[American release]
1
Accurate and faithful in
every particular of
fact and atmosphere is
this pictorial history of the
building of the first
transcontinental railroad.
2
DEDICATION
To the ever-living memory
of Abraham Lincoln, the
Builder ---- and of those
dauntless engineers and
toilers who fulfilled his
dream of a greater
Nation.
3
FOREWORD
During the Civil War
the United States was
divided not only into
North and South -- but
also into East and West,
by a seemingly impassable
barrier of prairie, desert
and mountain.
4
More than to any
other man, the Nation
owes gratitude to
Abraham Lincoln, whose
vision and resolution
held the North and the
South while moulding
with blood and with
iron the East and
the West.
5
Springfield, Illinois,
in the days when
a transcontinental
railroad was but a
dream.
6
One of the
dreamers --
Brandon, a
surveyor --
7
-- and one of the
skeptics -- Thomas Marsh,
a small contractor.
8
"Having another of
your day-dreams of
rails across the
continent, Brandon?"
9
"Yes, Tom --
dreaming of rails
that'll reclaim that
wilderness out there
clean to California -
10
"-- And with the
help of God, I'll
lend a hand to
blaze the trail."
11
"We was just
surveyin' through
to the pond."
12
"Just heard down
to the store that
you'd made up your
mind to trail
west."
13
"I'm going to start
in a couple of
weeks, Abe."
14
Against winter snows --
their few belongings
sold -- Brandon and his
boy are impelled westward
by the strong urge of
progress.
15
"Are you ever comin'
back, Davy?"
16
"Poor dreamer --
he's chasing a
rainbow!"
17
"Yes, Tom ---- and
some day men like
you will be laying
rails along that
rainbow."
18
He feels the momentum
of a great nation
pushing westward --
he sees the inevitable.
19
And others see -- but
face it in defiance.
20
Three months later -
springtime in the
Cheyenne Hills.
21
"Look, lad! Some
day there'll be a
railroad through that
pass ---- it's two
hundred miles shorter
than the Indian
trail."
22
"But you're a white
man!"
23
"You'll never tell
that to anybody
else!"
24
"Daddy ---- daddy
was killed ---- a
two-fingered Indian
killed him."
25
Years pass -- and dreams
of a transcontinental
railroad shape into reality.
26
It is June, 1862 -- and
Congress has authorized
the simultaneous building
of two railroads.
The Union Pacific is
to go west from Omaha,
Nebraska. The Central Pacific
(first unit of the Southern
Pacific) is to go east
from Sacramento, California.
27
"Surely, Mr. President,
you will not sign
the bill for this
engineering folly, now
that every cent is
needed to carry on
the war?"
28
"We must not let
problems of war
blind us to greater
problems of the peace
to come --
29
"Or we will have
fought in vain."
30
"Mr. President,
don't you remember
me -- Miriam Marsh?"
31
"And where is little
Davy, who went west
with his daddy?
32
"Now, that was a
boy well worth your
waiting for."
33
"Mr. President, this
is Mr. Jesson -- my
father's engineer --
and my fianc�.
34
"Mr. President, the
whole nation hopes
you will sign that
bill."
35
"I have decided."
36
The far-seeing wisdom of
the great rail-splitter
President is the beginning
of the Empire of the West.
37
From Sacramento,
in 1863, the Central
Pacific has started
with a rush -- and
after fourteen months
scorn turns to wonder.
38
There is no white labor -
it is necessary to bring
in Chinese for the task.
39
Men and horses strain every
nerve, hauling locomotives and
supplies over the mountains -
thus making possible the
construction of forty miles of
track -- while behind them
tunnels are chiseled by hand.
40
From Omaha the
following year come
the Union Pacific crews
-- chiefly ex-soldiers of
North and South working
peacefully side by side.
They had laid the
first rail three months
after the assassination
of President Lincoln.
41
"Drill, ye terriers, drill --
Drill, ye terriers, drill --
42
"Sure, it's work all day,
Without sugar in yer tay -
When ye work for the U.P.
Ra-a-ail-way ---
43
"Drill, ye terriers, drill --
44
"Drill, ye terriers, drill,
An' work and shw-e-a-t -"
45
In dead of winter, close
behind the advancing rails,
headquarters has jumped to
North Platte.
46
"Mornin', Serg'nt
Slattery."
47
"Likewise, Corp'ral Casey."
48
"Hurry up with yer
crawlin' shovelers --
me min are stumblin'
over thim."
