History That Doesn't Suck - 84: Transcontinental Railroad (pt 2): Dr. Thomas Durant, The Union Pacific & “Hell on Wheels”

Episode Date: February 15, 2021

“How dare you try to hog all the continent?” This is the story of the Union Pacific Railroad. The US Government has legislated that a private company be organized with government oversight to build a railroad from Nebraska to Nevada. It will meet the Central Pacific and form a transcontinental rail across the whole United States. Unfortunately, few are interested in investing in this risky endeavor in the midst of the Civil War. But one man isn’t afraid to do so. Of course, his lack of fear is equaled by a lack of scruples. He’ll wheel, deal, cut corners, extend rail, manipulate stock prices, and more in his goal to make a windfall of cash from the “Pacific Road.” This is Dr. Thomas Durant. Meanwhile, life is rough on the rails. Irish immigrants, war vets (blue and gray alike) and more, work hard while living in a world far removed from the law. Out here, might makes right and arguments are won by the fastest draw as men frequent the saloons, dance halls, and brothels following the railroad on the very tracks they just laid. These portable towns are often called the “wickedest cities in America.” Welcome to “Hell On Wheels.” ____ Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The French Revolution set Europe ablaze. It was an age of enlightenment and progress, but also of tyranny and oppression. It was an age of glory and an age of tragedy. One man stood above it all. This was the Age of Napoleon. I'm Everett Rummage, host of the Age of Napoleon podcast. Join me as I examine the life and times of one of the most fascinating and enigmatic characters in modern history.

Look for The Age of Napoleon wherever you find your podcasts. From the creators of the popular science show with millions of YouTube subscribers comes the MinuteEarth podcast. Every episode of the show dives deep into a science question you might not even know you had. But once you hear the answer, you'll want to share it with everyone you know. Why do rivers curve? Why did the T-Rex have such tiny arms? And why do so many more kids need glasses now than they used to? Spoiler alert, it isn't screen time. Our team of scientists digs into the research and breaks it down into a short,

entertaining explanation, jam-packed with science facts and terrible puns. Subscribe to MinuteEarth wherever you like to listen. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and as in the classroom, Subscribe to MinuteEarth wherever you like to listen. bonus content, and other exclusive perks, I invite you to join the HTDS membership program. Sign up for a seven-day free trial today at htdspodcast.com slash membership, or click the link in the episode notes. It's mid-November, 1868, and tensions are high in Wyoming Territory's Bear River City. There's hardly a soul to be seen here a year back, but now, as the Union Pacific's veritable army of employees toil and sweat, laying transcontinental rail out here by the Wyoming and Utah Territory's border, their presence has exploded the settlement's population to 2,000.

Many of them are rough, hard-living types, and I'm not just talking about the Union Pacific men. Portable wood and canvas saloons, brothels, music halls, and pretty much any other establishment that facilitates gambling, drinking, or the knocking of boots follow them on the newly laid rails. Hey, watch it. Though one thing doesn't follow so well.

That's the law. With that combo, Bear River City is yet another railroad town where might makes right, disputed poker games are settled by the fastest draw, and emboldened bandits may kill a man for his wages on payday. To put a finer point on it, the newspaper operating here,

the Frontier Index, calls Bear River City, quote, the liveliest city, if not the wickedest city in America, close quote. Damn. Now, as I was saying, tensions are high in this wicked city. Part of that is because there is so little law. There is a sheriff. Well, a new sheriff, the first one already gave up and resigned. But in these conditions, vigilantism has become the way,

and it enjoys considerable support from the Frontier Index's co-owner and publisher, Lee Freeman. Lee uses his influential railroad newspaper to encourage the formation of an all-good citizens committee to handle Bear River City's brigands. And they do. Earlier this month,

three men the index described as notorious robbers were found dead. It was an early morning, and the bodies were still dangling by their necks from some ropes affixed to the beam of a not-yet-finished building. Woof.

Justice served. Or is it? A lot of Union Pacific men aren't okay with this. No judge? No jury? Lee assures his readers that the innocent have nothing to fear. While distancing himself as a supporter of, but not a participant in the vigilantism,

Lee contends that, quote, it is only the guilty who quake in their boots. Close quote. Nah, that still isn't sitting right with many, perhaps especially the many railroad workers on the opposite side of Lee Freeman's politics. The newspaper man is a Virginia-born Confederate Civil War vet, and he loathes the new president-elect, former Union General Ulysses S.

Grant. Under the title, What We Expect, Prepare for the Worst, Lee fumes in the Frontier Index that, quote, Grant, the whiskey-bloated, skrrt-ravishing adulterer, monkey-ridden, n***a-worshipping mogul, is rejoicing over his election to the presidency. Close quote. It would be difficult to write a more offensive sentence, so as Lay spews his slur-ridden venom at the Union war hero now elected president,

you can imagine how it upsets the numerous pro-Ulysses Grant U.S. Army veteran railroad workers in Bear River City. Between Lee's support of the vigilantes, or Vigs as they're called for short, and these open assaults on the hero president, well, these workers can only bottle their frustration so long. Soon, tempers will flare

and things might get out of hand. It's November evening, probably November 19th, but possibly the 20th. Three Union Pacific graders are having a great time. Maybe too great of a time? They hit the bottle hard enough that the vigilantes teared the trio and locked them up in a log cabin jail. And this is when

some railroad workers finally snap. Now, sources conflict on their exact motives. Reasons given include a brother of one of the arrested drunkards rallying other workers,

all that pro-vig talk in the Frontier Index, and at least one writer thinks the workers' anger is really focused on Lee's harsh words against Ulysses Grant. But whatever the reason, these workers form a mob of 200 or more, and sometime between that same night and the next morning, they free the three men, then burn down the jail. They don't stop there, though. Filled with rage at the vigilante-supporting, Ulysses-hating newspaper,

this crew of who knows how many Union vets march over to the Frontier Index's office. They destroy the press, then burn it to the ground. But those actions alone won't end the newspaper. They have to go after the man behind it, Lee Freeman. I can't tell you exactly what happens here. According to one source, some of the mob find Lee in town. He reaches for his

six-shooter but has a dozen guns pointed at his head and chest before he can even draw. Then the mob cries out, hang him, shoot him, death to the chief of the Vigs. Amid the pandemonium, a sympathizer distracts the crowd while Lee sneaks into a saloon and out its back. It could be that Alexander Topant saves him. The French-born man of the American West claims that I cut a long slit in the back of the tent with my knife and got him out on a mule and he escaped.

