Letter from Samuel B. Reed to Henry C. Crane, December 30, 1867

In this letter from December 30, 1867, Samuel Reed writes to Henry Crane informing him of botched contract work east of Cheyenne. He explains what work should have been done, the work that was done, and the difference in cost to the company.

Union Pacific Railroad,
Office of the Sup^t. & Eng^r. of Construction.

Cheyenne, Dakota
Dec 30 1867

H. C. Crane Secry
20 Nassau Street NY

Dear Sir

Yours of 21^st inst is recvd. The deep cut east of Cheyenne for which the contractors claim extra pay was worked to a great disadvantage. If the cut had been taken out by chambering and undermining as such work is usually done it would all have been good work. But it was plowed and scraped from the top down and the hard spots and layers which would occur in almost any cut of that depth were hard to work through and required some blasting when if the cut had been taken out by falls all would have been shovel and pick work. As the work was done the amount stated in your letter 7734 c yds was worth one dollar per yard.instead of 349

Yours very respectfully
Saml. B. Reed