Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1851-01-03
LETTER FROM OREGON.
PORTLAND OREGON, June, 1850.

PORTLAND OREGON, June, 1850
Dear Father-l fulfil with pleasure my prom
Use made, about the time / left San Francisco
to give you q description ofthe country between
the Missouri and the Pacific, and my opinion in
regard to its adaptation TO the purpose of agri-
culture and Whitney's contemplated railroad
If you had been over the ground, am sure You
would smile at the idea of bringing the pow into
requistion to any extent west of Fort Child late
ly called Fort Kearney). The cultivation OF the
desert of Sahara is quite as probable.
Between the Missouri and Fort Kearney the
country resembles the praries OF southern Wis
consin with less timber. After leaving the Fort,
Gin the valley OF the Platte, which is from two
to six miles wide,) the soil has the same rich,
prairie like appearance as on the other side ofthe
Fort but after rising the bluff, il appears gray
ely, much like the tops of high bluffs in Wis
consin. Between the forks OF the Platte the soil
has the same shallow, gravelly appearance
After leaving the north fork of the Platte, saw
no country worth havng-in fact, hardly any
part of it is better than desert. That large
emigration passed over this region, their stock
subsistng upon grass, would seem to contradict
this. But, if you will look upon a map where
the trails are laid down, you will observe that
emigrants follow the main streams, no matter
how far they may be from direct course. The
reason, generally, is this they never find grass,
wood, or water except on streams. Here is
where all authors on the subject that have
read fail to give correct idea of the country
While they say nothing but what ls strictly true
yet the impression conveyed is as erroneous as
though their descriptions were false. Like "A
witness on the stand, it is necessary that VIII
ter should tell not only the truth, but the 1Oh0te
truth. In fact part told, and not the whole,
is no truth. If for instance, it should be said, in
journal oftravels: Encamped to-nigh t--riv-
err a beautiful stream the grass is tall, tender
and abundant we use dry willows for fuel, &c:
certainly every person would suppose, from this,
that the writer was in fine country yet ten to
one, he travelled half, if not all day, without a
drop Of water, unless he carried it, seeing the
first green thing, wild sage excepted, and at the
time he was writing be might have looked east,
west, north and south, without seeing anything
but sand as pure and barren as that on the shores
of lake Michigan, except, perhaps, strip OF a
few rods in width along the margin of the stream:
AS for wood although the dry willow is as good
as any for camp purposes yet you ought to be
told that you may travel for weeks or months
without seeing any other kind OF wood: This
is not always the case but after leaving or La
rhine, it is so nine-tenths of the time. The
Bear river country, in the vicinity of the Salt
Lake settlement, is the only place that looks like
life between Fort Larime and the west side OF
the desert. When passed through, which was
about the first of July, ice formed in buck
ct in one night sufficiently to bear man. But
the grass was good and there was plenty Of it.
Had it not been for the chance the stock had OF
recruiting in those mountains, there would not.
probably, half as many animals reached Calitor-
MIA in 40 as there did West of this, nothing
could be added to the country to render II more
worthless, in every sense, than it is. II Is one
barren, sandy waste, that could not be traversed,
were it not for the mountain streams that flow in,
at first pure and cool, bat before they far
become impregnated with minerals of all kinds.
The larger the stream tho further it flows, but
most of them finally sink Humboldt's river is
one Of the largest. When We first struck this
river, it was handsome, cool, rapid mountain
stream. We followed it three hundred miles, to
its mouth The only tributaries were springs
strongly impregnated with sulphur, salt, alka,
&c, and occasionally hot spring with little
of all. But they all finally sink. After leaving
those stupendous mountains, with their cold,
pure streams, and small but fresh and beautiful
patches of grass the very air appears to stimu-
late indeed, every thing seems calculated to IN
spire the beholder with emotions the most pleas
ing and sublime. Turn from this, and broad
cxpanse of country, waste and desolate, is a.
round YOU you can perceive nothing, tree, bush,
or grass, to relieve the eye or please the mind;
there is not even spring of water that does not
contain death or disease within its bosom. The
streams seem 10 cling to life with great tenacity
but as with expiring nature, when overcome by
disease, they sink, apparently, by their eXertons
to maintain vitality. This vast desert, finally
spreads out into a broad filthy marsh. Addt this
desolate state Of nature its terrible effects which
we had constantly before our eyes, and you may,
partially, realize the sensations we experienced
whilst journeying through this dreary land
Animas-some already dead, some in the last
agonies of death, others standing mute and mo-
tionless, regardless ofevery thing passed around
them, until, when nature was finally overcome,
they would sink in their tracks to perish whilst
others not so far gone, but seeming to have a
preseEtiment of their doom, would cast upon us,
as we passed them, such imploriDg looks as could
not tail to move any heart less hard than adamant.
Before concluding this paragraph, must say
word favorable TO Carson river. This Is the first
stream we struck after crossing the desert. The
valley which it waters is one OF the most beau
tilul ever beheld but like all the rest, very
limited in extent. Had the Mormons settled in
this valley, instead of the Salt Lake, think the
selection would have been much more Judi
cious
But to the subject Of Railroad. This is ac
knowedged BY all to be of vast importance, and
if it could be accomplished would be one Of the
greatest works in the world notice, by way
of papers from the States, that the subject is
being agitated more than ever.
AS | have said to you before, l think the
scheme impracticabe and | will state some OF
the most prominent reasons for my opinion
From the Missouri TO Fort Laramie, a road could
be constructed and kept up without much troub-
lie, as there are no mountains or floods to con-
tend with. But from the Devils Gate 10 the
summit Of the Rocky Mountains, it is not So
After this, in many cases, in fact most OF the
time, a road must pass between ranges OF noun
tains that run parallel to each other sometimes
hundreds of miles, and frequently, at their ter
mnaon, very nearly close up. 1t SHOWS here,
almost constantly, half the year. and to have this
go of with rain, you can readily see must throw
a vast body of water into the valley at once,
which must force lis way through those narrow
outlets with power that cannot fail to sweep oil
every impeachment that is not as flrFn as the
mountain itself. am aware that the idea OF
tunneling through the mountain is entertained
by some The absurdity ofths Is easily shown
Water can run in any place that tram OF cars
can but even If tunEeIing could obylate the
t.. underwriting without