USA > Minnesota > Illustrated album of biography of the famous valley of the Red River of the North and the park regions of Minnesota and North Dakota : containing biographical sketches of settlers and representative citizens > Part 109
USA > North Dakota > Illustrated album of biography of the famous valley of the Red River of the North and the park regions of Minnesota and North Dakota : containing biographical sketches of settlers and representative citizens > Part 109
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PARK REGIONS OF MINNESOTA.
the charter passed, authorizing the company to issue bonds and secure the same by inort- gage, for the purpose of raising funds to build the railroad. At the extra session of congress called by President Grant in March, 1869, for one month, he also got through an act extending the branch line from Portland to Puget Sound, upon which was the first iron laid by the company, which has proved to be an important link in its chain, connecting, as it does, Oregon and Washington Territory.
THE CHARTER ALMOST LOST TWICE .- But for Mr. Canfield's vigilance the company would have lost its charter in 1866, and again in 1868. The jealousy of the Union Pacific, which by the aid of the Government subsidy had been constructed, as well as that of the Southern Pacific, developed a strong indication that it would require considerable work at Washington to save the life of the infant Northern Pacific. They would not consent to an extension of over two years, while it should have been ten years for such an enterprise. Upon the first opportunity, which soon came up, Col. Thomas A. Scott, an old friend, who was interested in the Southern Pacific, had gotten his bill reported by the railroad committee, and all ready to bring up in the house for an extension of his charter on the next Monday morning, as soon as the house should be called to order, before many of the members should get there, except his own friends, who under- stood what was to be done.
Mr. Canfield went to him and wanted him to allow a short section to be added to his bill, extending the time of the Northern Pacific. He would not consent, but said, "Pass mine first and then I will have my friends take hold and pass yours." While friends of the Northern Pacific would and did vote for his, they could not rely upon his southern men to go for a northern route-and dared not try the experiment. After congress ad-
journed on Saturday, Mr. Canfield went over to Mr. Stevens, better known in those days as "Uncle Thad " (who, by the way, with Senator Jacob Howard, of Michigan, the chairman of the Pacific Railroad com- mittee in the senate, known as "Honest Jake," were both natives of Vermont, the former from Peacham, in Caledonia county, and the latter from Shaftsbury, Bennington county, and were both warm friends of the Northern Pacific), and told him his interview with Colonel Scott. "Ha! ha!" said he, " don't be troubled, I will take care of Thomas A. You see Speaker Colfax and tell him I want to be recognized Monday morning when Thomas' bill is called up."
Monday morning came. As soon as the speaker's gavel fell, Scott's man called up his bill and at once the shrill voice of " Uncle Thad" was heard, "Mr. Speaker, I offer the following amendment, which the clerk will please read -'and be it further resolved, that the time for commencing and completing the Northern Pacific railroad and all its sev- eral sections is extended for the term of two years.'"
No one dared oppose Uncle Thad.
"Those in favor of the amendment," said the speaker, "will say aye, and those opposed, no; the ayes have it, and the amendment is adopted. Those in favor of the bill as amended will say aye; opposed will say no; the bill is passed." There was not an oppo- sition vote, and all was done quicker than this is written. Thus the child's life was pro- longed two years, until July 2, 1868. Had it not been for this maneuvering and watch- fulness, it is most likely the charter would have expired, as it was impossible in the state of feeling then existing to have got enough Southern members with the friends of the Northern Pacific to have passed it.
At this time, also, a bill was before con- gress asking the guarantee of interest on the bonds of the company, as it had become
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satisfied that it was useless to attempt to get a subsidy, as the Union Pacific had done. To show the great benefits to the nation, Mr. Canfield conferred with General Grant, General Meigs, quartermaster-general, Gen- eral Ingalls and other officers of the army, who had been stationed many years on the Northwestern coast, and procured their views with respect to the Northern Pacific, all of whom, in every aspect of the case, deemed it a matter of great import- ance to the nation. General Meigs, in his communication, says: "The construction of the road will make the now wild and waste regions through which it is to pass centers of national wealth and production and mili- tary strength, and from the mountains themselves a hardy population will pour down upon the coast, at every hostile demon- stration. A guarantee of a fixed rate of interest upon the cost of construction is a mode of assistance to their great enterprises, now common in the heavily taxed countries of Europe. If those governments, burdened with the immense annual expenditure of standing armies, almost as large in times of peace as we have been compelled to support in time of war, find it in the interest of their revenues thus to aid free travel and trans- port through countries already provided with navigable rivers and excellent wagon roads, we may confidently assume that our country will find ample reward for any such expenditure in opening up a highway for fraternal intercourse between our older com- inunities on the Atlantic and the rising settlements on the Pacific coast; a highway to which the inevitable laws of commerce will attract the trade of the East. The trade of China, Japan and India, a trade along whose slow and painful track, when it was conducted by beasts of burden and by oars and sails instead of the iron horse and ocean steamship, great cities sprung up in the desert sands of Asia and on the coast of
the Mediterranean, Babylon, Nineveli, Pal- myra, Bagdad, Damascus, Constantinople, Alexandria, Rome, Venice, Geneva and London, the outgrowths of this trade in for- mer centuries. The lines of Pacific railway will found such cities in the new, healthful and inviting regions through which its east- ern flow is destined to enrich the world ; and Oregon as well as California, Montana as well as Utah, will hereafter have their San Franciscos, Chicagos, St. Louises, Cin- cinnatis, great emporia of an internal com- merce heretofore unknown, as well as the world-encircling commerce of the Indies."
