The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1853-12-21

fined and mapped when Tue best routes sna nave oesh
ascenaned by The surveys OF engineers instead OF by
The conecures of traders and travellers passing along
them then wall give nv opinion as 70 the relative value
Of The positions OF The passes through lhe mountains
sid of four miles square, TO supersede San Francisco.
by help OF federal legislation and public punder, and 10
make fortunes for all its lol-hoders"
For one. have neither lots interests al 81. Diego,
nor do believe the engineers have. But one thiog 10
certain the supposed feasibility of the Walkers Pass
route for railroad has exploded. and hereafter i Will
only in history and OF this fact the mountain and
the pass ITSELF durable as time, Interchangeable as Nature
will be witness suhect 10 mistake and no change
The people OF California desire and hope for, and be-
eve that the people OF the other States also desire, The
construction OF railroad from San Francisco the Gen.
Ire Of trade commerce, and population, along the
shortest and best route whereu can be used The whole
year, central and convenient point on the valley OF
the Mississippi river.
Col Benton has endeavored 10 niure the engineers IN
charge Of the surveys by namag matter OF ll''le im
porsnce, whether "Walker" the Utah Indian chel, IS
s.horse thief" Col Benton rays be is not hose- hie
nor OF CALIFORNIA; and upon this expends near hail col
umn. The object is TO show gnofance and lnexactne 50
on The part of the engineers OF the United Slaies Al
thoush the matter is OF little conseq ! yet take II
upon me TO say that the engineers IN my opinion, are
right and their assaant wrong Let us see. And first
we will examine Mr. Fremont, who says;
ave met hsnd of Utah Indians, headed by a we'll
known chief. who mad obsined the American English
name Of Walker by which he is well known They were
ourneyinR slowly towards the Spanish trail levy their
usual tribute upon the great California caravan They
robbie If higher order than those OF The DESERT
next lake two extracts from an article furnished by
Colonel Benton to your paper Of The 18th OF October last
"On The third day afer Mr.. Heaps departure about
twenty Utnhs into camp. They were somewhat i'm
pudent al FIRST bur Mr.. Beal, put bold face. and.
Knowing he wholly in their power. upon their in
vaon accompanied them 10 their lodges These Indians
all well armed AID well mounod, and the valley in
which they lived found be full Of horses, undou m
edly stolen from Csiornia and New Mexico Having
gained the friendship Of the Indians, Mr. Beale lived with
upon the most amicabie terms, hunting with the IN
and sharing whatever game was obained until the
OF MI Heap from Taos,
Hereditary right but has to his position
peme chet OF the Ulahs solely by his energies He
makes annual Dcu,sons into this country and is esii-
mated that within the last four years he has driven OIL
less Than Two thousand horses"
Wiibou, gong beyond the publications made By Col.
Benton himself. written the last few weeks | think
ordinary readers VIII lind reason Tor believing Walker
not only "hoIse-lhist" but California horse
thief"
Having defended mysef and those assailed on my ac.
count propose. in vndicauon OF my former and
present position, 10 examine somewhat in detail the
adv oca.d by Col Benton
He has fills the papers during many months with let.
tes and speeches IN favor OF his rou,e, which in letter
TO The people OF Mlssoarl he described as
Straight and sooot'--aot mountsin 10 be climbed a
river swamp 10 be SEQ, ll 10 be tlnnelcd Wood
water, aud s,,l for eontnaoas seIenent coal known
be many points of the llae tie whole uavesable in
winter, and all south q SO deg. SO deg and 81 deg"
That route suits me ; and, Utea found. and "a note
made OF it, shall receive unreserred support Ii
wonderful route and exceeds The highest hopes of the
most ardent OF my consueDts-straight, smooth with.
