercises, and ‘fixed the ‘hour for the ceremonies for 2 o'clock that afternoon. It was a pleasant winter afternoon, the sun shining brightly and the thermometer indicating 46 degrees above zero, when a crowd numbering about 1,000 people assembled and marched down to the spot where the ground was to be formally broken as the beginning of actual work on the Union Pacific railroad. This spot was near the ferry landing and the “old telegraph poles,” not far from the location of the old waterworks plant at the foot of Cass street. This initial point of the Union Pacific has long since been washed away by the Missourl river, together with about a mile of the first track lald, which was included in the measurement of the first twenty miles, and for which, as well as for every other mile, the Union Pacific re- celved $16,000 and 12,000 acres of land. A number of prominent men, among them being Edward Creighton, Governor Alyin Saunders, George Francls Train, BExpress Superintendent Joseph Shepard and General Stage Agent Atchison, were conveyed to the scene in a stage coach belonging to the Western Stage company. A. J. Hanscom officiated as master of cere- monies, and the exercises were opened with prayer by the late Rev. T. B. Lemon, who omitted the prayer for the president of the United States, the reason being that Mr. Lemon was a strong democrat. He after- ward changed his politics and became a radi- cal republican. The first earth was removed by Governor Saunders, assisted by Mayors B. B. B. Ken- nedy and Palmer of Omaha and Council Bluffs, Augustus Kountze, Engineer Dey, George Francis Train, Dr. Atchison and others. Guns were fired, and deafening cheers arose from the assemblage. A brass six-pounder stationed on the Nebraska bank, and another on the opposite shore of the Missourl, were fired at intervals during the exercises. Governor Saunders first addressed the crowd and read a telegram, from Colonel John Hay, private secretary to President Lincoln. Mayor Kennedy spoke next, read- ing a message from Mayor Opdyke of New York. Speeches were also made by Dr. G. C. Monell and Hon. A. J. Poppleton of Omaha, Judge A. V. Larimer of Council Blufts, George B. Blake and George Francis Train. A. J. POPPLETON'S SPEECH. Mr. Poppleton’s speech was as follows: Fellow Citizens of Omaha and Council Bluffs: On the 13th of October, 1854, about 7 o'clock in the evening, 1 was set down by the Western Stage company at yonder city of Council Bluffs. At the rising of the sun on the following morning 1 climbed to the summit of one of the bluffs which overlooked the prosperous and enterprising town, and took one long and lingering look across the Missourt at the beautiful sight on which now sets in the full vigor of busi- ness, social and religious life the youthful but thriving and this day jubilant city of Omaha. Early in the day I crossed’ the river, and along a narrow path cut by some stalwart man through the tall, rank prairie grass, 1 wended my way In search of a postoflice. At length I found an old plo- neer, seated apparently In soliary rumin- ation upon a piece of hewn timber, and I inquired of him for the postofice. He re- plied that he was the postmaster, and would examine the office for my lettors. Thereupon he removed from his head a hat, to say the least of it somewhat veteran in appearance, and drew from its depths the coveted letters. On that day the wolves and the Omahas were the almost undisputed lords of the soil, and the entire postal system was conducted In the crown of this venerable hat Today, at least 40,000 radiant faces glad- den our streets, and the postal service, sheltered by a costly edifice, strikes its Briarlan arms toward the north, the south, the east and the west, penctratin reglons then unexplored and unknown, and bearing the symbols of values then hidden in the mountains and beneath the streams, of which the world in its wildest vagaries had never dreamed. Then It took sixty days for New York and California to com- municate Wwith each other. Today, San York, sitting upon the ofns. 3,000 miles asunder, ree. and lghtning are daily weaving their infes _more closely with each other and with theirs, as the in- toroceanic_city, o commerce, trade and treasure leave last great navigable stream In thefr ikration from the Atlantic to the Pacific seaboard, It is natural, therefore, that you should 1ift up your hearts and rejoice. And though we have watched for nine long years, dur- ing which time our fortunes have been Ifke Antonfo's treasures, ostly In ex- pectancy,” we at last press the cup in full fruition” to our lips, The lines have in- deed ““fallen to us in pleasant places,” and as 1 1ook upongihe smiling faces that are before me I sobm to read in their happy expression the words of the plous poet: “This s the day we long have sought And mourned heeause we found it not.” All this, however, {8 but the fpersonal significance of this great national enterprise to us. To us its means prosperity; to the nation and all of its people it bears a signifi- cance well expressed in a telegram recelved from Governor Yates of Illinois, which reads as_follows: Committee of Arrangements, Union Pacific Rallroad—Sirs: I have regarded the enler- prise of bullding the Union Pacific rajlroad as of the utmost national importance. While in congress, when opportunity offered, I urged its necessity, and it s with pecullar pleas- ure that I learn that the bullding of the road so long delayed s to become a verity. When completed it will be an enduring monument of the enterprise and patriotism of our common country, firmly uniting the two extremes of the nation and rendering them indissoluble for all time to come. I am, re- spectfully yours, RICHARD YATES. 