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THE PRE-EMPTION RIGHT.
Any person entitled to the benefits of the homestead law, may pre-empt any number of acres, not exceeding 160, except such as already own 320 acres, or have abandoned a residence on lands of their own in the same State or Territory where they seek to make such pre-emption. Actual settlement must be made on lands pre- empted within sixty days from the date of filing the claim, and a patent may be secured for the same at the expiration of thirty months from the time of filing, on payment of $1.25 per acre, where the land is located outside the limits of a railroad land grant, and $2.50 per acre where it is within said limits.
THE TIMBER CULTURE LAW.
Under this law, any homesteader, pre-empter, or any citizen of the United States may file a claim upon 160 acres, or less, for the purpose of timber culture. The ratio area required to be broken,
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
planted, etc .. under the amended law of 1878, is one-sixteenth of the land embraced in the entry. The party making an entry of 160 acres is required to break or plow five acres of the same, during the first year. and five acres in addition during the second year. The five acres broken or plowed during the first year he is required to cultivate by raising a crop or otherwise, during the second year, and to plant in timber, seeds or cuttings, during the third year. The five acres broken or plowed during the second year, he is required to cultivate by raising a crop or otherwise, during the third year, and to plant in timber, seeds or cuttings, during the fourth year.
Entries of less than 160 acres are required to be broken or plowed, cultivated and planted, in trees, during the same periods, and to the same extent, in proportion to their total areas, as for entries of a quarter section. At the expiration of eight years from the date of filing a patent may be secured for the land embraced in the entry. Not more than 160 acres in any one section can be entered as a timber claim. No residence upon the land is required.
1
CHAPTER VI.
RAILROADS.
AMERICAN RAILWAYS.
The American Railway System is the marvel of the age, and the most significant expression of American enterprise. To epitomize the subject, it is like the arterial currents of the human body, and no less important for the development of commercial life, than the blood for the complete growth of man. From an abstract theorem it has become the complex machinery that weaves all interests and productions into a commercial and social web. It may be termed the revolutionary agency of the Nineteenth Century, and yet, the strongest conservative power in the nation.
To trace the history of the railway system from the first crude experiment to the completed lines now in operation, extending a distance of eighty-two thousand, nine hundred and sixty-eight miles in every section of this country, would require immense labor and research, hence, for the purpose of this Chapter, to generalize the subject will afford greater interest, leaving the more specific and detailed aspect of the subject, to be referred to under the heads of particular railways.
Although steam as a motive power had been discovered and used in propelling vessels, and although in 1784 the first locomo- tive engine was patented by Watts, the first railway was not constructed until 1825, extending from Stockton to Darlington, and operated with a stationary engine. Four years after the open- ing of the Stockton and Darlington road, George Stephenson built a locomotive called the "Rocket," and in 1829 it dashed along the track of the Liverpool and Manchester road at the rate of twelve miles an hour.
The first American locomotive was built by the Kimble engineers in New York, in 1830, and was used upon the South Carolina Railway, which, in 1833, was the longest road in the world, extending a distance of 136 miles.
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
In 1830 the Mohawk and Hudson Railway was commenced, and in 1831 the construction of the Harlem road and the Camden and Amboy road began.
The Baltimore and Ohio road was the first passenger railway projected in this country, and up to the fall of 1831 was operated by horse-power. In that year it was completed sixty-one miles, and operated with an engine of American make. At the present time -1879-it operates a line of 1,489 miles and notwithstanding it had to construct thirteen tunnels-one of which is one mile in length, in passing the Cumberland Mountains-its cost per mile has been less than any other road in the United States, having a uniform gauge.
In 1830, a little less than fifty years ago, there was only twenty-three miles of railway in this country, which was increased to 1,273 miles in 1836, and to 4,026 miles in 1842. From 1842 to 1849 the increase per annum was a little over three hundred miles. Since that date, however, the increase has been about 2,050 miles per annum.
The following statement shows the total miles of road operated with the annual increase, from 1830 to 1879, commencing with twenty-three miles, and ending on the 31st of July, 1879, with S2,968 miles:
YEAR.
Miles in operation
Annual increase of miles.
YEAR.
Miles in operation
Annual increase of miles.
YEAR.
Miles in operation
Annual increase of miles.
