Background
John Mullan, Jr. was born on July 31, 1830, at Norfolk, Virginia, the son of John Mullan, Sr. and of Mary Bright. He was the first of ten children, but when he was three years old the family moved to Annapolis, Maryland.
(Book by Mullan, John)
Book by Mullan, John
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https://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Washington-Montana-Wyoming-Colorado/dp/1376141418?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1376141418
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1861. Excerpt: ... Report on the practicability of a railroad along Columbia river, from the Dalles to Umatilla river. 1859. C. P. Howard, 0. E. Cantonment Jordan, Bitter Root Mountains, January 5, 1860. Sir: In accordance with your letter of instructions, I left the Dalles on May 16, 1859, for the purpose of examining into the practicability of a railroad line, along the Columbia and Snake rivers, from the Dalles to the mouth of the Pelouse river. Before entering into details, it would be, perhaps, better to say something of the general character of the route, and more especially of the question of grades, which in most lines of railway is the subject of chietest difficulty. A glance at the accompanying profile, together with the following considerations, will show that if, under any circumstances, a railroad is practicable along the Columbia and Snake rivers, the problem of grades is of easy solution. A large portion of the line is on the broad flats between the bluffs and the river, where there is no engineering difficulty to be surmounted. A considerable part also--and such sections will be examined in greatest detail--lies along the face of steep rock bluffs, with the river laving their base, and where, by a variation of a few hundred feet to the right or left, the line can be elevated or depressed the greater part of the distance; here it is sufficiently evident that the question is not one of grades. Still another port on is on rolling plateau which sometimes continue for miles, with very gentle ascents and descents, and then break off suddenly, with sheer precipices of from fifty to one hundred feet in height, compelling the engineer to take the steep side hills beyond; and these sections are the only ones on which any difficulty from grades can be apprehended. Furt...
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John Mullan, Jr. was born on July 31, 1830, at Norfolk, Virginia, the son of John Mullan, Sr. and of Mary Bright. He was the first of ten children, but when he was three years old the family moved to Annapolis, Maryland.
His parents, though poor, determined to give him an education. At nine he entered the grammar school of St. John's College, where he was graduated Bachelor of Arts degree in 1847.
In 1848, finding himself without a job or a profession, he sought admission to the United States Military Academy, interviewing President Polk, who soon afterward gave him an appointment. In 1852 he graduated fifteenth in his class.
Mullan, Jr. was assigned first to the topographical engineers and then to the artillery. In 1853 he joined Gen. I. I. Stevens in exploring a route for a railroad from St. Paul to the Pacific. Stevens sent him on a mission of friendship to the Flatheads who were reported in camp on the Mussel-shell River, and Mullan, Jr. followed the Indians, who were moving about, and brought them to a conference. He was then sent, during the winter, to the Bitterroot to examine the mountain passes. He explored the Rocky Mountains southward to Fort Hall on the Snake River and north to Canada, discovering Mullan Pass.
Promoted first lieutenant in 1855, Mullan, Jr. was recalled to active military duty and spent two years in the South fighting the Seminoles. Meanwhile Congress authorized the construction of a military road from Fort Benton to Walla Walla to connect navigation on the Missouri with that on the Columbia.
Mullan's fine record of exploration won for him the position of chief of construction. While he was on his way to begin work the Indians became hostile and he found that his first task was to fight them. He distinguished himself in the battle of the Four Lakes, September 1, 1858, and in other encounters.
When the Indian war was over he found his resources exhausted and went to Washington to secure a new appropriation. He was aided by Stevens, then delegate to Congress, and in March 1859 that body appropriated $100, 000 to begin construction.
Mullan's surveys of 1853 and 1854 made selection of a route easy; work was begun in the summer of 1859, and continued till the spring of 1863. In 1860, while the road was under construction, Maj. Blake with 400 troops conducted the first wagon train over it and for the next twenty years it was a highway for immigrants to the Northwest.
In 1862 Mullan, Jr. urged the building of a new road from Deer Lodge Valley to the Yellowstone, then south to the Platte, anticipating the Bozeman road, but the government was too busy with war to pay attention to this recommendation.
Soon he resigned from the army and started a huge ranch near Walla Walla which failed the next year. He then obtained a four-year contract to carry the mail from Chico, California to Ruby City, Idaho, a distance of 600 miles, at the rate of $75, 000 a year, and attempted to establish an express business, but within a year was forced out of business by a competitor and gave up his contract.
Settling in San Francisco, he began the practice of law and was quite successful. In 1865 he published Miners' and Travelers' Guide to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado via the Missouri and Columbia Rivers.
He moved to Washington, D. C. , in 1878, and there continued his legal work until failing health forced his retirement. He died on December 28, 1909, in Washington, D. C.
John Mullan, Jr. was an influential soldier, explorer and road builder, who extensively explored western Montana and portions of southeastern Idaho, discovered Mullan Pass, participated in the Coeur d'Alene War, and led the construction crew which built the Mullan Road in Montana, Idaho, and Washington state between the spring of 1859 and summer of 1860.
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(Book by Mullan, John)
John Mullan, Jr. was a racist. He was upset that the Civil War was being waged on behalf of African Americans and slavery rather than maintaining the union, yet also felt that secession was a "fraud" and that war would only lead to devastation. He believed that government was "a white man's government" and that laws should be written "by white men, for the benefit of white men. " He believed "negro suffrage was forced upon the people", opposed Asian immigration (except for commercial purposes, such as coolie labor), and opposed naturalization of Asian immigrants.
John Mullan, Jr. served from 1883 to 1887 as one of the commissioners of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, a private organization acting as an agent of the federal government.
On April 28, 1863, John Mullan, Jr. married Rebecca Williamson. The Mullans had five children, two of whom died in infancy just days after their birth.
