Part 7 (1/2)
Ground was broken on the line at Wyandotte, Kan., the state line between Kansas and Missouri, in August, 1863. Active grading commenced at Wyandotte, September 1st, 1863. The contract for the construction was first let by the Leavenworth, p.a.w.nee, and Western Railroad Company to Ross, Steele and Company, but before they got down to actual work the Company had been re-organized as the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division, and had changed hands. The work was begun by Samuel Hallett who had been very prominent in promoting the latter Company, the contract being in the name of Hallett and Fremont. The Fremont being the erstwhile candidate for the Presidency of the United States.
He is best known today as ”The Pathfinder,” from his several exploring expeditions between the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific Ocean.
Fremont had been identified with the idea of a railroad to the Pacific in the interest of St. Louis, Mo. He, however, did not continue as one of the contractors but withdrew. It was a time of bitter feeling over the Slavery Question. Missouri was ”Pro Slavery,” Kansas ”Free Soil.”
Hallett inaugurated his work by planting a post inscribed on the Missouri side ”Slavery,” and on the Kansas side ”Freedom.” Mr. Hallett was a.s.sa.s.sinated on the streets of Wyandotte, July 27th, 1864. An employee named Talbot had surrept.i.tiously written the Secretary of the Interior in regard to the work not being up to requirements, more especially that the buildings were simply makes.h.i.+fts put up to evade the law, etc. Through this and other complaints the Government refused to accept the first section of forty miles and withheld the bonds and land grants that Congress had granted. Hallett on his trips to Was.h.i.+ngton became aware of Talbot's action, and on his return called him to task with the result that Talbot shot him from a doorway as he was returning to his work from his midday lunch. After Hallett's death the work pa.s.sed into the hands of St. Louis parties with John D. Perry as Director.
Under the Supplementary Pacific Railroad Bill of 1864, the conditions as far as the Union Pacific Railroad--Eastern Division as it was then called, were materially improved. It was authorized to connect with the Union Pacific Railroad at any point deemed desirable, but no more bonds or land grants were to be given than if connection were made as originally contemplated at the hundredth Meridian. It was also given the option of building from the mouth of the Kansas River to Leavenworth thence west, or of building directly west with a branch from Leavenworth connecting with the main line at Lawrence, but in the latter case no bonds or land grant would be given account the branch line mileage. Another feature of the Bill was permission to build on west to a connection with the Central Pacific Railroad, provided when it, the Union Pacific Railroad--Eastern Division reached the hundredth Meridian, the Union Pacific Railroad proper was not proceeding with the construction of its line in good faith. The Company under the discretion granted them elected to abandon the junction with the Union Pacific Railroad at the hundredth Meridian and to build directly West.
The Company proceeded to explore the country South and West in search of a practicable route to the Pacific, which being found they then went further and had the several routes thoroughly surveyed. In their investigations they had four thousand four hundred and sixty-four miles chained and leveled. The most extensive survey on record.
Careful surveys demonstrated that the distance to the point of connection with the Union Pacific Railroad would have been three hundred and ninety-four miles from Kansas City, and this much of the line--Kansas City to Pond Creek, Kan.--was bonded-aided and land grant, the Government aid amounting to six million three hundred and two thousand dollars.
The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad reached St. Joseph, February, 1859, Kansas City, soon afterwards. The Missouri Pacific Railway reached Kansas City, October 1865. Owing to the fact that there were these railroad connections between the East and the eastern terminal of the line the work of construction was greatly facilitated and the expense of building the line greatly reduced.
The headway made was slow at first. The work was new to the officers in charge as well as to the men. The following table shows the progress made:
Sept. 1, 1863 commenced work at State Line (Wyandotte, Kan.) Nov. 28, 1864 reached Lawrence--40 miles.
Oct. 30, 1865 first 40 miles accepted by the Government.
Dec. 15, 1865 50 miles done.
