Here, again, the chief engineer brought Bradford’s diplomacy to bear on Brigham and won him over.

While the Union Pacific was building west, the Central Pacific had been building east, and here, in the Salt Lake basin, the advance forces of the two companies met.  The United States Congress directed that the rails should be joined wherever the two came together, but the bonus ($32,000 to the mile) left a good margin to the builders in the valley, so, instead of joining the rails, the pathfinders only said “Howdy do!” and then “Good-bye!” and kept going.  The graders followed close upon the heels of the engineers, so that by the time the track-layers met the two grades paralleled each other for a distance of two hundred miles.  When the rails actually met, the Government compelled the two roads to couple up.  It had been a friendly contest that left no bad blood.  Indeed they were all willing to stop, for the iron trail was open from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

V

The tenth day of May, 1869, was the date fixed for the driving of the last spike and the official opening of the line.  Special trains, carrying prominent railway and Government officials, were hurrying out from the East, while up from the Golden Gate came another train bringing the flower of ’Frisco to witness, and some of them to take an active part in, the celebration.  The day was like twenty-nine other May days that month in the Salt Lake Valley, fair and warm, but with a cool breeze blowing over the sagebrush.  The dusty army of trail-makers had been resting for two days, waiting for the people to come in clean store clothes, to make speeches, to eat and drink, and drive the golden spike.  Some Chinese laborers had opened a temporary laundry near the camp, and were coining money washing faded blue overalls for their white comrades.  Many of the engineers and foremen had dressed up that morning, and a few had fished out a white shirt.  Judah and Strawbridge, of the Central, had little chips of straw hats that had been harvested in the summer of ’65.  Here and there you saw a sombrero, the wide hat of the cowboy, and the big, soft, shapeless head cover of the Mormon, with a little bunch of whiskers on his chin.  General Dodge came from his arsenal car, that stood on an improvised spur, in a bright, new uniform.  Of the special trains, that of Governor Stanford was first to arrive, with its straight-stacked locomotive and Celestial servants.  Then the U.P. engine panted up, with its burnished bands and balloon stack, that reminded you of the skirts the women wore, save that it funnelled down.  When the ladies began to jump down, the cayuses of the cowboys began to snort and side-step, for they had seen nothing like these tents the women stood up in.