The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-31

~ DSS1n NOIA on the line n
stanter. But a serious difficulty pre-
scented itself at the start. and that was
how would we survey the line? There
was not surveyor or d civil engineer
within a radius of $50 miles and, al
though We searched high and low, we
were unable to find ANYTHING in the
way of surveying instruments in the
fort Nevertheless, we did not propose
to be deferred from undertaking the
Job by anything of this sort. and il
was determined TO build the line the
best way we could.
BY what l considered the greatest
good fortune, ] was detailed to survey
and build the line, a result, no doubt
of the fact that / had shown a great
deal of interest in the matter and had
thought up a plan of making the sur
Vey without instruments So the work
was started. Just back of the fort vas
high hin, covered with timber suit
able for telegraph poles. and the first
thing l did after receiving orders was
10 put the best axmen of the Four
teenth infantry at work cutting down
tall cedars, and trimming them UP for
poles. The men worked somewhat at
d disadvantage, for the reason inat
each soldier carried his gun slung
across his back, which interfered some
what with the free movement of his
arms in chOpping.
Going constantly armed was neces-
sary for the reason that, although we
had subdued the Sioux in the campaign
preceding the winter of 1861 they
were, nevertheless, in a very ugly hu-
NOR and liable TO kill any soldier whom
they found unarmed Moreover, there
We're several bands of hostile Indians
whom we had not conquered, and who
were proving about over the country
seeking for an opportunity to murder
any whites that were luckless enough
TO fall into their clutches, and in con-
sequence the men never thought of
venturing outside the fort unarmed
Some time before Colonel Mckenzie
had mentioned the building of a tele-
graph line I had visited the summit of
the hill. from which 1 had plain view
across the open prairie to another hill.
which l knew stood Immediately back
of Hat Creek station, and when the
line was ordered built l went once more
to the hilltop back of the fort, and,
looking across the expanse of forty
miles of prairie TO the rising ground
back of Hat Creek, I took careful note
of the natural features that lay in a
straight line between the two points.
These, I assure you. were precious
few, for in a prairie country the topog-
raphy is pretty much the same in one
locality as it is in another, but by
carefully studying the intervening
country I was able to pick out certain
rises and depressions, gullies. springs
etc. that 1 felt that 1 could remem-
Der in case 1 rode over the interven-
ing stretch from the fort to Hat Creek.
Next day General Lawton, then a lieu
tenant of the Fourth cavalry, and who,
If you remember, was killed in the
Philippines. and I rode over the line
together. My object was to have the
line as nearly straight, or on a Decline,
as possible, and in riding over to Hat
Greek I put up landmarks, consisting
OF piles of stones and buffalo chips.
sticks, and everything I could find that
would answer the purpose
I'VE returned to the fort that night,
and the next morning the work began
IN earnest. / was the surveyor, and a
corporal of my company served me as
rodman and chairman all in one. For
transit 1 used one of the guns,
sighting along the barrel at one or
other of the landmarks that I had set
up along the line, while the corporal,
stepping off the distance We had de-
cided upon for the poles, would hold
up a long pole Chat he had cut on the
hillside) at the end of every sixty
steps and 1 would motion him over
until he came within the line of the
-
This done, he would mark off the place
for the post hole on the ground. 1t
was my intention to have the holes dug
and poles delivered along at each hole
going toward Hat Creek (where the
colonel had arranged for the wire TO
be delivered), and to put up both poles
and wire on our return to the fort.
and everything worked out very well
until we were within one days work
of finishing.
AS 1 went over the ground marking
off the places for the post holes a
large body of men of the Fourteenth
infantry followed with shoYelS, digging
the holes that the corporal and I had
marked out We had no wagons that
could be used for hauling the poles
from the hillside back to the fort, and
distributing them along the line. but
this did not stand in our way in the
least We would simply hitch four or
six mules to q pole, and snake it. out
to the hole where it was needed. We
had grub wagon cooks, and a reg
Ular provision outfit and we camped
ate and slept wherever we finished our
days work
The men who dug the holes were
badly handicapped in two ways; first
having 10 carry their heavy guns
while at work and, second, because
dug was largely hard pam or indur-
ated clay. as hard almost as rock itself.
We had no powder to blast this hard
pan in the manner usually followed
by those who build telegraph lines
through this part of the country to-
day, and so the boys had to dig it out
with picks and crowbars in the most
laborious fashion imaginable Anoth-
er drawback was that every squad of
mules and men shaking poles out to
the holes had to have a mounted es-
cort to keep off the Indians, all of
which took up quite lot Of men who
might otherwise have been at work
digging holes or cutting poles.
We'll, everything went along as
well as We could have desired; we
reached Hat Creek station, received
the wire that was there ready for US.
and started back, putting up the poles
and wires as we went When, after
being out on the work seventeen days,
and within a days work of completing
the task, there came up a blizzard and
snowstorm such as are only seen in
this western country, and which SIM
ply paralyzed operations and stopped
further progress on the line General
Lawton, who was always of a hopeful
and ambitious disposition. was so dis
appointed over having TO quit work
when we were within a day of finish
ing the task. that he ordered Us to 90
ahead and complete the job in spite
of the storm This we tried TO do.
but soon men and animals were mixed
up in such a furry of snow that they
could not find one another, and things
| beca me so confused that we had &c