Or does Lee successfully convince the mob he's someone else altogether, then escape? No one knows for sure. The only thing we can say with certainty is that once he's clear of the mob, Lee rides so hard and so fast toward Fort Bridger that, according to Dr. Frank Harrison, quote, you could have played checkers on his coattails, close quote. As Lee flees, other citizens are ready to repulse the mob. Taking cover inside the grocery store, Bear River citizens aim their Henry rifles at the angry hundreds outside.

Bullets whiz out of the wooden structure and into the dirt roads. Caught off guard, the mob falls back, and by that night, it fizzles out. When Lee Freeman returns the next day with the troops from Fort Bridger, they find Bear River City is back in order. Well, what Bear River City considers in order. Deaths are estimated as high as 40 and as low as zero. In other words, there's as much certainty

about this aspect of the Bear River City riot as any of its other details. But there will be one death for certain in the near future, the death of Bear River City. As the Union Pacific crosses into Utah territory, its large population of workers and all those portable saloons, brothels, and gambling halls follow, rendering the city a ghost town. Though really, the city won't disappear. It'll just move, riding along the newly laid track. Basically, it's a town on wheels. But as the wickedest city in America, folks around these parts have another way of describing the portable town

of Union Pacific workers and followers. This is Hell on Wheels. wheels. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and I'd like to tell you a story. Today, we continue with the story of the Transcontinental Railroad by meeting the company laying tracks from the east to the West, the Union Pacific. To that end, we'll start with more railroad legislation, some of which will involve some old-fashioned backroom dealing. Very quickly though, I'll introduce you to the notorious figure who will come to be known as the first dictator of the railroad, Dr. Thomas Durant. You'll be hard-pressed to find a more interesting figure in this saga, and we'll see how he sets the stage for a scandal that will rock the careers of politicians for years to come.

But more than that, today we lay rail. We'll follow the Union Pacific from its eastern terminus, wherever President Abraham Lincoln decides that should be, back to this hell-on-wheels town. And we'll hear about the war veterans, Irish, and others who are doing this back-breaking work. This is a fun one. But of course, to create the Union Pacific, we're going to have to go back a few years to 1862. So here we go. Rewind. The birth of the Union Pacific Railroad Company is truly unique. Congress isn't in the habit of legislating that a private company be created,

but with the Civil War thrusting new pressures and concerns on the federal government, that's one of the many things the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act does. It designates that the Union Pacific, or UP for short, will be created and is expected to build the lion's share of the Transcontinental Railroad, from Nebraska Territory all the way out west to Nevada Territory's border with California. I mentioned this briefly while giving you the bill's highlights in the last episode, but now that we're ready to hear the Union Pacific's story, let's get more of the details. First, the legislation identifies 163 commissioners to sell Union Pacific stock.

They are listed by name and state. Walter S. Burgess, William P. Blodgett, Benjamin H. Seaver, Charles Fostick Fletcher of Rhode Island, and so on. These gents and their counterparts across the nation will gather for an organizing meeting in Chicago in the coming months to elect officers. But again, they are the ones selling UP stock. The price is $1,000 per share. And investors must purchase at par. In other words, no discounts, with at least 10% down when subscribing. No single person may hold more than 200 shares, but once a minimum of 2,000 shares are sold, the Union Pacific will become more of a private company. At this point, a meeting of stockholders will be called, where they'll elect new officers and a

13-member board of directors. But the federal government won't be letting go of this company completely. After all, the Union Pacific is, as I explained in the last episode, reaping the benefits of the government's largesse through land grants and bonds with the intention of serving the nation's interests. As such, the U.S. president, which is Abraham Lincoln, will appoint two non-stockholding directors. Sounds like a great plan, but after the old Illinois rail splitter signs the bill into law on July 1st, 1862, the Union Pacific gets off to a lackluster start. When the commissioners meet in Chicago that September, a mere 68 of the 163 show up. Meanwhile, hardly anyone is buying stock. By March 1863, only 150 shares are sold. So just another 1,850 shares to go before the company can

organize. Positive thinking, am I right? Joking aside, it seems that even with the government's backing, building a transcontinental railroad remains too rich a prospect for most investors' blood. The only notable progress by early 1863 is the decision on whether to set the gauge, that is, the spacing of the rails, at 5 feet or 4 feet and 8 and a half inches. It seems like such a small thing, yet even this decision is filled with drama. Let me share with you this brief presidential anecdote. California uses the 5-foot gauge.

The Northeast tends to use 4 foot 8 and a half. This means someone has to change their ways, and per last year's legislation, that decision rests with the U.S. president. Seeing that everyone who wants to talk to him about it has a vested, biased interest, Lincoln asks his cabinet to vote on the matter with secret ballots, which he then collects, pockets, and reads in private. We'll never know what the majority of the cabinet thought, but the rail splitter then issues an executive order stating that the Transcontinental Railroad

will use a five-foot gauge. This decision pleases our friends from the Central Pacific, but it doesn't hold. Congress overrides it. With a noted lack of support from California senators, Congress passes a bill setting the gauge at four feet eight and a half. This gauge, which is the same used by our locomotive inventing English friend from the last episode, George Stevenson, will become standard, and much to the Californian's chagrin, I'm sure, Lincoln doesn't fight it. He signs the bill into law on March 3rd, 1863.