49
"Is that so! Listen
-- I slowed thim
up a-purpose, so's we
wouldn't be leavin'
ye behind."
50
For their main
food supply, the
men depend on
buffalo meat.
51
A young man named Cody,
a crack shot, who supplies
buffalo meat to the workers,
is nicknamed "Buffalo Bill."
52
To the hardship of toil
are added the rigors
of winter.
53
The long overdue supply
and pay train is eagerly
awaited.
54
"Ain't it a shame
-- thim fool Indians
tryin' to rope our
poor, weak little
injine."
55
His brother.
56
"The two months'
payroll is on that
train -- if it's lost,
it means trouble
with the men."
57
Beyond the aid of
the rescue train.
58
Thomas Marsh, in charge of
this division, faces the most
vital single problem in Union
Pacific construction ----
a short cut through the
hills must be found.
59
"Jesson, it will be
financially impossible
to keep on unless
we find a short
cut to save the
two hundred miles
ahead of us around
the Black Hills."
60
Deroux -- the richest
landowner in the
Cheyenne country.
61
"Marsh is in there
now, demanding a
shorter pass than
Smoky River."
62
"Does he know I
own that whole Smoky
River section?"
63
"Hear you're hunting
for a short cut
through the hills."
64
"Yes, I am sending
Mr. Jesson out in
a few days."
65
"All work -- no pay -
snow an' chilblains
-- buffalo meat mak'
us seek ---- Indians
shoot like hell ----
everything no good
---- we quit!"
66
"Say, boss, there's
no gettin' on with
these furriners --
I knocked five of
thim down ---- an'
even then they wouldn't
work."
67
Her heart in the road,
Miriam stands with her
father.
68
"Men, this great work
depends on you --
for the sake of
your country, I ask
you to finish it
-- make the whole
Nation proud of you!"
69
"They don't
understand ye, miss!
Ye got to swear
at 'em!"
70
"Tony -- please --
you'll go back for
another week ---
won't you?"
71
"Anything to oblige
a lady!"
72
"For the beautiful
signorina, Tony he
build the beeg ra'lroad
heemself -- alone!"
73
"'Twas me iligant
Irish iloquence that
did it -- was it
not?"
74
"Yes, it was ----
75
"-- not!"
76
In its steady pursuit
of the Union Pacific,
Judge Haller's combined
court and saloon has
earned the name of
"Hell on Wheels".
77
Ruby, the bright -- but
not too particular --
star of the "Arabian Nights"
dance tent.
78
"This bar of likker
is now a bar of
justice ---- sit
down!"
79
"They've got
Ruby up before the
judge again for
shooting!"
80
"Y'ain't a Chinaman,
be yuh?"
81
"Your Honor, Deroux
requests my presence
at the hotel ----
so ta-ta."
82
"The fair defendant
is excused pro tem
-- the trial kin go
right on without
her."
83
"The charge is
attempted murder --
84
"--- but the gent
threw whiskey in
the face of a
lady what's known
to tote a gun --
85
"--- which ain't
attempted murder at
all, but deliberate
suicide ---- case
dismissed."
86
"Do you know Jesson
-- Marsh's engineer?"
87
"Now you play up
to him -- give him
anything he wants
not to find a pass
through the hills."
88
"You're a smart
girl, Ruby ---- and
this will mean your
fare to see your
folks back East in
Kansas City."
89
That night Jesson
works late on his
maps -- next day
he is to leave
for the Cheyenne
Hills.
90
"I'm afraid I've
sprained my ankle
--- please let me
lean on you till
I get to my
house.
91
"My friends will
make you very rich
if you fail to
find a shorter pass
than Smoky River."
92
Next day ---- as
Marsh is making a
tour of inspection -
93
"That's a pony
express rider!"
94
"Jump off yer hoss
and run!"
95
"Saints alive -- he
did jump!"
96
"Have you asked
our young friend
to ride with us
in the car to
the end of the track,
Miriam?"
97
"Miriam! Not Miriam
Marsh?
98
"Don't you remember
me -- Davy Brandon
-- of Springfield?"
99
"And where is your
father, Davy?"
100
"Dad was killed on
the trail out here."
101
"This is Mr. Jesson
-- we're engaged
to be married."
102
"You're from the
same part of the
country -- I thought
you might have met
before."
103
Nearing the end of track.
104
"Davy, our money
is running low --
unless we can find
a shorter cut than
Smoky River, we're
beaten!"
105
"-- some day there'll
be a railroad through
that pass --"
106
"Yes -- dad showed
me exactly what
you're looking for
-- one night just
before --
107
"-- he was murdered
by a two-fingered
renegade, who headed
a band of Cheyennes."
