Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-03-20
BUILDING THE CANADIAN PACIFIC.
How Van Horne Met 200 Miles of Engi.
neering Impossibilities.

How Van Horne Met 200 Miles of Engi.
neering Impossibilities.
students Of latter day Canadian
history like to dwell upon the Cana,
dian Pacific story. To them it means
an epic of individual prowess, the wei
fare Of strong man-strong mentally
and physically-against almost insur,
mountable obstacles.
within six weeks Of his appoint
ment William Van Horne made his
presence felt. When the enemies of
the road began to decry the building
of the north shore section-that along
the upper end of Lake Superior-Van
Horne promptly advocated the reten'
tion of the original plan, and insisted
that an all-Canadian line was abso.
lutely necessary. His opinions, back,
ed by the extraordinary influence he
had already commenced to exercise
over his associates. were accepted,
and he plunged into the work with all
the strength of his iron nature. His
first task was to attack the wilder
ness on the north of Lake Superior.
Twelve thousand railroad navvies,
and from 1900 to 1000 teams of horses
were set to work, involving the use
of a dozen steamers for the transport
of material and provisions. 1t was
small army in number, but its mo-
tive, creation instead of extinction.
made it's work of wonderful interest.
The problem boldly faced by the new
general manager was one calculated
to daunt the most venturesome and
daring spirit. In his preliminary and
personal survey he had found what ne
afterward characterized as 200 miles
of engineering impossibi!ities. The
country it was necessary to cross was
waste of forest. rock and muskeg
(bog), out of which almost every mile
of road was hewn, blasted, or filled up,
and in places the filling.up of muskegs
proved to be most difficult task.
There were moments during the
work whenseven William Van Horne's
stout heart almost failed him. Dis
couraging reports from surveyors and
engineers, the discovery of unexpected
obstacles, and the varied phases of
weather, rain following cold and
floods followed rain. made the task
hard beyond the comprehension of or
dinary men. But there was that in
the old Dutch stock Of the Van
Hornes, and perchance, in the Amer
lean spirit of the Illinois-born man,
which caused him to hammer away at
the problem until he finally succeeded.
It is we'll to say in passing, that If
William Van Horne had accomplished
nothing else, his victory over the en-
gineering difficulties afforded by the
line along Lake Superior's north shore
would give him fame enough for one
man. While the work of constructing
the Lake Superior north coast line
was progressing other portions of the
great systems were receiving the at
tention of the tireless general man.
ager and his assistants. The Rocky
mountains, that formidable barrier Of
interminabie snow peaks, had to be
pierced.
"To those who have travelled over
the Canadian Pacific from Montreal
to Vancouver the feat of building even
a single track railroad under such
conditions and through such a mar
velous country is almost past under
standing. The obstacles presented
along the north shore fade into insig'
nifiicance when compared with those
encountered after entering the maJes-
tic Rockies. Every conceivable en-
gineering problem was encountered
and overcome. Trestles, bridges, cuts
and fills without number were en-
. ployed, and to achieve all this money
was spent with liberal hand. j ls
ike campaigning in hostile untry.
To .,out the forces of nature called for
s.st army of men, and this army re-
Quired a commissary corps as ef1lclent
as one accompanying military body.
Pick and shovel. dynamite and blast
ing powder, formed the weapons OF
offense; temporary rails and engines
the transportation; great hordes of
Chinese and Indians the rank and file;
Intrepid and skillful Canadian. Eng
lish and American engineers the
staff, and at the head of it all. the
general.in-chief, was William Van
Horne, the Illinois boy, who, 20 years
before, had started in his railroad
career as a cub telegraph operator.
H. H. Lewis, in Ainslee's Magazine.