Read Nothing Like It in the World The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 Online
Authors: STEPHEN E. AMBROSE,Karolina Harris,Union Pacific Museum Collection
on blasting operations, 200, 201, 235, 236, 323
in business, 54, 62, 71, 73, 103, 106
Chinese workers appreciated by, 150, 164, 200, 242, 243
construction overseen by, 43, 105-6, 107-8, 110, 111, 112, 116, 117, 118, 122, 148, 157, 161, 163-64, 165, 195, 196, 197, 200, 202, 236, 237, 244-45, 246, 258-59, 298, 306, 308-9, 310-11, 316, 317, 322-23, 328-29, 331, 335, 346-52
Contract and Finance Company of, 105-6, 111, 165, 246-47, 321, 339, 375
CP investments of, 72, 73, 105, 114, 124, 165
on CP's finances, 121, 124, 165, 198
eastern route extension desired by, 238, 362-63
laborers handled by, 119, 120, 121, 149, 150, 152, 153, 164, 198, 199-200, 240, 241-42, 289, 306, 310, 328-29, 347, 348
later years of, 379
marriage of, 310-11
physical appearance of, 44, 163
political involvement of, 71
on railroad across Sierra, 147
as railroad director, 74, 106
on rate of progress, 236, 239, 297, 298, 306, 312, 317, 322-23, 328-29
on snowsheds, 302, 304
on UP rivalry, 241, 258-59, 340, 346, 348, 349, 351
wagon road owned by, 76
on weather conditions, 323
westward overland journey led by, 44-47, 49, 53
Crocker, E. B., 112
on Chinese workers, 154, 240-41, 242, 243, 298, 300
on construction progress, 236, 244, 245, 246, 297, 300
Contract and Finance Company holdings of, 165, 246, 247
on popularity of railroads, 249
on Strobridge's construction oversight, 236-37
on UP-CP rivalry, 238, 239, 242, 243, 297
on UP management conflicts, 255
on weather problems, 206, 239, 244
Curtis, Samuel R., 66-67, 68, 70, 84
cushions, 182
cuts, excavation of, 119-20, 138, 196
Dakota Territory, 210
Dale City, Wyo., 259-60
Dale Creek, 221, 227,
251,
256, 257, 258, 259-61, 262, 380
Daley, Thomas, 349
Dana, Charles A., 86, 275
dance halls, 218, 219
dance the carpet, 182
Davenport and Iowa City Railroad, 33
Davis, James W., 360
Davis, Jefferson, 31, 34-35, 59, 60, 280, 377
Deep Gulch, 154
DeLamater, C. B., 46
DeMille, Cecil B., 217
Democratic Party, transcontinental railroad supported by, 66
Dennison, Eli, 363
Dent, Frederick, 344
Dent, Lewis, 342-44
Dey, Peter A., 90
on Dodge's expertise, 32-33
Platte Valley route surveyed by, 36-37
resignation of, 98-99
UP routes surveyed by, 89, 91-92, 127-28, 131, 132
n,
135, 136, 142, 382
Dillon, Sidney, 271, 281-82, 359, 363, 367, 370-71
ditch companies, 195-96
Dix, John A., 37
n,
40, 89, 91, 99, 191
Dodge, Anne Brown, 34
Dodge, Grenville, 19, 90, 290, 349, 377
administrative recommendations of, 171, 273
agricultural opportunities noted by, 212, 229
annual reports written by, 228-29
army protection of UP workers requested by, 211, 214
background of, 31-33
on bridge construction, 183, 187, 344
business interests of, 37-38
as chief engineer, 18, 97, 130, 131-32, 171-72, 176, 183, 211, 221, 228-29, 254, 271, 336, 381
Civil War experience of, 18, 79, 84-85, 86-87, 88, 96-98, 130, 171, 216, 219, 253, 272, 353
in completion ceremonies, 354, 363, 365, 366, 367-68, 370
as congressman, 186, 273, 320
Durant's rivalry with, 270-73, 329-30
on end of construction, 355
federal bond releases and, 330, 334
former slaves armed by, 86
on Indian threat, 130-32, 133, 141, 173, 211, 214-15, 216, 221, 223
Judah vs., 112
on labor concerns, 286, 327, 342, 378
land grants managed by, 187-88, 212, 219-20, 221, 271
later years of, 381
Lincoln's meetings with, 23-24, 26, 39, 86-88, 97, 270-71
maps created by, 228
marriage of, 34
on mineral interests, 187, 188, 189
personnel assignments by, 171-72, 216
political support for railroad sought by, 39-41, 253-54, 272-73
on promotional excursions, 186, 261, 277
on railroad route, 24, 26, 32-39, 40-41, 87, 89, 127, 131, 135-36, 188-89, 190-91, 210, 221, 223-25, 230, 254, 271-73, 279-80, 285-86, 333, 382