108
"I know that section
-- there's no such
pass."
109
"Will you go with
Jesson to look for
this pass?"
110
The end of track.
111
"Why don't you
Eyetalians quit loafin'
an' lay some track?"
112
"You sittin' in that
cab! If we was
movin' a pianner,
you're the kind of
a feller that would
grab the stool."
113
Davy starts with Jesson
on his quest.
114
"It would be best
if he never came
back."
115
"It's a lucky thing,
me boy, that ye
jumped when I told
ye!"
116
"That's another life
I've saved!"
117
While a great herd of
cattle starts from Texas
on an 800-mile trail to
feed the railroad workmen.
118
The straggling town of
Cheyenne ---- soon to
become another Union Pacific
metropolis.
119
"Boys, headquarters
gets here in a
few days!"
120
MOVING DAY IN
NORTH PLATTE
Its reign as capital of the Union
Pacific is over -- another
night and it will be deserted --
with its inhabitants building
a new city in distant Cheyenne.
121
Hell on Wheels.
122
"Boys, this bar of
justice and likker
will still function
when we get to
Cheyenne - let 'er go!"
123
Friendly Pawnees,
enlisted by the
Government, guard
the workers.
124
Everything but the old
houses moves on wheels.
125
The price of the town's
last night of orgy.
126
"C'mon ---- the old
soak's deep enough!"
127
"I hereby pro-nounce
you man and wife
--- by jiminy!"
128
And not even a dog
remains.
129
In the Black Hills --
Davy and Jesson have
come to Brandon's pass.
130
"It's perfectly safe
for you to go
down."
131
"Not for me -- thanks!"
132
A new and greater
Cheyenne springs
into life.
133
"I calc'late to keep
law an' order in
this here town, Wild
Bill Hickok, if I
have to shoot the
hull population."
134
"I want a divorce!"
135
"Deevorce! Look here,
didn't I marry you
in North Platte not
more'n ten hours
ago?
136
"Now separate!"
137
The three musketeers --
Sergeant Slattery,
Corporal Casey,
Private Schultz.
138
"Go on -- be a man
and a soldier!"
139
"I -- think -- I'd
-- rather -- be --
shaved --"
140
"Shure I niver
dreamed the roots
could go that
deep."
141
"Welcome back, Jesson!
General Dodge, our
engineer-in-chief,
is eager for your
report."
142
"Sorry, sir -- but
there's no pass other
than Smoky River."
143
"But young Brandon
was so positive --
where is he?"
144
"I deeply regret to
say he fell into
a ravine and was
killed."
145
"Too bad about
young Brandon. You
must be glad, though,
that it happened to
him instead of to
me, aren't you?"
146
While the great cattle
herds rumble along
the trail from Kansas.
147
The road of his father's
dreams -- his road --
for he, too, is helping to
build it.
148
But the rails curve
southward toward Smoky
River -- has Jesson failed
to report the discovery
of the shorter pass?
149
"Casey, why are they
laying track toward
Smoky River?"
150
"There's gonna be
a foight!"
151
"They're laying track
south -- why?"
152
"Mr. Jesson reported
that no other pass
was practical."
153
"If you made
such a report, you
deliberately lied."
154
"You've made a
sweet mess of it.
After Marsh hears
what you've done, this
place'll be too hot
for you --
155
"So you'd better
finish young Brandon
the next chance you
get ---- or he'll
finish you."
156
"Mr. Marsh, my field
notes will show you
there is a shorter
pass ---- and it's
practical."
157
"By George! My old
orderly, Sergeant
Slattery!"
158
"Gin'ral, don't you
remimber Corp'ral Casey
---- who stole that
chicken fer yer
dinner?"
159
Like a flash of gunpowder,
rumors of a battle
between Davy and Jesson
spread through the town.
160
"Deroux's roundin' up
his gang here --
looks like they don't
mean to give that
game lad a chance
for his life."
161
"I sent for you,
Davy, because I heard
there was to be
a fight -- promise
me you won't have
any trouble with
Mr. Jesson."
162
"He has a right
to his chance."
163
"But what about me?"
164
"I'm sorry, Miriam
-- I forgot you
are engaged to
Jesson."
165
"Can't you understand?
It's not Jesson I
love!"
166
"All right, dear --
I promise -- I give
you my word I
won't fight Jesson."
167
"Damn your cowardly
soul -- blaze away
at him!"