1830
23
1846
4930
297
1862
32120
834
1831
95
72
1847
5598
668
1863
33170
1050
1832
229
134
1848
5996
398
1864
63908
738
1833
380
151
1849
7365
1369
1865
35085
1177
1834
633
253
1850
9021
1656
1866
36801
1742
1835
1098
465
1851
10982
1961
1867
39250
2449
1836
1273
175
1852
12908
1926
1868
42229
2979
18.7
1497
224
1853
15360
2452
1869
46844
4615
1838
1913
416
1854
16720
1360
1870
52914
6070
1839
2302
389
1855
18374
1654
1871
60283
7379
1840
2818
516
1856
22016
3647
1872
66171
5878
1841
3535
717
1857
24503
2647
1873
70278
4107
1842
4026
491
1858
26968
2465
1874
72383
2105
1843
4185
159
1859
28789
1821
1875
74098
1712
1844
4377
192
1860
30635
1846
1876
76808
2712
1845
4633
256
1861
31286
651
1877
79147
2339
..
1878
81841
2694
..
..
Total number of miles on July 30th 1879.
82968
1127
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JOHNSON'S IHISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
The following statement shows the number of miles of railway operated from 1871 to 1879, their capital and funded debt, gross earnings, and net earnings:
YEAR.
MILES OPERATED.
CAPITAL AND FUNDED DEBT.
GROSS EARNINGS.
NET EARNINGS.
1878
81,841
$4,580,048,793
$490,103,361
$187,515,177
1877
79,147
4,568,597,248
472,909,272
170,976,697
1876
76,808
4,468,591,935
497,257,959
186,452,752
1875
74,094
4,415,631,630
503,065,505
185,506,438
1874
72,383
4,221,763,594
520,466,016
189,570,958
1873
70,278
3,784,543,034
526,419,935
183,810,562
1872
66,171
3,159,423,057
465,241,055
165,764,373
1871
60,283
2,664,627,645
403,329,208
141,746,404
The following table shows the marvelous development of the railway system in the States and Territories named, taken in periods of ten years, commencing in 1841, and ending July 31st, 1879.
STATES & TERRITORIES.
1841.
1851.
1861.
1871.
1879.
New England States.
Maine.
11
293
472
S71 675
873
Massachusetts.
373
1,038
1,264
1,606
1,872
Rhode Island.
50
68
108
136
208
Connecticut.
102
451
630
820
922
New Hampshire.
53
537
661
790
10,1812
Middle States.
New York ..
538
1,623
2,700
4,470
5,8841/2
New Jersey.
186
303
587
1,265
1,663
Pennsylvania.
74
1,297
2,802
5,113
6,02314
Delaware.
39
39
127
227
280
Maryland ..
259
274
386
820
962
West Virginia.
61
159
361
480
669
Ohio ..
36
588
2,974
3,740
5,180
Indiana
558
2,175
3,529
4,2341/2
Michigan.
138
379
810
2.235
3,621
Southern States.
Virginia .. . .
223
520
1,379
1,490
1,646
North Carolina.
87
283
937
1,190
1,445
South Carolina.
204
378
973
1,201
1,419
Georgia. .
271
795
1,420
2,108
2,428
Florida
21
402
460
487
·
989
Vermont.
413
562
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
STATES & TERRITORIES.
1841.
1851.
1861.
1871.
1879.
Southern States-Contin'd.
Alabama
46
133
743
1,671
1,839
Mississippi
14
75
862
990
1,126
Louisiana.
40
80
335
539
500
Texas.
28
44
549
1,123
1,600
Tennessee
1,253
1,520
1,681
Arkansas.
38
258
786
Western States.
Illinois.
22
271
2,917
5,904
7,506
Wisconsin.
50
933
1,725
2,850
Minnesota.
1,612
2,53612
Iowa.
701
3,160
4,324
Kansas.
1,760
2,513
Nebraska.
1,129
1,38412
Missouri.
83S
2,580
3,420
Colorado.
392
1,215
Pacific States & Territories.
California
23
208
2,149
Oregon.
248
283
Nevada.
627
627
Washington
197
212
Dakota ..
62
290
320
Wyoming
465
472
Utalı ..
506
580
Arizona.
152
Idaho ..
127
New Mexico
124
Indian Territory
275
275
GRAND TOTAL
3,538
10,982
31,286
60,283
82.96S
That all of this stupendous work has been accomplished in less than fifty years at an expenditure on an average of $43,476 per mile, swelling the grand total outlay to something over four bill- ion dollars, must convince the world, that the American railway system is indeed the marvel of the age, and excels that of the remainder of the world combined, both in the number of miles of road in operation, as also in the general equipment.
