Since we left the Rockies just west of Billings Montana we have been crossing what once made up the great plains of the Unites States. We had selected a new audiobook for this route: " Nothing Like it in the World” by Stephen Ambrose. It is the story of two railroad companies, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific that forged the great crossing of the Unites States in the period from 1862 to 1869. Both companies were formed specifically for this crossing. The Central Pacific came east from Sacramento, California and the Union Pacific came west from Omaha, Nebraska. Between them were the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and the Rockies.Moreover, from Omaha to the Rockies there were no settlements of note until one got to Salt Lake City, where the Mormons had settled.
The building of a transcontinental railroad has been called the greatest American feat of the 19th Century. First they had to find a route that would be passable, particularly through the mountains. Next, both companies had to find or develop the equipment that would be needed, such as engines capable of handling the grades involved, rails that would be adequate to the task, and, finally, they had to find an enormous number of tough and resilient men. The entire effort was quite literally done by hand. There were no mechanical, nor steam powered drills, every foot gained was done by pick, hand drill, sledge hammer and wheel barrel. Think of it, boring tunnels through the Sierras with picks, hand drills, and sledge hammers- virtually all of this done by Chinese laborers who often worked in gangs on a round the clock schedule.
Above: replica of the Jupiter, the Central Pacific engine that participated in the golden spike celebration.
It is a spellbinding story, one that has kept our attention right through to its conclusion- the driving of the golden spike on Promontory Bluff, Utah on May 10th, 1869. The linking of the country by rail was the transforming event of the late 19th century. The railroads literally spawned settlement of America's west at an unheard of rate- people and commerce brought new communities across those thousand miles of plains formerly home to bison and Native Americans.
But it came at a cost. Most of that cost was born by the Plains Indians. Once their hunting grounds were bisected and settlers descended on the lands, the tribes' days were numbered. They had but two choices, as outlined by General William Sherman in a parlay with Plains chiefs in 1867: move to reservations as specified by the government or be wiped out. As it transpired, both choices prevailed.
This has been a great read. We've looked at the country through a wider lens of history, appreciated the settling of America with deeper understanding, and now listen for the sound of the train more intently as it carries its loads back and forth across the mountains and plains. All aboard!!!
Hozzászólások