168
"Mr. Jesson, I'm
sorry I lost my
temper today --
169
"We're both working
for the success of
the road ---- so
let's forget everything
else --
170
"-- and shake hands."
171
"This here's a law
an' order town --
an' this fight's
goin' to be conducted
legal!"
172
"What is it ---- a
fight?"
173
"Quick -- quick
-- Brandon's killing
Jesson -- you're the
only one who can
stop him!"
174
"I couldn't help it,
Miriam -- I'm sorry --"
175
"David -- you promised!"
176
"You promised me -
and you've broken
-- your -- word."
177
Personal bitterness is
put aside.
Davy is made gang
boss ---- and the
road advances along
the shorter route.
178
"Drill, ye terriers, drill -
Drill, ye terriers, drill -
179
"Sure, it's work all day,
Without sugar in yer tay -
When ye work for the U.P.
Ra-a-ail-way.
180
"Drill, ye paddies, drill,
An' work an' shw-e-at -"
181
"With those foreign
laborers making trouble,
we Americans must
stick together."
182
A spectre from the
past visits the
great Cheyenne chief.
183
"Does my red brother
remember me?"
184
Deroux tries desperately
to halt work through
the new pass by
inciting the hostile
Cheyennes to war.
185
"My brother, before
many suns we shall
stop the iron horse
forever ----"
186
Meanwhile the cattle
herd nears the end of
its long journey --
with Cheyenne only a
few miles away.
187
"My God, Pat!
They've got Schultz!"
188
"Pat, can you fire
an engine?"
189
"I kin do anything!"
190
"Telegraph Major North
to rush his Pawnee
scouts to the end
o' track!"
191
"Indians at the end
o' track!"
192
"Come on, boys - save
your fellow-workmen
---- there's a gun
here for every one
of you!"
193
"Let 'em send soldiers!"
194
"You promise us the
beef ---- we no get."
195
"Yer Saint Columbus
found this country
---- but it's our
Saint Patrick who has
to make it go!"
196
"Here they come!"
197
"Here they are, boss
---- ten thousand
head of 'em."
198
"Enough good beef
to feed you all
for a year!"
199
"If the damned
shirkers won't get
aboard, we'll stampede
the herd ---- and
drive 'em on the
train!"
200
"You wanted beef,
did ye? Well, now,
ye'll get hell!"
201
"That's a sharpshooter
close in!"
202
"Deroux!"
203
Like a sweeping
wind, the Pawnee
scouts rush to the
rescue.
204
"TWO-FINGERS!"
205
"Don't be grievin'
so, me lad ----
the young lady will
be forgivin' ye one
of these days."
206
"Pat, I'm going away
---- the Central
Pacific needs men,
and I think I'll
trail west."
207
"Shure an' ye'll
have to take me
along ---- ye'll be
worth nawthing
without me."
208
And the next day the
stage for California is
ready to start.
209
"Me an' Davy are
leavin' for California
to take charge of
the C.P."
210
"Was Dave Brandon
on that coach?"
211
In distant California the
Central Pacific track-layers
make the mountains
resound with their song:
"Drill, ye Chinymen, drill,
Drill, ye haythens, drill -"
212
"Shure it's work all day,
Without sugar in yer tay,
When ye work for the
Cay Pay Ra-a-ail-way.
213
"Drill, ye haythens, drill,
An' work an' shw-e-at."
214
After another year --
over conquered prairie
and through riven
mountain -- the great
roads draw together.
215
THE TRACK-LAYING RACE!
The U.P. leads off by building
four miles in one day.
The C.P. comes back with six.
Then the U.P. does eight.
216
At Promontory Point -- the
final hour when, in seven
years less time than Congress
allowed, the rails are to meet -
1086 miles west of Omaha,
690 miles east of Sacramento.
217
A WORLD'S RECORD.
The Central Pacific finishes
the race by laying ten
miles between daylight and
dark.
218
In the heart of one
man there is no
rivalry.
219
- to him the tracks
will meet and the
roads will be one
- the transcontinental
railroad.
220
"Davy!"
221
"Dinny!"
222
"Wurra, what a
happy man Serg'nt
Slattery would be
to see this great
day!"
223
"Me, I Irish now,
too -- I marry
Nora Hogan!"
224
He stands alone
that night and sees
the consummation of
his father's dream.
225
With his own hands he has
driven the last spike --
the buckle in the girdle
of America.
226
The wedding of the rails
-- celebrated with joyous
exultation in the uniting
of East and West.
The afternoon of May 10, 1869.