In the four billions mentioned above, no account is made of what is known as " watered stock," nor fictitious valuations, but is approximately as close to the actual cost of all our railway lines as can be obtained, after the most rigid investigation.
392
865
2,502
Kentucky .
112
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
The average dividends of roads for a series of years were nearly as follows: New England roads, 6 21-100 per cent .; roads in the Middle States, 5 71-100 per cent .; Pacific States, 3 92-100, and Southern States 50-100 per cent. Thus it will be seen, through the magnificent railway system of our country, in less than fifty years the great problem of transportation has been solved, and the distance across the continent has been abridged in time from three months to six days, and a territory more extensive than all civilized Europe has been opened up to cultivation and to the arts and sciences of a vigorions life. It is the American railway system that has brought under successful husbandry over 4,627,860 square miles of fertile lands which are now exclusively devoted to the production of corn, and 15,9436,40 square miles of wheat fields. This only in part shows the magnitude of the result, and affords a satisfactory estimate of the value of roads, even if every dollar of their original cost were a total loss to the stockholders.
From the most reliable returns, we find that the product of grain in the western states for 1840 was about 100,000,000 bushels. In 1850 this product was increased to 250,000,000 bushels, in 1875 to 1.250,000,000, in 1877 to 1,400,000,000, and in 1879 to 1,600,- 000,000, while the future, under the large flow of immigration to the fruitful fields of the west, warrants the prediction that the increase in productions for the next decade, will largely exceed that of the past ten years.
Before the construction of railways it cost 20 cents per ton per mile to transport grain, which absorbed the full value of corn at a distance of 125 miles, while wheat would bear transportation only 250 miles. Hence the area of a corn producing circle being 49,087 square miles, determined the limited extent of territory that could be profitably cultivated. What a change ! We now see over 40,000 miles of railways traversing the Western and Middle States, and the rates of transportation such as to enable the producer to ship his cereal crop a distance of from 1,000 to 4,000 miles to the Atlantic seaboard, leaving him a fair compensation for the pro- ducts of his fields. Nor is this the only benefit derived from rail- ways. They bring to the very door of the western farmer, at a nominal cost, all the manufactured articles of the east, supplying his want of agricultural implements and his domestic comforts
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JOIINSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
with all he may need or require. Those who have given this sub- ject a careful and exhaustive study, estimate the actual benefit of railways to the the country at not less than $90,000 to each mile of road in operation. Yet, in the face of all these facts, notwith- standing the reduction in transportation, from 20 cents per ton per mile to one cent per ton, there is ample room for a still further reduction and yet leave the railways a comparatively larger margin for their services than is realized by the producer for his products. Hence, while urging the great benefits that flow directly from our system of railways, and which has given a new birth to the com- merce of this country during the past forty years, there is much to be written relative to their mismanagement. This opens a wide field for suggestion and criticism, which it would be entirely vain to attempt to traverse in these pages. Eminent publicists and statesmen have given much time and study to the general management of railroads, and while some are advocates of consolid- ating the management of long lines, others can only see monopoly and extortion in such a policy.
The real remedy, however, can only be reached through a healthy competition. That inevitable law of supply and demand which regulates commercial values throughout the world, will in time regulate railway transportation, and cure whatever extortion and abuses there may exist in the present system. For it must be conceded that when railways are operated with the same honesty, prudence and economy which characterize the management of private business affairs, and the integrity that is demanded in mer- cantile circles, there will be less to complain of on the part of the public, and stockholders would receive larger dividends.
The future of our railway system is what now engages public attention, and the revival of the work of railway building, which a few years ago was almost at a standstill, is a matter of universal comment throughout the nation. The country having safely emerged from all financial dangers, the contemplated Southern and Northern routes to the Pacific, a considerable portion of both of which lines are now in operation, and the full completion of which the commercial prosperity of the country imperatively demands, will in all probability be rapidly pushed forward.
Then the vast trade this country enjoyed with China and Japan
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
previous to the rebellion, through a healthy competition in transpor- tation to and from the Pacific Coast, will be retrieved and advanced to an importance that will make the cities of the Pacific the rivals of the great cities upon the Atlantic. And to our progressive railway system, with all its magnificent equipment, and grand lines of steel rail, the means will be secured to reconstruct and rebuild our commercial marine until it shall again whiten every sea, and trade in every port in the world.
Having said this much upon railways in general, it seems eminently proper to devote a chapter to a review of some of the more prominent lines of the country, and to that end the Nebraska lines will claim our attention.
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7
CHAPTER VII.
