and since United States Senator, soon after the passage of the original act, to bring the attention of President Lincoln to this subject, but the President’s constant occupation, with weightier duties forced upon him by the great war, prevented his action.  The time came, however, when it could be no longer delayed.

Owing to the increase of subsidy among the hills and mountains, it was important to the railway company that the foot-hills should begin as near as possible to Sacramento.  The senator claims the credit of moving the mountains from Barmore’s to Arcade Creek, a distance of twenty-four miles.  His relation of the affair to his friends is this:  Lincoln was engaged with a map when the senator substituted another, and demonstrated by it and the statement of some geologist that the black soil of the valley and the red soil of the hills united at Arcade.  The President relied on the statements given to him, and decided accordingly.  “Here you see,” said the senator, “how my pertinacity and Abraham’s faith removed mountains.”

Reconnoissances made in 1862, 1863, 1864, had demonstrated that a serious question would arise in reaching the Humboldt Valley from the western foot of the Wahsatch Mountains in the Salt Lake Basin.  Should the line go north or south of the lake?  The Mormon Church and all of its followers, a central power of great use to the transcontinental roads, were determinedly in favour of the south line.  It was preached from the pulpits and authoritatively announced that a road could not be built or run north of the lake.  But our explorations in an earlier day unqualifiedly indicated the north side, though an exhaustive examination was made south, and only one line run north, it being our main line to the California state line surveyed in 1867.

The explorations by parties south of the lake, and the personal examinations of the chief engineer, determined that it had no merits compared with the north line, and on such report the north line was adopted by the company and accepted by the government.

Brigham Young called a conference of his church, and refused to accept the decision; prohibited his people from contracting or working for the Union Pacific, and threw all his influence and efforts to the Central Pacific, which just at that time was of great moment, as there was a complete force of Mormon contractors and labourers in Salt Lake Valley competent to construct the line two hundred miles east or west of the lake.  The two companies also had entered into active competition, each respectively to see how far east or west of the lake they could build, that city being the objective point, and the key to the control of the great basin.

The Central Pacific Company entered upon the examination of the lines long after the Union Pacific had determined and filed its line, and we waited the decision of their engineers