Although the Mormon leaders in Utah wanted a railroad, they did so with mixed emotions, knowing the type of humanity that would accompany it. Charles R. Savage, the well-known Mormon photographer who was present at the “wedding of the rails” in 1869, verified this in his journal as he prepared for the joining of the rails. “I was creditably informed that 24 men had been killed in the several camps in the last 25 days. Certainly a harder set of men were never before congregated together… their presence would be a scourge upon any community… Blue River the returning demons… were being piled upon the cars in every stage of drunkenness… Verily the men earn their money like horses and spend it like asses.
Richards, Bradley w., “Charles R. Savage, the Other Promontory Photographer, “Utah Historical Quarterly. Spring 1992, pp. 146-147.
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