1 esteem myself fortunate in thus being allowed to give expression to this concourse of the greeting of the state of Illinols through its chief executive officer. In this hour of sanguinary struggles, when that great and unfon-loving state, through that most trusted fortunate chieftain, Gen- eral Ulysses S. Grant, is hurling its vic- torious sons Into the very vitals of the so- called confederacy, she still finds time to turn aside for one brief moment and wish us Godspeed in this wonderful work upon which we now enter. When those Iron bands with which we hope to gird the continent shali stretch from sea to sea, they stand perpetual hostages against the terrible calamities of national estrange- ment, disruption and dismemberment. The act of congress establishing this great enter- prise should have been entitled “An act to promote the preservation of the union, to provent national dissolution and bind to- gether the Atlantic and Pacific coasts by an indissoluble covenant, to resist and repel foreign aggression.” There is not on all the Mississippi and its tributaries a citizen so craven but that were the free navigation of that noble stream, from its source to its mouth, denied him, he would acheive it with the sword. So will this highway of the world be the common boon of every citizen, to be cherished and defended with special devo- tion. Standing here, at the initiation of this stupendous enterprise, in this third year of our civil war, let us-devoutly pray that the hour that witnesses its completion may be- hold a rebellion overthrown, a union re- stored, a constifiition unimpaired, civil 1ib- erty and the pursuit of happiness the in- alienable birthright of the weakest, the poorest and the/ lowliest citizen in all of our borders. Then with full hearts and Franciseo and shores of the hold famfilar o Tron and ste: bounding pulises we may renew the strain: “Great God, we thhnk thee for this goodly home, 1 ‘This bounteouq bi:thland of the free, Where wanderdrs.from afar may come And breathe the air of liberty: Still_may its crs untrampled spring, Its harvests whvéf and cities ri And long 'til time shall fold its Remain earth'sy loveliest paradise It may be rehmarked in passing that Mr. Popleton's connection with the Union Pa- cific as attorney began only a few days be- fore his speech was delivered, and con- tinued until o few ‘vears ago, he being gen- eral atorney for the road at the time of his retirement, and was the only general officer of the Foad who at that time had continued in it4 sarvice from the day that the first spadeful”of earth was turned on the Missouri bottom. ' I At the conciusion of the oxercisos, the crowd dispersed, highly elated with the oc- currences of the afternoon, a full account of which was telegraphed to the eastern press by Mr. Train and Mr. Rosewater. The city was brilliantly illuminated in the even- ing, and a grand railroad banquet and ball took place at the Herndon house, now a part of the Union Pacific headquarters. About seventy-five couples were in attend- ance, and supper was served at 1:30. Dis- patches of congratulation and encouragement wore recelved and read from Brigham Young, Mayor Steck of Denver, Governor Leland Stanford of@ California, Govennor Yates of Illinots, Hon. William H. Seward, secretary of war, and several other promi- nent men in various parts of the country. In such a blaze of unprecedented glory ended December 2, 1863, one of the most important and eventful days in the history of Omaha and Nebraska. SEEKING FINANCIAL AID. How to obtain the necessary funds to carry the stupendous undertaking to a suc- cessful completion was a question that made more than one man lie awake nights before it was satisfactorily solved. The charter granted by congress required that the books should be kept open for subscription until $100,000,000 should be subscribed and paid for. The scheme, however, did not succeed, as capitalists looked with suspicion on the plan as a profitable investment, and the plan was abandoned. Thereupon George Francls Train organized the famous Credit Mobilier, with a view of obtaining funds with which to build the road. Great difi- culty was experlenced in securing money, and’ there were times during the period of construction when the company was finan- cially embarrassed in a very