ransom payment urged by, 359-60
on rate of progress, 174, 191, 210, 221, 227, 228, 342, 355
surveying teams praised by, 191
towns established by, 220, 221, 224, 228, 259
on UP western limit, 230, 254-55, 330, 339, 341, 342, 355, 362-63
on war veterans as railroad workers, 19, 177
on westward movement of rain belt, 212
Dodge, Nathan, 90
Donner Party, 146
Donner Pass, 68, 69-70, 72, 75, 111, 160, 201, 202
Douglas, Stephen A., 23
Drew, Daniel, 336
drone cage, 182
Duff, John, 186, 211, 359, 360, 367
dumping boss, 137-38
Durant, Frank, 170
Durant, Thomas “Doc,” 19, 217
background of, 35-36
chief engineers appointed by, 91, 97, 130, 131, 171, 271
at completion ceremonies, 359, 363, 365, 367, 381
construction company set up by, 92-93
construction progress urged by, 140, 143, 144, 210, 230, 238, 261, 273, 275, 277, 282-83, 290, 352, 381
construction reports received by, 174-76, 183, 187, 190, 208
corporate leadership of, 88-90, 91-92, 97, 98-99, 134, 170, 172, 174, 176, 191, 226, 271, 285-86, 375, 381
CP rivalry and, 239, 242, 255, 282-83, 290, 313, 348, 349, 351
Crédit Mobilier holdings of, 190, 212, 270
financial management of, 139, 270, 277, 282, 294-95, 318-20, 335-36, 359-60, 372, 382
government inspectors and, 169-70, 211
labor force and, 133, 137, 143, 294
later years of, 381
lobbying efforts of, 40, 95-96
in management conflicts, 212, 226-27, 255, 329-30, 336, 342
personnel decisions of, 170-71, 271
publicity excursions attended by, 185-86, 190, 261, 274, 275, 340
railroad investments of, 37
n,
86, 91, 212, 226
ransom demands on, 359-60
reputation cultivated by, 270-71, 272
route determinations and, 36, 128, 132, 144, 271-73, 279
as speculator, 37
n,
91, 93
unpopularity of, 129-30, 255
UP backers sought by, 86, 88
weather delays not accepted by, 325
Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road Company, 76-77, 122, 149, 233
dynamite, 201
Early, Jubal, 96
Echo Canyon, 237, 277, 283, 285, 287, 288, 291-92, 296, 326
Echo City, Utah, 316, 317, 327
Echo Creek, 255, 279
Echo Summit, 312, 313, 330
Eddy, J. M., 216
Edwards, Ogden, 129
elections:
of 1860, 23, 39-40, 69, 70
of 1864, 123
of 1868, 313, 324
Elkhorn River, 34, 37, 134,
168,
208
Elliott, George, 349
Ellis, Jack, 177
Emancipation Proclamation, 104
embankments, 124, 154
Epler, William, 201
Erie Railroad, 56, 99, 336
Evans, James A., 91, 128, 135, 142, 144, 188, 220, 261, 269, 273, 281
Ewing, Thomas, Jr., 255
farming, 169, 212, 229, 280
Farnam, Henry, 32, 35-36, 37
n,
38, 40
Farr, Lorin, 290
Farrar, Lynn, 119, 350
Ferguson, Arthur:
background of, 134
buffalo country described by, 143
on Hell-on-Wheels towns, 269
Indian hostilities witnessed by, 143, 209, 214, 215, 222, 263, 264, 265, 266-67
in North Platte bridge building, 262, 264
on taming of West, 267
as UP surveyor, 134-35, 141, 142, 208, 209, 213, 262-65
weather problems encountered by, 208-9, 263-64
on worker fatalities, 264-65
fills, 154, 332-33
fires, 208, 216-17, 303-4
First Transcontinental Railroad, The
(Galloway), 288
fish joints, 236
Fisk, James, 336, 339, 342
flood conditions, 208, 228
fly light, 182
Fort Bridger, 237-38, 306
Fortieth Parallel Survey, 145
Fort Kearney, 141, 184, 187, 211
Fort Sanders, 210, 221,
251
, 261
Franchot, Richard H., 193
Freedmen's Bureau, 152
Freeman, Leigh, 259, 262
Free-Soilers, 31
freight cars, capacity of, 268
Frémont, Jessie Benton, 49
Frémont, John Charles, 49
Frost, G. W, 256, 258
Fulton, Robert, 32
Gadsden, James, 59
Gadsden Purchase, 59
Galbraith, Robert Miller, 216-17
Galloway, John Debo, 288
gambling, 217, 218, 219-20, 228, 372
gandy dancer, 182
gaps, 124, 154-55
Garfield, James, 374
General Sherman,
139, 170
Geological Survey, U.S., 145
George, Henry, 323
Gilbert, Frank, 277
Gilliss, John R., 232, 233, 234, 236
Golden Spike, 356, 357, 360, 364-65, 366, 367, 381
Gordon, Sarah, 25
