Caption: The Garden of the Gods and its Guardian

Source/Date: Wasp, January 29, 1881

Ultimate Source(if different):

Creator: Frederick Keller (?)

Remarks: The monster whose eyes are Crocker and Stanford is guarding the gate to California and prosperity labeled "no thoroughfare" and "freights and fares." The SPRR wagons are stuck on the rocks of high fares and freight rates while an endless stream of goods heads past the barricade toward a sign labeled to "New Mexico" and "Arizona" via the Santa Fe Railroad. In the background is a faint sign saying from St Louis, Boston, Baltimore & Chicago. Just how foolish this vision was is indicated by Census data that show California's population increased 50 percent from1880 to 1890. For a modern take see Richard Orsi, Sunset Limited: the Southern Pacific and the Development of the American West, 1850-1930 (University of California, 2005).

Keywords: California; Prosperity; Stanford, Leland, Crocker, Charles, Freight rates and service; Travel, fares and schedules; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.