critical man- ner. Financial ald was sought in vain in New York, Philadelphia and elsewhere, but finally considerable money was secured in Boston, and eventually sufficient was ob- tained for the completion and equipment of the road by the sale of the first mortgage and land grant bonds to Boston capitalists. That was in April, 1868, and as soon as the money was forthcoming the company settle up a large indebtedness that had been contracted in Omaha and at other points, and pushed the work to completion with marvelous rapidity. THE UNION PACIFIC BRIDGE. The building of the Unlon Pacific bridge was not begun until after the road was completed. It was found necessary to cross the river to make connection with the east- ern roads that made Council Bluffs thelr terminus. This connection was first made by means of steamboat transfer across the river in the summer months, and by an ice bridge in® the winter. The Northwestern was the first road tp come across the river, the first train!'arriving here on Sunday, January 17, 1887. “Then came the Kansas City, St. Joseph' & Council Blufts, the B, & M., and Rock I8fand in 1868; and then the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. Although the Initiatory” steps were taken in 1866, when an act looking to that end pussed congress, the contract for bullding the bridge was not awarded until 1808, A fight arose over the location of the structure, ~the choice seeming to lle between il low bridge at \the “telegraph poles,” or a high bridge at Childs Mills. Council Bluffs objected to the lo- cation at the “telegraph poles,” and both Omaha and the Biwfs opposed Childs Mills. The location where the structure was finally erected was agroed upon through tho ef- forts of a commlttee consisting of Alvin Saunders, Franels Smith, Augustus Kountze, Ezra Millard, Enosi Lowe and O, P. Hurford, who went to New York for that purpose. Chalrman Saundéds telegraphed to Omaha March 26, 1868, “The bridge is located at Train Table. Omaha ges the depot grounds and $250,000; Council Bluffs pledges $200,000; ground and right-of-way will be condemned,"” Omaha ~voted $250,000 in bonds as ald to tho bridge, in consideration that she should have the main transter de- pots, general offices, machine shops, eto. Council Buffs voted $200,000 in bonds, but the company never recelved them. An organization known as the Missourl River Bridge company, which was clalmed to be an independent institution, although composed of Union Paciflc stockholders, was perfected under authority of a special act of congress to bulld the bridge, and was au- thorized to Issue bonds to the amount of $2,600,000, which bonds were sold in Eng- land. The contract was awarded to the Bloomer Bridge company of Chicago September 4, 1868, the specified price being $1,089,500, and the time of completion was fixed for Novem- ber 10, 1869 The work was greatly de- 1894--TWEN layed, and the first cylinder was not ready for sinking until March, 1869. In the fol lowing July the Unfon Pacific took hold of the work, the contract with the Bloomer company having been annulled, and_the struc- ture was completed March 35, 1873, The cost wae said to ba $1,450,000. The struc ture was 2,750 feet long, conalsting of eleven spans, each 250 feot long, constructed en tirely of iron, The supcrstructure was sup ported by piers, each formed of two iron pueumatic tubes elght and a half feot fn diameter, sunk in sections and filled with cement_masonry. This bridge was wrecked in a heavy gale, when two spans were blown into the river, but was repaired, and was replaced In 1887 by the mammoth double track structure that now spans the river at that point. THE FIRST SURVEY. Mr. Andrew Rosewater, now eily enginoer of @maha, was one of the first survevors employed on the line of the Unfon Pacific, and when asked the other day for some of the facts and incidents connected with the carly surveys reverted to occurrences of on third of a contury ago with a_readiness that told how indelibly the scenes of those stirring times had been impressed upon his mind “The first survey of the Unfon Pacific,’ sald Mr. Rosewater, “was a direct lino west from Omaha (o the Elkhorn river, through the Griffin farm. In the winter of 1864, after a_conference with Silas Seymour, consulting engineer, orders were issued for surveys to be made by the way of Mud creck, which line was nine miles longer than the direct route or Dey line to the Elknorn. J. E. House, now county surveyor, was then as- sistant engineer and made the first survey over this route. The engineer corps camped out, as the winter was quite open, until the first part of January, when there was a heavy snowfall; but work was steadily prose cuted on the Mud creek route. The adoption of this survey against the protests of Peter A. Dey, then the chief engineer and now one of ‘the rallroad commissioners for the state of Iowa, was the cause of that gentle- man’s resignation the mnext spring. His co was filled by Mr. House, who was known as the acting