The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-21
BUILDING UNION PACIFIC.
Continued from Page 9.

sweetwater. Brown TOOK measures to de-
fend himself, occupying a small hill and
fighting from u o'clock noon until 8 a
night, when he was shot through the alb
domen He then ordered the soldiers to
leave him and save themselves, but they
refused and allowed the Indians TO get
hold of the stock, after which the red
skins withdrew. The soldiers then made
litter of their carbnes and packed
Brown upon it thirteen miles through the
sage brush to Laclede station, near
Bridger's Pass. Their heroic efforts to
save him were made in vain, however,
for Brown died at the station.
Examination of this country showed that
the divide of the continent had let down
between the Wind river noun tains on the
north and the main Rocky mountains on
the south from an elevation of 5000 to
one of 1900 feet into an open plain, and
that the divide was IN reality a great
basin of about eighty miles extent east
and west in its widest part and 100 miles
north and south. The streams running in
TO 1t sink, leaving a red soil over the entire
basin, from which il is called the Red
desert. The Union Pacific Railway crosses
the Red desert near its southern limit be-
tween the stations of Creston and Upton,
a distance of about thirty-four miles. At
what is now Creston we found and rescued
the party headed by Thomas f. Bates,
which was coming from Green river east.
Bates and his men had been in the widest
part Of the basin for nearly a week with
out water When discovered they had
abandoned the line and were taking
course due east by the compass running
for water. AT first we thought them In
dams. but examination through the glasses
showed that they had teams with them.
We hurried to their relief. They were al
most exhausted, and in a deplorable con-
diton from thirst.
The law of 1864 provided that the Union
Pacific and Central Pacific should join
their tracks at the California state line.
but that was changed a year afterwards
and the two companies were allowed to
build one east and the other west until
thew met The building of 800 miles Of
road during the summers of 1866 and 1867
hardly twelve months actual work, had
aroused great general interest in which
the government joined There was pres
sure for as speedy completion OF the
road as possible, although ten years had
been allowed by Congress. The promot-
ers of the Union Pacific Railway became
imbued with this spirit, and they urged the
building of as much road as possible jn
1868 Mention had already been made of
the completion of the North Western Rail
way in December, 1867, to Council Bluffs,
which gave us all rail connection with the
East so that we could obtain our rail ma
terial and equipment throughout the en-
tire year. The reaching of the summit of
the Black Hills, which 1 named Sherman,
in 1867, placed us comparatively near good
timber for ties and bridges, which, after
cutting, could be f1oated down the noun
tain streams to within from twenty-five to
thirty miles of our work. This afforded
great relief.
w made our plans to build to Salt Lake
4SO miles, in 1868, and to endeavor to meet
the Central Pacific at Humboldt Wells. 2l9
miles west of Ogden, in the spring of 1869
Our surveys had been approved by the
company, and the necessary preparation
was made to begin work as soon as frost
was out of the ground. Enough material
had been accumula ted at that end of the
track to prevent delay. Ties and bridge
timber had been cut and prepared in the
mountains. and the engineering forces
started for their positions before cold
weather was over, that they might be
ready to begin work as soon as the tenn
perature would permit. The parties going
10 Salt Lake crossed the Wasatch noun
tains on sledges when the snow covered the
tops of the telegraph poles About April
l l went on to the plains myself and start
ed our construction forces, remaining the
whole summer between Laramie and the
Humboldt mountains. 1 was surprised at
the rapidly with which the work was
carried forward. Winter caught us in the
Wasatch mountains, but we kept right on,
grading and laying track in the snow and
ice, at tremendous cost. 1 estimated the
extra cost of thus forcing the work during
the summer and winter al over $10O00,O0O
but the Instructions were to so on. no mat
ter what the expense. By spring the
track had reached Ogden. and by May 1
had reached Promontory, 5S4 miles west of
our starting point twelve months before.
Work was opened 10 Humboldt Wells. In
the year we graded 754 miles,
The Central Pacific had made wonderful
progress coming east, and we abandoned
the work from Promontory to Humboldt
Wells, bending all our efforts 10 meet the
Central at Promontory. Each company