Okay, so the question of gauge is resolved, but back to the major problem at hand. The Union Pacific remains stalled out. Congress doesn't have the time to babysit this either. It's a little preoccupied with a civil war that is far from in the bag. Meanwhile, investors still see the UP as too risky. Well, most investors do. There's one man whose financial savviness, penchant for risk-taking,

and, to be blunt, profound lack of moral scruples has him running toward this railroad from which most investors are fleeing. This is Dr. Thomas C. Durant. Born among the Berkshires of western Massachusetts in 1820, Thomas Durant didn't stay put for long. He soon undertook his studies at Albany Medical College, from which he graduated as a specialist in ophthalmology and with honors in 1840. At the young age of 20, Tom had already picked up the honorific title of doctor. He'll never practice medicine, but he will forever be known as the doctor.

The doc soon enters the world of business. He begins managing the New York City office of his uncle's export business, Durant, Lanthrop & Company. But when not busy exporting flour and grain to Europe or otherwise growing his uncle's empire with considerable skill, the New Englander is trying his hand at trading stocks. Here again, Dr. Thomas Durant does rather well. It's in the early 1850s that the dock starts to get into the railroad game.

Tom and his engineer business partner, Henry Farnham, are now running their construction company, Farnham and Durant, and between 1853 and 1854, they construct Illinois' Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. It's a job well done, so the duo naturally have another railroad construction opportunity in hand by the end of the year. Iowa's Mississippi and Missouri Railroad, or the M&M for short. And I know the railroad's name might seem odd for Iowa if you're thinking of states. To be clear, the railroad's named after the rivers running along Iowa's eastern and western sides, respectively. But this one doesn't work out so well.

The Panic of 1857 reveals to poor Henry just how fast and loose his business partner plays. Turns out Dr. Rance made a habit of using their company's securities to underwrite his efforts to game the stock market. That's right, no consulting his business partner as he gambles with both of their fortunes. No wonder historian Maury Klein says, in describing the tall, thin, mustache and goatee wearing dock, that he, quote, look the part of the riverboat gambler some thought he was, close quote. Though not immediately, this is the start of Henry's exit from his partnership with the dock. Meanwhile, island counties that put up hundreds of thousands

in bonds for the M&M are left high and dry. The railroad's construction comes to a screeching halt for the time being, but the money doesn't come back. Yet, despite the M&M's shortcomings, it's about this time that Tom, who's now married and has children, is seeing potential wealth in the Transcontinental Railroad. Surveys from one of his best engineers, a bright young man named Grenville Dodge, might have set him down this path. The election to the U.S. presidency of a certain pro-rail Illinois lawyer who repped the railroad interests of Henry Farnham and Thomas Durant in an 1857 lawsuit probably doesn't hurt either. But regardless of precisely why, speculating,

risk-taking Dr. Thomas Durant is looking west. And of course, there's no better place to do that than from Washington, D.C. Like our California friends from the Central Pacific, Ted Judah and Collis Huntington, the doc and his friends spent a fair amount of time in and around the federal capital in 1862, working to see the passage of the Pacific Railroad Act. But now, in 1863, Tom is ready to swoop in and lay claim to the languishing Union Pacific. The 1862 Pacific Railroad Act limits him from buying more than 200 shares, but that's fine. He's got a workaround. The doc hits up friends and offers to pay the 10% immediately due on a subscription of shares for them. In other words, they get a down payment on Union Pacific stock for free.

What do they have to lose? The answer, of course, is nothing. Now, is this legal? Well, we'll leave that to the investigations to come. Oh, and he'll fund his purchase of this stock in part by spreading rumors that his incomplete M&M Railroad is where the Transcontinental Railroad will begin. This will jack up the M&M's stock price so he can sell shares at an artificial high. Yeah, ethics and legality are not his things, but through these means, Thomas Durant single-handedly funds 75% of the subscriptions on just over 2,000 shares. And with that magical number reached, the Union Pacific can now organize.

It's now October 29th, 1863. Stockholders of the Union Pacific have gathered in New York to elect a board of directors and officers. Nominations are few. Many of those here who wield influence are nervous enough to own Union Pacific stock. If this endeavor fails, they certainly don't want their names associated with its governance and leadership. But as they work their way through today's elections, Thomas Durant's name comes up two times.

For board of directors and vice president. Meanwhile, a friend for whom he paid the 10% down on shares, John Adams Dix, is elected as the company's president. And if you're thinking being number two disappoints Tom, you'd be mistaken. Remember, he's the money behind most of the sold shares. He put these shareholders in the room, and this is exactly the outcome he wants. The Doc is only number two on paper. A former senator and now Union General renowned for his patriotism and honesty, his old colleague

John Dix is the perfect face for the Union Pacific. Further, the Doc knows John well enough to know the elderly gentleman won't actually try to run the company. So John Dix wears the crown. Thomas Durant wields the actual power as the Union Pacific comes to life in these last days of October 1863. Everything is just as the doctor ordered. Want to learn how you can make smarter decisions with your money? Well, I've got the podcast for

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And we explore mythology from ancient cultures around the world. Come find us at ancienthistoryfangirl.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Having almost single-handedly, albeit unethically, brought the Union Pacific to life and placed himself in control, riverboat gambler lookalike Thomas Durant has won but the first of many battles. Two more now loom at present. One, getting the Transcontinental Railroad's eastern terminus where he wants it, and two, procuring more desperately needed funds. Let's start with the matter of the eastern terminus. If you're unfamiliar with the word, a terminus is, when speaking of railroads, the end of a line. Now, I'll remind you that in the last episode,

I mentioned that the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act includes some small branches to major cities along the Missouri River. These will connect to the main transcontinental railroad. Only one branch, the Iowa branch, is to be built by the Union Pacific. Other local railroad companies are designated to handle the rest. The main line's terminus is stated to be the 100th Meridian in the Nebraska Territory. But in a way, none of that really matters. The act further states that all of these plans are, quote, subject to the approval of the President of the United States and to be determined by him on actual survey, close quote.