chief engine‘r for some time. Over $100,000 had been expended on the Dey line before it was abandoned in favor of the Mud creck route. One of the amusing incidents of the work on that line was the employment of a lot of Indian squaws as graders, but the experiment soon proved a failure. ' The first locomotive that arrived here was called the General Sher- man. It was brought here by steamer from St. Joe early in 1865 and it was tested on 300 yards of the first track laid on the river bottom. The passengers on the locomotive were John E. Henry of Davenport and his wife. Henry was the first superintendent of the Union Pacific. “A large crowd of people witnessed this little excursfon trip of the first locomotive. The second locomotive was named Me- Pherson and was also transported by steamer from St. Joe. In connection with Assistant Engineer Shotwell I drove the stakes for the first round house and the main shops.” “How about the far west surveys?'" “At this time all the division engineers were out on surveys up the Platte valley and across the Rocky mountains. James Evans, division engineer, started from Omaha April 15, 1864, to make a survey from tho foot of the Black Hills, and at the same time F. M. Case was making surveys south toward Deriver, while Percy T. Brown was surveying across the plains this side of the Rocky mountains. Over $100,000 was spent that year for engineering, tho money being advanced by Thomas C. Durant. It took us one month to reach the foot of the moun- tains. We had three teams and fourteen men, among them being Wiley Dixon, Andy McAusland and Fred Boegel. When we reached the mountains we were visited by- an old Indian chief, who was accompanied by an English talking Mexican as an in- terpreter. This chief had a medal which he had received from President Franklin Pierce while on a visit to Washington. When informed by the surveyors of the in- tention of running a raflroad through that country he shook his head and said it would be impossible to construct a railroad through a region that had neither grass or water. This was on the bank of Lodge Pole creck. Three years later the railroad reached that point. ~ We laid out the site of Cheyenne in the spring of 1867, having nothing else to do, as we could .proceed no further on ac- count of the snow. In July, three months later, the railroad reached Cheyenne. Our stakes were torn up and modified under the direction of General G. M. Dodge. Upon the return of our party to Cheyenne in the fall wq found that town, the “Magic City of the Plains,” as it was called, a place of 5,000 people. “It was then the terminus of the road and one of the liveliest border towns I ever saw. It was the greatest gambling center in the west. Its population was made up mostly of gamblers, blacklegs, desperadoes and ad- venturers, and it was a quiet day indeed when two or three men were not shot and killed. “I remember during the carly surveys of meeting old Bridger at Fort Laramie. Fort Bridger and Bridger Pass were named after him. He had come west when a mere boy and had spent all the years of his life there. When he discovered Salt Lake he thought, on tasting the water, that he had come to the Pacific ocean. He was born in St. Louis, and when speaking of the streets he called them canyons. He did not be lieve that it was practicable to build a rail- road through that country for the samo reasons that had been given by the old In- dian_chief. “My party went clear through to Green River. From that point westward the sur- veying was done by a party In charge of S. B. Reed. This was the most difficult part of the whole survey, and great assistance was rendered by Brigham Young. In the spring of 1865, when the road was com- pleted about thirty miles out, a large body of Indians were invited to see a moving train, and they assembled with their fam- ilies along the track. When the train came along the engineer blew his whistle long and loud, and let off steam, causing n terrible racket, frightening the Indians, who turned and fled in great terror. After becoming ac- customed to the engine, however, they fre- quently amused themselves by racing with the trains on their ponies. Talking about Indians reminds me that they frequently troubled the surveyors as well as the con- struc'fon parties, and once or twice attacked the trains after the road was completed. Quite a number of surveyors were killed, among them being Percy T. Brown. That bappened in the mountains in 1867, and Percy station was named in honor of him. Mr. Hill, a brother-in-law of Byron Reed, was killed the same year, and Hillsdale was named after him. A young man named Clark, a relative of Horace F. Clark, afterward president of the rond, was also Killed. We frequently had some very narrow escapes from the Indians, who, among other capers, once carried off thirty miles of telegraph wire. Wé fre- quently suffered hardships, In the spring of 1867 we marched 300 miles through snow two feet deep, and could not cross the mountains on acount of