Note: The locomotives
shown in the scene
are the original
Jupiter and #119.
227
Leland Stanford, President of
the Central Pacific, greets
Thomas C. Durant, Vice-President
of the Union Pacific.
228
"You belong on this
side, Davy."
229
"When they drive the
golden spike we'll
belong to both sides
-- and each other."
230
California sends a golden
spike to President Stanford.
231
As hammer falls on golden
spike, the wire carries the
sound to every telegraph office
in the United States ----
232
-- and at Washington,
President U.S. Grant receives
the telegraphic message:
-- D -- O -- N -- E --
233
"His Truth is
marching on."
The End
______________________________________
The Iron Horse
[International release]
1
DEDICATION
To the honour
and memory of
GEIRGE STEPHENSON, the
Scottish engineer, and
to the men of every
nationality who have
followed in his footsteps
since England led the
way by opening the
first railway in 1825.
2
Accurate and faithful
in every particular of
fact and atmosphere
is this pictorial
history of the building
of the first American
transcontinental railroad.
3
Springfield, Illinois,
in the days when
a transcontinental
railroad was but a
dream.
4
One of the
dreamers --
Brandon, a
surveyor --
5
-- and one of the
skeptics -- Thomas Marsh,
a small contractor.
6
"Having another of
your day-dreams of
rails across the
continent, Brandon?"
7
"Yes, Tom --
dreaming of rails
that'll reclaim that
wilderness out there
clean to California -
8
"-- And with the
help of God, I'll
lend a hand to
blaze the trail."
9
"We was just
surveyin' through
to the pond."
10
"Just heard down
to the store that
you'd made up your
mind to trail
west."
11
"I'm going to start
in a couple of
weeks, Abe."
12
Against winter snows --
their few belongings
sold -- Brandon and his
boy are impelled westward
by the strong urge of
progress.
13
"Are you ever comin'
back, Davy?"
14
"Poor dreamer --
he's chasing a
rainbow!"
15
"Yes, Tom ---- and
some day men like
you will be laying
rails along that
rainbow."
16
He feels the momentum
of a great nation
pushing westward --
he sees the inevitable.
17
And others see -- but
face it in defiance.
18
Three months later -
springtime in the
Cheyenne Hills.
19
"Look, lad! Some
day there'll be a
railroad through that
pass ---- it's two
hundred miles shorter
than the Indian
trail."
20
"But you're a white
man!"
21
"You'll never tell
that to anybody
else!"
22
"Daddy ---- daddy
was killed ---- a
two-fingered Indian
killed him."
23
Years pass -- and dreams
of a transcontinental
railroad shape into reality.
24
--------- For in 1862
Congress authorises the
simultaneous building
of two railways. The
Union Pacific to go
West and the Central
Pacific to go East,
thus linking the American
Continent from sea to
sea.
25
"Surely, Mr. President,
you will not sign
the bill for this
engineering folly, now
that every cent is
needed to carry on
the war?"
26
"We must not let
problems of war
blind us to greater
problems of the peace
to come --
27
"Or we will have
fought in vain."
28
"Mr. President,
don't you remember
me -- Miriam Marsh?"
29
"And where is little
Davy, who went west
with his daddy?
30
"Now, that was a
boy well worth your
waiting for."
31
"Mr. President, this
is Mr. Jesson -- my
father's engineer --
and my fianc�.
32
"Mr. President, the
whole nation hopes
you will sign that
bill."
33
"I have decided."
34
Men and horses strain every
nerve, hauling locomotives and
supplies over the mountains -
thus making possible the
construction of forty miles of
track -- while behind them
tunnels are chiseled by hand.
35
There is no
white labor. It is
necessary to bring
in Chinese for the
task.
36
In 1865 Lincoln was
assassinated, but his
work went on. Later
in the year come
the Union Pacific crews
-- chiefly ex-soldiers of
the North and South
working peacefully side
by side.
37
"Drill, ye terriers, drill --
Drill, ye terriers, drill --
38
"Sure, it's work all day,
Without sugar in yer tay -
When ye work for the U.P.
Ra-a-ail-way ---
39
"Drill, ye terriers, drill --
40
"Drill, ye terriers, drill,
An' work and shw-e-a-t -"
41
In dead of winter, close
behind the advancing rails,
headquarters has jumped to
North Platte.
42
"Mornin', Serg'nt
Slattery."
43
"Likewise, Corp'ral Casey."
44
"Hurry up with yer
crawlin' shovelers --
me min are stumblin'
over thim."