So, as with the rail's gauge, well, before Congress overrode him, the gangly, bearded war president once again has to weigh in. And like that last round, he knows everyone talking to him has an angle. For instance, Thomas Durant wants to build a rail across the whole of Nebraska territory. Meanwhile, the famous pathfinder

turned lackluster Civil War general, John Fremont, and his partner, Samuel Howlett, have invested in another line. It's going to make some name changes, but for simplicity, let's just call it what it will eventually land on. The Kansas Pacific. These gents are looking to see if they can't finagle their role from building one of the smaller branches into getting the transcontinental's main line, a move that would put the future famous railroad through Missouri and Kansas rather than the Nebraska territory. Now, if you got lost in the weeds there at all, no worries. Here's the key thing. Poor Lincoln has nothing but biased opinions on this terminus. At least there's one individual who,

though an interested party, the president feels he can trust. This is Grenville Dodge. Now, Grenville should ring a bell. I mentioned his surveying work just a few minutes ago. Like the doc, Grenville is originally a Massachusetts man. He too made his way west and, as we know, found employment surveying for Thomas Durant. It was also during this time that Grenville got to know, at least to some degree, their one-time Yankey lawyer, Abraham Lincoln. It was August, 1859.

Having recently acquired some land in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Lincoln went down to check the place out. It just so happens that Grenville Dodge had made his home in this very town along the Missouri River's eastern shore. So while there, the politically ambitious and intellectually curious lawyer invites the renowned railroad engineer to visit one evening. Following dinner, the two sat out in front of the hotel where Lincoln was staying. Appropriately, it was called the Pacific House. The high-pitched Illinoisan asked his burning question, Dodge, what's the best route for a Pacific Railroad to the west? Grenville didn't hesitate.

From this town out the Platte Valley, he answered. The two men continued discussing for two hours. Neither forgot about the conversation. I imagine it came up at least once in passing when they crossed paths the following year at the White House, this time as President Lincoln and Colonel Grenville Dodge of the 4th Iowa. And in June of 1863, as Lincoln found himself literally empowered to decide where the transcontinental railroad should begin, he brought his old acquaintance back to the White House.

The poor General was nervous. Yes, general. Grenville Dodge has been tearing it up in the Western theater with Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman, and thanks to his track record and a bit of politicking, he's been promoted. Unaware of why he had been summoned, Grenville figured he was in trouble for recently arming black men to guard their camp full of those who'd recently escaped slavery.

Not at all. Lincoln only wanted advice on where along the Missouri River, be that Sioux City, Kansas City, or maybe somewhere in between, he should fix the Transcontinental Railroad's eastern terminus. In other words, he wants to pick up the conversation they had four years ago in Council Bluffs. Grenville's position hasn't changed. He still believes the Transcontinental Railroad's path should start in his adopted hometown. This will without a doubt serve his own purposes. The general is totally team Union Pacific. But that said, Grenville Dodge is a genuine patriot, and apart from a tendency to exaggerate the occasional war story, a rather

honest man. Lincoln put great stock in his advice. While an executive order didn't come forth that moment, Grenville's convinced the president made his decision then and there. Quote, I saw from his talk and his indication that his views coincided with mine, and I have no doubt he made his decision at that time. Close quote. But the terminus doesn't end up in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Not quite. It's now November 17, 1863. Armed with surveys, Dr. Thomas Durant and his chief engineer, Peter Day, meet with President Lincoln and Interior Secretary John Usher.

They pore over the maps while discussing the Transcontinental Railroad's eastern terminus. The good doctor is pushing for Omaha in Nebraska Territory. The geographical difference between it and Council Bluffs, Iowa, is the Missouri River. Omaha occupies the western bank. Council Bluffs sits just opposite on the eastern bank. But anticipating that he can move the terminus across the mighty river, Tom has been secretly buying up Omahaaha real estate if he succeeds he'll stand to make a tidy profit off of this land speculation the president points out that property of his and council bluffs on the map he then laments i've got a quarter section of land right across there and if i fix it there they will say that I have done it to benefit my land. Ah yes, the seasoned politician knows that whatever his intentions,

his enemies will always find the worst possible explanation. The secretary, engineer, and doctor look on in silence as Lincoln calculates that potential political barb against what he believes is best for the nation. Lincoln decides it's worth taking the hit. But I will fix it there anyhow. Lincoln grabs paper and hastily writes the order. I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,

do hereby fix so much of the western boundary of the state of Iowa as lies between the north and south boundaries of the United States township within which the city of Omaha is situated, as the point from which the line of railroad and telegraph in that section mentioned shall be constructed. In the context of his comment, Lincoln clearly meant council bluffs. But that wasn't the best wording his legal mind has ever conjured. Perhaps he was distracted thinking about the Chattanooga campaign that's currently raging. Oh, and there's that dedication

of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg the day after tomorrow. Ugh, right. Got to squeeze in the time to write a quick speech for that, too. Whatever the reason, the reference to Omaha and Lincoln's hastily handwritten order

created an opening for the land-speculating Union Pacific VP, and he jumps on it. Despite further challenges from the president, the dock will make Omaha the transcontinental railroad's eastern terminus. Land prices soar, and another battle won. The Union Pacific breaks ground in Omaha only two weeks later, on December 2nd, 1863. It has the same kind of fanfare we heard about in the last episode, when the Central Pacific broke ground in January of the same year. This is the grandest enterprise under God! The Nebraska Territory Governor exclaims to the hundreds in attendance.