the snow. When we crossed the plains the buffalo and antelope were very plentiful, so that we had plenty of tresh meat, which helped us out consider- ably. The buffalo were so thick that they frequently had to be driven away to allow the passage of the ox frelght trains that were then crossing the plains. They wer not wild, and at Fort Kearney they were s tame that they would come up to the troughs to drink. Sometimes we suffered a great deal for lack of water. When we crossed the Red desert we had to carry a water supply for a whole week in barrels. As It was, we ran out before we got through, and were left in a serious pre- dicament. ~ Had It not been for a heavy rain storm one night we would have died before we could have gotten a new supply We dug holes in the ground, and thus col- Jected enough water to carry us through to Bitter Creek “For awhile 1 was Inspector of tles and bridge materfals at Omaha. The tles were either floated down the -viver in rafts or brought up stream on steamers. In the spring of 1866 the river was unusually high, and carrled away an immense number of ties and swept away every portion of the first mile of track. John A. Horbach was one of the heavy contractors In those days. The chief engineers of the road in the early days were Peter A. Dey, J. E. House, P. B, Reed, General G. M. Dodge and T. E. Sickles. Mr. Blickensderfer, who after- wards filled the position, was the man se- lected by the government to determine what constituted the Rocky mountain division.' THE FIRST CHIEF ENGINEER, The first chief engineer of the Union Pe cific, Hon. Poter A. Dey of lowa City, now and for several years a member of the Towa railroad commission, gave the following in- teresting information in response to a re quest for facts as to the lcation of the line, I think in 1862 T attended the convention In Chicago that formed the preliminar ganization of the Union Pacide railroad. 1 went there at the request of the late Henry W. Farnam (after whom the principal | thoroughfare in Omaha s named), in whe employ I had been for a number of years, then the president of the Chicags & Rock Island road His iIntention was to interest himself in the project. As I close attention to the explorations across ntinent made by the government, Mr rnam desired to avall himssf of any in formation that I might possess. The policy of the g rnment previous to the war had been to subsidize two rallroads, a northern and a southern line, and comparatively lit tle attention had been pail (0 examining a central route. A study of Mr. Stansbury's survey of Salt Lake and some other discon- nected reconnolsances had satisfied me that lesa difficulties. would be encountered on a line following the Platte river as far as practicable and continuing west in about that latitude, than either north or south of it. ‘At the convention the company was tom- porarlly crganized by the election of Wil llam B. Ogden as president; Henry V. Poor, secretary, and Thomas W. Olcott, t surer, Barly in° September of the same year, by direction of Mr. Farnam, [ went to Denver, looking for a suitable erossing of the moun tains west of that place. Failing to find any opening, 1 went ncrth to the head of Lodge Pole creek, examining the country, and fixed upon a cross‘ng of the Black Hills that 1 regarded as feasible. 1 then went west and selected a crossing of the main divide of the continent and also of the rim of the great Salt Lake basin, The nature of the country was such that an engineer had but little difficulty in fixing the route where the road shcould go If these three points were determined the entrance to the Salt Lake valley simple matter, “I returned in tha fall and made a full report, with a statement of the points where the rond would encounter its greatest diff culties and the gradients that would prob- ably be encountered. While my report was more favorable and the proje comed caslor of accomplishment than anticipated, Mr. Farnam did not pursue the matter further, and In a short time went to Europe. arly a year elapsed and nothing was done to help the project along. In August, 1863, Mr. Thomas C. Durant telegraphed me to meet him in New York with such information as 1 had with regard to the route. In Septem ber, by his direction, I organized engincering parties, made surveys from the mouth of the Platte river, Bellevue, Omaha and Florence over into the Platte valley, near Iremont. I also sent a party to run a line from Lodge Pole creck into the Laramie plains, and also over the main divide, I think through Bridger pass. I also sent a geologist to ex- amine the strata at the mountains and along Bitter creek and Green river to ascertain the extent and value of the coal measures and ascertain whether iron could be found- in quantities to warrant working. “About the 1st of Novembor T went with Mr. Durant, Mr. Carter and Hon. John Kas- on to Washington. While we were thera President Lincoln fixed the terminus of the rond at Omaha. The certificate, which he framed himself, limited