The Diaries of John Gregory Bourke Volume 4: July 3, 1880--May 22, 1881

17. Back to the Southwest

343 Chapter 17 ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ Back to the Southwest A pril 8th . The U.S. Railway Mail Agent invited me to enter his car and examine its workings. I was much interested. The Railway Mail system has been methodized, almost to perfection since 1870 and has done wonders in expediting the transmission of letters and postal packages across the country. We reached Cheyenne on time to catch the Denver Pacific train. We pulled out in a severe gust, but this did not last long and did us no damage. The Denver Pacific runs along much more level line of country than that followed by the parallel line,—the Colorado Central . It is of the Denver Pacific that the story is told in R-R. circles that Jay Gould, having first quietly gobbled up the Kansas Pacific, the Colorado Central and the Union Pacific, thus cutting it off from all, except local, traffic, telegraphed to the Dutch share-holders in Amsterdam to know whether or not they would sell. An affirmative reply was cabled and Gould started for Europe. He reached Amsterdam on time and met the shareholders as agreed upon. The price for which they were willing to sell was $1.350.000; “All right”, said Gould, [“]sign the transfer papers”. “But.[”] rejoined the phlegmatic Mynheer [sic] who acted as spokesman for the Hollanders, [“]we want you to agree to pay us 5 per cent on the indebtedness 344 The Bureau of Ethnology until cancelled”. “All right”, said the American thereupon the legal documents were formally signed and delivered, and Gould, without giving the Dutchmen time to light a pipe of tobacco, drew his checkbook , made out a draft for the entire amount on the Barings’ Bank, in London, handed it to the chairman and started on his return trip to America, having been in Holland about 6 hours.... Greeley, on the Big Thompson is an enterprising, prosperous town, where Yankee thrift shows itself in brick houses, good barns and stables, painted fences, well-cultivated fields and other indiciae which appeal at once to one’s eyes, but cannot well be described. Mr. Barkalow of Omaha, and Mr. Adams of Cheyenne, were in car with me as far as Denver, Colorado. The transfer ’buss took us to the Windsor Hotel, a new and well-built establishment of the pretentious order—neatly furnished and high-priced, but with an inferior table.* The Rotunda was full of people, nearly all, to judge from scraps of conversation, interested in mining. Denver itself is full of bustle and “has a boom”, to use the Western phrase. Its people have a go-ahead spirit and numbers of fine brick blocks, new or reconstructed hotels, and magnificent Union R.R. dépôt, attest their faith in the permanency of their city’s prosperity. They have gas and water works, the latter supplying a very filthy liquid which is used by the inhabitants in their ablutions; strangers recoil from it, being content, as a general thing, with the dust and grime already upon them: There is some talk of introducing the electric light, and take it in any aspect of the [phrase?], Denver is a “live town and no mistake”. It already has the Denver Pacific, Colorado Central, Denver & South Park and the Denver & Rio Grande: the Union Pacific is pushing to completion a new branch from Julesburgh, Colo., and its rival, the Burlington, is making ground fly on the extension of the Trans Missouri system through Denver to Ogden, Utah, perhaps to the Pacific Coast—who knows? Lastly, the Topeka and Santa Fé, contemplates running its track in from Pueblo, thus giving Denver an eminent position as a Rail Road center. By the Denver & Rio Grande, the distance to Santa Fé, is just 400 miles; for this distance, the fare is $32.50, and has only recently been reduced from $39.25/100! And yet at such atrocious rates, it *Bourke’s marginal note: at supper-table was accosted by Mr. Hibberd, a young gentleman who married my friend Miss Beeson, the niece of Lt. & Mrs. Stemble; we passed a couple of very pleasant hours together before separating for the night. Back to the Southwest 345 is well patronized. Leaving Denver, we saw close by the machine and repair shops of the company which are very extensive and complete. The road, like the Utah and Northern, is a narrow gauge, but cannot compare with its Northern comrade in solidity...