45
"Is that so! Listen
-- I slowed thim
up a-purpose, so's we
wouldn't be leavin'
ye behind."
46
For their main food
supply the men depend
on buffalo meat.
47
A young man named Cody,
a crack shot, who supplies
buffalo meat to the workers,
is nicknamed "Buffalo Bill."
48
To the hardships
of toil are added
the rigours of
winter.
49
The long overdue supply
and pay train is eagerly
awaited.
50
"Ain't it a shame
-- thim fool Indians
tryin' to rope our
poor, weak little
injine."
51
His brother.
52
"The two months' wages
are on that train
-- if it's lost,
it means trouble
with the men."
53
Beyond the aid of
the rescue train.
54
Thomas Marsh, in charge of
this division, faces the most
vital single problem in Union
Pacific construction ----
a short cut through the
hills must be found.
55
"Jesson, it will be
financially impossible
to keep on unless
we find a short
cut to save the
two hundred miles
ahead of us around
the Black Hills."
56
Bauman -- the
richest landowner
in the Cheyenne
country.
57
"Marsh is in there
now, saying he must
have a shorter pass
than Smoky River."
58
"Does he know I
own that whole Smoky
River section?"
59
"Hear you're hunting
for a short cut
through the hills."
60
"Yes, I am sending
Mr. Jesson out in
a few days."
61
"All work -- no pay -
snow an' chilblains
-- buffalo meat mak'
us seek ---- Indians
shoot like hell ----
everything no good
---- we quit!"
62
"Say, boss, there's
no gettin' on with
these furriners --
I knocked five of
thim down ---- an'
even then they wouldn't
work."
63
Her heart in the
project, Miriam stands
with her father.
64
"Men, this great
work depends on
you ---- for the
sake of your country,
I ask you to
finish it -- "
65
"They don't
understand ye, miss!
Ye got to swear
at 'em!"
66
"Tony -- please --
you'll go back for
another week ---
won't you?"
67
"Anything to oblige
a lady!"
68
"For the beautiful
signorina, Tony he
build the beeg ra'lroad
heemself -- alone!"
69
"'Twas me iligant
Irish iloquence that
did it -- was it
not?"
70
"Yes, it was ----
71
"-- not!"
72
In its steady pursuit
of the Union Pacific,
Judge Haller's combined
court and saloon has
earned the name of
"Hell on Wheels".
73
Ruby, the bright -- but
not too particular --
star of the "Arabian Nights"
dance tent.
74
"This bar of likker
is now a bar of
justice ---- sit
down!"
75
"They've got
Ruby up before the
judge again for
shooting!"
76
"Y'ain't a Chinaman,
be yuh?"
77
"Your Honour,
Bauman requests my
presence at the hotel
---- so ta-ta."
78
"The fair defendant
is excused pro tem
-- the trial kin go
right on without
her."
79
"The charge is
attempted murder --
80
"--- but the gent
threw whiskey in
the face of a
lady what's known
to carry a gun --
81
"--- which ain't
attempted murder at
all, but deliberate
suicide ---- case
dismissed."
82
"Do you know Jesson
-- Marsh's engineer?"
83
"Now you lead him
on -- give him
anything he wants
not to find a
pass through the
hills."
84
"You're a smart girl,
Ruby ---- and this
will mean your
fare home to see
your folks."
85
That night Jesson
works late on his
maps -- next day
he is to leave
for the Cheyenne
Hills.
86
"I'm afraid I've
sprained my ankle
--- please let me
lean on you till
I get to my
house.
87
"My friends will
make you very rich
if you fail to
find a shorter pass
than Smoky River."
88
Next day ---- as
Marsh is making a
tour of inspection -
89
"That's a pony
express rider!"
90
"Jump off yer hoss
and run!"
91
"Saints alive -- he
did jump!"
92
"Have you asked
our young friend
to ride with us
in the car to
the end of the track,
Miriam?"
93
"Miriam! Not Miriam
Marsh?
94
"Don't you remember
me -- Davy Brandon
-- of Springfield?"
95
"And where is your
father, Davy?"
96
"Dad was killed on
the trail out here."
97
"This is Mr. Jesson
-- we're engaged
to be married."
98
"You're from the
same part of the
country -- I thought
you might have met
before."
99
Nearing the end of track.
100
"Davy, our money
is running low --
unless we can find
a shorter cut than
Smoky River, we're
beaten!"
101
"-- some day there'll
be a railroad through
that pass --"
102
"-- dad showed
me exactly what
you're looking for
-- one night just
before --
103
"-- he was murdered
by a two-fingered
renegade, who headed
a band of Cheyennes."