General Grant sent the following :
Headquarters Armies of the United States, } April 20, 1866. S
The construction of a railroad by the proposed route would be of very great advantage to the Govern- ment pecuniarily by saving us the cost of transportation to supply troops whose presence in the country through which it is proposed to pass is made necessary by the great amount of emigration to the gold-bearing regions of the Rocky mountains. In my opinion, too, the United States would receive an additional pecuniary benefit in the construction of this road by the settle- ment it would induce along the line of the road, and consequently the less number of troops necessary to secure order and safety. How far these benefits should be compensated by the General Government beyond the grant of lands already awarded by congress, I would not pretend to say. I would merely give it as my opinion that the enterprise of constructing the Northern Pacific Railroad is one well worth fostering by the General Government, and hat such aid could well be afforded as would insure the early prosecution of the work.
U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.
But two years soon passed away, and meanwhile the Northern Pacific began to attract considerable attention, as well as to increase the hostility of the Union and Southern Pacific towards it. But after about four months' hard work another bill was passed by the house and concurred in by the senate on the 28th day of June, while the charter expired on the 2d day of July. The bill had been returned from the senate, reported to the house, engrossed and
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PARK REGIONS OF MINNESOTA.
passed over to the committee on enrolled bills, of which Mr. Holman was chairman, to be taken to the President for his signature. Mr. Canfield, finding the bill did not reach the White House as it should, and as there was but a day or two left, became very nerv- ous and uneasy, as well as unable to find Mr. Hohnan, who had taken charge of the bill. In this emergency he consulted with Messrs. Windom and Woodbridge, members of the house, and they went to the speaker, Mr. Colfax, who ordered the desk of Mr. Hol- man to be opened, and there found the bill, and gave it to another member of the com- mittee to take to the White House. It is supposed Mr. Holman was sick somewhere and had forgotten about it. But for this watchfulness on the part of Mr. Canfield, the Northern Pacific charter might have slept the sleep of death in the desk of its worst enemy in the house. It was signed by the President July 1st, only one day be- fore the charter expired.
To most people it would seem that an enterprise which was to confer so much benefit upon mankind-which was really to dispense with the necessity of an army to keep the Indian tribes in subjection-which was to open up the millions of acres of wild lands of the Government, furnishing a mar- ket for them, which were heretofore worth- less, to industrious and hardy settlers and thereby increase the wealth of the nation, would receive attention from congress and an act to facilitate its operation be passed without delay. But such is not the case. Opposition arises in unexpected quarters ; secret combinations are formed; jealousies and sectional interests turn up which ought not to have any bearing upon such an important subject, all of which would require close attention in order to carry through legisla- tion of even meritorious character. Truly the ways of congress " are past finding out," especially to the uninitiated.
Mr. Canfield was one of the committee, consisting of Messrs. Smith, Ogden and Rice, who went to Ogontz, Mr. Cooke's country residence, near Philadelphia, in May, 1869, to make the arrangement with Jay Cooke & Co. to negotiate the bonds of the Northern Pacific Railroad. After spending a day or two and finally agreeing to the terms of the arrangement, just as the committee were leaving, supposing all things were done, Mr. Cooke proposed a condition, as a postscript to the agreement, that the agreement should not be binding upon him, unless by a per- sonal examination by himself or his agents, of the whole line, it should be shown as equal to all the representations as to resources and practicability which the directors had made. This Mr. Cooke insisted upon, even if it should take a year to do it.
