photo #9144267

1863. The Central Pacific Railroad needed to cross the Sierra Nevada. White workers quit. “Too high, too cold, too dangerous.” The foreman hired 50 Chinese men from California. They worked. By 1868, 12,000 Chinese men were 90% of the workforce. Pay was $28/month. White men got $35 + board. Chinese bought their own food. Slept in tents at 8,000 feet. They called them “Celestials.” Said they were too small. Then they watched. Chinese crews laid 10 miles of track in one day — April 28, 1869. A record never broken. White crews managed 2 miles. They hung in baskets off cliffs to blast Cape Horn. Snow tunnels through Donner Summit — 15 tunnels, 1,659 feet of granite. No machines. Black powder, chisels, and nerve. Hundreds died in avalanches and explosions. Company records say “2 dead.” Graves say 1,200. In 1867 they struck. 5,000 men walked off. Demanded $40/month and 8-hour shifts in tunnels. The boss cut off food and supplies. Starved them back in 8 days. May 10, 1869. Promontory Summit. Golden Spike ceremony. The photo has zero Chinese men. They were told to step aside. They built 1,776 miles of America. Excluded from citizenship until 1943.