The Rock Here Is All Red
Granite, And Some Of It Disintegrated, Which Is Used For Ballast.
There
are many snow sheds on the high land here, but none very long.
We ran
rapidly down from 'Sherman,' the summit, to 6,000 feet level, and more
gradually afterwards, running all day through the plains, over which,
although very dry, numerous herds of cattle and horses were pasturing,
and we reached Omaha at 7.50 a.m. on the 3rd October.
"At Omaha we crossed the Missouri River. The bridge here, of iron,
founded on iron cylinder piers, is for a single track only, and is
being taken down bit by bit, and a double track iron bridge on masonry
piers substituted..
"From Council Bluffs, the station on the Iowa side of the Missouri
River, we left by the Chicago and North Western Railway, which is a
well constructed, well equipped, and first class American Railway. The
line runs through a good agricultural country, the chief crop being
Indian corn, and was doing a good business. We met many freight trains
during the day, and saw several trains of cattle going east also. We
reached Chicago on time at 6.50 a.m. on the morning of the 4th
October."
CHAPTER VII.
Negociations as to the Intercolonial Railway; and North-West
Transit and Telegraph, 1861 to 1864.
It was in September, 1861, that I visited Frederickton and Halifax on
the question of the Intercolonial Railway, travelling by way of Riviere
du Loup, Lake Temiscouata, Little Falls, Woodstock, round by St.
Andrews, Canterbury, Frederickton, St. John, Shediac, and Truro to
Halifax. Later in the autumn, representatives from New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia visited Quebec and Montreal, and it was generally agreed
that deputations from Canada and from the two Maritime Provinces should
proceed to England. These deputations were, from Canada the Hon. Mr.
Van Koughnet, from New Brunswick the Hon. Mr. Tilley, and from Nova
Scotia the Hon. Joseph Howe. It was impossible to choose a more
influential delegation: men earnest in the cause they came to advocate;
politicians of tried metal; men of great influence in the colonies they
represented.
I arrived in England from Canada in the beginning of November, 1861,
and at once telegraphed to the Duke, and on my way to London, at his
request, I visited him at Clumber, and made my report of progress,
which appeared to be highly satisfactory. The only difficulty, as to
the Intercolonial, appeared to rest in Mr. Gladstone's "peculiar views
about subsidies, grants, and guarantees out of the funds, or on the
security, of the State." But the Duke said, he must "labour to show the
Chancellor of the Exchequer that this was no new proposal; that, in
fact, the Provinces had been led to believe that if they would find the
money, the State would guarantee the interest under proper precaution,
as the State had guaranteed the capital for the Canadian canals, every
shilling expended on which had been honourably repaid." In fact, "this
work was not a mere local work, but satisfied military and other
Imperial conditions." The end of this, and many other, interviews, at
the Colonial Office and at the Duke's residences, was complete
concurrence in the following programme:
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