The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-08-31
THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC
Rapidly Nearing Completion =
How the Three Thousand Chin
ese Laborers Live and Work.
[Times-Democrat.1 !


END OF TRACK, Texas, Aug. 1S, 1882
Since L wrote from Eagles Nest
we have moved Oh westward, and |
am to-day among 5000 Cinnamon.
James III. Strobridge is managing
this California; end of the Southern
Pacific railroad of New Mexico, and
it will be completed to Eagles Nest,
sixteen miles below here, where it
connects with the Galveston, Harris
burg and San Antonio, or the Sunset
road, about the 1st of October.
AS said above that was among
5000 Chinaman, L will tell your
readers how they live, work, etc.
To have so large body of men on a
piece of work looks as If they would
be In the way of one another while at
work; but Mr.. Strobridge is prac-
tical railroad builder, and manages
the large force with as much ease as
a Louisiana railroad section boss
manages his little crew Of four or six
men. AS haYe before written you,
the work in some places is extreme
ly heavy, and when heavy piece of
work is "tackled," the "pig tails" are
put to drilling holes at intervals
along the cut, and when the holes
are completed they are filled with
blasting powder and all are shot
off at one and the same time.
There are cuts here of q thousand
feet long, that bad over thousand
blasts in them, and the whole thing
was blown out or bursted up into
small fragments at one time. The
depth of the cut will average about
fifteen feet, though this is small cut
to some on the line. When the land
is so that plows can be used for
plowing up the land for the laborers
to get into it to shovel it, ten of the
very finest and largest of horses are
hitched to plow, and the earth is
torn up as though cyclone had been
in the country. The Cinnamon fly
into it with long-handled shovels,
and in less time than it takes to write
this item, they have a railroad built:
Water is hauled to them along the
line in large tanks, drawn by from
six to ten horses, and their dinner is
given to them right on the works.
1t is an amusing sight to see them
when the foreman calls out "12
o'clock mp make for the dinner
that has been brought them from the
cook-house. The dinner consists OF
rice, some kind of fish and some
thing else that know nothing of at
all. When night comes they come
into camp and they then lay around
smoke opium and gamble at a game
called "Tan." They have little tents
which are capable of accommoda-
ting about two persons, but these
fellows manage to crowd from eight
to ten in one tent. The boarding.
train is pushed to the head of the
work every day, and sometimes -four
moves have been made in one day
When the track-laying gang come
to where bridge has to be built
they "crab" over the canyon by
building up a bridge of crossties anC
bridge timber, aud this remains un
til the bridge carpenters come along
and they build permanent bridge
The work so rapidly pushed to
completion by Mr.. Strobridge is first
class in every particular, and there
is no railroad in the country tha
was ever built so fast. The tele
graph line k, cps up with the con
struction train, and Mr.. Strobridg'
has an Office in one of the cars.
There has recently been forty-foul
miles of the new work turned ovel
to the company, and regular passen
ger trains from San Francisco, Cali
fornia, come within seven miles o
| ~ Ill
the daily san Francisco papers herr
only four days old. There has beer
no expense spared by the compan.
in the rapid completion of this roat
from San Francisco, through Arizo
ma, New Mexica and Texas, on Il
the Crescent city, and in few NOR
days the gap, now of some thirt,
miles, will be closed.