Fifteen years after Mahlon Loomis ' death , his older brother George wrote an account about his brother 's activities . George Loomis reported that a series of financial setbacks had hindered development . A plan to raise $ 20,000 to finance a demonstration of the system in the U.S. Rocky Mountains , spanning the 100 miles ( 160 kilometers ) between Mount Hood , Oregon and Mount Shasta , California had to be canceled due to losses encountered by the backers in the September 1869 Black Friday stock market crash . Alternate financing for this test was then arranged from a group located in Chicago , but this support also was blocked , due to the aftereffects of the October 1871 Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Mahlon Loomis