DENVEB, & EIO GRANDE WESTERN ROUTE. 



57 



Peaks but which might more properly be laiown by their poetic 

 Indian name Wahatoya (meaning twin breasts). 



The first indication of an actual 

 clash between the rival roads occurred 

 in February, 1878, when the Santa Fe 

 plotted to occupy Raton Pass, through 

 which one of the surveys of the Rio 

 Grande had been run and which was 

 therefore practically occupied by that 

 road. Hundreds of men and teams 

 were suddenly rushed into the pass by 

 the Santa Fe, which built its line 

 through the pass before the Rio 

 Grande could stop its progress. This 

 sudden move created consternation in 

 the offices of the Rio Grande, and for 

 a time it seemed impossible to avoid 

 armed conflict. Although much bad 

 feeling was created by this action of 

 the Santa Fe no actual bloodshed oc- 

 curred, and that road was allowed to 

 retain possession of the pass. 



The great contest between the two 

 systems, however, was that for the 

 right of way through the Royal Gorge. 

 As the Santa Fe had been successful in 

 its sudden move in Raton Pass, it 

 planned a similar attack on the Royal 

 Gorge before the Rio Grande had time 

 to defend its own property. The Rio 

 Grande, however, had possession of the 

 telegraph lines and so was apprised 

 of the proposed attack. Accordingly, 

 the Rio Grande planned as a defensive 

 measure to begin grading in the Royal 

 Gorge on April 20, 1878. The gen- 

 eral manager of the Santa Fe heard 

 of this plan and wired an engineer at 

 La Junta to proceed to Canon City 

 immediately and occupy the canyon 

 before the Rio Grande forces ap- 

 peared. The engineer arrived at 

 Pueblo at 3 o'clock on the morning of 

 the expected move. He tried to char- 

 ter a train on the Rio Grande to carry 

 him to Canon City but of course was 

 refused ; then he hired the best horse 

 he could obtain and started at break- 

 neck speed to ride to Canon City, 45 

 miles distant. He had to reach the 

 canyon before the engineers of the Rio 

 Grande, so he spurred his horse to 



top speed, but when he was within 3 

 miles of his destination it fell dead. 

 The engineer ran on into Canon City, 

 raised a force of several hundred men, 

 proceeded to the mouth of the canyon, 

 which is admirably suited for such *a 

 purpose (PI. XXXIII, B, p. 71), and 

 fortified his position before the Rio 

 Grande force appeared. The ease with 

 which the engineer of the Santa Fe 

 raised a force of men at Canon City 

 was due to the fact that the Rio 

 Grande had become very unpopular 

 through its autocratic habit of ignor- 

 ing the wishes of the citizens of the 

 region, so the people were glad to have 

 an opportunity to assist the Santa Fe 

 in order to " get even " with the Rio 

 Grande. 



The Santa Fe was operating through 

 a subsidiary corporation, the Canon 

 City & San Juan Co., which had a 

 charter for a line in the canyon ex- 

 tending for 20 miles from the lower 

 entrance. Both roads had graders at 

 work in the canyon, and it is not sur- 

 prising that fights were frequent and 

 that many men were arrested. The 

 Santa Fe obtained an injunction re- 

 straining the Rio Grande from con- 

 tinuing its work, and the Rio Grande 

 obtained one preventing the Santa Fe 

 from grading any more of its road- 

 bed. About the last of May, 1878, the 

 cases came up before Judge Hallett, of 

 the United States court at Denver, 

 but the judge postponed them and in 

 the meantime enjoined both parties 

 from working in the disputed section 

 and placed each under a bond of 

 $20,000. 



On June 1, 1878, Federal Judges Hal- 

 lett and Dillon rendered a concurrent 

 opinion that the Santa Fe (Canon City 

 & San Juan Co.) be permitted to re- 

 sume grading in the canyon until the 

 case could be more thoroughly ex- 

 amined in July. The case was ably 

 argued in July by both sides but was 

 again postponed. On August 23 



