Selections From Mead's Manual

"Mr. E. S. Rice,
Chicago, Illinois.

Dear Sir:

Referring to your letter of May 9th, addressed to Mr. F. M. Bisbee, asking him to have me write a synopsis of the early preliminary and location surveys, Kansas City to Chicago, giving dates of beginning, ending, etc. I have been in Amarillo two days during the month of May, hence the delay in writing you.

I am afraid that I can give you but little of what you ask for; for while I was connected with the work, I was only interested in a part of it and as for dates, I can only give them in a general way, have also forgotten the names of some who were prominently associated with the work.

Early in the Autumn of 1884, Mr. Horace Ropes, organized a locating party of which H. C. Todd was Transitman, I was Levelman and C. M. Duncan, Topographer. We mobilized at Fort Madison and spent some time there making soundings in the Miss. River, the first idea being to cross below the present bridge and make use of an Island, now submerged since the building of the Keokuk dam. We also made soundings opposite Dallas City. The line, however, as then located was approximately where the road is constructed, from a point on the Illinois shore opposite Ft. Madison, We located the line as far as Dallas City on an abandoned roadbed. The grading has been done (we were told) prior to the Civil war, which caused its abandonment. We were in the field until early in December 1884 and ran the line from Ft. Madison to a point about twenty miles east of Galeton. Mr. R. L. Engle was in charge of the work, and probably had parties in the field east and west of use. He reported to a man named Morse who was connected with the Kansas City stock yards. We had no camping outfit but foraged on the inhabitants, parceling out a few at the various farm houses as we went along, having no charter, we had much trouble in obtaining consent to cross the farms and in the vicinity of Galesburg were driven off the farms many times. For a conveyance we had a band wagon and four horses. The members of the party were discharged R.R. men whom we picked up at Fort Madison (aside from those I have named) Three got drunk at Dallas City and pawned the note books when Ropes Todd, Duncan and myself were on the line. We discharged them and engaged more and at Galesburg these also filled up and we made another change.

The party was disbanded in December. Messrs. Ropes, Duncan and myself going to Chicago, where we worked up estimates and maps during the remainder of the time, until March 1885. I was detailed to look up an entrance into Chicago and make approximate estimate of cost of right-of-way. It is needless to say that my report was of no value. We had an office on the corner of Clark and adams Street, over "Nicholl and Tailor". I think it was the Lakeside Building. The tailor shop is yet there.

In the summer of 1885, Mr. A. A. Robinson loaned Messrs. B. F. Booker, M. F. Temple, E. L. Burdick and myself to Mr. C. C. Upham, then Chief Engineer of the B. & M. Ry. And we reported to him at Denver, after running some lines in Colorado we were taken to St. Paul. On the construction of the Chicago, Burlington & Northern Ry., Mr. Temple and myself were given divisions, while Mr. Booker was made Resident Engineer over us, with R. L. Engle in charge of construction. The following February, 1886. Mr. Robinson sent for Mr. Booker and myself and we reported at Topeka. We went from there to St. Louis and eventually reached Keokuk, the idea being to not have it known where we were going. I rented an office of four rooms and went to St. Louis, where I bought $5000.00 worth fo instruments of A.L. Aloe & Co., also ordered 40 tents of the Mo. &

page 45 Meade's Manual transcribed in altered form for the web by Russell Crump

Sheet #4 - Missouri Division.
Letter from J. H. Snow to E. S. Rice - Early Location. Continued.

Tent and Awning Company. We had been given a large package of letters of application for employment by Mr. Robinson and we wrote to as many as we thought we could make use of in eight locating parties, doing all our work with pen and ink (we did not have a typewriter during the year we were there) All letters were signed B.F. Booker. He had no title during the location work, although I think possibly he did sign as "Chief Engineer". Every man to whom he had offered a position as Locating Engineer replied asking what Company were doing the work and what guarantee they could have for payment of salaries. Mr. Bookes replied that the fact that they had been recommended by Mr. A. A. Robinson should be sufficient guarantee. We got eight parties in the field in a very short time. They were in charge of John Fulton, Sanford A. Horton, C. S. Carpenter, Weeks, Horace R. Ropes, A.S. Robinson, A> C. Swwaaartz.

I am quite sure that there were eight parties and yet I cannot recall another Locating Engineer. It is barely possible that a man named Miller had one, of M. F. Temple, who came to us later form the C.B.&N.

We had no property belonging to the Santa Fe, not even stationery, pencils, etc. And when letters were sent to Mr. Robinson they were addressed to John Z. Roarback in Kansas City, he in turn receiving these from Mr. Robinson and forwarding them to Mr. Booker. No one was allowed in our private office but Mr. Booker and myself. Our money for expenses and payroll was deposited by a bank in St. Louis in a bank at Keokuk, subject to Mr. Booker's check. I was paymaster, auditor, purchasing agent, chief clerk and in fact held all offices but that of Chief Engineer. My accounts were all kept in a level book, and we disbursed about $10,000.00 per month. We were constantly being entertained by good people of Keokuk and Fort Madison, where a system of pumping was always most evident. Three crossings we located of the Miss. River, at Kekuk, Ft. Madison and a Warsaw. The latter is more nearly on an air line. We had a drafting department under Mr. R. C. Simon, a very able man. No word had leaked out as to who we were, or as to the relative length of the several lines, until just before the parties were disbanded. One night Messrs. Booker, Simons and myself figured out the three lengths from the connections made by the various parties. It was reported in the "St. Louis Globe Democrat" the next day. Mr. Booker and I roomed together, we had not been apart since the figures had been made. There was only one other party who knew what they were. Mr. Robinson in acknowledging receipt of the report made by Mr. Booker giving the lengths of therse lines, thanked him and said he had already read the report in the St. Louis Globe Democrat. This was a hard blow for Mr. Booker. He had worked so hard to avoid any publicity and had done so until the very last. In December 1886, we moved to Kansas City and the construction was begun in January 1887. Persuaded Mr. Booker to allow me to go into the field and was made Division Engineer from a point east of Carrollton, Mo. To Mendon. I am sorry I can not tell you more of the important things in connection with the location work. The old payrolls should reflect the names of the old timers, although I presume they have been destroyed.

There were of course many amusing incidents in connection with the work, and Horace Ropes and I get together frequently and sit up all night taling them over. John A. Fulton is not in Los Angeles with the Pacific Electric Co..

If There are any questions you wish to ask, let them come - I will answer if I can. I was also on the preliminary and location (as well as construction) of the line Willow Springs (Raton) to the Needles.

Yours Sincerely

(Signed) J. H. Snow.

Amarillo, Texas.