tha point to any place in the scction in which the city of Omaha was located. My own judgment at the time was that either Bellevie or Childs’ Mill was the proper point. This was bas:d upon the fact that it seemed easier to bridge the Missouri river there, and the grades to the Platte river would be better than further north. “I never knew the reason for fixing the point at Omaha, but supposed that it was regarded more practicable to bring the Iowa roads together there than at any point fur- ther north or south. During the year 1864 surveys were made from Omaha to Kearney, from Lodge Pole creck consecutivewy to tha opening of Weber river into Salt Lake val- ley. A survey was also made through the Laramie canyon. During the same year con- siderable grading was done from Omaha west, and arrangements were made for pro- curing ties and timber. Considering the difficulty of securing labor and supplies, St. Joseph being the nearest point reached by rail, very much was accomplished. The en- tire' route was practically determined, and a reasonable start was made toward con- struction. On the 1st of January, 1865, my relations with the road terminated." TALK WITH SURVEYOR HOUSE. County Surveyor J. . House was called upon the other day for a statement of his connection with the buflding of the Union Pacific, as he had charge of the surveys on the ecastern division of the road. “I came to Omaha,” he said,” in October, 1863, Our surveys were started on the 1ith of that month. We started a line from the river to the eastward, and crossed the Elk- horn river at the present location. We were engaged during the winter of 1863-4 in making surveys between what is now known as the Sioux City & Pacific on the north and the Platte river on the south. We really made two locations from Omaha to Fremont. One was on the Dey line to the Elkhorn river, and the other was up in the valley of the Big Papillion by the way of Elkhorn City and Bell creek. I was in charge of the sur- veys and locations, and was the engineer of construction for the contractors. Peter A. Dey was the chief engineer of the railway company. N. L. Willlams of Syracuse, N. Y., had charge of the first four miles to the summit, and Lewis Carmichael had charge of the work bevond. We worked on the grade during the summer of 1564, 1 think it was in January, 1565, that the Chicago & Rock Island was completed from Grinnell to Keller, and the entire force of men and teams were transferred from that road to the Union Pacific, and right in the midst of this came orders to change the location of the road to the Mud creek route. We did not make the change until the following February, as I had to survey the new route, but in the meantime I kept the men at work on the Dey line in order to hold them. It was almost impossible to keep men, and at times during the summer of 1864 our fore: did not average more than twenty-five men, the trouble being that the freighters kept hiring the men away from us for teamsters. ! Chief Ecgineer Dey resigned early in 1865, I was then division enginecr in charge of construction for the contractors, and when Chief Engineer Reed came as Dey's suc- sssor, in January, 1866, I was transferred to the engineer department of the road. In the month of February of that year I located the second 100 miles of the road. Track laying was begun in August, 1365. We laid and had examined and accepted forty miles of track by January, 1866. From this time work progressed very rapidly. During the winter of 13 the headquarters of the superintendent of construction were at North Platte, and during the winter of 1867-8 at Cheyenne. We received orders at one timo to stop work and go to Bellevue with a view to locating the road from that point, but the orders were revoked in a few days, and nothing was ever done about it. Our head- quarters in Omaha were over Caldwell & Hamilton's bank until the fall of 1865, when the construction department moved its offices to the little old capitol bullding—the first_capitol of Nebraska—on the west side of Ninth street, between F nam and Doug- Jas. It was torn down a great many years Lugu, Our offices remained in that building until 1869.” REMINISCENCES. The most notablo excursion construction period of the Union F the so-called Pacific rallroad exc New York City in October, 1866, The excursion had been gotten up by the managers of the great enterprise for the purpose of properly celebrating the comple- tion of the first division of the road, from the Missourl river to the 100th meridian of | longitude, the work having been finished within considerably less than a year of the time required by law. Invitatlons wore ac- cordingly extended to the president and ¢ members of his cabiuet; also to all members | of congress, forelgn ministers, military and | naval commanders, and to the principal rail road men and leading capitalists throughout the country, to joln In a grand excursion from New York to the great Platte valley, a distance of about 1,700 miles and more than