But that's not all the Union Pacific has in common with its Californian counterpart. Both are failing to move forward. It's time we brought the Central Pacific back into the picture. We left the company in a tight spot at the end of the last episode. Its true founder, the idealistic, brilliant engineer Ted Judah, just died last month, November 1863. God rest his soul. He just arrived in New York, hoping to find investors to buy out his business partners, the Associates, aka the Big Four. But with his passing, the Associates have no hope of getting

off this train, whether they like it or not. And perhaps they would. Things don't look great. Despite having broken ground almost a year ago, they've only laid about two miles of track. In other words, two miles more than the Union Pacific. And they're also close to broke, with a mere $7,000 in the bank. Oh, and they won't see any cash from government bonds until they lay at least 40 miles of track. Given this nightmare of a situation, the associate who first bought into Ted's dream, Central Pacific VP, Collis Huntington, sees little alternative but to go back east

and see if he can drum up more funds from the federal government. And this is where the Central Pacific's VP encounters the Union Pacific's. Intentional or not, they end up living and working just down the street from one another in New York as we enter the new year, 1864. And of course, both will spend plenty of time in Washington City this spring. Specifically, they'll be lobbying Congress for new legislation

that'll breathe new life into both of their railroads. Now, lobbying isn't an inherently illegal or immoral act, even if we tend to be more familiar with lobbyists who play outside the lines. But Collison the good doctor fall into that morally questionable crowd. Perhaps particularly the doc. He shows up in D.C. with $435,000, give or take, in Union Pacific funds. What's the old saying? Right, takes money to make money,

or in this case, takes gifts and campaign donations to get bonds and land grants via legislation. We know where some of this goes. His hired man, Joseph Stewart, single-handedly distributes a quarter million in Union Pacific stock. But Tom will never provide all the details, even amid future investigations. So financial gifts start

flying, and Massachusetts Congressman Oakes Ames is offered one of the finest, albeit in his brother's name, Credit Mobilier stock. Ah, Credit Mobilier. Do you remember this company? I told you about its eventual exposure and scandal under the Grant administration back in episode 74, but it begins in 1864, and as congressmen get wrapped up in it, this company deserves a deeper explanation. Okay, big picture for a second. Let's pause and remember just how risky investing in this transcontinental railroad is. For this generation, it sounds about one click less crazy than going to

the moon, maybe even on par. That's why there's so little private investment. Further, railroads are a long game. The payday of operating a railroad lays at the end of the line, and as we know, this is a long track. So those willing to invest want something to offset that long-term risk. That's where building the railroad itself comes in. I mentioned this briefly in the last episode as the Central Pacific started offsetting the railroad's massive risks by awarding construction contracts to their own Charlie Crocker. In other words, awarding the contracts to themselves, so they can make that more immediate cash. That alone isn't a huge issue.

It's fairly well understood that this construction scheme almost has to be the way of things or no one would take on the financial risk that is the transcontinental railroad. But Thomas Durant is going to play this game at a far more questionable level. As author Richard Rayner so succinctly puts it, quote, his, Durant's, scheme was to gather

quick profits from building the railroad, not from running it. A familiar trick, as we've seen, but Durant exploited it on an unprecedented scale in a way that, when the law looked, would allow him to vanish. Close quote. Enter Credit Mobilier. Well, the Pennsylvania fiscal agency. The doctor and his tightest click purchase it in March, then change the name in a nod to France's Société Générale de Crédit Mobilier, which has partly inspired their scheme. Crucially, its charter provides limited liability to stockholders. This means that, if things go belly up, Tom will keep his

Credit Mobilier paid profits. Under this structure, the good doctor puts on his Union Pacific vice president hat, jacks up his honest engineer's estimates for the first few hundred miles of track from $30,000 per mile to $50,000, then, donning his President of Credit Mobilier hat, indirectly receives that inflated contract. Rail is then laid on the cheap while Credit Mobilier pays a windfall to the dock and his buddies. In other words, Tom isn't just building the railroad. He's funneling a literal fortune in government bonds, well, loans, and private investments from the Union Pacific through Credit Mobilier and right into his own pocket. This game will catch up with Thomas Durant one day, as well as several politicians now accepting Credit Mobilier shares.

Not that it excuses anything, but many of them genuinely fail to realize until it's too late that this construction company is something of a shell organization swindling the U.S. taxpayer. Congressman Oaks Ames falls into that camp. And of course, it'll hurt a certain patriotic army commander by the name of Ulysses S. Grant, who's currently risking life and limb

leading the Overland Campaign in Virginia and completely unaware of these shenanigans. None of that will matter when the story finally breaks during his future presidency. But I already told you that story in episode 74. Let's stick with the Washington antics of Collis Huntington and Thomas Durant.

It's now May 23rd, 1864. Collis and Tom's Washington lobbying is coming together, but the Californian has heard disturbing news about the forthcoming legislation. It's and Tom's Washington lobbying is coming together, but the Californian has heard disturbing news about the forthcoming legislation. It's the doctor's doing, and Collis means to confront him about it. He charges through the halls of the Capitol, or the Willard Hotel, we aren't sure which, and upon finding his frenemy, Collis explodes. How dare you try to hog all the continent, he yells.

The doc doesn't react at all. He's grinning, in fact. He knows exactly what this is about. While the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 created a race between the two companies, the doc has just convinced the Senate to fix their meeting point as the California-Nevada territory border. Cold as a cucumber, Tom replies. well, how much do you want? Collis can hardly believe the audacity of his Union Pacific counterpart, Mr. Union Pacific, as he often derisively refers to the doctor. After a pause, he answers, give me Nevada.

