THE CROSSING OF THE COUNTRY
In spite of the many excitements crowded into his first day in New York
Stephen found that when his head actually touched the pillow sleep was
not long in coming and he awoke the next morning refreshed by a heavy
and dreamless slumber. He was even dressed and ready for breakfast
before his father and a-tiptoe to attack whatever program the day might
present.
Fortunately Mr. Tolman was of a sufficiently sympathetic nature to
remember how he had felt when a boy, and with generous appreciation for
the lad's impatience he scrambled up and made himself ready for a
breakfast that was earlier, perhaps, than he would have preferred.
"Well, son," said he, as they took their places in the large dining
room, "what is the prospect for to-day? Are you feeling fit for more
adventures?"
"I'm primed for whatever comes," smiled the boy.
"That's the proper spirit! Indians, bandits and cowboys did not haunt
your pillow then."
"I didn't stay awake to see."
"You are a model traveler! Now we must plan something pleasant for you
to do to-day. I am not sure that we can keep up the pace yesterday set
us, for it was a pretty thrilling one. Robberies and arrests do not come
every day, to say nothing of flotillas of ships and Wild West shows.
However, we will do the best we can not to let the day go stale by
contrast. But first I must dictate a few letters and glance over the
morning paper. This won't take me long and while I am doing it I would
suggest that you go into the writing room and send a letter to your
mother. I will join you there in half an hour and we will do whatever
you like before I go to my meeting. How is that?"
"Righto!"
Accordingly, after breakfast was finished, Steve wandered off by himself
in search of paper and ink, and so sumptuous did he find the writing
appointments that he not only dashed off a letter to his mother
recounting some of the happenings of the previous day, but on
discovering a rack of post cards he mailed to Jack Curtis, Tim Barclay,
Bud Taylor and some of the other boys patronizing messages informing
them that New York was "great" and he was _sorry they were not there_.
In fact, it seemed at the moment that all those unfortunate persons who
could not visit this magic city were to be profoundly pitied.
In the purchase of stamps for these egoistic missives the remainder of
the time passed, and before he realized the half-hour was gone, he saw
his father standing in the doorway.
"I am going up to the room now to hunt up some cigars, Steve," announced
the elder man. "Do you want to come along or stay here?"
"I'll come with you, Dad," was the quick reply.
The elevator shot them to the ninth floor in no time and soon they were
in their room looking down on the turmoil in the street below.
"Some city, isn't it?" commented Mr. Tolman, turning away from the busy
scene to rummage through his suit case.
"It's a corker!"
"I thought you would like to go out to the Zoo this morning while I am
busy. What do you say?"
"That would be bully."
"It is a simple trip which you can easily make alone. If you like, you
can start along now," Mr. Tolman suggested.
"But you said last night that if I would hurry to bed, to-day you would
tell me about the Western railroads," objected Stephen.
He saw his father's eyes twinkle.
"You have a remarkable memory," replied he. "I recall now that I did say
something of the sort. But surely you do not mean that you would prefer
to remain here and talk railroads than to go to the Zoo."
"I can go to the Zoo after you have gone out," maintained Steve,
standing his ground valiantly.
"You are a merciless young beggar," grinned his father. "I plainly see
that like Shylock you are determined to have your pound of flesh. Well,
sit down. We will talk while I smoke."
As the boy settled contentedly into one of the comfortable
chintz-covered chairs, Mr. Tolman blew a series of delicate rings of
smoke toward the ceiling and wrinkled his brow thoughtfully.
"You got a pretty good idea at the theater last night what America was
before we had trans-continental railroads," began he slowly. "You know
enough of geography too, I hope, to imagine to some extent what it must
have meant to hew a path across such an immense country as ours; lay a
roadbed with its wooden ties; and transport all this material as well as
the heavy rails necessary for the project. We all think we can picture
to ourselves the enormity of the undertaking; but actually we have
almost no conception of the difficulties such a mammoth work
represented."
He paused, half closing his eyes amid the cloud of smoke.
"To begin with, the promoters of the enterprise received scant
encouragement to attack the problem, for few persons of that day had
much faith in the undertaking. In place of help, ridicule cropped up
from many sources. It was absurd, the public said, to expect such a
wild-cat scheme to succeed. Why, over six hundred miles of the area to
be covered did not contain a tree and in consequence there would be
nothing from which to make cross-ties. And where was the workmen's food
to come from if they were plunged into a wilderness beyond the reach of
civilization? The thing couldn't be done. It was impossible. Of course
it was a wonderful idea. But it never could be carried out. Where were
the men to be found who would be willing to take their lives in their
hands and set forth to work where Indians or wild beasts were liable to
devour them at any moment? Moreover, to build a railroad of such length
would take a lifetime and where was the money coming from? For you must
remember that the men of that period had no such vast fortunes as many
of them have now, and it was no easy task to finance a scheme where the
outlay was so tremendous and the probability of success so shadowy. Even
as late as 1856 the whole notion was considered visionary by the greater
part of the populace."
