Richmond Enquirer, 418
Richmond Recorder, 66a
Rio Grande River, 55, 403
Rivanna River, 22
Robidoux, Joseph, 343
Robinson, John, 129
Rockfish River, 19
Rocky Mountains, 55, 67, 75, 80, 84, 120, 185–88, 221–30, 234, 236, 240, 245, 253–54, 266–67, 333, 363, 390
Roman Catholic Church, 20, 138
Roman legions, 147, 324
Ronda, James, 155, 156, 163, 178, 200, 277, 283, 308, 335, 363, 388, 390, 420–21
Roosevelt, Theodore, 109
Rosa, Salvator, 237
Rush, Benjamin, 79, 89–90, 113
Rush’s Pills, 89, 90, 119, 153, 197, 299–300
Russell, Charley, 144, 176n, 251
Russell, Gilbert, 471–72, 473, 477
Russia, 57–58, 69, 75
Sacagawea, 187, 211–13, 230, 235, 245, 252, 314–15, 319, 327, 328, 364, 376, 398, 448, 474
character and fortitude of, 225, 260, 277, 399n
Charbonneau and, 187, 197–98, 211–212, 222, 241, 243, 277, 279, 280, 281, 285, 319, 376, 399
food gathered by, 212–13, 222–23, 243
Hidatsa capture of, 187, 208, 260, 277
illness and treatment of, 241–42, 243, 256
as interpreter, 187, 198, 203, 230, 241, 256, 277, 281, 337, 358
nickname of, 316
pregnancy and childbirth of, 187, 197–198
Shoshone Indians and, 187, 208, 245, 255, 260–63, 271, 276, 277, 280–281, 285, 286, 358–59
WC on, 399n
St. Charles, Mo., 137–38, 155, 204, 306, 403
St. Clair, Arthur, 38, 69
St. Lawrence River, 334, 407
St. Louis, 47, 56, 71, 80, 84, 86, 96, 100, 111, 115–16, 122–31, 133–34, 137–38, 146, 159, 161, 166, 185, 201–2, 346, 406–7, 445–70
St. Louis Missouri River Fur Company, 454, 459, 460–62, 463–64, 466, 468, 481
Saint-Mémin, Charles B. J. Févret de, 287n, 433
Salcedo, Nemesio, 345
Salish Indians, 289–91
Salmon River, 270–71, 279, 282, 289
salt making, 315, 318, 319, 321, 327
Santa Fe, 115, 116, 123, 126, 205, 345
Santo Domingo, 72
Sauk Indians, 348, 450, 454–56
Seaman (dog), 106, 112, 120, 131, 177, 220, 244, 257, 278, 355, 380, 474
Sedition Act, 48, 65
Senate, U.S., 135, 424–25, 457
Shahaptian language, 303
Shakespeare, William, 28, 53, 460
Shannon, George, 105, 114, 131, 161, 162, 165–66, 218, 243, 261, 262, 264, 313–16, 372–73, 451, 453, 461, 476, 479
Shawnee Indians, 19, 43–44, 119, 122, 450
Sheaff, Henry, 64
Shields, John, 105, 129, 130, 165, 166, 198–200, 231, 243, 264–66, 274–276, 316, 324, 355, 364, 424
Shoshone Indians (Snake Indians), 187, 188, 197, 198, 206, 209, 210, 230, 245, 284–88, 333, 363
contact and communication with, 268–283, 284
customs and clothing of, 284, 285, 286–87
demeanor of, 285
diseases of, 286
economics and politics of, 284, 287–288
geographical information conveyed by, 270–73, 278–79, 289–91, 293, 297–98
Hidatsa Indians’ warfare with, 187, 208, 260, 264, 273, 277, 398
horsemanship of, 197, 210, 259, 264–266, 269, 271, 273–75, 277–79, 281–83, 284, 285–86, 287, 334
hunting of, 287
personal and sexual relations among, 284, 285–86, 287–88
physical appearance and stature of, 284–85
Sacagawea and, 187, 208, 245, 255, 260–63, 271, 276, 277, 280–81, 285, 286, 358–59
search for, 250–56, 259–69, 294
tribes hostile to, 187, 188, 208, 252, 256, 260, 264, 269, 273–76, 282, 284–85, 287, 292
Simmons, William, 435, 439
see also Teton Sioux Indians; Yankton Sioux Indians
Skelton, William, 43, 44
Slaughter, Thomas, 40–41
slavery, 25, 28, 29, 32–38, 47, 51, 125
ML and, 25, 28, 29, 32–36, 231, 355, 441, 458
TJ and, 34–37, 57, 458–59
WC and, see York
smallpox, 26, 160, 178, 183, 286, 326, 337
Smith, Adam, 125
Smith, Robert, 252
Smith, R. S., 465
Snake Indians, see Shoshone Indians (Snake Indians)
Snake River, 302–3, 358, 361, 406
Soulard, Antoine, 124, 125
South West Post, 84, 85–86, 92, 118
Spain, 39, 76–77, 116, 121–22, 344–45, 401
Louisiana Territory and, 41, 55–56, 57–58, 70–72, 77, 93–94, 102, 129
Spring Mountain, 374
Square Butte, 232, 251, 381
State Department, U.S., 436, 465, 483
Statute for Religious Freedom, Virginia, 34
