The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1885-03-19

elsss. yss h. csns cot u ths end Of ~
year a its bad Bcoa after The begin
mag Of The senior year be vas sumncnsS
hcps. b. The saddes death Of tis isther
70 vsrnont and sssia took up TIE bnr'
dsrs Of The farm.
In 1874 he removed 10 wiIiisioe. W.
hsving Ia The msanuhiis narrisd EiiEabssi
A.. only dsugbtss al Iii Chistsnden. ,
srsndscp 81 the 6~t Governor Of Vermont
she died ia lsls aud Lsssbsequsntly mar
riei Caroline A.. the youngest daughter o
IA. Rev. Bishop Hopkins 81 vsrmoat
$40 h. s,iIl living md BY whom 10 be-
isp sen. sud sl.r~ daushs<rs. He re-
NAMED IL willision until iet7. vhea NJ
wmow.d 10 BurIipston. w. where L'
still Resides, and entered into the whole
,a.- mercsniils aud forvsriiag business
i.ci~e~n Mantrssl sad Nss York.
A this time theirs wars no trains in Yer
nsns. hat the tso roads iron Boston. tht
one vie Concord and Montpelier and u.
other via Bellows Falls and Rutland. yer,
bsisg extended scroas Tho Green Mona
ssins 10 Burlington His firm. Bradley
Csuiisll. with tve or thrss other gentle
men. were engaged il building one from
bellows Falls Va Ilutlaad. which vas com
plttsd il Dscsnbss l6l0
He vss nov farsly enlisted in The trans
porsstion bssissss. - we'll - 10 usroan'
'ils pursaits. and 10 the builiiug Of rail
roads. which q that early day but very
few contsactors undertook.
He vss the Arss superintendent Of the
Rutland 1 wsshiustsn railroad and after
ward its president and subseq usntly, when
il became financially embarrassed. took Z
lease Of IL. and operated 1t upon his own
acc-unt Il vas probably the 6rss road ia
this country ever leased BY % individual.
While thus engaged. hs formed the
Of Edward johnson. who vss
= son OF The late John johnson OF Buvling.
ton and was then perhaps the most exrer-
fenced railroad engineer Ia America. Who
spent much Of his time Al Burlington In
the store Of Bradley h Garfield. Mr..
Johnson was the protector Of the Erie
railroad IN 1896. from New York to the
lakes. had given much thought col
lectsd from army officers. trsppers and
traders, much information relative TO the
belt Of country the great lakes aud the
Pacific coast, and had become impressed
with the Importance OF railroad to the
Pacific ocean aud was constantly talking
with Mr.. Garfield upon the project. Mr.
Cau6eld. who WAS then about thirty years
old, became so much convinced by Mr.
Johnsous arguments, a. we'll ~ his own
study Of the country. OF the practicabili-
~ OF . railroad across the continent that
hs resolved 10 make II the business Of bis
life TO bring 1t about.
The Hrst active step toward IL was the
taking Of contract by himself and part
ners to build the Chicago, 81. Paul 4 Fond
du Lac railroad, now known a. the North
western. from Chicago 10 st. Paul and to
Fond du Lac, Wis, in 1862. Mr.. John.
son was made the chief engineer. At this
time there was ne railway into Chicago
from the East, and the materials and sup.
plies were transported from Buffalo by
boat through the lakes to Chicago.
Congress had made grant Of land to the
States Of Illinois and Wisconsin for this
road. but the Legislature Of Wisconsin
refused 10 turn over to the company tho
land granted for il, but diverted and gave
II TO new Wisconsin organization. TO
build road from Milwaukee to La Crosse,
which prevented the original company
from building to st. Paul, but it com.
pleted the road TO Fond du Lac. But for
this unwsrrented act by the Wisconsin leg
islature. q railroad would have been built
10 st. Paul At least fifteen years before
there was one and probably the Northern
Pacific would have been built before the
Union Pacific.
While Mr.. johnson was engaged on this
road he used to have long talks with Can
field about line to the Pacific Ocean from
st. Paul, aud wrote an exhaustive treatise,
that the northern route via the
Missouri. Yellowstone and Columbia riv-
srs was the most feasible. This made o
volume Of one hundred and atty pages,
which Mr.. Csnfield and partner published
II their own expense, accompanied with
msp. upon which was traced the isother-
NAL line. showing that the climate became
milder from Miunesots to Puget Sound,
until mean winter temperature there
vas warner than Chesapeake Bay
Mrap~ lille the two greet lines from the
East. the Michigan CAntrsi and the Mich
esn Southern, had been built into Chics.
sago The old Chicago 4 Galena was the
only railroad out Of Chicago to the West
Before The company could be reorganized
he war Of the rebellion came on, when
he necessity of railrosd TO the Pacific
became apparent and the Government az.
ected the middle route, or Union Pacific
10 the first line 10 lie bnilt.
Soon after The government assumed con
rol Of the railroads Of the country and Col.
A Scott u the PennryIvsuiA rsilroad
rs made Assistant Secretary u War. hav.
ag Iof the special duties tho collecting OF
be armies q the United States. he sent
or Mr.. Id and placed him in charge
1 al ,lw railroads about Washington, NJ
enersl manager, where he remained until
be general movement vs. made into yir-
inia, when. HE health falling him. be re-.
urned to Vermont and became general
superintendent Of the steamers on Lake
IA. ~