were relying, were greatly depreciated in value. Labor was scarce
and only to be had at extravagant figures.

In the report of one of the Government inspectors, made in 1864, when
the grading had progressed some twenty miles out of Omaha, he stated:
"There are now some two hundred men employed on the work and a like
number of horses and oxen, together with two excavating machines that
are doing the work of many men. It is confidently expected that this
Section (the first forty miles) will be ready to be laid with rails by
June 1st, next." This he regarded as very commendable but as compared
with four years later, when there were nearly twelve thousand men
engaged and track was going down from two to ten miles a day, it seems
anything else but satisfactory.

A great amount of the preliminary work in the way of reconnoissance,
surveying, and even locating was done under Governmental auspices
previous to 1860, most of it by officers of the army. All of their
reports and surveys were by action of Congress given to the Railroad
Company, thus saving them greatly in time as well as in money. In
addition to the Government surveys the Company investigated and did
more or less surveying before deciding upon the route to be followed
through the Rockies.

In the report of the Government directors for 1866 they refer to the
following eight routes as having been investigated during the
preceding year by the Company, viz.:

1st Via South Platte River and Hoosier Pass.
2nd Via Platte River and Tarryall Pass.
3rd Via North Fork of South Platte River.
4th Via Berthoud Pass.
5th Via Boulder Pass.
6th Via Cash le Poudre-Dale Creek and Antelope Pass.
7th Via Evans Pass.
8th Via Lodge Pole Creek, Cow Creek, and Evans Pass.
9th Via Lodge Pole Creek and Cheyenne Pass.
10th Via Lodge Pole Creek and South Pass.

The first seven of these routes included Denver en route. Something
that the Company considered essential and which was very reluctantly
abandoned.

CHAPTER V.

_Progress Made._

Completion of Eleven Miles--Excursion--Officers--Labor
Supply--Ex-Soldiers--Methods Employed--Progress Made--Headquarter
Towns--Rough Times--Competition With Central Pacific for
Territory--Stations--Buildings, Etc.

As we saw in our last chapter, ground was broken at Omaha, December
2nd, 1863. This, however, was more in the nature of a jollification on
the part of the citizens of Omaha over the selection of their ci