The compromise at 150 miles east of the California-Nevada territory border. Well, for now. Collis doesn't see this bill as the final act in this drama. In addition to temporarily pausing this uneasy territorial dispute, the Pacific Railroad Act of 1864 goes quite a ways toward ensuring both major railroad companies have their needed cash flow for construction. The following are some highlights. Railroad companies can now issue their own mortgage bonds, which essentially makes government bonds second mortgages. In other words, more money. The federal government will also pay out every 20 miles rather than every 40. Land grants per mile are doubled, now at 120,800 acres, and the companies will have

rights to coal and iron deposits. And in a bid to encourage private investment in the Union Pacific, its stock is dropped from $1,000 per share to $100, with currently held shares being split accordingly, of course. Oh, and no limits on how many shares someone can buy. That's gone too. Finally, I'll note that the number of directors for the Union Pacific gets a little bumped too. The railroad titans are pleased, but not everyone is. Congressman E.B. Washburn calls the bill, quote, the greatest legislative crime in history,

the most monstrous and flagrant attempt to overreach the government and the people that can be found in all the legislative annals of the country, close quote. Damn, that is harsh. Whether he's right or wrong, it's a done deal. President Lincoln, the Illinois rail splitter, signs it into law on July 2nd, 1864. The Union Pacific accomplishes little in the next 12 months. Sure, engineers like James Evans and Samuel Reed are covering over a thousand miles surveying possible routes for the railroad as far out as the Salt Lake Valley, but Dr. Thomas Durant is making a mess of things in Omaha. Most notably,

he doesn't like the relative straightness of the path his talented engineer Peter Day has planned for the start of the railroad. With the federal government paying by the mile, the doc thinks bigger curves, or oxbows as they're called, should be added to the first segment. Fighting for this route over Peter's already approved and partially graded road costs the Union Pacific half a million, but Tom gets his way. It adds nine mile of track, thus giving the Union Pacific claim

to another $144,000 in bonds and 115,200 acres in land. Between this and those inflated construction estimates, Peter Day decides he's had enough of the doctor. He quits. The less competent but more pliable Colonel Silas Seymour will fill in temporarily. While doing so, he creates more headache and waste

by ordering soft cotton railroad ties rather than ties made from hardwood. Yeah, Tom has managed to do little apart from anger just about everyone. But things start to look up in the first half of 1865. Oliver Ames and his congressman brother, Oaks King of Spades Ames, the nickname comes from the two brothers'

successful shovel-making company, dump money into the operation by purchasing $1 million worth of credit mobilier stock and lending the Union Pacific another $600,000. These poor guys, so clueless about the scandal to come. In April, the Union Pacific loses its friend in the White House as Lincoln is assassinated, but the Civil War also ends. Countless discharged soldiers, Union and Confederate alike, flock to the Union Pacific looking for employment.

And last but not least, the good doctor is about to get someone who can actually organize and lead, General Grenville Dodge. And yes, this is Tom's former M&M Railroad engineer who chatted it up with Lincoln years ago at Council Bluffs. He wanted to be involved with the Union Pacific earlier, but felt a patriotic call to the war. The doctor couldn't get Grenville to leave the Union Army for the sake of the Union Pacific during the Civil War, but the bearded, 35-year-old general is willing to leave the Indian Wars for it. With General Ulysses Grant and W. Tecumseh Sherman's friendly blessing, Grenville now officially replaces his old associate Peter Day as the Union Pacific's chief engineer. He shows up in Omaha in May and swiftly puts his military discipline to

use with his many military veteran employees. Right now, the Central Pacific is ahead of the Union Pacific. Currently, its almost exclusively Chinese workforce has laid about 42 miles of rail, moving from San Francisco east and up to an elevation of 1,600 feet at Clipper Gap. But things are finally organized and starting to move in Omaha. On July 10th, 1865, a full year since the passage of the latest Railroad Act and a year and a half since the Union Pacific's official groundbreaking, the UP lays its first rail. Good thing for the company too. The competition is about to get cranked up. Now I'll fill you in on the Central Pacific's construction

in the next episode, but between May and July of 1866, Collis Huntington of the Central Pacific is managing to make trouble for the Union Pacific. He's in Washington. Thomas Durant is not. And the Californian hasn't forgiven the doc for curtailing his company's turf to a meager 150 miles east of the California-Nevada border during the last round of railroad legislation. Well, it's time for a little payback. See, few legislators here are thinking about the

transcontinental Railroad. Their minds are focused on reconstruction, and as we know from Episode 73, things are getting really tense between congressional Republicans and President Andrew Johnson. This is the environment in which Collis is working. The senator from California, John Caness, addresses his colleagues. He boldly proclaims that the 150-mile limit was a mistake. Quote, it was stolen in through the corruption of some parties and the clerk who eventually made the report. Close quote. It's a complete 100% lie. But with all the things going on right now

and lacking the aid of smartphones to do instant fact checks, Congress rolls with it. Then again, there is nothing meritorious about the circumstances of the previous limitation. So make of it all what you will. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1864 is now amended. Congress removes the Central Pacific's 150-mile limit. As was the case in the 1862 Act, the Californians can now build until they run into their eastern competitors. The bill is signed into law on July 3rd, 1866.

The race for the continent is on. The Union Pacific now moves rapidly. That isn't necessarily because of the new legislation, though I'm sure it didn't help. It's more that by mid-1866, Chief Engineer Grenville Dodge and his army of workers have built about 100 miles east of Omaha. And Nebraska gets a bit flatter, and therefore easier, from here. They smoke through this next section, laying two, sometimes three miles of rail in a single day. It seems that Union Pacific construction has finally hit its stride. Let me tell you how this whole process works. First come the surveyors.

Yes, Samuel Reed, James Evans, former engineer Peter Day, or even Grenville Dodge during his short time in the Indian Wars have already covered much of this ground previously. That was all preliminary though. The surveyors coming through at this part are making and leaving specific notes attached to wooden spikes that detail precisely where the rails should go,

and whether that means cutting down a hill, filling in a low spot, or building a bridge. Now we're ready for the actual construction, which is executed by a series of highly organized teams. Small wonder, given that the man in charge of the Union Pacific's construction is the Union Civil War vet, General John Casement, better known as General Jack. With the help of his younger brother, Dan, General Jack sees to the grading of the road, then the laying of the railroad ties and rails.