Mr. Canfield was very much annoyed by this unexpected demand of Mr. Cooke, fear- ing that it would so delay the commencement of construction, which had already been made the basis of objections before con- gress to any further extension of charter, and he remonstrated with Mr. Cooke, ex- plaining to him the dangers of further delay.
Mr. Cooke replied, that so far as he was concerned, he was entirely satisfied with all the directors had represented about the practicability of the line, the wonderful resources of the country through which it was to pass and the great benefit to the nation, but that he had to engage bankers all over this country and Europe to assist him in placing the bonds, that capital was timid, that thousands of questions would arise which we could not anticipate, and that to answer them satisfactorily it was necessary he should be able to say that his own experts had examined the whole country, and that his information was based upon their exam- inations and not upon the reports of any one identified with the road, and that in the
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RED RIVER VALLEY AND
long run it would be seen his condition would be for the benefit of the enterprise.
Mr. Ogden, perceiving that Mr. Canfield was annoyed, called him one side and said: “I think you are a little vexed with Mr. Cooke."
" Yes, I confess," said Mr. Canfield, "I am a little mad, after we have spent so much time to make an agreement, now not only to have it upset, but to have all our plans endangered before congress."
" But," said Mr. Ogden, " I have been two years endeavoring to negotiate a loan for the Northwestern Railroad of only $4,000,000 secured upon a road of 1,000 miles, now in operation through a rich and prosperous country, while this man proposes to nego- tiate $100,000,000 upon a line through an unknown country and not a bar of iron laid yet. You must remember no negotia- tion of such a magnitude has ever been undertaken in the history of the world under such circumstances, and while he may not be able or live to entirely complete it, yet if he only negotiates part of it, it will put us on our feet and ultimately secure the con- struction of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and we can not afford now to break up our contract with him."
" Well," said Mr. Canfield, "I appreciate as fully as you do the force of your argument, as well as the importance Mr. Cooke attaches to this proposed explanation which will delay us six months more, but I accede to it, and let us get about it at once and be done with it before congress meets in December."
The wisdom of Mr. Ogden's theory has been demonstrated since in the raising of money to build the road.
One can well imagine why a man of action like Mr. Canfield should have been annoyed at a delay of six months more in the work, after he had been for years struggling with opposition, rebuff and difficulties of all kinds, in order to reach a point, where, at least, he
had hoped to show to the world by actual work of construction that the Northern Pacific was something besides a railroad on paper. Mr. Canfield was selected by the directors to take charge of Mr. Cooke's party, consisting of W. Milnor Roberts, engineer; Samuel Wilkeson, William G. Moorehead, Jr., the Rev. Dr. Claxton, and William Johnson, a son of the chief engineer, which was to meet him at Salt Lake City on the 14th of June.
From there they went by the Central Pacific Railroad to Sacramento and Marys- ville, and then by stage through Northern California and Oregon, 700 miles, to Portland, Oregon, arriving there on the 4th of July, 1869. From there they went to Puget Sound -most of the way by stage-procured a small steamer, making a thorough examina- tion of all the bays, towns and harbors, and, returning to Portland, they went by steamer up the Columbia river to Walla Walla, which was about the end of all settlements, and where for some years had been a Govern- ment military post. They were now about to enter upon an unknown country, where there were only scattering settlers for a short distance ; no roads, no bridges nor any means of subsistence, when on Puget Sound an amus- ingincident occurred. George Francis Train, who was at Portland to deliver the Fourth of July oration, accompanied the party to the Sound, and when at Whatcom, on Bellingham Bay, he telegraphed to the mayor of Victoria, British Columbia, that he would be there the next day to deliver a lecture, subject, " The downfall of England! get out your guns !" The steamer with the party arrived at Victoria about 3 o'clock in the morning and anchored. When daylight came a man- of-war lay off-side a few rods with her " guns out " and shotted, ready for action. The party were not allowed to land, and it was with much difficulty Mr. Canfield, with the aid of the American consul,
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PARK REGIONS OF MINNESOTA
persuaded the official of Victoria that Mr. Train was a harmless man, and that his message was intended as a joke. But poor Train had insulted Johnny Bull and was not permitted to go ashore after all.