SWamps, abundance OF Water wood
coal, and soil tor continuous settlement all the uay
What would not Beale have given to have been Ben
tons when srang ling with the waters OF toe Grand
river, or when almost dying with thirst on the endless
deserts he taversed
But to be serious Colonel Benton insists on a route
OF which lite hitherto known and he has made
danger Is that the public may Ia think his parie
uIar Is not feasible other be Those noIt Of
bis route are mpraccable because OF the cod and Tie
snoU; those south because sy hot Ii
IA iDaIa
sourl IRON to Col Benton, bsng in favor Of
starting The road 10 the Pac nc from the western
the middle road, denounces TIE southern the "Nul
ners route, and views the northern hyperborean
He would narrow our search lor the best the
Stale he IN part representa-, and compel 10 start IRON
his home 40 81. LOUIS anu then 20 by the OF
cined border town!
That the public may know how exceedingly unlikely
his route TO be adopted aud that therefore they ought
now sate what believe TO be The insurmounlabie Oh
saces 10 the building OF railroad the route he ad-
vocaes
Col Benton proposes to start from the mouth OF the
Kansas, The western line OF Missouri, in north ati-
tude about 80 deg 10 min and some TOUR hund ed
miles west up The Kansas and tbeIe into the valley
OF Inc Arkansa- near benrs of thence up SAID nver
to the Hueffano, and along The latter and through The
Sierra Blanca mountains TO the Del Norie, in about north
latitude 81 deg IRON This point nearly due north, about
one hundred and twenty miles TO Coocha'ope IN north
latitude hboat 30 deg ibenfe westerly actoss numerous
rivers 10 the Wan sach mountains; cross these, and 20
southwest 10 the Vegas de Santa Clara IRON thence in
euch direction hs 10 strike the eastern line oil hs Stale
OF California, oppose the end OF the Sierra Nevada al
Walkers Pas-.r
Walkers Pass is in north latitude IS deg II min.
and - put down by Colonel Benton longitude
liS drg 30 min. Captain Gnnnison found The mouth OF
ih. Hoeriano in longitude l03 deg. 30 min. The
Colorado river is, Judging iron the statements OF the
eniefpusIng Ar Aubrey, about two hundred and hiiy
miles east, and must, therefore. be in west Longitude
about la deg 30 min. The distance between the mouth
OF the Hueriano and the point the Colorado, opposite
Walkers Pass, is 10 deg so MIN, OF longitude. Calling
iytu n.ais atrnaf. MI
SKI The distance is SIX hundred and fifty miles.
le-srs. Beae aud Heap travelled from The mouth OF The
ueTano TO the valley OF the Mohave The Colo
RADIO. From the Vegas to the Colorado opposite Walk
els Pass, Is about as lar from Vegas TO the
Mohave. The distance, according TO their estimate,
while tavorng The Coocbaope route, make out Ills
miles
Can anything prove more concu.vely the infelicity
OF Colonel Bentons selection ot routes than the un.
adorned TACT that road OF $50 miles in length pro-
traeed by lis numberless sinmosities 10 disance of
ll5 miles That II tails off i20 miles to the south
from the Kansas, in Nebraska, To the RIO Grande in
New Mrxco and thence runs back north i2O miles mn
TO latitude 30 deg, and into Utah Territory and then
back into New Mexico quite down 10 latitude Is deg
~ MN iuy accounts Tor this wonderful distance, and
also Tor The nams this route is known by IN Missouri
In 1916 Col Benron desired Congress II favor differ.
en route He said in his speech in the Senate that year
that
Lewis and Clark sent out 10 discover a com
cai to the Pacific ocean, and iudIciously was
enerrse conducted that their become
and forever remain tue ron. OF commercs the
thef south. through the South Pass latitude IL will
be the travelling road bnt com will take The water
Iine Of her einrn crossing the Rocky mountains ati-
tnds AZ, through the Norm Pass"
He further adds;
"Tbc North Pass Is as easy as the Souh-praoticabe
by aBy vehicle ~ sate OF nature md no obstacle 10 the
l,tll AZ. arl hn lft a.A If..L