Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-12-24

i
prompt and unqualified reracton Of the false presenta
ton is demanded BY every principle of justice and gen.
! crosby
] Mr. Fremont has such knowledge Of that Pass
hasy ride over it nine years ago could give; Lieut. WILL
Hanson the knowledge afforded by thorough and mi
instrumental survey. The real knowledge Of that
Pass gentlemen cannot be stated way
comparison but only by contrast for the former really
can know very little about it, Even LERoUx upon whom
Col. BENTON would have all rely, supposed ESQ Mr.
HEAP says) that Walkers Pass at the TETON Pass
Col BENTON thinks poorly of Lieut. wILLrANsoSs judg
ment in relation to the position of Walkers Pass. When
the position of the mountains shall have been de-
fined and mapped when the best routes shall have been
ascertained by the surveys Of engineers instead of by
the conectures of traders and travellers passing along
them then will give my opinion to the relative value
the positions of the Passes through the mountains
COL BENTON speaks of diagram of city at ST. Diego
laid off four miles square, to supersede San Francisco
by help of Federal legislation and public plumber and to
make fortunes for all its lot-holders"
For one have neither lots interests at st. Diego
do believe the engineers have. But thing is
certain the supposed feasibility of the Walkers Pass
for railroad has exploded, and hereafter it will
exist only in history and of this fact "the mountain
and the pass ITSELF durable time, Interchangeable as
Nature will be witness subject mistake and no
change"
The people Of California desire and hope for, and be-
eye that the people of the other States also DESIRE the
construction of railroad from San Francisco the centre
trade and population along the shortest
Hand where it be used the whole year. to
central and convenient point the valley of the Mssis-
| sipp river.
COL BENTON has endeavored to njure the engineers in
charge of the surveys by naming matter of little impor
lance, whether " Walker" the Utah Indian chief is
Aorse-thf"' Col BENTON says he is not horse-thef
of California, and upon this expends near half
column The object is to show ignorance and inexact
the part Of the engineers of the United States
Although the matter is Of little consequence, yet take it
upon to say that the engineers in my opinion, are
right, and their assailant wrong. Let And first
we will examine Mr.. Fremont, who says:
ave met a band of Utah Indians, headed by we'll
known chief who had obtained the American English
name of Walker, by which he is well known. They were
ourneyng slowly towards the Spanish trail to levy their
usual tribute upon the great California THEY
robbers of higher order than those of the desert"
take extracts from article furnished by
COL BENTON your paper of the 18th of October last
'.On the third day after Mr.. Heaps departure about
twenty Utahs into camp. They somewhat
mpudent first, but Mr. Beae put bold face, and
knowing that he wholly in their power upon their
invitation accompanied them to their lodges These In
dams oil well armed and well mounted and the val
ley in which they lived found to be full of horses
undoubtedly stolen from California and New Mexico
Having gained the friendship OF the indians, Mr. Beae
lived with them upon the most amicabe terms, hunting
with them and sharing whatever game obtained
til the return of Mr.. Heap from Taos.
Walker is remarkable Indian. He is chief by
hereditary right but has risen to his present position
supreme chief of the Utahs solely by his energies
He makes annual incursions into this country and is
estimated that within the last four years he has driven
of not less than two thousand horses"
without going beyond the publications made by COL
BENTON himself written the last few weeks, think
binary readers will find for believing Walker not
only horse thief" but California horse-thef"
| Having defended myself and those assaed my &C
count PROPOSE in vndication Of my former and
present position, examine somewhat detail the
advocated by Col. BENTON.
He has filed the papers during many months with let
tiers and speeches in favor of his route which in letter
to the people of Missouri he described as
"Straight and smooth-not mountain to be climbed,
a river swamp to be crossed, hill to be tunneled
Wood, water, and soil for continuous settlement: coal
known to be on points Of the line the UhoLe trf
versatile in winter, and all south of 1892 49, and 3Io
That route suits me /; and trhen found and a note
made of it," shall receive resrd support 1t is
wonderful route and exceeds the highest hopes Of the
ardent Of smooth without
rivers or swamps, and yet abundance of water wood
COAL and soil for continuous settlement all the pGy What
would not Beae have given to have been Bentons
route when strangng with the waters of the Grand Ri
YER when almost dying with thirst the endless de-
serts he traversed
But to be serious. Col. BENTON insists a route of
which little hitherto known and he has made that
prominent and the others offensive that the danger
is that the public may think his particular
is not feasible other BE- Those north of his route
mpracticable because of the cold and The those
south because they hot 1t so happens that there
three parallel roads running Missouri from east
TO west COL Benton being in favor Of starting the road
to the Pacific from the end Of the middle road
denounces the southern the Nullifers route" and
views the northern one hyperborean! He would mar
search fer the best the State he in part
represents and compel to from his home in ST.
Louis, and then go by the way Of a specified border
town
That the public may know how exceedingly unlikely
has route is to be adopted and that therefore they ought
to encourage the careful explorations Of Others will
saces the building Of railroad on the route he adj
| yocates.
Col BENTON proposes to start from the mouth Of the
Kansas the western line Of Missouri in north latitude
about 800 10 and 60 four hundred miles west up
the Kansas and there into the valley the Arkansas
Bents Fort thence up said river the Huerfano
and along the latter and through the Sierra Blanca
tans to the Del Norte in about north latitude 3To from
this point nearly due NORTH about hundred and twenty
miles to Coochaope in north latitude about 39O thence
westerly across rivers the Wah-satch Noun
Santa Clara from thence in such direction as to strike
the line Of the State Of California "oppoe the
end Of the Sierra Nevada, at Walkers Pass."