104
"I know that section
-- there's no such
pass."
105
"Will you go with
Jesson to look for
this pass?"
106
The end of track.
107
"Why don't you
Eyetalians quit loafin'
an' lay some track?"
108
"You sittin' in that
cab! If we was
movin' a pianner,
you're the kind of
a feller that would
grab the stool."
109
Davy starts with Jesson
on his quest.
110
"It would be best
if he never came
back."
111
"It's a lucky thing,
me boy, that ye
jumped when I told
ye!"
112
"That's another life
I've saved!"
113
While a great herd of
cattle starts from Texas
on an 800-mile trail to
feed the railroad workmen.
114
The straggling
town of Cheyenne
---- soon to become
the next Union
Pacific headquarters.
115
"Boys, headquarters
gets here in a
few days!"
116
MOVING DAY IN
NORTH PLATTE
Its reign as capital of the Union
Pacific is over -- another
night and it will be deserted --
with its inhabitants building
a new city in distant Cheyenne.
117
Hell on Wheels.
118
"Boys, this bar of
justice and likker
will still function
when we get to
Cheyenne - let 'er go!"
119
Friendly Pawnee
Indians are employed
to guard the
workers.
120
Everything but the old
houses moves on wheels.
121
The price of the town's
last night of orgy.
122
"C'mon ---- the old
soak's deep enough!"
123
"I hereby pro-nounce
you man and wife
--- by heck!"
124
And not even a dog
remains.
125
In the Black Hills --
Davy and Jesson have
come to Brandon's pass.
126
"It's perfectly safe
for you to go
down."
127
"Not for me -- thanks!"
128
A new and greater
Cheyenne springs
into life.
129
"I calc'late to keep
law an' order in
this here town, Wild
Bill Hickok, if I
have to shoot the
hull population."
130
"I want a deevorce!"
131
"Deevorce! Look here,
didn't I marry you
in North Platte not
more'n ten hours
ago?
132
"Now separate!"
133
The three musketeers
-- Sergeant Slattery,
Corporal Casey, Private
Mackay.
134
"Go on -- be a man
and a soldier!"
135
"I -- think -- I'd
-- rather -- be --
shaved --"
136
"Shure I niver
dreamed the roots
could go that
deep."
137
"Welcome back, Jesson!
General Dodge, our
engineer-in-chief,
is eager for your
report."
138
"Sorry, sir -- but
there's no pass other
than Smoky River."
139
"But young Brandon
was so positive --
where is he?"
140
"I deeply regret to
say he fell into
a ravine and was
killed."
141
"Too bad about
young Brandon. You
must be glad, though,
that it happened to
him instead of to
me, aren't you?"
142
While the great cattle
herds rumble along
the trail from Kansas.
143
The road of his father's
dreams -- his road --
for he, too, is helping to
build it.
144
But the rails curve
southward toward Smoky
River -- has Jesson failed
to report the discovery
of the shorter pass?
145
"Casey, why are they
laying track toward
Smoky River?"
146
"There's gonna be
a foight!"
147
"They're laying track
south -- why?"
148
"Mr. Jesson reported
that no other pass
was practical."
149
"If you made
such a report, you
deliberately lied."
150
"You've made a
fine mess of it.
After Marsh hears
what you've done,
this place'll be too
hot for you --"
151
"So you'd better
finish young Brandon
the next chance you
get ---- or he'll
finish you."
152
"Mr. Marsh, my field
notes will show you
there is a shorter
pass ---- and it's
practical."
153
"By George! My old
orderly, Sergeant
Slattery!"
154
"Gin'ral, don't you
remimber Corp'ral Casey
---- who stole that
chicken fer yer
dinner?"
155
Like a flash of
gunpowder, rumours
of a battle between
Davy and Jesson
spread through the
town.
156
"Bauman's roundin'
up his gang here
-- looks like they
don't mean to give
that game kid a
chance for his life."
157
"I sent for you,
Davy, because I heard
there was to be
a fight -- promise
me you won't have
any trouble with
Mr. Jesson."
158
"He has a right
to his chance --"
159
"But what about me?"
160
"I'm sorry, Miriam
-- I forgot you
are engaged to
Jesson."
161
"Can't you understand?
It's not Jesson I
love!"
162
"All right, dear --
I promise -- I give
you my word I
won't fight Jesson."
163
"You coward -- blaze
away at him!"