RAILWAYS IN NEBRASKA.
UNION PACIFIC -- OMANIA & REPUBLICAN VALLEY-UTAH & NORTH- ERN-COLORADO DIVISION-ST. JOE & DENVER CITY-BUR- LINGTON & MISSOURI RIVER IN NEBRASKA-THE NEBRASKA RAILWAY-OMAHA & SOUTHWESTERN-OMAHA & NORTHERN NEBRASKA-SIOUX CITY & PACIFIC-FREMONT, ELKHORN & MISSOURI VALLEY-ATCHISON & NEBRASKA-COVINGTON, COLUMBUS & BLACK HILLS.
On the 31st of July, 1879, there were in operation in the State of Nebraska one thousand, four hundred and seventy-nine miles of railway, all of which has been constructed since the spring of 1865. Although not in reality one of the railways of the State, the Chicago & Northwestern was the first line from the East to salute the people of Omaha with the screech of the engine whistle, the first train on that road entering the city on Sunday, January 17th, 1867. The Missouri River was crossed on a pile bridge, which, for several years, was used during the winter months for crossing the river, it being removed during the months of navigation, and a ferryboat employed in its place, to transfer passengers and freight.
The second road to reach the State was the St. Joe & Council Bluffs line, now known as the Kansas City, St. Joe & Council Bluffs road. The Burlington & Missouri, or the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, was completed to the city of Omaha in 1868. The first road built on Nebraska soil was the eastern portion of the Union Pacific, the first fifty miles of which was completed on the first day of January, 1866. The Omaha & Northwestern was built to Herman, a distance of forty miles, in October, 1871, and during the same
CXIV
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
year the Omaha & Southwestern was completed to the Platte River. But as each of these lines, as also all other lines in operation in the State, will be reviewed at length in another portion of this Chapter, the reader's attention is now called to the
UNION PACIFIC RAILWAY.
That popular and important transportation route which spans that fertile portion of the great west lying between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains, connecting with the Central Pacific midway between Omaha and the Pacific coast, was the first railway enterprise commenced in Nebraska; and while its early history abounds with incidents of deep interest to the people of the State, to the general reader a careful and impartial review of its present and prospective advantages to the State, as also to the whole country, will prove of much greater value.
Although the project of building a railway to the Pacific Coast was agitated in railroad circles and among prominent men of the nation, as far back as 1846, the enterprise assumed nothing like a definite shape until 1853, when a commis- sion was appointed by the government to investigate the practicability of the undertaking, and after discharging the duties of the appointment, by reporting favorably, Congress, in 1862, passed an act authorizing the construction of a trunk line from the one hundredth meridian, a point some two hundred miles west of Omaha, to San Francisco. The act provided for a trunk line and two branches, the one to start from some central point on the western boundary of Iowa, the second from Sioux City, in the same State, and the third from the western boundary of Missouri, all to connect at the point of location, on the one hundredth meridian. In 1863, however, the Act was modified, by changing the Sioux City and Missouri branches, and empowering the President of the United States to designate the point where the eastern terminal should be located. On the 17th of November, 1863, after a careful consideration of the subject, President Lincoln decided the question as follows:
"At a point on the western boundary of Iowa, opposite section ten, in township fifteen, north of range thirteen, east of the sixth principal meridian in the Territory of Nebraska,"
116
JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
The Act authorizing the construction of the road, provided that the branch reaching the one hundredth meridian first, should build the remainder of the line west. The Act also authorized a land donation of 13,875,200 acres to be located on each side of the line. Subsequent legislation also provided a subsidy to aid in building the line, to the extent of $16,000 per mile between the Missouri River and the base of the Rocky Mountains; $48,- 000 per mile for one hundred and fifty miles across the Rocky Mountains; $32,000 per mile for the distance between the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Range, and $48,000 per mile for one hundred and fifty miles over the Sierra Nevadas.
The stimulating effect of such a liberal offer on the part of the General Government, resulted in the organization of a company for carrying out the stupendous enterprise, and on the afternoon of December 3d, 1863, amid great enthusiasm, and in the presence of a large gathering of people from Omaha and Council Bluffs, the great undertaking was formally dedicated, as it were, by "breaking gound" on the west bank of the river near the old telegraph cross- ing, with all the pomp and ceremony that the importance of the event demanded.