steam engine, 35, 53, 121, 410, 484
Steuben, Baron Frederick William von, 44
Steubenville, Ohio, 111
Stoddard, Amos, 122, 129–30, 133, 136, 137, 138, 139, 146, 342, 343, 346, 351, 449n, 472
Struck by the Pana (chief), 164
Tabeau, Pierre-Antoine, 179–80
Talleyrand, Charles Maurice de, 48
Tarleton, Banastre, 24
taxation, 38–39, 42
Tennessee, 51, 54, 84, 86, 118
Territory of Orleans, 425n
Tetoharsky (chief), 303, 305, 307, 359–360
Teton Sioux Indians, 163, 168–75, 179, 192–93, 206, 400, 402
Texas, 102, 401–2
Thames River, 74
Thompson, David, 92
Thompson, James, 237
Thwaites, Reuben Gold, 109n, 427n, 480
Tiber Dam, 232
tobacco, 32–33, 35, 57, 347n
Transylvania Company, 19
Travellers Rest, 363, 367, 369–70, 373, 375
Treasury Department, U.S., 97
Treaty of Greenville, 45, 156
Treaty of Paris, 70
Tripoli, 352
Twisted Hair (chief), 299, 301, 302–3, 305, 307, 354, 359, 361–62, 367
Two Medicine River, 385, 387, 390, 414
United States:
agriculture in, 24, 32–33, 35, 53, 94
1801 population of, 51
foreign colonization feared in, 68, 69, 71–75
immigration and emigration in, 347–348, 349–50
mail service in, 85, 451
political parties in, 45, 48–50
secessionist threats in, 39, 52, 54
travel and commerce in, 52–55, 56, 72, 73, 78, 87, 94–95
United States Military Academy, 136, 434
University of Nebraska Press, 480
Upper Louisiana, 122–26, 129–30, 137, 170, 185, 203–5, 346–48, 442–44
Vancouver, George, 70, 91, 304, 308n, 316, 420
Van Wormer, Joe, 168n
Varnum, J. B., Jr., 431
venereal disease, 180, 196–97, 202, 223, 241n, 243, 286, 297, 325–26
Vietnam War, 358
Virginia, 19–37, 38, 204
Albemarle County in, 19–29, 46–48, 64
Piedmont and Tidewater areas of, 19, 32
plantation life in, 21–25, 28–37, 57, 100, 347n
Virginia, University of, 127
voyagers, French Canadian, 136–38, 140–41, 146–47, 149, 153, 156, 159, 178, 182, 445
Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Lawrence, Through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific (Mackenzie), 74–75, 77
Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, A (Cook), 76
Waddell, James, 26, 27
Walker, Thomas, 68
Wallawalla Indians, 303–4, 358–59
Wanapam India
ns, 303
War Department, U.S., 44, 61, 96–97, 135, 345, 416, 417, 424, 425, 426, 435, 439, 451, 483
War of 1812, 59n, 223, 479
Warfington, Richard, 131, 136, 140, 186, 209–10, 211, 226n, 344, 399, 424
Washington, D.C., 52, 54, 59–67, 93, 418–30
Indian delegations to, 126, 130, 133, 136, 137, 200–201, 342–43, 345–346, 350, 351–52, 363, 366, 377–378, 399, 400, 402, 417, 420
Washington, George, 20, 21, 37–40, 48–49, 53, 65, 278, 344, 418, 433
land speculation of, 20, 32, 38
military career of, 22, 37, 40, 48–49
presidency of, 37–40, 62, 70
Washington Advertiser, 471
Washington National Intelligencer, 101, 419–20, 422, 426–27
Watkuweis, 300
Watt, James, 35
Wayne, Anthony, 38–39, 44–46, 47, 156, 344
Weippe Prairie, 368–69, 374n
Weiser, Peter, 129
“Welsh Indians,” 77, 154, 187n, 290
Werner, William, 318
Weuche (chief), 162, 163
Wheeling, Va., 50, 107, 111, 112, 346
When the Land Belonged to God (Russell), 176n
Whiskey Rebellion, 37–43, 52
White Bear Islands, 243–44, 248
White Crane Man (chief), 164
White Hair (chief), 450–51
Whitehouse, Joseph, 186, 226, 290, 319, 416
White Over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro (Jordan), 36
Whitney, Eli, 35
Wilkinson, Benjamin, 454
Wilkinson, James, 60, 62, 344–46, 347–348, 350, 401–3, 446, 457
Willamette River, 308, 354
Willard, Alexander, 118, 149–50, 254, 294, 313–14, 356
William and Mary, College of, 28–29, 100
Williamsburg, Va., 100
Wilson, Alexander, 36, 152, 433–34
Wilson, Woodrow, 65n
Winchester, Va., 41
Windsor, Private, 231, 232–33, 481
Wisconsin, 401
Wisconsin State Historical Society, 480
Wistar, Caspar, 91, 102
Wood, Eliza, 431
