USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of Omaha from the pioneer days to the present time > Part 19
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As an inducement for Mr. Creighton to undertake this enterprise, the company gave him the privilege of taking $100,000 in stock, and allowed him a certain length of time to accept or reject the offer. He did not hesitate a moment, but accepted the stock. So sanguine was he of success that he invested all the money he had, besides hypothecating his interest in a New Orleans line, which he had built some years previously. For the $100,000 stock that he purchased of the Pacific Telegraph company as an investment, he paid only about eighteen cents on the dollar. He thus became the possessor of one-tenth of the company's stock, which was $1,000,000. Soon after the Pacific line was completed, the Western Union doubled their stock, and the Pacific company tripled theirs, thus increasing Mr. Creigh- ton's shares to $300,000. The Pacific company's stock then rose from twenty cents to eighty-five cents. Mr. Creighton now sold $100,000 or one-third of his stock, for $85,000, and then had the snug sum of $200,000 left.
Mr. Creighton was general superintendent of the con- struction, and was general manager of the line from Chi- cago to Salt Lake from the time it was completed till 1867. A line was in process of construction from Chicago to Omaha, and Mr. Creighton, as a piece of strategy, ran the Pacific line over to Council Bluffs, making it the terminus temporally, and thus forcing the Chicago company, who thought he was going to push on to Chicago, to lease their line to the Pacific telegraph.
Mr. Creighton invested a large portion of his profits arising from his telegraph speculations, in the freighting business from Omaha across the plains to Denver and Salt Lake, and afterwards to Montana, before the days of the Union Pacific railroad. In 1863, when Montana was first invaded by the gold-hunters, he fitted out several large
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wagon trains with merchandise for that territory, upon which immense sums were realized. The first of those Montana trains was composed of thirty teams, in charge of James Creighton, who in thirty days' sales made $33,000, which he brought back to Omaha with him. The next year he took a train of forty mule teams to Montana, where Mr. John A. Creighton had remained as salesman, and the amount realized from this trip was $52,000. There were others of Mr. Creighton's freight trains that turned out equally as well.
In 1864 Mr. Creighton ventured into the cattle business in Nebraska, and the Indians ran off all his herds. He started again, this time on Laramie plains, he being the pioneer cattleman in that section of the west. He had im- mense herds of cattle roaming the plains, from which he supplied the Union Pacific construction trains with beef while that road was being built from Cheyenne westward. He continued in the profitable business of raising cattle, as well as horses, sheep and mules, until his death.
When the First National bank of Omaha was started in 1863, Mr. Creighton became a heavy subscriber to the stock, and was elected president.
In 1866 Mr. Creighton built a telegraph line to Montana from Salt Lake, his brother, John A. Creighton, superin- tending the work, and about the same time he erected a line from Julesburg to Denver. While the Union Pacific railroad was being constructed, he took large contracts for grading, and also put up the company's telegraph lines.
It is a fact that Mr. Creighton conceived the idea of securing telegraphic communication with Europe by run- ning a line up the Pacific coast to Behring strait, across which he intended to throw a submarine cable, and then ex- tend a line through the Russian possessions. He induced the Western Union company to make the coast survey, and the scheme no doubt would have been carried out, had not the successful laying of the Atlantic cable rendered such an undertaking unnecessary. It was the Atlantic cable that stopped the work, and had that failed we would to-day, through the efforts of Edward Creighton, have had tele- graphic communication with Europe via Behring strait.
Mr. Creighton was also heavily interested in the Omaha & Northwestern railroad, and did considerable towards
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building up Omaha in various other ways. He erected the three-story brick block called after his name, and with others he loaned $100,000 to the Omaha hotel company, with which they completed the Grand Central. During his residence in Omaha he amassed a fortune of over $1,500,000 by his numerous enterprises and undertakings. He made several liberal donations during his life-time to the Catholic church, of which he was a member, and also to St. Mary's convent, and Mercy hospital, now called St. Joseph's. He died on the 5th of November, 1874, aged 54, from the effects of a second stroke of paralysis. His wife, a most estimable, amiable and charitable lady, followed soon afterwards, she dying on the 23d of January, 1876. By her will the vast property was divided among the relatives of her husband and herself, and the sum of $200,000 was provided for the erection of a Catholic college at ()maha to be called after Mr. Creighton's name. The last bequest was made in ac- cordance with a wish often expressed by Mr. Creighton during his life-time.