At Walla Walla Mr. Canfield fitted out a horseback expedition, consisting of thirteen saddle and pack-horses, and as there were no settlements of any consequence beyond Walla Walla, was obliged to take provisions and cooking utensils upon the backs of his horses, sufficient to last the party thirty days, which it was estimated would bring them to Helena, Montana, 500 miles. Their supplies were confined to tea, coffee, ham, flour, butter, a few canned goods, the long distance preventing the transportation of vegetables or other kinds of meat. Every- thing had to be in the most condensed form. They left Walla Walla on the 20th of July, 1869, with the thermometer 110 degrees above zero, making about twenty miles a day, lying upon the ground at night without any tent to cover them. They went from Walla Walla to Kentuck's Crossing on the Snake river; thence to Hangman's Creek, Schnebley's bridge,near where Spokane Falls now is-then but one log cabin. From there to Pend d'Oreille Lake. Here they found a small steamer, "Mary Moody," which had been used in former mining days, but now dismantled. To save a journey of several days around the lake, they put the engine together and took their horses across the lake on the steamer to the foot of Cabinet Rapids. Here they disem- barked, and, following Clark's fork of the Columbia river, crossing many of the mountain ranges at an altitude of several thousand feet to Thompson's Falls, Horse Plains, along the Flathead and Jocko rivers, through the Coriacen Defile to Missoula, thence along the Blackfoot to Gold creek ; now near Garrison's, where they made a detour through the Deer Lodge valley to
examine the Deer Lodge pass. They went over to the Wisdom river, one of the trib- utaries of the Jefferson, by very easy grade, and which they found to be the easiest pass in the mountains, and which Mr. Canfield advised as the true route for the road to take, following, after crossing the mountains, the waters of the Jefferson to Gallatin valley, and which he still believes will be the route sooner or later adopted for the through busi- ness ; although in order to reach Helena, the capital of Montana, the road has been built through the Mullan pass. There were but two or three miners' shanties then at Silver Bow, and the city of Butte, now with 20,000 people, then "was not. " Returning to Gold creek, the first place gold was discovered in Montana, they crossed the Rocky mountains to Helena at Mullan's pass, where the rail- road tunnel now is. Here they disbanded their horses and took stages to Fort Ben- ton, examining Cadotte's pass on their return, which was the pass Governor Stevens and his expedition crossed in 1854. Here they met an Indian outbreak, in which Mal- colm Clark, a graduate of West Point and for many years a Government agent, met his death, which threatened much danger, their horses being stolen from them by the Indians at Dearborn river. It was a critical time, as General De Trobriand, who was in command at Fort Shaw, some thirty miles beyond, where they arrived at eight o'clock that evening, refused to give them any assistance. It was very important that Cadotte pass should be examined, inasmuch as it would probably be the place of crossing the main range of the Rockies, if the road went north of the Mis- souri river. Mr. Canfield, at Fort Benton, endeavored to get Cadotte himself to pilot them over it, as he had done General Stevens in 1854, but his fear of being massacred by the Indians made him refuse absolutely to accompany them, however great the induce-
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RED RIVER VALLEY AND
ments offered. Mr. Canfield then returned to Fort Shaw, and, after much urging, induced General De Trobriand to give them an escort of six men, really of no use in case of an attack. Fortunately, however, none was made, and they crossed the pass over and back and returned to Helena without injury. At Helena and Deer Lodge he was warmly welcomed by the citizens, as being the first director of a railroad who had ever visited Montana, and to them the harbinger of brighter days. From Helena they went to Bozeman, crossing at the Three Forks, where Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson rivers meet, and form the Missouri. Here a consultation was held with Colonel Brackett, in command of Fort Ellis, near Bozeman, General Sully, the old Indian fighter, and General De Trobriand, who had in the meantime come down from Fort Shaw, as to the expediency of continuing their expedition down the Yellowstone river to Fort Buford, or across from Glendive to where Bismarck now is located. Although the Crow Indians, whose reservation was about 200 miles East, were friendly, yet Sitting Bull and his band of Sioux, who were encamped about the Big Horn, Tongue and Powder rivers, was not friendly, but upon the other hand, hos- tile. The officers decided that it would be simply impossible for them, with all the troops at their command, to escort the party through the Sioux territory safely, and advised Mr. Canfield to abandon the expedition without going any further East. There still were the Bozeman moun tains, which had not been examined, and which it would be necessary to cross in case the Yellowstone line should be adopted, and Mr. Canfield determined at all hazards to cross it to the Yellowstone, if no further. He accordingly raised a few men and horses at Bozeman, and went over the pass to a point where Livingston now is. Here they remained for a day, and as the rest of the