Wood, Maria, 233
Wood River, 122, 126, 128, 130, 133–136, 150, 192, 326, 349, 404
Woods, Edgar, 24
Woods, William, 439
World of the Pronghorns, The (Van Wormer), 168n
Wyandot Indians, 47
Yakima Indians, 303, 359
Yankton Sioux Indians, 145–47, 161–64, 400
Yellept (chief), 303–4, 358–59
Yellowstone National Park, 221, 257, 399
Yellowstone River, 208, 220–22, 229, 245, 247, 370, 376, 379, 388, 395–397, 454
York (slave), 118, 131, 133, 180, 198, 235, 276, 278, 314, 318, 417, 424, 457–58
SIMON & SCHUSTER
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Copyright © 1996 by Ambrose-Tubbs, Inc.
Introduction copyright © 2002 by Ambrose & Ambrose, Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. SIMON & SCHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.
Designed by Edith Fowler
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ambrose, Stephen E.
Undaunted courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the opening of the American West / Stephen E. Ambrose.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Lewis, Meriwether, 1774–1809. 2. Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806). 3. Clark, William, 1770–1838. 4. Jefferson, Thomas, 1743–1826. 5. Explorers—United States— Biography. I. Title.
F592.7A49 1996
917.804’2—dc20 95-37146 CIP
ISBN 0-684-81107-3
ISBN: 978-1-4391-2617-2 (eBook)
TITLE PAGE:
Charles M. Russell, Captain Lewis Meeting the Shoshones (1903). (Courtesy Drummond Gallery, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho)
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
ONE: PICKING THE ROUTE 1830–1860
TWO: GETTING TO CALIFORNIA 1848–1859
THREE: THE BIRTH OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC 1860–1862
FOUR: THE BIRTH OF THE UNION PACIFIC 1862–1864
FIVE: JUDAH AND THE ELEPHANT 1862–1864
SIX: LAYING OUT THE UNION PACIFIC LINE 1864–1865
SEVEN: THE CENTRAL PACIFIC ATTACKS THE SIERRA NEVADA 1865
EIGHT: THE UNION PACIFIC ACROSS NEBRASKA 1866
NINE: THE CENTRAL PACIFIC ASSAULTS THE SIERRA 1866
TEN: THE UNION PACIFIC TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 1867
ELEVEN: THE CENTRAL PACIFIC PENETRATES THE SUMMIT 1867
TWELVE: THE UNION PACIFIC ACROSS WYOMING 1868
THIRTEEN: BRIGHAM YOUNG AND THE MORMONS MAKE THE GRADE 1868
FOURTEEN: THE CENTRAL PACIFIC GOES THROUGH NEVADA 1868
FIFTEEN: THE RAILROADS RACE INTO UTAH JANUARY 1–APRIL 10, 1869
SIXTEEN: TO THE SUMMIT APRIL 11–MAY 7, 1869
SEVENTEEN: DONE MAY 8–10, 1869
Epilogue
Photographs
About the Author
Notes
Bibliography
Index
MAPS
From Chicago to Omaha
Nebraska
Wyoming
Nevada
Utah
California
For Alice Mayhew
Acknowledgments
SOME years ago, when I handed the manuscript of my latest book in to my editor at Simon & Schuster, Alice Mayhew, she said she wanted me to do the building of the first transcontinental railroad for my next book. Even though I had been trained as a nineteenth-century American historian, I hesitated. First of all, I had been taught to regard the railroad builders as the models for Daddy Warbucks. The investors and builders had made obscene profits which they used to dominate state and national politics to a degree unprecedented before or since. John Robinson’s book The Octopus: A History of Construction, Conspiracies, Extortion, about the way the Big Four ruined California, expressed what I thought and felt. What made the record of the big shots so much worse was that it was the people’s money they stole, in the form of government bonds and land. In my view, opposition to the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific (later the Southern Pacific) had led to the Populist Party and then the Progressive Party, political organizations that I regarded as the saviors of America. I wanted nothing to do with those railroad thieves.
