George E. Gray

These outfits as well as those already on the work which Mr Carter engaged will have to be entirely supplied by us, as the Eastern Company did not pay them, so we are informed by telegraph to Mr Carter, and in fact we know this to be the case with those already on the work having to supply them ever since they left here.

There are other parties who are calling on us for assistance in the way of supplies in order to carry on their contracts with dispatch, and it is evident that at least ten thousand bushels of grain will be required on our contract.

Parties are in here with money buying up all the grain they can for the Union Pacific to take east and west, and grain is already getting quite scarce, and we feel confident that unless we secure our grain forthwith we shall not be able to get it in thse northern counties. We therefore earnestly request that you advance us fifteen thousand dollars more so that we can secure this grain immediately. We think we shall be able to get one half of it from the farmers on credit, but it will be impossible to get get it all on credit while there are others here offering to pay the money for it. If we have to wait for money until our estimates of work done are taken, which will be some three weeks yet, all the grain in the country will be bought up.

There are seventy five miles of the contract now filled up with men and teams, and it is calculated by the engineers that the work now completed will amount to over one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00), and probably by the time the estimates are taken it will amount to one hundred and fifty thousand.

You will please rely to this by telegraph in order that we can move with dispatch

Yours Respectfully E. J. Benson Lorin Farr Chamey W. West

55.1

with Grays letter of Oct 15th.

Salt Lake City Utah. Oct 12th 1868 Geo. E Gray Esq. Consulting Engineering Central Pacific R. R.

Dear Sir

I returned last evening from a trip to my work on the line of your Road west of "Monument Point". We have now between one and two hundred teams completely equiped working on the grade. Our men number at present about two hundred.

Mr. Penfield with his outfit of two hundred men and and one hundred teams are now on their way across the country, and will be on the work within the present week or the first of next. The outfits

of Messrs Hawthorn and Carmichael are now on their way having cleaned up their work on on the east line near Bridger. The outfits of Hawthorn and Carmichael comprise over two hundred men their minimum number of teams being one hundred and fifty. Penfield, Hawthorn and Carmichael have with them over fifty extra scrapers and are completely equiped with tools and material to carry out their contract. With Penfield's teams and men I intend to clean up the remainder of the work released to Hall and myself by Farr and associates and they with the teams and men already at work will be able to finish their work in compliance with the terms of our contract. Hawthorn and Carmichael and what ever teams at my disposal I wish to place immediately on the work west of the line of Farr & Co's contract.

The work from "Monument Point" to the west end of the line of the one hundred miles let to Benson Farr and West is progressing rapidly. The grade comencing at "Monument Point" in many cases where parties have undertake a few miles of work they are now finishing up having comple -ted their contracts within the short period of a few weeks to their surprise and that of their principals.

The line of your company's survey west of "Monument Point" to the end of Farr and Co's contract presents an almost continuous line of graders, who put up on an area of of from seventy to ninety yards of grade a

day to the team.

The Union Pacific as you are informed have let the work for one hundred miles east from Humboldt Wells. They have now between one hundred and fifty to two hundred teams at work on their line.

I think I risk nothing in predicting that the greater part of the light grading on the contract of Benson Farr & West will be completed within the next thirty five days. The heavier work under the guidance of experienced engineers could be finished within the coming fifty or sixty days.

All parties that I met on the work feel in good spirits and are pushing their tasks with great energy. Receiving large remunerations for

their labor. They are determined to satisfy the company by a strict compliance with their contracts. Our labor was not drawn from this territory, but from the line of the Union Pacific's Road east where most of them have been engaged during the past two or three years.

Very Respecfully Mac A. Carter