A. B. Rogers

Rogers served with the U.S. Cavalry during the Indian Wars, attaining the rank of major during the 1862 Dakota Sioux uprising.

His initial engineering experience was primarily on the American prairies surveying for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.

Nevertheless, James Jerome Hill of the Canadian Pacific Railway hired Rogers in April 1881 to find a rail route through the Selkirk and Rocky Mountains.

[6] Although they had found a pass, they had been unable to explore its eastern approach, a distance of 18 miles (29 km) from the junction of the Beaver and Columbia Rivers.

On July 24, 1882, he reached the same pass, confirming its existence and the feasibility of a railway route.

It was not until Van Horne promised him a gold watch as a souvenir that he consented to cash the cheque.