The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1854-05-18
The Northern Railroad Route to the
Pacific..Its feasibility established.-
Speech Of Gov. Stevens at San Fran
cisco..Extracts from his Letters, &c.

Pacifics.1tS Feasibility eStaDllSheds.
speech of Gov. Stevens at San Fran.
cisco..Extracts from his Letters, &c.
We take pleasure in directing the attention
of the readers of this issue to the important
subject which heads this article, and the ac-
companying extracts from the letters and the
speech of GOV. ISAAC L. STEVENS, of Wash
ington Territory. The speech was delivered
by Governor STEVENS in San Francisco, ON
the 18th of April, and contains a full digest of
pthc operations of the exploring party, which
left the Mississippi river under his command
on the 18th June, of last year. No other sur
vey, among those ordered by the general gov
ernment, with view to the selection of rail-
road route to the Pacific, has been attended
with results as satisfactory. In less than a
year, with the force under his command, he has
surveyed every stream of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
ed every pass in the most thorough manner,
throughout an extent of country two thousand
miles from East to West, and on an average of
one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles
from north 20 south. In the Rocky Noun.
tains he extended his explorations to width
from north to south of nearly five hundred
miles, and in the Cascade Mountains over two
hundred and fifty miles. While the main work
ofreconnoisance was going on, the geology OF
the country, its natural history, botany, and all
auxiliary Subjects received his attention, and
his Investigations in these departments bring
to light important and unlocked for results.
The San Francisco Herald, commenting on
the speech and labors of Gov. STEvESs, re-
marks that his surveys have established the
practicability of the Northern Pacific Rail
road, connecting Puget's Sound and the valley
of the Columbia River, with the Northern
Mississippi and the great St. Lawrence Basin.
The explorations have been very extensive,
and have included Il thorough examination of
instructions to be expected from snow. Three
large well organized parties have been in the
field One, under the personal direction of
Governor STEVENS, left the Mississippi River
in June, pushed westward, on several lines, to
the Rocky Mountains, crossed them in Sep
TENDER, and in October met on the Spokane
Plain second party under Capt Mcclellan,
which had made all examination of the Cas-
cadc Mountains from the Columbia River to
the forty-ninth parallel. The third party UNI
der Lieut.. Saxton, pushed forward from the
Columbia River with a supply train, establish
ed depot in the ST. Mary's Valley, and met
the advance of Gov. STEVENS party in the
Backfcet Pass in the Rocky Mountains.
Winter parties were left in the mountains
to ascertain the depth of the snow, Lieut.. Null
len was placed in charge of one party and was
stationed in the st. Marys Valley, just west
of the Rocky Mountains. Mr.. James Doty
was placed in charge of the second party, sta
toned at Fort Benton, east of the Mountains
third party under Lieut.. Grover, also re-
manned behind to survey the Upper Missouri,
and cross all the mountain ranges to the Pa
cifc to ascertain the depth of the snow. From
the ST. Marys Valley a fouIth party, under
a. w. TINKHAM, Esq, was sent back over the
mountains by a new pass with directions to
return on a new route to extend the field of
exploration The route thus occupied by
Gov. STEVENS and his party, is the route of the
two great rivers across the continent-the
Missouri and Columbia. Their tributaries
interlock; the whole mountain range is bro
ken down into spurs and valleys, and no OBJ
staclc exists from snow. The whole route
is eminently practicable. The highest grade
will be fifty feet to the mile and it may be
reduced to forty on subsequent examination
The summit level of the road will be about
five thusand feet above the sea- There will be
but one tunnel The SHOWS will be less than
i'm the New England States. The MISSOURI
River has been surveyed, and found to be nav
igable for steamers to the Falls, about seven
hundred miles from Puget Sound, and five
hundred miles to the point where the main Co.
lumbia is first reached by the railroad from
the cast. This five hundred miles is in part
along Clarke's Fork, affOrding one hundred
miles navigable for steamers 1t may be here
observed that party under DR.. Lucky went
down Clarke's Fork, from the base of the Rocky
Mountains to the Columbia, and thence to the
Lower Columbia, in a canoe in October and
November, developing many facts in regard to
the part it must play in the building of a rail-
road. They went the whole distance in canoes
except one link of sixty miles. All the winter
parties were heard from or had come in on the
25th of March. The Developments are extra
ordinary. In the first place, as to snow
Lieut.. Grover crossed the Rocky Mountains in the