Omaha has much to thank Edward Creighton for. In making Omaha the initial point of the Pacific telegraph, he virtually made this city the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific ; and it was his influence that attracted to Omaha various enterprises, as well as capital, as he made this city his base of operations.
In 1873 Omaha had three wires-one from St. Louis, one from Chicago, and one from San Francisco. The Western Union consolidated with the Pacific telegraph, and the two lines have since been operated as one. In 1810 the Great Western telegraph was built from Chicago to Omaha, connecting with the Pacific coast over the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad wires.
The Atlantic & Pacific telegraph company established their lines from Omaha to San Francisco in 1869, and in 1873 constructed a line between Omaha and Chicago to connect their western and eastern systems. This company has long since been absorbed by the Western Union.
In 1880 the American Union company constructed a line to Omaha from the east and south, but the next year the Western Union gained control of it by purchase. The Pacific telegraph or Postal-lines system was built from Kansas City to Omaha in 1886, and is the only opposition to the Western Union.
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Eighty wires now enter Omaha, and there are about forty different offices in this city and South Omaha. Em- ployment is given to nearly 200 persons by the Omaha telegraph service. Over 4,000 messages are received daily, and upwards of 50,000 words of press report. Omaha is. the relaying station for all the telegraphic communication between the east and the west, every message passing through this point being repeated. This involves consider- able labor and requires a large force of operators.
In 1860 a message of ten words from Omaha to New York cost $5.65; from Omaha to Chicago or St. Louis $3.55; and to other points in the same ratio. Now a message of ten words from Omaha to New York costs 60 cents; and to Chicago or St. Louis 40 cents.
Mr. J. J. Dickey, who is general superintendent of the Western Union for the third district, has been connected with the telegraphic service in Omaha since 1869. His jurisdiction covers all the territory west of the Missouri, ex- cept the Pacific coast, and also takes in a portion of Iowa and Missouri. The manager of the local office is Mr. J. Levin.
The local manager of the Postal Telegraph-Cable com- pany is Mr. W. S. Dimmock, whose jurisdiction extends between Lincoln and Sioux City. The business of this com- pany is rapidly growing. Employment is given to thirty- nine persons in Omaha. The United Press report is furnished to several Omaha papers over the lines of this company.
CHAPTER XXVI.
TRANSPORTATION.
THE DAYS OF STEAM-BOATING, STAGING, AND BULL-WHACKING- THE ADVENT OF THE RAILROAD-THE BUILDING OF THE UNION PACIFIC-INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH THE ENTER- PRISE-GRAND CELEBRATION AT OMAHA UPON ITS COMPLE- TION-THE BRIDGE-TIIE INITIAL POINT FIGHT-DURANT AND TRAIN.
Prior to the advent of the railroad the steamboat, the stage and the bull-team were the means of transportation
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in western Iowa and the trans-Missouri country. Steam- boating on the Missouri was a large and profitable business from the time Omaha was located up to the year 1867-68 when the railroads reached here. A very large amount of money was invested in river transportation during the years that Omaha remained the principal head of naviga- tion on the Missouri. Freights were sometimes very high, and to show what was occasionally realized on a single trip, we will relate a little incident. In the fall of 1856 a couple of adventurous river pilots bought an old stern-wheel steamer in St. Louis, and loaded it with goods, putting on all it could possibly carry. They made the trip to Omaha, reaching here about the middle of November, and delivered their freight at five cents a pound from St. Louis. They then returned to St. Louis with their steamer before the river closed, clearing on the venture enough money to not only pay for their boat, but to have a surplus of a few thousand dollars besides.
The principal steamboat agents during the period pre- vious to the railroads were John R. Porter and H. P. Deuel, under the firm name of Porter & Deuel. Judge Porter came here in the spring of 1856, and went into the commis- sion business with Mr. Riddler, and shortly afterwards with Mr. Bremen, with whom he continued in business two or three years. The first fire in Omaha was the one that des- troyed their store in December, 1856. The building stood on the lot now covered by the Paxton hotel. In 1859 Mr. Deuel succeeded Bremen, and the firm became Porter & Deuel. They were the agents for the packet line and the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad. Mr. Porter was the first railroad ticket agent in Omaha, and used to carry the tick- ets in his hat, something after the mail-carrying style of the first postmaster, A. D. Jones. He continued in the steamboat and railroad ticket business for fifteen years, Mr. Deuel being connected with him for the last ten years of that period.
