New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-10-06
,,uu ycpV nNIY TRIBUNE. THURSDAY. OCTOBER g. 1883.

In projetn- for the propO--l gre2: Avenus
gard shoud b. rygd TO the geographical ins TIA; nay
BE- seIctsd ar restcare should alo B. obsrved have
te road corzrnci,d scale, worthy Of tie msgunis
ard resources Of he Rspubre AM the ntrpr indatr
power and wants OF our people
s.versl available routes for the proposed great highway
have been submitted to the public. We refer the Pae
Valley route the Kansas Valley route. and the south
err trace advocated by Senator Gvin OF California
The eztreme Northern route, commencing II s. An
thongs Falls the upper Mississippi la IS degrees
north we regard utterly impfacticsbe Our ncnstOn
and Judgment obge favor and advocate the line Of
Platte Valley la; Il deg north the most eligible srsea
for the Pacific Railroad and for tire following
A vas; majority of the population OF our RepubIa re
side between the parallels Of % and a deg north latitude
and within TIE limits mentioned extending westward ron
the Atlantic Ocean to l02 deg west longitude i embraced
much the larger portion Of the granary Of the Union and
aside from IL great Agricultural wealth, lis mineral re
sources sre Of incsiculsble value
Tie region have described i sssuredly capable Of
furnishing subsistence eighty millions Of hums1 beings
A. this portion Of country owing 10 the fertility OF It's
so and inexhausble mineral wealth i destined 10 sup
port an immense population interest as well As propety
would suggest. that the trace OF the Pacific Railroad
shoud be selected nearly central ~ practicable 10 the
region neniioued
the numerous railroads now in being constructed
in the New England States New YORK. Pennsyiv ania
Maryland Ohio Michigan, Indiana and W isconsin; VIII
show direct connection with other iron highways. leaf
the south bend Lake Michigan let ~ Deg 81
min north from which point the chain Is being eon.lruc
ted through Illinois and Iowa westward 20 Council Bafs
on the Missouri River, lat a. north lon 95 west Tie
distance from the South Bend Of Lake Michigan 10 me
Bluff is $50 miles
Nor than moety Of the road designed to connect the
South Bend Of Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River
al Rock Island il already finished and the residue VIII De
cont ted in a few months - 49,
We.tvsri Of Rock Island on the Iowa side Of the Ms
sis.Ir railroad Council Bluffs has been commenced
and y III be comp leted in very fe" year ,.,
Z h
wave running through the most popuou: and uoursning
States Of the Union, would respectfully suggest the
c. mmeucement of~he Pacific Railroad.
The fertility Of the region westward OF Council Blii,
extending % lOl west longitude is universally admitted
II beyond compare the best pastoral region IN the Unon
and IL climate i salnbrous and mild.
through the geographical center Of this beautiful region
we would locate The trace OF the Pacific R1roaf com
nencng ia eastern terminus in Nebraska Territory az
Council Bluff and thence following the Valley Of flate
River. westward to Bndgers Pass in the Rocky Noun
iains-lsf 81 North long lee West
Tie distance from the Bluffs 70 the Pass IL ao9n' %
miles Tie elevation Of the Missouri River at Council
Bluffs il 07i feet above the Atlantic Ocean, and the sum
NIT Of the Pas in the Mountains b 1870 feet above me
cean
Respecting the topography face Of the country over
which we propose locate the trace OF the Pacific Ra
road from the Missouri River Bdger Pass, W. need
only remark that the entire region Is an immense pan aud
theiefore the grades vii prove extremely m lerae aver
aging in our Judgment les than 10 feet per mile.
The distance from the south bend If Lake Michigan via
Ottawa Rock leland. Davenport Council Bluffs AMI the
VII reach one thousand hundred miles snd on the en-
tire trace the line would not defect more than thirty niles
from a due west course
Wetward Of the pass the Of the proposed ros1
would follow the valley Of Bitter Greek 70 the Colorado
River and eros said river AZ elevation OF 6o00 es
above the Pacific he distance from Brdgers Pass 10
tie Colorado is one hundred and forty me and the de-
scent will average about ten ei per me After crossing
10 The right bauk the trace would follow up me vale. OF
Blacks Fork Fort Bndgcr distance Of my miles
and On this portion Of the route also the grade would pre-
sent no imr ednent.
Fort Brdrer in lat Al deg IL min NORTH ll0I WESTON
beyond which point the would follow the line recon
merded by Captain stans6uIy via Bear hSer "so s
River Csmass Prairie aud Tmpanogos RIVER to OtAh
Lele in the great basin lat 40 deg north l2 west Ion
CAPTAIN starsbury carefully trayersed the trace men
toned from Bdgtrs Pass to the right bank Of mpano
90. River and Of he feasibility for the route Of arsroad
he sreaks with great confidence
From Utah Lake southern route 10 San Francisco -
entirely feasible by following the western base OF the
Wabsatch Mount passing through the several Mormon
seitl ments 10 latitude 3oi north ia west iongMude
Pess in the Sierra Nevada and thence norhwardy down
the valleys OF Tulare and San joaquin
From Bndger Pass the Rocky Mountains, 70 the val
lev Of Bear River in the Wahsatch chain distance OF
esO mills BI1rr1Sors Co,L AB0USDsl Ii is found in
r,a cropping n the surface and varying from four %
twelve feet in thickness. 49,
Owing 10 The grea, scarcity Of timber between the Ms
sour River and the Sierra Ney ada railroad TO the West
ern Ocean would in judgment prove utterly unavail
able unless Coal could be obtained 10 drive the motive
power and feel confident that coal viii be iounh ~
greater abundance in the Platte Valley route than upon
the Kansas or southern route.
Much Of the country lying between the Missouri River
and the Pacific Ocean sterile and irreclamable Prob
ably eight hundred miles of the entire distance the
country will be found wholly unprodactye and therefore
any atemlt 10 carry railroad from the Valley OF the
Mississippi San Francisco, without obtaining at eonye
reni distances sufficient supply Of coal to drive the mo-
tive power would assurtdly fail
We ar, unacquan ted with any trace. within the terrto
rial limits II tie Union where coal could be safely DIS
Tensed with in the successful use of railroad TO the IA
cfc Ocean.
Without an abundant supply OF this important fuel, the
desg Of constructing iron highway 70 our settlements
in California and Oregon should be wholly abandoned