The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-09-14
lFTY years ago man completed his
struggle Of more than, decade with
the wild and desolate northwest. when


the wild and desolate northwest. when
he drove the last spike into the rail: Of
the FIRST northen transcontinental railway.
Fifty years have passed and now large and
important cities have arisen along the line where
once the Crow. the Sioux and the Blackfoot
roamed. where only the hardest of white pio-
neers dared traverse and where many lives were
lost in civilizations westward expansion.
September s. 1883. Is the day that opened
>up the vast untamed territory lying between the
Great Lakes and the Pacific coast. On that
day. Henry Willard. father Of the famous lib
eral Journalist Oswald Garrison Willard. drove
home the last spike on the great railroad that
helped bring people and industry to the north
west.
Even before the Civil War. eastern 6nsn-
ciers had dreamed Of the possibilities Of this
great northwestern empire. But it was not until
1864 that President Lincoln signed the con-
sressional charter authorizing the construction
Of the railroad that later became the. Northern
Pacific. And actual work on this great prof.
ect had to wait six more years. when the FIRST
shovelfuls Of earth were turned at Thomson,
now Carlton. Mimi. near Lake Superior.
Tf1E country that !. now Minnesota. the
1 Dakotas. Montana. Wyoming. Utah.
Washington and Oregon was. almost unknown
to the white man At that time. In 1870 not
town exited between the Red River Of the
north and what is now Bozeman. Mont. dis
lance Of 76l miles. Central Montana was en-
tirely waste. 50 far as white civilization was
concerned. The site of Bismarck. Nd. wa:
4 shimmering expanse Of prairie. :
Tacoma. the proposed Pacific terminal OF
the Northern Pacific. had practically no popu-
lation to speak Of in 1870. Duluth. the FIRST
eastern terminal. was settlement Of 300. Spo-
kane. including its surrounding three counties.
had $50. and the total white population Of
northern Idaho Appropriated 500. Only
Seattle could Be considered Of fair size Its
population. then. was 1000.
Bitter cold winters faced the railroad build
ers. Savage Indians threatened them. Desolate
prairies stretched for miles on all Sides And
finally the formidable Rockies stood =. an al
most impa.able> harriet to. their progress. -:
But with the aid Of government troops. with
The persistence Of staunch leaders. The! Amy Of
surveyors, graders. tracklayers. serapemen,
mules. cooks and camp followers dosged their
way to the western slope Of the Rockies. where
another gang of railroad builders coming east
from the Pacific met them. The final meeting
place was at Gold Creek. in the Hellsate Can
yon Of Montana. -.
The first three wears Of this westward stru9-
gle seemed fairly cay. Brainerd. MIMI. wa.
reached late in 1870. and the Red River the
following year. The work continued almost un-
interrupted across the Dakota prairies until. in
1873. the tTacklayes. arrived At Bismarck,
N. D.. on high bluff overlooking the Mis-
soui river. II
BISMARCK was pine-board town OF
u hard-drinkins. gambling and swearing cow
psnchers. cayalrymen and beatmen. Il. main
street. Of planked sidewalks. il wood-front
stores. its restaurants gambling halls and drink
ING tdsoass -sesounded. with elankng, spurs and
the shouts Of The bull-whacker,. The occasional
blast Of The river boat made i evident that here.
IN Bismarck. west was really west.
And hare, for * years, he :westetn terminal
Of the Northern Pacific remained. For Il was
IN 1873 that the New York banking hou,e Of
Jay Cooke & Co. 6nanciers 81 de Northefn
Pacific. failed and brought with i N economic
crash that rssounded over the nation. But dur.
ing those Is ysars. when eastern 6nanciess tried
70 revive Tie bankrupt railroad. tie country wet