It goes in that very order. I'll break it down for you. At the top of the greater food chain is the boarding boss. He's over everyone here, feeds the men, and plays doctor if there isn't one in the camp. And there usually isn't. Next is the stable boss. He's in charge of the camp's hundred-odd horses, mules, and wagons. And yes, he knows every single animal by name.

We then come to the walking boss. It's his job to make sure the workers don't slack off, which he usually handles with a fine string of swear words. Worst case, he'll dock their pay. Now we come to those doing the actual grading. The object, no, the necessity, is a smooth, properly pitched road, built roughly 12 feet wide,

and ideally, two feet above the surrounding ground. Can't have a thunderstorm washing out the track now, can we? built roughly 12 feet wide and, ideally, two feet above the surrounding ground. Can't have a thunderstorm washing out the track now, can we? This is where the muscle of those laborers, called graders, comes in. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of shovels and pickaxes attack the ground. And naturally, those are Ames Brothers Shovels, as in the King of Spades Congressman and his brother Oliver, whose shovel company and involvement I mentioned earlier. The loose dirt is then packed down

into the new elevated road. Perhaps there's a sizable pit that needs filling? In this case, a horse or mule-drawn wagon may move far larger loads. And where exactly should that dirt get unloaded? Well, that's where our last boss comes in, the dumping boss. Like that one person in your life who always notices when a framed photo or painting is hung just slightly crooked, this guy is watching for exactly where the dirt is needed. He'll holler at you and make sure it gets to the right place, then smooth it out to perfection with his own shovel. If the ground won't play along, sometimes a team of horses drag a scraper

over the developing road. With the grading done, sometimes well over a hundred miles in advance, it's time for the railroad ties. Workers quickly lay them, then tamp them into place, moving dirt as needed to build up or lower the imperfectly sized rectangular wooden beams. Now comes the fun part, the rails.

Departing a supply-laden construction train, horses charge down the newly laid track with 40 rails and all the necessary spikes and chairs to lay them. By the way, if chair in the railroad world is unfamiliar to you, think of a small support in which the rail can sit on the tie. When the horse-drawn wagon comes to a stop at the end of the track, two teams of five workers run up to the wagon from either side.

Four from each team lay hold of one 30-foot-long, 560-pound rail with tongs. They remove it while the fifth man seats its chair. Now the foreman yells out his one-word instruction. Down! Both teams drop their parallel rails and run back for another, knowing the foreman expects them to drop the next rail in 30 seconds. That's right. These two teams lay four rails every 60 seconds. As they scurry, a gauger kneels over the just-dropped rails and ensures that they are exactly four feet and eight and a half inches apart, just as George Stevenson, Congress, and Abraham Lincoln intended. Distance assured, the sledgehammers of 30-some-odd spikers fly, driving spikes into the earth.

At 10 spikes per rail, 40 rails per mile, and anywhere from one to three miles per day, sometimes more, all of these sounds, horses dropping rails, sledgehammers, are a constant rhythm. And who is doing all of this backbreaking labor? There are the young war vets, both blue and gray, some recently freed African Americans,

and a lot of immigrants. They hail from all over Europe, but many are Irish, as attested to by their being the subject of some of the railroad songs of the day. The Irish are known for working hard, but don't suffer Thomas Durant's games. By that, I mean they have no problem striking

when, as frequently is the case, the doc's credit mobilier scheming results in them not getting paid. Although that's not how their Union Pacific employers would put it. They acknowledge the Irish as hard workers, but distrust them and complain, as Joseph E. Henry does, of being driven crazy by, quote, drunken Irishmen after their pay, close quote. I wish I could detail the lives of these workers, but letter writing and diary keeping isn't much of a thing while working on the UP Railroad. We'll have to settle for these broad descriptions of

the blood, sweat, and tears expended by the faceless and nameless thousands laying this track. The Union Pacific continues to move west through the Nebraska Territory. It hits a major milestone on October 6th, 1866, the 100th Meridian Line. This is significant. This point roughly in the middle of the territory is, per previous legislation, the indisputable start of the Transcontinental Railroad's main line. By reaching this line of longitude, any ambitions the more southern Kansas Pacific had of usurping the title of mainline from the UP are gone. The hardworking laborers of the Union Pacific have now laid 247 miles of rail. This is an accomplishment, and Dr. Durant won't let that go to waste.

Only a few weeks later, in late October, the doc throws a batch of epic proportions out here at the 100th Meridian. His guest list includes VIP politicians like congressman and future U.S. president Rutherford B. Hayes, and big-time investors like the man behind Credit Mobilier's name, George Francis Train. After riding the Union Pacific's rails in George Pullman's luxurious palace cars, or sleeping cars, they enjoy sumptuous meals, a prearranged and safe prairie fire, watch railroad men work and otherwise participate in other excursions. Then one morning, a war party attacks. Or so the doctor's guests think.

It's all staged. These Pawnee men served under Grenville Dodge as scouts when he was out this way in the Indian Wars, and Tom's hired them to give his guests the quote-unquote real experience of the West. The Pawnee had already performed a war dance the night before, and they carry out a mock battle later that day. But the last role in this performance belongs to the good doctor himself. He pays the Pawnee in front of his guests, and it delights them to see this relationship. What they'll never know is this is a second payment. Not trusting him, the Pawnee wisely made the doc pay them $100 up front.

Speaking of the Pawnee, the Transcontinental Railroad has a massive impact on indigenous peoples. While its construction is an incredible feat beyond description, the Union Pacific is carving right through Pawnee, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Shoshone lands. In some cases, like these Pawnee men whom we just met, alliances are formed and they'll serve as scouts for the Union Pacific. However, plenty of other Native Americans fight back in any way they can. They rip up survey stakes, burn tie-cutting equipment in the Black Hills, steal livestock, and sometimes kill, scalp, or take prisoners. Lawmakers realized the Transcontinental Railroad would run contrary to already standing treaties.