half way across the continent. No rail- road excursion of similar character and magnitude had ever before been projected in this or any other country, and the parties most interested were, of course, untiring in their efforts to make It a complete success, The different lines of connecting rallroads, steamboats and stages between New York and Omaba were at once placed at the dis- posal of the company by their liberal and enterprising managers, who seemed to vie with each other in their efforts to ald th Union Pacific in its great and somewhat novel undertaking Owing to the fact that General John A Dix, president of the company, was pointed minister to France just previous to the departure of the excursion from New York, the management of the affair devolyed upon’ Mr. T. C. Durant, vice president, and Messrs. Sherman, Cook, Dillon, Limbard and Quring the cifle was sion from ! cific by extension and acquirem 3 S R Ll 3 SRR Duft, directors, assisted by B. F'. Bunker, as- sistant secrotary, Colonel N. A. Gestner and B, Simmonds, from the New York offioa, The party, consisting cf about 100 persons, | fully supplied with everything that could ba | thought of to ald to its enjoyment, loft the | national metropolis Monday evening, October | 15, and raached Chicago the following Wednesday evening, several accesslons belng mad nroute, as well as after r hing that clty. eral of the excursionists preferred to remain there for a day or two and then pro Wwith the officers of the Northwestern to Dennison, and thence by stage to Omaha, but by far the larger number accompanied by the Great Westorn Light Guard band, went by rail to St. Joseph, wh v were met by H. M. Hoxle, general western agnt of the Unlon Pacifle, to whose care had been asslgned the transportation on the Missourd, a distance of 260 mil's by river, to Omaha. Two of tho largest Missourl river packets, the Denver and the Colorado, with an ade ditional band of music on board, were iIn readiness to receive the excursionists at that I|-L‘ 9 .I,.d the § Im soon found ftself with hands playing and colors flying steaming up the Big Muddy toward Omaha. The )n\l‘:lu-; was accomplished in less than forty-elght hours, and the tourists reached the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific on Monday morning, October 22, having been on the way from New York a little less than a weelk The portion of the party which had crossed Towa by land joined the others there, and wore assigned to quarters on the company’s steamer Elkhorn, which lay at the landing across the bow ‘of the Denver. It should be here recorded, for the bonefit of all fu- ture historians, that upon the oventful day and upon the steamer Eikhorn, the famous and never-to-be-forgotten Eikhorn club was duly organized and established, the moem- bership including all the ploneer officers of the Union Pacifie, and other local raflroad and stage men, On the 15th of October, it was officlally an- nounced that the excursion had reached Chi- cago and might be expected to arrive in Omaha on the following Monday morning, The mayor fmmediately convened the city l‘:YIIHl'H, nd the president of the Board of Trade called that body together for the pur- pose of conferring upon the subject and making proper arrangements to give tha dis- tinguished visitors a proper reception. It was finally determined that the freedom of the city should be tenc red the visitors and a grand reception, ball and supper given them at the Herndon house on the evening of their arrival, "he autho of Omaha were on the alert at an arly hour on the morning of the arrival for the purposc of entertaining the distinguished party. Governor Saunders, Secretary Paddock, Mayor Miller and Vico- President Patrick of the Board of Trade soon made their appearance on hoard the steamer and welcomed the excugsionists tendering the’ freedom of the eity and terri- tory and inviting them to the reception ball in the ovening, all of which was responded to and accepted by Senator Patterson, Gov- ernment Director Sherman and others of tho party. Carria, were in waiting to convey such of the number as desired to leaye the boats, either about the city, to the ho‘els, or to the private residences, several of which had been thrown open, and the ex- cursionists with their insignia of ribbons and rosettes were soon to be en inall parts of town, de- lighted and very evidently astonished at what they saw in a spot that they sup- posed to be a little beyond the pale of civilization. But the ball in the evening was perhaps the greatest surprise, the pres- ence of Gen 1 Cooke and staff, Governor Suunders, Chlef Justice Kellogg, Secrotary Paddock, Senators Thayer and Tipton, all of Nebraska; the city authorities and prog- perous business and professional men of Omaha, with their families, all condueing to make it an entertainment that would have done credit to any similar gathering in any city of the older and then more favored east. The ecastern excursionists inspected the railroad shops the next morning, and