In the four years between 1881 and 1885, Canada was forged into one
nation by the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Last Spike
reconstructs the incredible story of how some 2,000 miles of steel
crossed the continent in just five years -- exactly half the time
stipulated in the contract. Pierre Berton recreates the adventures that
were part of this vast undertaking: the railway on the brink of
bankruptcy, with one hour between it and ruin; the extraordinary land
boom of Winnipeg in 1881-1882; and the epic tale of how William Van
Horne rushed 3,000 soldiers over a half-finished railway to quell the
Riel Rebellion.
Dominating the whole saga are the men who made it all possible -- a host
of astonishing characters: Van Horne, the powerhouse behind the vision
of a transcontinental railroad; Rogers, the eccentric surveyor;
Onderdonk, the cool New Yorker; Stephen, the most emotional of
businessmen; Father Lacombe, the black-robed voyageur; Sam Steele, of
the North West Mounted Police; Gabriel Dumont, the Prince of the
Prairies; more than 7,000 Chinese workers, toiling and dying in the
canyons of the Fraser Valley; and many more -- land sharks, construction
geniuses, politicians, and entrepreneurs -- all of whom played a role in
the founding of the new Canada west of Ontario.
