This session of the Legislature convened on the second Tuesday of January, 1876. Tarrant county was represented in that body by the Hon. Nicholas Darnell, who had also been a member of the Convention that framed the Constitution. In the meantime the people of this city despairing of the road being constructed by the company, undertook to build it themselves. They organized “The Tarrant County Construction Company” and subscribed to the capital stock, assuming to make payment in money, labor, material, forages, supplies or anything they had which possessed a marketable value. A contract was entered into with the railway company for the construction of the road from Eagle Ford, its western terminus, to this city. The contract was let to Roche Bros. & Tierney, of which firm J. J. Roche is still surviving and a citizen of the city. The work was commenced in the fall of 1875. Maj. K. M. VanZandt was the President of the company, John S. Hirshfield, Vice-President; Zane-Cetti, Secretary and W. A. Huffman, Treasurer. When the Legislature assembled, the railway company made application for still another extension, but the opposition to it was very pronounced and had a large following. It soon became evident that a sufficient number of votes could not be secured to obtain the extension. The company had expended large sums of money in surveying and platting the lands in the west which amounted to sixteen sections per mile. It was too rich a prize to abandon without a struggle. The company took the contract off the hands of The Construction Company and put forth every energy to the construction of the road to this place with a view to its completion to this city before the Legislature should conclude its labors and adjourn. Gen. John C. Brown, of Tennessee, was the Vice-President of the company and he was on the ground day and night, if his services were necessary. Maj. D. W. Washburn, the chief engineer, was equally active and the contractor, Morgan Jones, is said not to have changed his clothes or gone regularly to bed during that period of unexampled activity. The Legislature had finished its labors early in July and the Senate had passed a concurrent resolution of adjournment and sent it over to the House. The rails of the Texas & Pacific were many miles east of Fort Worth. An adjournment of the Legislature meant the sacrifice of the magnificent landed domain which it had surveyed and platted. Then commenced the most strenuous parliamentary battle recorded in the history of this or any other state. The friends of the railway company refused to adopt the resolution to adjourn. The vote was so close that the absence of a single friend of the company might mean disaster. Gen. Darnell, the member from this county, was one of those who voted against adjournment and the General was sick. He was carried into the hall every day, on a cot, and voted “no” on the resolution to adjourn sine die; and voted “aye” on a motion to adjourn till the following day.