route to the east was by the valley, the Yel- lowstone, where there were no serious obstacles, and as all that part between here and the Pacific ocean, about one thousand miles, where were all the mountains and difficult parts of the route had been carefully examined, and passes found which would admit of a railroad being built, the representatives of Mr. Cooke decided their mission had practically been accom- plished ; and assuring Mr. Canfield that their declining to go down the Yellowstone Val- ley would not affect the substance of their report, he returned to Bozeman. Mr. Can- field then turned back with his party, went across the country with a mule team 150 miles to Virginia City, and took stages to Corrinne, and then by the Union Pacific Rail- road to the East, reaching New York after an absence of about three months. During the trip the engineers had been very reticent as to their views of the route, which created no little anxiety on the part of Mr. Canfield, lest they might not make a favorable report. This was a very important matter to the company at this time, as upon the report of these men Mr. Cooke would furnish the money or not to go on with the construc- tion. Mr. Canfield felt that a great responsi- bility was placed upon hin, as in the event of his not showing them a good route, such as would be satisfactory, the whole arrange- ment with Mr. Cooke must be abandoned, as well as the construction of the road. But Mr. Canfield, by his study of the route in former years-from the information he had obtained from prominent and intelligent citizens in Oregon, Washington and Mon- tana, and officers of the army-was enabled to conduct the expedition through a favor- able route, which subsequent surveys have confirmed, and the railroad from the Colum- bia river to the Yellowstone has been finally built on the route he reported and most of the way in sight of the very trail which this
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PARK REGIONS OF MINNESOTA
party made in 1869. The result of the expe- dition turned out favorably, and the gentle- men sent on by Mr. Cooke unanimously reported that the half had not been told by the directors, and that the country was far better than they had ever represented.
In the meantime Mr. Cooke's party, which had been sent out from St. Paul under the charge of Governor Smith and Mr. Rice, two of the directors, to explore and examine the eastern end of the line from Lake Superior to the Missouri river, had returned and reported very favorably upon their part, which complied fully with the condition required by Mr. Cooke in the postscript to the agreement, much to his satisfaction, and he at once commenced negotiating the bonds, and the work of construction began.
Thus, after nearly four years of continuous struggle by the syndicate, they had reached the great turning point of the commencement of construction of their cherished under- taking.
It was soon found that many of the cross- ings of rivers and other places favorable to the location of towns were upon even sections, while the company, under their grant from congress, received only the odd ones, and had no right under their charter to buy lands. In order to get over this difficulty a company was formed called "The Lake Superior & Puget Sound Company," of which Mr. Canfield was made president, which was empowered to buy lands, build boats, and do most any kind of business to further the interest of the railroad company.
In carrying out the plans contemplated by the Lake Superior & Puget Sound Com- pany, Mr. Canfield located, platted and laid out on the line of the Northern Pacific Rail- road, between Lake Superior and the Red river, the towns of Kimberly, Aitkin, Brain- erd, Motley, Aldrich, Wadena, Perham, Audubon, Lake Park, Hawley, Glyndon and Moorliead.
In 1870, when the only railroad north or west of St. Paul was the one to Sauk Rapids, Mr. Canfield and Governor Smith came up from there by team to old Crow Wing and stopped with Captain Beaulieu, which was the end of white settlement in that direction. They then went up the Mississippi river to find a place where there were two high banks that the road could cross without the necessity of a draw-bridge, and selected the place where Brainerd now is, and, at the same time, selected the place for the shops, also the station and headquarters. This was then a wilderness, and Mr. Canfield at once surveyed the tract and laid out what is the present city of Brainerd, and placed Lyman P. White in charge as agent, who has filled the position ever since, Mrs. White being the first white woman to live in Brainerd. Engineers then proceeded to locate the rail- road east and west from this place. The next year, when the track had been laid about eighteen miles west of Brainerd, Mr. Can- field, in company with several directors of the road and others, made a trip into Dakota, with Pierre Bottineau for a guide, who is still living near Red Lake Falls. They had to carry their provisions with them, both for inan and beast. From the end of the track they passed through the woods, encamping the first night west of the Crow Wing river, a few miles north of Aldrich, and the second night at Otter Tail lake. Here they found a few huts which had been occupied previous to the Indian outbreak in 1862. Thence they went across the prairie south of Perham, crossing the Otter Tail where the railroad now does, also at Frazee City, then through woods on the banks of Detroit lake, and camping that night on the banks of the lake near where Detroit now is. There was but one house at Detroit, and that a log one built by Mr. Tyler. Thence to Audubon, the next day striking Sand Beach lake where Mr. Boyer
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