I told Alice to give me six months to read the major items in the literature, so I could see if there was a reason for a new or another book on the subject. So I read. In the process I changed my mind about many aspects of building the railroads and the men who got rich from investing in them. And I was delighted by the works in the basic literature. Most of them I quote from, and they can be found in the bibliography.
I do need to make a specific mention of Maury Klein, whose magnificent two-volume history of the Union Pacific is a superb work for the general reader and the specialist or the writer. It is an absorbing story, beautifully told. Klein is a model for scholarship, for writing, and for thinking his subject through before making a statement. George Kraus, High Road to Promontory: Building the Central Pacific Across the High Sierra, is the basic source on the subject. There are many fine researchers and writers who have published books on the Union Pacific and Central Pacific roads. The two who have my gratitude and respect ahead of all others are Maury Klein and George Kraus.
After the reading, I decided that there was a lot of good literature already in existence on the railroads and that I could use it for stories, incidents, sources, and quotes, but none of the books were done in the way I was looking for. If I really wanted to know at least a part of the answer to Alice’s question,
How did they build that railroad?—rather than How did they profit from it? or How did they use their power for political goals?—I was going to have to write my own book to find out. So I did.
I have first of all to acknowledge that this book is Alice’s idea. She didn’t do the writing, to be sure, or try to guide my research or to suggest ideas for me to investigate or incorporate. She didn’t hurry me, even though I had a bad fall in the middle of doing this book that put me out of action for a few months. She read chapters as I sent them in, and gave me encouragement, which was a great help, since I write for her. If she likes what comes out of my writing, I’m pleased. If she doesn’t, I try again. But above all, she let me figure out the answer to her question.
My research assistants are all part of my family. First my wife, Moira, who always participated, making suggestions, offering ideas, listening and commenting, being there. Then my research assistant and son, Hugh Alexander Ambrose. Hugh is a trained historian, with his Master’s degree in American history from the University of Montana. He did the basic research at the Library of Congress for me, and at the Bancroft Library on the University of California campus, and at Huntington Library, at the Archives at the Library of the Church of Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City, and on the World Wide Web. He mastered the literature, and he was my first reader on all the chapters. His many suggestions have been absorbed in the text. Without him there would be no book.
My son Barry Ambrose, my daughter-in-law Celeste, my older daughter, Stephenie, my niece Edie Ambrose (a Ph.D. in American history from Tulane), and another daughter-in-law, Anne Ambrose, all participated in the newspaper and magazine research. Edie read early chapters and gave me solid suggestions on everything from word choices to interpretations. I had decided at the beginning that this book was like doing Lewis and Clark, but unlike D-Day or my books on Cold War politics. Different in this way: there was no one around who had been there and could say, I saw this with my own eyes. I couldn’t do any interviewing.
Next best thing, I thought, were the newspaper reporters. I knew that many big-city papers sent their own correspondents out west to report on how the railroad was being built. Reporters are always looking for what is new, what is fresh, asking questions, trying to anticipate questions. So Celeste, Barry, Edie, Anne, and Stephenie started reading 130-year-old newspapers on dusty microfilm readers. They found a lot of information and stories that I used throughout the book. They are diligent, imaginative, creative in going through the newspapers, and, like all researchers, they learn a lot in the process. I hasten to add that they get paid for their time and effort, but I must confess that I am defeated in any attempt to thank them enough.