then proceeded to the excursion train, consisting of nine cars drawn by two powerful loco- motives. The directors’ car was placed in the rear, and devoted to the use of members of congress and other distinguished guests who felt desirous of making a critical ex- amination of the road and adjacent country, which they were visiting for the first time, The next car forward was the celebrated government or Lincoln car, the private prop- erty of Mr. Durant, and was therefore de- voted principally to his own personal friends and their families. In front of this were four fine passenger coaches, put up at the company's shops at Omaha. These were de. voted fo the excursionists generally, one, however, being almost_exelusively occupied by the Elkhorn club. Next came the me:s, or cooking car, designed as a tender or companion to the directors’ car. In front of this was an express car fitted up as a refreshment salocn, and in front of all, next to the engine, was the baggage and supply . The enginss were profusely decked with flags and appropriate mottoes, and the whole outfit presented an imposing appear- ance as it left the Missouri valley and steamed away toward the Rocky mountains with its load of representatives of eastern wealth and the large number of invited guests from Omaha and vicinity. The train left Omaha fust before noon, and traveled slowly, to give the excursionists a good opportunity to view the country. Shortly after dark they reached Columbus and halted in front of a brilliantly illumin- ated encampment covering several acres, a short distance north of the station build- ings, and sc arranged as to furnish com- fortable accommodations for all who wished to leave the cars and enjoy the novelty of a night in camp. Supper was served, and during the evening a large number of Pawneo Indians gave a war dance near the encamp- ment, the entertainment proving very novel and interesting to many of the visitors. Before daylight the next morning the ex- cursionists were aroused by an Indian sere- nade of whoops and yells, which caused eon- siderable excitement and fear among the more timid ones, until informed -that the joke was arranged by Mr. Durant, General Dodge and Secretary Paddock of the Elk- horn’ club, when they resumed their shum- bers as best they could after their mental perturbation, After breakfast the train proceeded a short distance westward, and halted before the In- dian encampment, where a sham Indian bat- tle was witnessed, after which Mr, Durant_distributed several hundred dollars worth of presents among the aborigines, The second day's journey terminated about 8 o'clock, at a point 279 miles west of Omaha, where camp No. 2, similar to that Colum-= bus, encountered. . A military neamp- ment had also been established the previous day by Colonel Mizner, commander of Iort McPherson, on the opposite side of the Platte, 8o near the excursionists' camp as to preclude any fear of the roaming bands of Indians, which were sald to infest that por- tion of the countr. On the following morning the members of the Bikhorn club marched in a body down to the Platte and took their matutinal wash. After breakfast an amusing program of ex- erclsos was rendered and a series of reso- lutions adopted, and about 11 o'clock tho train pulled out for the end of the track, about ten miles away, where some time was direction of Casement Bros. On returning to camp, which was at the time named Platte City, a sumptuous dinner was served, In the evening a fine display of fireworks was glven from the stand in the center of the camp, under direction of Webster Snyder and Silas Seymour. At a later hour a con- cert was given at Bunker hall, followed hy a lecture on “Phrenology’ by “Prof."" Weils, who amusingly ilustrated his subject from the head of George Krancls Train, The quent growth of the Unlon Pas it was 1o ess wonderful than the bullding of its tial plece of road, becoming within two ¢ cades the largest railway system in the world, embracing 5,000 miles of road and ovep 1,000 miles of water lines, exceeding 9,000 miles in all. Before the recent segro- gation of a part of the system by the courts this system furnished employment to 23,415 persons, the pay roll amounting to over $1,600,000 annually It required 1,028 en- gines, 768 passenger cars, 25,603 freight cars and considerable other equipment to handle its business, in doing which its passenger fraius ran 8,800,000 wmiles and its fraight trains 6,600,000 miles fn a year, All of this vast fleld ' fs controlled from Omaha, a1l of the branches reporting to the headquarters here with the exception of loss than 500 miles of the Central branch that s leased to the Missourl Pacific, the entire management being directed from the general offices on the very site where the excursion party of easterners was enters tained In the midway city of the continent before going westward to Inspect the first 300 miles of the Union Paclfic that were opem for travel BubE spent watching the (rack laying under the &