The arrival and departure of steamers was from two to seven per week, and their arrival was always regarded as quite an important event. When the dull, sonorous whistle of a long-expected boat was heard far off to the south, there would be a grand rush, pell-mell, of nearly all the people in town, on foot, on horseback, and in vehicles of every de-
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scription, to the landing place, and there they would im- patiently await her arrival. It was customary in those days, while a boat was unloading her freight, to have a grand dance on board, by the citizens. The first boat up in the spring was always considered the great event of the boating season, as it brought up a fresh supply of goods of every description to replenish the stocks of the merchants, who had sold out everything during the long winter.
The Western stage company ran eastward from Omaha through Iowa, and between this line and the packets there existed a great rivalry to catch the passengers. The over- land stages also ran from Omaha to Kearney, connecting there with the main line for California and Colorado.
Porter & Deuel continued in the steamboat business until 1867. John A. Horbach was also engaged in the steamboat ticket and freight business in those days, and Captain W. P. Wilcox was one of the early steamboat cap- tains on the Missouri, being engaged for many years in navigating the stream.
As long ago as 1855 the Mississippi & Missouri River railroad, now known as the Chicago & Rock Island, was pushing its way slowly westward from Chicago. Omaha and Florence were then rivals for the terminus. Of the two routes-one down the Pigeon Creek valley, and the other down the Mosquito valley-the company selected the latter, thus disappointing the high hopes of Florence, but the road was not completed till the spring of 1868, the financial crash of 1857 having had a tendency to retard its progress. Mr. S. S. Stevens has been for many years the general western agent, with headquarters in Omaha. The Chicago & Northwestern railroad was the first to reach Omaha from the east, the first train arriving on Sunday, January 17th, 1867. Mr. W. N. Babcock is the general agent at Omaha. Next came the St. Joe & Council Bluffs road-now called the Kansas City, St. Joe & Council Bluffs. The Burlington & Missouri, now called the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad, was completed in 1868.
The Omaha & Northwestern was begun in 1869, and was built to Herman, a distance of forty miles. During the year 1876 it was extended seven miles further to Tekamah. The first president of this road was Mr. James E. Boyd, who was greatly instrumental in organizing the company. Had
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it not been organized just at the time it was, Omaha would not have had the road. The proposition to submit the vot- ing of bonds for the Omaha & Southwestern road was then being agitated, and the Omaha & Northwestern company was hurriedly organized so that their bonds could be sub- mitted at the same time. The stock in the Omaha & Northwestern went rather slow after a certain amount had been disposed of. Then James E. Boyd took three-twen- tieths, or one-sixth of the whole amount, William A. Pax- ton one-tenth, and John A. Morrow one-tenth. The other stock-holders were John I. Redick, Herman Kountze, Ed- ward Creighton, Jonas Gise, John A. Horbach, C. H. Downs, Frank Smith, G. M. Mills, and the Millards. This road is now a part of the Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul & Omaha line. Mr. O. F. Briggs is the Omaha agent and Mr. H. S. Jaynes is superintendent of the Nebraska division.
The Omaha & Southwestern was commenced in 1869, and built to Lincoln, the capital, a distance of fifty miles. The president was S. S. Caldwell, and among the stock- holders were John Y. Clopper, Clinton Briggs, Henry Gray, Frank Murphy, A. S. Paddock and Francis Smith. In 1872 this road passed into the hands of the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy railroad, which corporation extended it to Kearney, where it crosses the Union Pacific, about one hundred and ninety miles from Omaha. The line is now called the Burlington & Missouri in Nebraska. It has a network of railways covering the south half of the state, as well as a line northwest into Wyoming, another into northwestern Nebraska, and one to Denver, making a through route from Chicago to Denver by way of Omaha. This company has done a great deal towards building up the state. It has been the means of bringing into the state a large population to settle upon its lands and develop the country, and it has received its reward in an immense local traffic. The total mileage of the B. & M. is 2,786 miles. The headquarters are located in Omaha, and the general officers in this city are: George W. Holdrege, general manager; Thomas Miller, general freight agent; A. B. Smith, assistant general freight agent; John Francis, gen- eral passenger and ticket agent; C. D. Dorman, auditor; P. Heinrich, H. S. Wiggins, W. P. Durkee, assistant audi- tors; William Randall, freight and ticket auditor; J. G. Taylor, assistant treasurer.
