History of California

werful effect as that which sent the first shot at the flag of the Union,

ceful outcome of the sectional troubles, it astonished

t each other with anxious, uncertain eyes. No one felt quite sure of his neighbor, and they were so far from the scene of action th

ress and elsewhere as though it would certainly be one of the states to secede. He and others had talked too, in a confident way, of the "Grand Republ

its territory. A large number of politicians, especially those holding prominent positions, were Southerners, some of whom, like Dr. Gwi

ld be seized, brought before a magistrate, claimed as a slave, and taken back South without being allowed to testify

and free soil. This man was David C. Broderick. For years he fought the slavery interests inc

hern demands, Southern members ruling and often terrifying Congress. Broderick at once joined Stephen A. Douglas in th

, the doctor and lawyer their offices, the clergyman his pulpit, for the purpose of delving in the earth, where no station is so high, no position so great, that its occupant is not proud to boast that he has labored with his own hands. T

e had done for them-their "brave young senator," as Seward called him, who had kept the evil of slavery from their soil. His work, stopped by the

isco was held-business was suspended, flags were flying everywhere, while eager-faced people listened to earnest Union speeches. A few days later the legislature, by an almost unanimous

f honorable men who were able to fight, hurried east to join the Confederate army, or if they chose to r

ed, and schemed for secession. To keep such as these in order it was found necessary to retain most of the Ca

nd the banner he would dishonor floating over his church, and hanging to a post in front of the door a figure intended to represent hi

nia division of the Sanitary Commission for the assistance of sick and wounded soldiers. Chiefly through his influence

ernment; and its record in that line was second to none. "A good leader, energetic and long-headed," the governor was called; but no one dreamed that long b

the Union cavalry. One regiment of infantry was composed of trappers and mountaineers, from w

cers, who, far off though they were, found enough to do. They drove the Southern forces out of Arizona and New Mexico, f

tted out as a privateer. She was filled with armed men, and in her cabin was a commission signed by Jefferson Davis in the name of the Confederate Sta

al banners and transparencies. Living on Main Street there was a Yankee, one of the leading citizens, who upon such an occasion would take his rifle and, promenading the flat roof of his wide-spreading adobe, hurl down defiance at the enemy, call

of Pasadena now stands. The American officers of the troops, hearing of the affair, hurried out from Los Angeles and begged their men to give up so disorderly and unsoldier-like an idea. "Yes, sirs, it is true, all that you say; but

ed of an overland railroad was also being recognized. Plans for such a road had been frequently presented to Congress, but straightway slavery entered into the

s told by those who had other plans that his route was not possible, that only scientific men could lay out a rail

them always the right way to the lowest passes in the mountains, the shallowest fords in the rivers, the richest pastures in the forest, the best salt springs, the shortest practicable route between two distant points. They are the first engineers to lay o

e fact that the distance from Washington to San Francisco by the way of Cape Horn was 19,000 miles, or more than the entire distanc

building of the road by the middle route that which was finally chosen. Mr. Judah knew more about the matter than any other man, east or west, an

eerful, hopeful way. That he should be hopeful does not seem strange to us who know tha

desert, where there is absolutely no water? It is impossible, and these men know it; they only want to g

kins and Collis P. Huntington, hardware merchants, and Charles Crocker, proprietor of the leading dry-goods store, met and organized the Central Pacific

all had worked hard for the little they had; but they felt that the country must have the railroad, that without it California could never become a great state. B

only to bind the Pacific coast closer to the eastern half of the continent, but to transport troops to defend its western shores. There

ward, the Union Pacific, and one from the Pacific coast eastward, the Centr

asting the first shovelful of earth. This took place in Sacramento, in the presence of a large gathering of the leading people of the state; and from that time the work went s

ack there was to be further aid. The state of California, the city of San Francisco, and the counties through which the railroad passed, each gave generously to the Cen

ing, his name dropped out of sight; but those who know, feel that to him California owes a great debt of gratitude. Though she was sure to hav

e, industrious, and quick to learn. They were arranged in companies moving at the word of command like drilled troops-"Crocker'

y car like a mad bull, stopping along where there was anythin

ered from the strain of that time. It is said t

e rich plains of Utah. If the Central stopped at the eastern base of the mountains, it would make this ro

ocker and his men working like giants. What he accomplished then

ls and iron for the road, even the locomotives, he had to have

ory, a point fifty miles northwest of Ogden. There in May, 1869, the last tie was laid. It was made of California laure

at last been conquered by man's energy. The telegraph at this spot was, for the occasion, connected with all the offices al

ts and officers of the roads waiting for the final ceremony. "Hats off," clicked the telegraph. Prayer was offered, and then the four gold and silver spik

es along the line and in the Eastern cities the hammer of the magnet struck

burst out in the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." In Boston, services were held at midday in Trinity Churc

nly built the road, but made it a grand, complete success in all its departments. Without it, California would still be a remote provin

Slough District, it was guilty of extreme cruelty and injustice, such as is almost certain to bring its own punishment. But in reckoning with the Southern Pacific, for so the company is now called, the people of California should be careful to look on both sides