Assignment # 10 - Canadian Pacific Railway

Hi, my name is Chang-Sue-Ying, but you can call me Jenny. If you were to ask me who I am, I would just say I'm one of the hundred women who lost their husbands in the making of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. My husband put his heart and soul into whatever he did, no matter what obstacles he had to overcome. Besides, he only made a dollar a day so what exactly was the point of coming to this country? Employment, well I certainly don't think so! I left my whole family behind in 1881, and I haven't even met them since then. You are probably thinking why this job is so dangerous, well wait till you hear this: people were having concussions, severe pulmonary disorders and fatal heat strokes. The conditions outside were terrible and the terrain was formidable. This is what made the job so backbreaking and highly-treacherous.

Take a look at some pictures I have stored in my camera




From these pictures you probably think that this task could be completed with much ease. Well imagine building a railroad on a place like this.

Year 1954

If my husband was still here with us today,I'm sure he would describe the experience like this. There we were, me and my fellows, working till there was nothing more we could give. Through the North Saskatchewan River and into the Rocky Mountains, passing obstacle after obstacle, working in the gazing heat. It had clearly become a nightmare for us. Today we head to work, hoping that our destiny will not betray us. First Suing Lee, my friend, was wiped out from the laborious work as he was trying' to find his way through the souls of the hills. Next came Chang, his luck was not friendly. Why you say, because he slipped off the railway tracks and still had 500 feet until he hit level ground. I tried to put the picture onto paper but I don't know if it turned out so well......please don't pay attention to the asteroids!



Now I will share some of my knowledge with you about the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1881,the construction of the CPR began. I might have mentioned this before, but the railway was built through various geographical landscapes such as bog, the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and the long prairies. Since the CPR was going to stretch through Saskatchewan and Alberta where only bone-dry lands were found, the investors were quite worried. There might not be any traffic along the railway and they might not be able to make a profit. There was no option left for the investors but to develop the area itself. You can see how different things were affected by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The amount of money spent toward the construction of the CPR was ridiculous. First came a $25,000,000 dollar loan, then another $5,000,000 all in the support of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Even 1% of the money spent in the construction could have helped millions of families affected by the building of the CPR.

I just like to tell you folks, to watch out for those greedy people out there using your talent for their benefit and then not repaying you in a respective way.