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The Missouri Pacific was completed to Omaha in 1884, thus giving to this city a through line to St. Louis and the great southwest. It is an important factor in the commerce of the city and state. The following officers are located in Omaha: J. O. Phillippi, assistant general freight and pas- senger agent; D. E. King, contracting agent: Thos. F. Godfrey, city passenger agent ; George E. Dorrington, traveling passenger agent; H. B. Kooser, traveling freight agent. The Missouri Pacific owns and operates the Belt line, which has done much towards developing the city.
The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley road, oper- ating 1,236 miles, now terminates in Omaha, having been extended to this city from Arlington, in December, 1887. It opens up to Omaha the rich country of northwest Nebraska, the Black Hills and eastern Wyoming. The Sioux City & Pacific, having 107 miles in Nebraska, is operated by the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley. The general offices of the two roads are in the Merchants National bank build- ing. The officers are: Horace G. Burt, general manager; K. C. Morehouse, general freight agent: Henry Cassidy, assistant general freight agent; J. R. Buchanan, general passenger agent; H. C. Cheyney, southwestern agent: J. E. Ainsworth, chief engineer; John B. Hawley, general at- torney; E. C. Harris, superintendent of telegraph; J. E. Marsh, car accountant; Frank A. Marsh, superintendent of bridges; J. B. Owen, claim agent.
The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road was completed to the Missouri river in 1882, thus giving to Omaha another trunk line to Chicago. Mr. F. A. Nash is the general agent at Omaha. The Wabash-George Clayton, agent-runs to St. Louis. and the Sioux City & Pacific, in Iowa, gives Omaha connection with St. Paul and Minneapolis by way of Sioux City. The other Omaha railroads are the Union Pacific and the Omaha & Republican Valley, the latter having been built by the Union Pacific in 1876.
The history of the Union Pacific railroad-one of the greatest and most important enterprises ever undertaken- will prove of interest to the reader, especially if he be a resident of Omaha, as it was in this city that the work was begun.
The project of a railroad to the Pacific ocean had long been agitated in a vague and indefinite way until 1850,
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when Senator Benton, of Missouri, introduced in Congress the first Pacific railroad bill. The idea was probably sug- gested to him by his son-in-law, John C. Fremont, who in 1842 had explored the South pass. Following this there were several other expeditions through the vast west, and Fremont surveyed a route for a great road from the Missis- sippi to San Francisco. After the close of the war of the rebellion he occupied himself to a great extent in forward- ing the interests of the Southern Transcontinental railway. Incidentally it might be mentioned that had not the war of the rebellion occurred, the first transcontinental railway would very likely have been by a southern route, probably starting from St. Louis. It 1851, Hon. S. Butler King sub- mitted a plan which was universally approved. It was to the effect that the government should guarantee to any company or persons who would undertake and complete the road a net dividend of five per cent for fifty or one hundred years ; the road to be constructed under the supervision of an engineer appointed by the government, the cost of the road not to exceed a certain sum, and the guarantee not to begin until the road was completed and equipped for opera- tion. In 1853-54 nine routes were surveyed across the conti- nent on various parallels, under the supervision of Jefferson Davis, then secretary of war. With each returning ses- sion of congress the benefits and peculiarities of these sev- eral routes were submitted, and the results were summar- ized in the interest of the extreme southern line. Finally it was demonstated that the route along the north side of the Platte river was the most practicable. In June, 1857, a number of distinguished gentlemen from various portions of the United States visited Omaha and conferred with parties having in view the construction of the Pacific road by way of the Platte valley and South pass. The visiting party consisted of Colonel Orr, of South Carolina ; General Robinson, John Covode, and Mr. Bradshaw, of Pennsyl- vania: Judge Barber, of Wisconsin; Colonel Curtis, of Iowa; Mr. Hosmer, of Ohio ; Mr. Pierce, of Indiana, and others. They united in a recommendation to congress that such a reasonable grant of land and other aid be contributed as would prove a sufficient inducement to build the road, and they also recommended the Platte valley route. The project of a Pacific railroad was agitated at
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every session of the Nebraska territorial legislature, and it became one of the most cherished hopes of this new country.
