Remember When?

LOTS OF INFORMATION IN

NORTHERN PACIFIC LEDGER

Excerpt from Wild Horse Plains Centennial Issue - 1983

On February 12, 1883, 35 bales of hay were shipped by Northern Pacific freight from Thompson Falls to J.L. Hallett, Plains, three days after the first NP locomotive arrived in the vicinity from the west over newly-laid railroad tracks.

The ledger was found several years ago in the attic of the original Plains depot when it was torn down to make room for the present newer structure.

A study of the ledger reveals the progress of the construction in the Plains area. The NP was its own best customer during the life of the book.

During the first day 17 cars of freight arrived in Plains and except for food, all contained items used in track construction.

Included in the freight were eight cars of "iron," which were probably rails, and 450 cartons of giant powder, indicating that considerable rock work was being encountered.

Food arrived daily, some of it consigned to persons unmistakably Chinese in origin, and some of the staples unmistakably Chinese fare.

On that first day, for instance, Wing Sing received a chest of tea, a box of salt fish, two cartons of bacon and five boxes of "Chinese merchandise." Twin Wo received 84 mats of rice, five sacks of salt fish, five boxes of beans and two boxes of Chinese merchandise.

Doing the best business in the food line, however, was Eddy, Hammond and Company, which probably was an independent merchandising firm with a contract for supplying the construction commissary. A typical shipment to Eddy, Hammond and Company, as the one received on February 13, 1883, might include 40 sacks of ground coffee, one lamp, one box of matches, 65 sacks of sugar, 20 boxes of candles, a carton of cigars and 34 bales of hay.

Dubois & King was another frequent consignee, and on the 13th of February took delivery of 34 quarters of beef. At the same time S.B. Catlin received 21 coops of chickens and eight sacks of feed. Between the Northern Pacific and other consignees, 302 bales of hay were received in Plains on that first day of record.

Early histories of the Northern Pacific Railroad and also of its construction in the Plains-Weeksville area reveal that some 2,000 Chinese and 1,000 Caucasians were employed on the construction and that a "dirty, swearing, rough bunch of hangers-on" followed the crew as they progressed eastward. The Chinese workers didn't leave all their life-long habits when they came to this country. In a word, they continued to smoke opium.

How it arrived is only conjecture, but it could have been received in the numerous shipments to Wing Sing, On Chong Wo, Lai Fong or several other Chinese who received merchandise regularly in Horse Plains in 1893. During the life of the NP ledger being quoted, February through October, all freight arriving or departing was written down, even to a spool of thread. Probably because of regulations, opium was never mentioned. The cartons of "Chinese merchandise" received in Horse Plains might have contained the answer.

G.W. Staples, who took delivery on a shipment of "emigrant moveables" had an eye on catering to the after-work needs of the men. His cargo included whiskey, 16 stools, benches, tables, tinware, cigars and other items and equipment which might have been used to satisfy the entertainment needs of the workers.

Ira Hawes, was consignee for a carload of similar goods destined for "ten miles east" on February 27, the lot of which indicated that he was following the construction with a nefarious purpose in mind. Included among an assortment of household goods were whiskey barrels, large iron kettles, three and a half barrels of liquor, keg of wine, an assortment of tubing and other items that appeared to be the rudiments of a still.

A typical shipment of food stuff and sundry articles during the construction through Plains was that received by Dubois & King on February 17, 1883 and which included 32 boxes of dried apples, two of prunes, 10 cartons of coffee, 16 boxes of paste (?), a bundle of brooms, 14 boxes of spices, 10 kegs of salmon, 8 cartons of coal oil, 6 barrels of kraut, one range and fixtures, 2 firkins (that's an 8-gallon tub) of butter, 8 boxes of soap, 9 sacks of turnips, 7 bales of corn meal, 60 sacks of flour, a barrel of vinegar and 100 sacks of spuds.

Also for human consumption there was ample quantities of whiskey, cider, beer, the Chinese merchandise, Benedictine (brandy liqueur), assorted liquors, brandy and rum – consumption of which must have rounded off with a cigar, also included in the shipment.