164
"Mr. Jesson, I'm
sorry I lost my
temper today --
165
"We're both working
for the success of
the road ---- so
let's forget everything
else --
166
"-- and shake hands."
167
"This here's a law
an' order town --
an' this fight's
goin' to be conducted
legal!"
168
"What is it ---- a
fight?"
169
"Quick -- quick
-- Brandon's killing
Jesson -- you're the
only one who can
stop him!"
170
"Listen, Miriam!
I didn't come here
to quarrel with
him --"
171
"The you came to
drink -- and gamble
-- and ----- and
dance --"
172
"You came straight
from me to this
-- this vile den!
You're as untrustworthy
as he is!"
173
"Drill, ye terriers, drill -
Drill, ye terriers, drill -
174
"Sure, it's work all day,
Without sugar in yer tay -
When ye work for the U.P.
Ra-a-ail-way.
175
"Drill, ye paddies, drill,
An' work an' shw-e-at -"
176
"With those foreign
labourers making
trouble, we must
stick together!"
177
A spectre from the
past visits the
great Cheyenne chief.
178
"Does my red brother
remember me?"
179
Bauman tries
desperately to halt
work through the
new pass by inciting
the hostile Cheyennes
to war.
180
"My brother, before
many suns we shall
stop the iron horse
forever ----"
181
Meanwhile the cattle
herd nears the end of
its long journey --
with Cheyenne only a
few miles away.
182
"Pat! They've got
Mackay!"
183
"Pat, can you stoke
an engine?"
184
"I kin do anything!"
185
"Telegraph Major North
to rush his Pawnee
scouts to the end
o' track!"
186
"Indians at the
end o' track!"
187
"Come on, boys - save
your fellow-workmen
---- there's a gun
here for every one
of you!"
188
"Let 'em send soldiers!"
189
"You promise us the
beef ---- we no get."
190
"Yer come quietly
-- or ye'll never
live to be killed
by the Redskins,
begorra!"
191
"Here they come!"
192
"Here they are, boss
---- ten thousand
head of 'em."
193
"Enough good beef
to feed you all
for a year!"
194
"If the shirkers
won't get aboard,
we'll stampede the
herd -- and frighten
them on to the
train!"
195
"You wanted beef,
did ye? Well, now,
ye'll get it, horns
an' all!"
196
"That's a sharpshooter
close in!"
197
"Bauman!"
198
Like a sweeping
wind the Pawnee
scouts rush to
the rescue.
199
"TWO-FINGERS!"
200
"Put your pride
in your pocket,
me lad! Tell the
sweet, young lady
the truth."
201
"No, Pat! As she
can't trust me --
I'm off to the
Central Pacific which
needs men."
202
"Shure an' ye'll
have to take me
along ---- ye'll be
worth nawthing
without me."
203
The next day the
stage for the West
is ready to start.
204
"Me an' Davy are
leavin' for the West
to take charge of
the Central Pacific."
205
"Was Dave Brandon
on that coach?"
206
"Shure it's work all day,
Without sugar in yer tay,
When ye work for the
Cay Pay Ra-a-ail-way.
207
"Drill, ye haythens, drill,
An' work and shw-e-at."
208
After another year --
over conquered prairie
and through riven
mountain -- the great
roads draw together.
209
The track-laying race!
The U.P. leads off by
building four miles
in one day.
The C.P. scores with six.
Then the U.P. does eight.
210
At Promontory Point
--- by superhuman
effort and undaunted
courage, the rails will
meet seven years
sooner than expected.
211
In the heart of one
man there is no
rivalry.
212
-- to him the
tracks will meet
and roads will be
one --- a shining
path from sea to
sea.
213
"Davy!"
214
"Dinny!"
215
"Wurra, what a
happy man Serg'nt
Slattery would be
to see this great
day!"
216
"Me, I Irish now,
too -- I marry
Nora Hogan!"
217
He stands alone
that night and sees
the consummation of
his father's dream.
218
With his own hands
he has driven the
last spike -- the
buckle in the girdle
of a continent.
219
The wedding of the rails
-- celebrated with joyous
exultation in the uniting
of East and West.
The afternoon of May 10, 1869.
Note: The locomotives
shown in the scene
are the original
Jupiter and #116.
220
"You belong on this
side, Davy."
221
"When they drive the
golden spike we'll
belong to both sides
-- and each other."
222
California has sent
a golden spike to
mark the completion
of the great
enterprise.
223
As hammer falls
on golden spike,
the wire carries
to every telegraph
office the message
D-O-N-E!
224
"His Truth is
marching on."
The End
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