By the terms of the supplementary Charter of 1864, a great incentive was given the two Companies, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad to get down as great a mileage as possible. In addition to the Government grant of Land and Bonds based on mileage, there was the traffic of the Mormon country and Salt Lake City at stake. Besides this, it was readily seen that the line having the greatest haul would be correspondingly benefitted when it came to subdividing earnings on trans-continental business. With these for incentive, both Companies put forth every effort to cover the ground. In the early part of 1869, rails of each Company were going down from six to ten miles a day. Records in track-laying were made then that have never been broken. Near Promontory a sign is still standing to announce "Ten miles of track laid in one day." Actual figures are not obtainable, but reliable contemporaries at that time stated there were twenty-five thousand men employed on the construction work of the two lines, as well as six thousand teams and two hundred construction trains. Both Companies were anxious to establish point of advantage that they could use in the controversy that was inevitable and which would determine the mileage and territory each was to enjoy. On April 29th, nine and a half miles remained unfinished. Three and a half for the Central Pacific Railroad, they having laid ten miles the day before, and six miles for the Union Pacific Railroad, the latter being the ascent of Promontory Hill and including a stiff bit of rock work. When the two tracks came together, the Central Pacific Railroad had nearly sixty miles of grading done parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad track--that is from Promontory east to the mouth of Weber Canon, while the Union Pacific Railroad had located their line to the California State line and most of the grading was done as far west as Humboldt Wells, Nev., four hundred and fifty miles from Ogden. As stated the two tracks were brought together at Promontory on May 9th, 1869, but two rail lengths were kept open until the questions at issue were adjusted and also until a suitable program could be arranged for celebrating the event. Everything satisfactorily arranged, Monday, the 10th of May, 1869, was set for the ceremonies. The Central Pacific Railroad completed their track up to Promontory May 1st. It was the intention to have the opening ceremonies on Saturday, May 8th, and the Central Pacific officials were on hand for that purpose. The Union Pacific party coming west were delayed some forty-eight hours at Piedmont by a gang of graders and track-layers, who not having received their wages side tracked the special train with Vice-President Durant and his party, holding them as hostages until the Company had paid over to the contractor some two hundred and fifty thousand dollars due him and which he in turn distributed among his men.