Gould, Jay, 336, 378, 381
Governor Stanford,
115, 117, 121, 362
grading work, 118, 119-20, 136-39, 147, 155-57
Graham, Joseph, 304, 309, 313
grain production, 169, 229, 280
Grant, Ulysses S., 86, 174, 184, 220, 360
army enlistment levels and, 211
in Civil War, 79, 88, 96, 97-98, 110, 112, 118, 123, 130-31, 344
on Dodge as railroad engineer, 85, 272-73
in election of 1868, 272, 275, 313, 324, 325
on Indian hostilities, 130
on military railroad construction, 85
presidency of, 18, 150, 334-35
railroads supported by, 85, 185, 211, 215, 271, 364, 367, 382
UP-CP dispute and, 330, 334-35
on UP financial problems, 336, 342-43, 375
grapes, cultivation of, 246
grasshoppers, 282, 283, 284, 293-94
Gray, George, 158, 291
Great Basin, 223, 225
Great Desert, 309-10
Great Plains:
buffalo herd on, 173
economic opportunities of, 169
Indians dispossessed of, 173, 225-26
livestock grazing on, 267
surveying parties on, 140-43
white settlement of, 139, 172, 184
Great Platte Valley Route, 36-37
Great Salt Lake, 202, 293,
319,
330, 333, 353
n
Greeley, Horace, 39, 82, 159, 169, 221, 228, 252
Green River, 225,
251,
261, 269, 271, 275
Grimes, James, 190
Grinnell, J. B., 39
Griswold, Wesley, 154
Growth of the American Republic, The
(Morison and Commager), 376
Gwin, William, 65
Haley, Michael, 257
Halleck, Henry W, 51
Hamilton, Alexander, 87-88, 100
Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, 30
Harriman, E. A., 132
n,
378
Hart, Alfred A., 122, 337, 362, 365
hay, 182
Haymund, Creed, 245
Heine, W, 250
Hell-on-Wheels towns, 217-19, 221, 228, 259, 269, 275, 276, 337, 353, 372
Henry, Joseph, 170
Henry, Robert, 376
Hewes, David, 360
Hills, L L., 189, 215-16, 220
Hodges, F C, 292
hoggers, 182
Holladay, Ben, 93, 159, 203
Holman, William, 83
n
Homestead Act, 172
Hood, William, 74
Hooker, Joe, 109
Hopkins, E. B., 106
n
Hopkins, Mark, 19, 237, 277, 289, 290, 298, 306, 380
background of, 53
on blasting progress, 236
in business, 53, 54, 62, 73, 103
codes utilized by, 292
on construction and supply difficulties, 195-96, 235
in CP financial management, 121, 122, 149, 196, 246, 306
n
-7
n,
322, 335
CP holdings of, 43, 105, 113
Huntington's partnership with, 53, 72, 197, 322
on labor shortages, 153-54
land development proposed by, 246
on popular support of railroads, 149
on progress of construction, 247, 300, 337
at promotional events, 118
as railroad executive, 74, 106, 114
on snow problems, 303
on UP rivalry, 247
wagon road owned by, 76, 195
horses, 180, 379-80
House, Jacob H., 142, 171, 188
Howard, O. O., 98
Howden, James, 235-36
Howe truss, 26, 211
Hoxie, Herbert M.
“Hub,” 39, 99, 170, 171-72, 256, 330, 363
Hubbard, Thomas, 224
Humboldt River, 46-47, 144, 202, 231, 302, 306
Humboldt Wells, Nev., 238, 254, 255, 277, 289, 290, 291, 312, 326, 328, 331, 332, 371
Huntington, Collis, 19, 236, 238, 240, 241, 244, 249, 364
background of, 47-48
in business, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 62, 71-72, 103
Chinese labor approved by, 243
codes utilized by, 292
on costs, 246, 302
CP financial management strategies of, 102-3, 121, 122, 246-47, 321
CP investments made by, 73, 105, 149
CP-UP rivalry instigated by, 155, 193, 194, 242, 255, 277, 283, 290, 291, 298, 300, 304, 306
critics resented by, 305
on difficulties of construction, 117, 245, 298, 300
federal railroad legislation and, 77, 95, 193, 194, 196
financial backing sought by, 103, 106, 147, 196, 197, 245, 298, 300, 330, 333-34, 382
Hopkins as business partner of, 53, 72, 195, 196
Judah's conflicts with, 103, 104, 111-14
later years of, 379
lobbying efforts of, 321-22, 333-34, 376, 379
on materials and equipment purchases, 102, 103, 108, 113, 123, 155, 196, 298, 300-301, 302, 309, 322
on labor costs, 246
on progress of construction, 297, 306, 309, 315-16, 352
on quality vs. speed of construction, 297
as railroad executive, 43, 74, 379, 80