Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-06-28
| DODGE GROWS
REMINISCENT.
Railroad Builder and Pioneer Tells
Something of the Founding
OF Cheyenne
CITY WAS ONCE A GRAVEYARD.
Located on the Resting Place Of Three
"MormOns" Who We're Killed
BY Indians.

The following story, clipped from the
Denver Post, Is credited to General
Granville NJ, Dodge, railroad builder
and pioneer, who often lapses into a
reminiscent mood and tells things that
are really interesting
General Dodge is now chairman Of
the directorate OF the Colorado s.
Southern railway system, and has been
visiting Denver and vicinity for the
past week. A day or two ago he visit
ed the scene Of his great triumph
Wyoming-wh he met mis- greatest
engineering difficulties In 1878, while
constructing the Union Pacific road,
Il, Ii. Hartman and other railroad
magnates were anxious that the vet
eran--he Is now 70 years Of age--should
see the changes that had been made In
the Union Pacific IN Wyoming, such
as the sherman hill cutoff and other
great works, which altogether cost the
railroad one-third Of the sum needed
to build the line from omaha TO Ogden
There Is hardly foot OF ground in
southern Wyoming unknown to Gem
eral Dodge, and he examined the inn
provements In the road with great in
terest, and pointed out 70 the Denver
railroad men who accompanied him
the spots where memorable incidents
had happened TO the pioneer builders
who had defed Indians and nature In
laying the bands Of steel across the
continent
Colorado owes General Dodge oonsld-
cradle In many ways II was he who
with Ex-Governor John Evans and
others built the Denver Pacific, now the
Union Pacific, line from Denver to
Cheyenne. 1Nen the people Of Denver
and Colorado feared they would be cut
off from all railroad connection. The
Union Pacific surveyors had decided
upon Wyoming rather than Colorado as
the most feasible transcontineptal
route and the situation appeared 70 be
Up Cheyenne Down Denver
I'VE certainly tried to push the road
through this state" said General
Dodge remlniscenty, but the Lord
appeared 20 have wllled otherwise, and
we took the route through the noun
tains which He had apparently select
ed. AS Il was, We gave Governor Evans
all the assistance we could I'm building
his line from Cheyenne 10 Denver. 1t
was certainly 10 our interests TO do So
That was long before the Kansas PACE
fc had entered, or even thought Of en-
tering Denver and It was something Of
a necessity for this city at that time.
CHEYENNE's ORIGIN.
Cheyenne? Yes, remember Chcy-
enne WELL from it's inception, In fact
Its location was determined by three
dead MormoEs. Sounds peculiar, oh2
but that was the way OF H.
I'VE had pushed through from Sid
ney, Neb., with the usual camp-fol-
lowing population, and the military de-
tachment which was always with us
for our protection. A Mormon train
was ahead, going down Cheyenne pass
toward Grow creek, when a band OF
indians appeared ana attacked the
train, trying 10 steal horses and pro-
visions and hoping 60 get away before
our party came up, The Mormons
naturally objected TO such summary
seizure and a fight followed In which
three Mormons were killed. A grave
yard was hastily improyIssd, the Nor
mons were Inferred and around that
little cemetery the capital Of wyoming
was built.
1T was for me to decide on the east
ern base Of operations IN that dlvl-
sion and | fixed on Cheyenne, and II
has been such ever since,
incidentally, that Mormon killing
also decided the location Of Fort A. u,
Russell, as General Sherman had said
that wherever / selected an eastern
base there would be a military post for
that section OF the country.
THE FOURTH CELEBRATED,
THAT was on July 1, 1857, and n
great day II was. Imagine n Fourth
OF July celebration on the open plains,
but we had one and a good one. Gem
eral John A. Rawins, after whom
Rawilns, Wye. was named, was there,
and also General Anger each with a
fne star, and we had the reading OF
the Declaration OF Independence and
several speeches TO az motley and COM
pick crowd az ever celebrated the
Fourth In the good old style,
"A city Of 10000 souls quickly sprang
up az Cheyenne and for time that
was the high water mark, but II has