Aug. 18, 1866 reached Manhattan--118 miles.
Oct. 7, 1866 reached p.a.w.nee (Fort Riley) 135 miles.
Jan. 7, 1867 to Mile Post 155.
April 8, 1867 to Mile Post 181.
Oct. 15, 1867 to Mile Post 335.
Fall 1867 to Mile Post 405 (Phil Sheridan.) Mar. 24, 1870 reached Kit Carson--487 miles.
Aug. 15, 1870 completed into Denver.
The difference in alt.i.tude between Kansas City and the western boundary of Kansas is some twenty-seven hundred feet and is thus distributed--six hundred feet the first two hundred miles, seven hundred and sixty-nine feet in the next hundred miles, and thirteen hundred and twenty thence to the Kansas line.
The original intention had been to follow the Republican River, but this was changed and the ”Smoky Hill Route” from Junction City, Kan., west adopted. When the road reached Monument, three hundred and eighty-six miles from Kansas City, dissensions arose among the stockholders. One faction was for building to San Diego on the Pacific Coast via New Mexico and Arizona, another was for building to Pueblo and up the Arkansas River, while the third and successful one was for pus.h.i.+ng straight ahead to Denver and from there to a connection with the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad,--the idea being to secure for St. Louis a portion of the trans-continental business and the line the carrying thereof.
The line was built under contract by the following firms: Hallett and Fremont--Wyandotte to Lawrence, Kan., thirty-nine miles. Ira M.
Schoemaker and Company--Lawrence to Mile Post one hundred and forty--a distance of one hundred miles. Schoemaker and Miller--Mile Post one hundred and forty to Mile Post four hundred and five--two hundred and sixty miles. West of Mile Post four hundred and five or ”Phil Sheridan” as it was then called, the Denver extension was built by the Company itself, General W. J. Palmer being in charge.
During the construction of the line, the contract to feed the forces at the front was let to G.o.ddard Brothers who utilized to a very great extent buffalo meat for this purpose. To procure these they employed W. F. Cody at five hundred dollars per month. During this engagement Cody claims to have killed four thousand two hundred and eighty buffaloes, earning for himself the appellation ”Buffalo Bill” by which name he has ever since been known. The best heads were by special arrangement s.h.i.+pped to the headquarters of the Company at Kansas City, where they were nicely mounted and used as an advertis.e.m.e.nt of the road.
The line reached Ellsworth, Kan., the spring of 1867 and made for some time its terminus there. In all the history of ”Boom Towns” or ”railroad towns” there were none that surpa.s.sed this place. For ninety-three consecutive days there was one or more homicide in the town or its immediate vicinity--one hundred in all.
Another place that sprang into prominence during the time it was the end of the track was ”Phil Sheridan” located near the point where the road crossed the hundredth Meridian, Mile Post four hundred and five.
During its brief existence it was a rattling noisy place, full of life and vigor, rowdyism predominating. Not a stake, brick, or s.h.i.+ngle is left to mark its site. It was here the construction rested for nearly a year and a half, financial troubles,--uncertainty as to whether to build to San Diego, Cal., or Denver, and some very fine work on the part of the Union Pacific proper being the occasion of the suspension of work.
On June 26th, 1865, work was begun on the branch line from Leavenworth to Lawrence (Leavenworth and Lawrence Railroad), Major B. S. Hennings being in charge as Superintendent. Upon the completion of the branch in the spring following, the headquarters of the Union Pacific Railway--Eastern Division was moved to Lawrence, the operation of the line being under the direction of R. H. Shoemaker, Superintendent, who was succeeded in December, 1867, by George n.o.ble. The work of construction was in charge of General W. W. Wright.
At the meeting of the Company held April 1st, 1867, Mr. John D. Perry of St. Louis was elected President, Mr. Adolph Meier of the same place Vice-President, and among the directors was Thomas A. Scott, of Philadelphia, (afterwards President of the Pennsylvania Railroad.)