After invoking a divine blessing for the success of the enter- prise, Governor Saunders stepped forward, grasped a spade, and amid the thunder of artillery and the deafening cheers of the enthusiastic assembly, removed the first spadefull of earth. Such was the birth scene of the greatest and, in many respects, the most important railway project ever conceived by man. Ground having been formally broken, the interesting ceremony closed with addresses of a most eloquent and enthusiastic character, from Governor Saunders, George Francis Train, Mayor Kennedy, A. J. Poppleton, Dr. C. C. Monell, A. V. Larimer and others.
Early in the spring of 1864 the work of grading the road bed commenced, on a line running due west from the City of Omaha, which line, after having expended on it nearly or quite one hundred thousand dollars, proving too heavy to allow a completion to the one hundredth meridian, in time to comply with the terms of the charter, was abandoned.
One might suppose that such a disastrous beginning would have disheartened the projectors. Such was not the case, however,
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
as all echoed the words of "Jacob Faithful," "Better luck next time." Two new lines were immediately surveyed, the first running in a northwesterly course from Omaha, while the second started from a point at or near Bellevue, on the Missouri River, and ran a northwesterly course. This last line, owing to some of its beautiful windings, was called the "Ox Bow," yet its apparent innocence of ever having been subjected to the surveyor's art, and the violent opposition it encountered from the people of Omaha, who had their fears aroused at the danger to Omaha of locating the eastern terminus of the line at Bellevue, did not prevent its being chosen by the company. The people of Omaha, however, were equal to the emergency, and by a donation of $250,000 secured the coveted prize, which, in 1876. was wrested from them, through a decision of the United States Supreme Court, which awarded the eastern terminal of the line to Iowa, in accordance to the location made by President Lincoln.
The "Ox Bow" route having been harmoniously adopted, grading was pushed forward with great vigor, while track laying followed as fast as the road bed was finished. Every twenty miles completed was inspected by commissioners appointed for that purpose, and on the 1st day of January, 1866, the first fifty miles was completed and in operation. The line was extended during the year 1866, two hundred and sixty miles, and in 1867 an additional two hundred and forty miles was built, while from January 1st, 1868, to May 10th, 1869, the remainder of the line- five hundred and fifty-five miles-was completed and in operation.
Thus it will be seen that the great work was finished in just three years, six months and ten days from the time it was com- menced. Some of the most rapid track laying in railway history was done on this line, the average being often as high as five miles per day. The ties used on the road between Omaha and the Platte Valley were chiefly from the Missouri River bottoms, and were mostly cottonwood. They were, however, subjected to the "char- ring" process, which rendered them very durable. The ties and timber for the remainder of the line were of hardwood, and were procured chiefly from Michigan and other distant sections of country, and the cost was often as high as $2.50 per tie, when delivered at Omaha.
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
There being no rail communication between Omaha and Des Moines, at that time, nearly all of the material used in building the Union Pacific road, had to be transported either up the Missouri River by steamers, or from Des Moines by teams, a dis- tance of one hundred and fifty miles. Even the seventy horse- power engine employed in the railroad shops at Omaha, was hauled on wagons from Des Moines. And in this connection it may be stated that the Company commenced building their extensive machine shops during the latter part of 1864, and they were fully completed during the fall of 1865. These shops include a dozen or more of large, substantial brick buildings, and their importance to Omaha will be readily appreciated when it is stated that they furnish employment to some eight hundred persons. Besides which the Company, in its various other departments at Omaha, employ some five hundred men.
The books of the Company show that there was used in the construction of the Union Pacific road, 300,000 tons of rail; 1,700,000 fish plates, 6,800,000 bolts, 23,505,500 spikes, and 6,126,375 ties. Within the past three or four years the road bed has been well ballasted, hence, at the present time it will compare favorably with the better class of roads at the East.
As before stated, the line was completed to Ogden, on the 10th of May, 1869, the event being observed in Omaha by a grand celebration. It was a general gala-day for everybody, and from early dawn until late at night enthusiasm ruled the hour. The city was dressed in an old-fashioned Fourth of July costume; flags, banners, festoons, and mottos decorated the town from end to end. Telegraphic communication was had with Promontory, where the " golden spike" which united the two great ribs of steel, was being driven into that highly finished tie of laurel wood, with a silver hammer; and when the last blow was given to that spike of precious . metal, the instrument on Capitol Hill said, "IT IS FINISHED !" and one hundred guns in thunder tones echoed the glad news, "IT Is FINISHED !" Yes, the stupendous work of uniting the two great oceans of this Continent with bands of steel was finished, and the glad tidings was not confined to Omaha, but was wafted o'er hill and dale, to city, village and hamlet, throughout the Union.
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