Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-09-21
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Formal Completion of the Northern Pa,
cific Railway-The Golden Spike Driven
by President villard-The Blow Heard n,
New York-A Noted Assemblage Present
HELENA. NJ. T., Sept. 10.
The Willard excursionists left here shor1
after seven o'clock Saturday morning and
reached the scene of the ceremonies of the
day, point few miles west of the Mullsn
Tunnel, on the western slope of the m: n
divide of the Rocky Mountains, at $50 a.
m. At sis p. M, after short prayer, the
last rail of the Northern Pacific Railroad
was laid and the last spike-a golden one
was driven home by Mr.. Willard with a
silver sledge-hammer, making the iron high
way complete and ready for travel from
Duluth to Tacoma, distance of little
more than 1880 miles. There are also GA
miles of branches, mostly completed, giving
a grand total of more than 2654 miles of
road.
William NJ. Evarts delivered the address
of the occasion, i'm which he gave history
of the road, which he said was dream OF
1885, when a merchant of New York City,
Asa Whitney, made proposition to Con-
greSs to build road from the great lakes to
the mouth of the Columbia River, i'm con-
sideratiOn of a land grant of sixty miles in
width along the entire route but whose plan
failed to win Congressional favor. A charter
for the road was again sought in 1862,
but the effort resulted in a failure.
Josiah Perham, New England mer-
chant, secured charter i'm 1864, but failed
TO obtain capital to build the road, i'm a great
measure because of a clause inserted in the
charter by himself ferbidding the company
TO mortgage the road or lands, or to issue
bonds. In December, 1865, Perham sold
the charter to some New England capital,
lists for barely enough In pay his debts, and
died three years later, before the first SPADE
full of earth had been turned on the pro-
posed road. The President of the new
company was Ex-Governor Smith, of Yer
mont. No progress toward actual coll
struction was made, however, until
Jay Cooke assumed financial di-
rection. Mr.. Evalts then reviewed
the financial ups and downs of the company,
when work on the road was begun at
Thompson's Junction, twenty-three miles
west of Duluth, to 1881, when Mr.. Willard
obtained control, closing with a peroration
strongly eulOgistlc OF the ability, zeal and
energy of Mr.. Willard, and the officials who
have cO-operated with him in bringing the
road to successful completion. Speeches
were made by several other prominent gem
tlemen.
At the close of the ceremonies number
OF the guests returned eastward, while 9TH
ers went over the road to Puget Sound, and
will return home toward the close of the
month.
ST. PAUL, Mimi, Sept. 10.
The electric fash which passed over the
telegraph wire, announcing the driving of
the last spike on the Northern Pacific, passed
through this city at 6:l5 o'clock Saturday
night, and was celebrated by the firing of q
salute and the ringing Of all the fire bells i'll
this city.
NEW York, Sept 10.
The last rail laid Saturday OH the North
em Pacific Railroad was attached to a
Western Union wire running into the branch
office at Broad street, and while President
Willard was driving the golden spike, the
blows of his silver sledge hammer were re-
peated in this city on the telegraph instru-
Inent. General officers of the road gathered
around the instrument listening 10 the
strokes that told of the completion of a
great national highway.