"But the fun of doing it, Dad!" ejaculated Stephen, with sparkling eyes.
"The fun of it!" repeated his father with a shrug. "Yes, there was fun
in the adventure, there is no denying that; and fortunately for the
dreamers who saw the vision, men were found who felt precisely as you
do. Youth always puts romance above danger, and had there not been these
romance lovers it would have gone hard with the trans-continental
railroads. We might never have had them. As it was, even the men who
ventured to cast in their lot with the promoters had the caution to
demand their pay in advance. They had no mind to be deluded into working
for a precarious wage. At length enough toilers from the east and from
the west were found who were willing to take a chance with their
physical safety, and the enterprise was begun."
Stephen straightened up in his chair.
"Had the only obstacle confronting them been the reach of uncharted
country ahead that would have been discouraging enough. Fancy pushing
your way through eight hundred miles of territory that had never been
touched by civilization! And while you are imagining that, do not forget
that the slender ribbon of track left behind was your only link with
home; and your only hope of getting food, materials, and sometimes
water. Ah, you would have had excitement enough to satisfy you had you
been one of that company of workmen! On improvised trucks they put up
bunks and here they took turns in sleeping while some of their party
stood guard to warn them of night raids from Indians and wild beasts.
Even in the daytime outposts had to be stationed; and more than once, in
spite of every precaution, savages descended on the little groups of
builders, overpowered them, and slaughtered many of the number or
carried away their provisions and left them to starve. Sometimes
marauders tore up the tracks, thereby breaking the connection with the
camps in the rear from which aid could be summoned; and in early
railroad literature we find many a tale of heroic engineers who ran
their locomotives back through almost certain destruction in order to
procure help for their comrades. Supply trains were held up and swept
clean of their stores; paymasters were robbed, and sometimes murdered,
so no money reached the employees; every sort of calamity befell the
men. Hundreds of the ten thousand Chinese imported to work at a
microscopic wage died of sickness or exposure to the extreme heat or
cold."
"Gee!" gasped Stephen, "I'd no idea it was so bad as all that!"
"Most persons have but a faint conception of the price paid for our
railways--paid not alone in money but in human life," answered Mr.
Tolman. "The route of the western railroads, you see, did not lie solely
through flat, thickly wooded country. Our great land, you must remember,
is made up of a variety of natural formations, and in crossing from the
Atlantic coast to that of the Pacific we get them one after another. In
contrast to the forests of mighty trees, with their tangled undergrowth,
there were stretches of prairie where no hills broke the level ground;
another region contained miles and miles of alkali desert, dry and
scorching, where the sun blazed so fiercely down on the steel rails that
they became too hot to touch. Here men died of sunstroke and of fever;
and some died for want of water. Then directly in the railroad's path
arose the towering peaks of the Sierras and Rockies whose snowy crests
must be crossed, and whose cold, storms and gales must be endured.
Battling with these hardships the workmen were forced to drill holes in
the rocky summits and bolt their rough huts down to the earth to
prevent them from being blown away."
"I don't see how the thing could have been done!" Steve exclaimed, with
growing wonder.
"And you must not forget to add to the chapter of tribulations the
rivers that barred the way; the ravines that must either be filled in or
bridged; the rocks that had to be blasted out; and the mountains that
must be climbed or tunneled."
"I don't see how they ever turned the trick!" the boy repeated.
"It is the same old tale of progress," mused his father. "Over and over
again, since time began, men have given their lives that the world might
move forward and you and I enjoy the benefits of civilization. Remember
it and be grateful to the past and to that vast army of toilers who
offered up their all that you might, without effort, profit by the
things it took their blood to procure. There is scarcely a comfort you
have about you that has not cost myriad men labor, weariness, and
perhaps life itself. Therefore value highly your heritage and treat the
fruits of all hard work with respect; and whenever you can fit your own
small stone into the structure, or advance any good thing that shall
smooth the path of those who are to follow you, do it as your sacred
duty to those who have so unselfishly builded for you."
There was a moment of silence and the rumble of the busy street rose to
their ears.
"I never shall build anything that will help the men of the future,"
observed Stephen, in a low tone.