To quote the 1864 Pacific Railroad Act, The United States shall extinguish, as rapidly as may be consistent with public policy and the welfare of the said Indians, the Indian titles to all lands falling under the operation of this section and required for the said right of way and grant of land herein made, close quote. Similar language appeared in the previous 1862 Act. And this squarely plugs into the stories we heard about the Indian Wars in episodes 77 through 79. A reason treaties are being renegotiated or violated in this era is to make way for the railroad. As Civil War hero, General W. Tecumseh Sherman

tells indigenous leaders gathered for a peace conference at North Platte, Nebraska in 1868, quote, this railroad will be built and if you are damaged by it, we must pay you in full, and if your young men will interfere, the great father who, out of love for you, withheld his soldiers will let loose his young men, and you will be swept away, close quote. We'll keep following the Union Pacific for now. There's just so much to do and so little time. But I hope that gives you just another dimension to consider when you think back on the Indian Wars. Despite Dr. Thomas Durant's continued financial games, the Union Pacific keeps making progress.

Survey teams are mapping and staking, and the massively bearded General Jack follows with his several thousand strong workers, grading, scraping, building bridges, stations, and laying both ties and rails. From the 100th Meridian, they continue within the vicinity of the Platte River, then its lower tributary, South Platte. On June 24, 1867, the Union Pacific lays its 374th mile of rail while just dipping into the Colorado Territory. This is Julesburg, and it's known as the wickedest city in the West. Here's what newspaperman Henry Stanley recalls from his time here this year. I walked on till I came to a dance house bearing the euphemous title of

King of the Hills, gorgeously decorated and brilliantly lighted. The ground floor was as crowded as it could be and all were talking loud and fast and mostly everyone seemed bent on debauchery or dissipation. The women appeared to be the most reckless and the men seemed nothing loath to enter a whirlpool of sin. The managers of the saloons raked in greenbacks by hundreds every night. There appears to be plenty of money here, and plenty of fools to squander it. Yes, just like Bear River City in the opening of this episode, Julesburg is a hell on wheels

town. Before the Union Pacific came, the population was 41 souls. Now it's a city of 4,000 to 5,000. Vigilantes are the closest thing to the law, so you might be better off defending yourself. A reporter, Henry, later recalls women walking, quote, through the sandy streets in black, carrying fancy derringers slung to their waists, with which tools they are dangerously expert. Close quote. Seems almost everyone walking the streets of this drinking, gambling, and fornicating town is a gunslinger. And there is gunfire here. With some gambling

dens open on the Union Pacific's land without paying for the lots, General Jack confronts them with 200 armed men. Gamblers push back, and Jack tells his men to open fire. How many they hit, I can't tell you, but the population of the town's cemetery went up that day. So did the gamblers' respect for the Union Pacific's newly claimed land. But in the weeks to come, Julesburg depopulates as fast as it populated. The portable brothels, saloons, gambling halls, dance halls, you name it, some made of tents, others collapsible structures built of pine, they follow the army of young Union Pacific men, ready to relieve as many as are willing of their next payday's wages. Cutting slightly northward on its path west,

the Union Pacific passes just above the Colorado Territory into what will be organized as the Wyoming Territory. And they continue west, establishing more train depots and outposts. While the city of Denver wants the Union Pacific to come its way, this is the best route to the Continental Divide. A branch to Denver can be added later, but right now, the Union Pacific must press west to gobble up as many land claims as possible before the CP can get it. But ahead of General Jack's construction teams is Grenville Dodge.

The chief engineer has located what will become another town and stop on the railroad. He names it after the indigenous people who call this region home and have fought against the Union Pacific tooth and nail, Cheyenne. The soon-to-be town gets its first permanent residence on July 5th, 1867. A Mormon grading crew hired out of Utah Territory is walking toward the railroad's camp. The UP men can see them. Then suddenly, there's an attack.

Indigenous warriors strike hard, fast, and flee. Two or three of the Mormon men are dead. To quote historian Maury Klein one more time in this episode, quote, Dodge ordered the dead men buried on the site of his new town. Cheyenne had its first inhabitants. Close quote. Westward, eh, okay, northwest, on to Laramie.

Another wild, vigilante, hell-on-wheels town, it even boasts a saloon nicknamed Bucket of Blood. From here to Hanna, Rawlings, and still others until, in early November 1866, the Union Pacific reaches Bear River City. Yes, the hell-on-wheels town where we started this episode. The men of the UP have laid 890 continuous miles of rail from Omaha, Nebraska to this point and are ready to move into the Utah Territory.

But how much more turf can the Union Pacific get? The Central Pacific is bent on taking the territory of Utah and Collis Huntington is stretching the truth back in D.C. to make that happen. Meanwhile, Thomas Durant's schemes are starting to fall apart at the seams, and it appears he might be ready to sink the Union Pacific and Credit Mobilier before he'll let the more honest types like Grenville Dodge or the Ames Brothers oust him. With the U.P. crippled by a power struggle, is it in any position to fend off the Central Pacific?

We'll find out next time as we follow the Californian company and its almost entirely Chinese workforce into the dangerous Sierra Nevada mountains and beyond. HTDS is supported by premium membership fans. You can join by clicking the link in the episode description. My gratitude to you kind souls providing additional funding to help us keep going. And a special thanks to our members whose monthly gift puts them at producer status. Thank you. Joshua Steiner, Justin M. Spriggs, Justin May, Kristen Pratt, Karen Bartholomew, Cassie Conecco, Kim R., Kyle Decker, Lawrence Neubauer, Linda Cunningham, Mark Ellis, Matthew Mitchell,

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