During the session of the thirty-sixth congress a Pacific railroad committee was appointed, and on the 20th of January, 1558, the committee, through Senator Gwin, of California, reported a bill which proposed to locate the east- ern terminus of the road at some point between the Big Sioux and Kansas rivers. The bill provided for the donation of alternate sections of land on each side of the road, and $12,500 per mile, the same to be advanced upon the com- pletion of every 25 miles until $25,000,000 should be reached; the amounts thus advanced to be returned in mail service and transportation of men and munitions of war; five per cent of the stock tobe issued; the president of the United States to receive bids and locate the road. The bill, how- ever, was killed in the senate. Another offort was made at the session of 1859-60, when a new bill was introduced by Mr. Curtis, of Iowa, which met with more favorable consideration, but with no better results.
On the evening of January 29th, 1859, a meeting of citi- zens of Omaha was held in the Pioneer block, at which a memorial was adopted which had been prepared at a previous meeting by a committee consisting of William A. Gwyer, G. C. Monell and A. D. Jones. This memorial was forwarded to Washington.
Thus the matter rested until February 5th, 1862, when Mr. Rollins of Missouri, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill to aid in constructing a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, and it was referred to the Pacific railroad committee. It was substan- tially the same as that introduced by General Curtis at the previous session. On May 6th, 1862, the bill, with various amendments, was passed by the house by a vote of 79 to 49, and was then sent to the senate for concurrence.
Decisive action was delayed until June 20th, when by a vote of 35 to 5, the bill was adopted and sent back to the house. The bill, as amended by the senate, was then adopted by the house by a vote of 104 to 21. The bill was approved July 1, 1862, when it became a law. The bill pro- vided among other things that quite a large number of per- sons, whose names were given, should be created into a
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body corporate and politic, in law and deed, by the name, style and title of "The Union Pacific Railroad Company."
The persons named were from all sections of the north, the south being then in rebellion. Those from Nebraska were Gilbert C. Monell, Augustus Kountze, T. M. Marquette, W. H. Taylor and Alvin Saunders. At that time Sam Daily was the Nebraska delegate in congress, and he it was who had the name of Augustus Kountze inserted in the original charter, Mr. Kountze afterwards becoming one of the government directors of the road. In addition to the persons above named the bill provided for the appointment of five commissioners; also for the laying out and con- structing a continuous railroad and telegraph line from a point on the 100th meridian between the Republican river and the north margin of the Platte valley, in Nebraska, to the western boundry of Nevada; and for the amount of the capital stock; for the appointment of commissioners and other officers; the election of directors; right of way; donations of alternate sections, except mineral lands; the conveyance of lands upon completion of every forty consecutive miles; and the issue and payment of bonds therefor; the designation of the route; the time of completion for the main line being 1876. The land grant amounted to 12,000,000 acres or 19,000 square miles, in alter- nate sections within a breadth of twenty miles on each side of the road, and along its entire length.
An amendatory act directed that a meeting should be held in Chicago on the first Tuesday of September, 1862, the object being to complete the organization and open books of subscription to the capital stock. The meet- ing was accordingly held, General Curtis, of Iowa, presid- ing, and Robert Finney, of Pennsylvania, and J. B. Robin- son, of California, acting as secretaries. There were seventy-three commissioners present. The permanent or- ganization of the convention was effected by the election of W. B. Ogden, of Illinois, as president, and H. V. Poor, of New York, as secretary. The great project was thoroughly discussed, and a committee of thirteen was appointed to advise and co-operate with the officers.
The formal organization of this national enterprise was projected on the 20th of October, 1863, in the city of New York. A board of directors was elected, as follows: George Opdyke, Jolın A. Dix, T. C Durant, E. W. Dunham, P. Clark,
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E. T. M. Gibson. J. F. D. Louier, G. T. M. Davis, A. G. Jerome, August Belmont, L. C. Clark, Charles Tuttle, Henry V. Poor, and George Griswold, New York city; J. V. L. Pruyn, Albany; E. H. Rosekrans, Glenn's Falls; A. A. Lowe, San Francisco; W. B. Ogden and J. F. Tracy, Chi- cago: Nathaniel Thayer and C. A. Lombard, Boston; C. S. Bushnell, New Haven; J. H. Scranton, Scranton; J. Edgar Thompson, Philadelphia: Ebenezer Cook and John E. Henry, Davenport; H. T. McConeb, Wilmington, Del .; Augustus Kountze, Omaha: John I. Blair, New Jersey; S. C. Pomeroy, Kansas; John A. Dix, president; T. C. Durant, vice-president; John J. Cisco, treasurer, and Henry V. Poor. secretary.
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