"Every human being is building all the time," replied his father. "He is
building a strong body that shall mean a better race; a clean mind that
shall mean a purer race; a loyalty to country that will result in finer
citizenship; and a life of service to his fellows that will bring in
time a broader Christianity. Will not the world be the better for all
these things? It lies with us to carry forward the good and lessen the
evil of the universe, or tear down the splendid ideals for which our
fathers struggled and retard the upward march of the universe. If
everybody put his shoulder to the wheel and helped the forward spin of
our old world, how quickly it would become a better place!"
As he concluded his remarks Mr. Tolman took out his watch.
"Well, well!" said he. "I had no idea it was so late. I must hurry or I
shall not finish my story."
"As I told you the men from the east and those from the west worked
toward each other from opposite ends of the country. As soon as short
lengths of track were finished they were joined together. Near the great
Salt Lake of Utah a tie of polished laurel wood banded with silver
marked the successful crossing of Utah's territory. Five years later
Nevada contributed some large silver spikes to join her length of track
to the rest. California sent spikes of solid gold, symbolic both of her
cooperation and her mineral wealth; Arizona one of gold, one of silver,
and one of iron. Many other States offered significant tributes of
similar nature. And when at last the great day came when all the short
lines were connected in one whole, what a celebration there was from sea
to sea! Wires had been laid so that the hammer that drove the last spike
sent the news to cities all over the land. Bells rang, whistles blew,
fire alarms sounded. The cost of the Union Pacific was about thirty-nine
million dollars and that of the Central Pacific about one hundred and
forty million dollars. The construction of the Southern Pacific
presented a different set of problems from those of the Northern, but
many of the difficulties encountered were the same. Bands of robbers and
Indians beset the workmen and either cut the ties and spread the rails,
or tore the track up altogether for long distances. Forest fires often
overtook the men before they could escape, although trains sometimes
contrived to get through the burning areas by drenching their roofs and
were able to bring succor to those in peril. Then there were washouts
and snowstorms quite as severe as any experienced in the northern
country."
"I'm afraid I should have given the whole thing up!" interrupted Steve.
"Many another was of your mind," returned Mr. Tolman. "The frightful
heat encountered when crossing the deserts was, as I have said, the
greatest handicap. Frequently the work was at a standstill for months
because all the metal--rails and tools--became too hot to handle. The
difficulty of getting water to the men in order to keep them alive in
this arid waste was in itself colossal. Tank cars were sent forward
constantly on all the railroads, northern as well as southern, and the
suffering experienced when such cars were for various reasons stalled
was tremendous. The sand storms along the Southern Pacific route were
yet another menace. So you see an eagerness for adventure had to be
balanced by a corresponding measure of bravery. Those early days of
railroad building were not all romance and picturesqueness."
Stephen nodded as his father rose and took up his hat and coat.
"I'd like to hear Mr. Ackerman tell of the early steamboating," remarked
the lad. "I'll bet the story couldn't match the one you have just told."
"Perhaps not," his father replied. "Nevertheless the steamships had
their full share of exciting history and you must not be positive in
your opinion until you have heard both tales. Now come along, son, if
you are going with me, for I must be off."
Obediently Stephen slipped into his ulster and tagged at his father's
heels along the corridor.
What a magic country he lived in! And how had it happened that it had
been his luck to be born now rather than in the pioneer days when there
were not only no railroads but no great hotels like this one, and no
elevators?
"I suppose," observed Mr. Tolman, as they went along, "we can hardly
estimate what the coming of these railroads meant to the country. All
the isolated sections were now blended into one vast territory which
brought the dwellers of each into a common brotherhood. It was no small
matter to make a unit of a great republic like ours. The seafarer and
the woodsman; easterner, westerner, northerner, and southerner exchanged
visits and became more intelligently sympathetic. Rural districts were
opened up and made possible for habitation. The products of the seacoast
and the interior were interchanged. Crops could now be transported;
material for clothing distributed; and coal, steel, and iron--on which
our industries were dependent--carried wherever they were needed.
Commerce took a leap forward and with it national prosperity. From now
on we were no longer hampered in our inventions or industries and forced
to send to England for machinery. We could make our own engines,
manufacture our own rails, coal our own boilers. Distance was diminished
until it was no longer a barrier. Letters that it previously took days
and even weeks to get came in hours, and the cost and time for freight
transportation was revolutionized. In 1804, for example, it took four
days to get a letter from New York to Boston; and even as late as 1817
it cost a hundred dollars to move a ton of freight from Buffalo to New
York and took twenty days to do it. In every direction the railroads
made for national advancement and a more solid United States. No
soldiers, no statesmen of our land deserve greater honor as useful
citizens than do these men who braved every danger to build across the
country our trans-continental railways."