Winning DAR Essay

The Star concludes its coverage of the Saint Joseph Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution annual American History Essay Contest winners with Zackary Alan Post's fictional account of work on the Transcontinental Railroad.

Journal entry for May 10, 1869

Wow! It is so hard to believe that we have finished the first transcontinental railroad. I cannot believe that six years has past since we first started this journey. Today at the ceremony I was filled with many different emotions as the golden spike was tapped into place. David Hewes (a San Francisco financier and contractor) had the golden spike made. It had engravings on all four sides of it. On one side was May 8, 1869. That was the date that we were to meet here in Promontory Summit, Utah, but the Union Pacific Railroad was late getting here. I hear it was bad weather and the labor disputes that made them late. On one side was engraved, "May God continue the unity of our country, as this railroad united the two great oceans of the world. Presented by David Hewes San Francisco." The names of the railroad officers and directors were engraved on the last two sides. William T. Garratt Foundry made the spike out of 17.6-karat copper-alloyed gold. They removed the golden spike and Leland Standford drove a regular iron spike into place at exactly 12:47 p.m. Telegraphs were sent out that just simply said "Done." Just like that, it was finished. I was proud of the work that we had accomplished, but I was also sad when I thought back on all the hardships we endured. It is going to make travel faster, but it is going to make the Indians' lives harder. No matter how you look at it, everyone's lives will be changed by this railroad. So my family will know just what it was like, let me tell you about my life working on the Central Pacific Railroad.

On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act allowing land grants and U.S. government bonds to help pay for the railroad. I was living in Sacramento, California when Charles Crocker was put in charge of construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. He was hiring Irishmen to work on the railroad and I was one of the ones he hired. The money was good. He paid thirty-five dollars a month and provided our room and board. We lived in canvas tents that we set up right near the railroad. When we got into the mountains, we used wooden bunkhouses. They had a cook that kept us well fed. We did run out of water sometimes. The winters were fierce. There were avalanches and one hundred feet snow drifts. In some of the avalanches a whole team would be swept away. The work was very hard. Moreover, the hours were long. I would just pray that God would keep me safe, and He did. There were a few times I wondered if it was worth it all.

On October 26, 1863, the first rail was laid at Sacramento. We were surprised at just how hard the work was to do. We would complain that the work was worth more money, but Mr. Crocker would not pay us more. A lot of Irishmen would quit. I could not quit, I really needed the job no matter how hard it was.  In 1865, most of the Irishmen were agitated and complaining so much over our wages that Mr. Crocker recruited Chinese workers to replace the ones that were complaining. We instantly abandoned our dispute so we could keep our jobs. Mr. Crocker paid the Chinese workers only thirty dollars a month and they had to pay for their food and board. The Chinese workers did anything that was asked of them. They were very hard workers. By 1868 eighty percent of the workers on the Central Pacific Railroad were Chinese. If the Chinese workers had such a good work ethic, and were being paid less, who were we to complain about our wages?

On October 10, 1868, Mr. Crocker found out that the Union Pacific Railroad had laid seven miles and eighteen hundred feet in one day. Mr. Crocker said that we could lay ten miles in one day. Thomas Durant from the Union Pacific Railroad bet Mr. Crocker that it could not be done. On April 28, 1869, Mr. Crocker won that bet when we laid ten miles and fifty-six feet of track. We started at seven o'clock in the morning and quit at seven o'clock in the evening. By midday we had laid six miles of track. We were able to take it a little easy after lunch. Mr. Crocker paid us four days worth of pay for that one day. That was the best day of work I had in all the six years.

We made it into Promontory, Utah finishing our six hundred and ninety miles of track on May 8, 1869. The Union Pacific Railroad was two days late getting to Promontory, Utah. I have talked to some of the workers and the stories they have told me makes me feel glad that I worked for the Central Pacific Railroad. They were able to move quickly with the open terrain, but they had big trouble with the Indians. They would kill many of the workers at night. They had a crew that was attacked at Plum Creek and killed. Then the Indians pulled up the track. The Union Pacific Railroad had to hire marksmen to kill the buffalo. The buffalo were a physical threat to trains. They are also the primary food for Indians. The six year journey of the first transcontinental railroad was filled with ups and downs on both railroads. But, it makes me feel very proud that I was part of making history.