The true Democrat., 1855-02-07
NO. IT,.

ley of the San Jose from its mouth is about '"ehty-three feet per mile, but the maximum grace It IS believed, will cut through the loose anu gravelly soil at the eliminating point, and we descend to the Colorado Chiquito, by ule fuerco of the West, unnterruptedly, a' an average descent of thirty feet per mile. Al polnt called the Clay Camp" on the san Jose, thls valley divides, one branch head ing near the Camino del Obspo: and several miles above, another valley, the Canon del Gal 10, occurs, which begins in the Zuni Pass. This latter valley was not explored, but it is much lower than the Camino del Obispo, and is repre- sented by intelligent Mexicans and others who have passed 1t as being very favorable for rail- road, presenting no very great obstacle to its construction. A trail for pack mules from Zuni to the Ojo del Gallo, at the mouth of Cenon del Gallo, threads through this gorge From all learned and all saw when in the vicinity of this pass, lam of fopinion that grade of between sixty and seventy feet per mile will suffice to cross the moutan at this point; the descent thence to the Pueblo de Zuni is very gradual.
 "The route by the Camino del Oblspois more dlfhcult and will require an ascending grade of eighty feet per mile, and a tunnel at the sum- mt of about three-quarters of a mile in length. Descending to Zuni, this route traverses gen. tly-sloplng and we'll watered valley, with a grade not exceeding sixty feet per mile. From Zun to the Rio Puerco, at camp No. "A, (Nava- joe spring) the line passes over the rolling coun try between Zun creek and the Puerco with undulating grades, the maximum not exceed ing twenty-five feet permile. From the mouth of the Puerco of the West the route continues down the Colorado Chiquto for seventy-fve miles, with an average descent of only six feet permile thence striking west to the pass south of the San Francisco mountain. By the route surveyed the distance from the river to this pass Is torty-two miles, with grades of forty, forty-Six and foyt-fve fit. per mile By leaving the Colo radO Chiquito further east than the point ofsur- vey, this grade may be materially modified Passing this summit, the route continues west for thirty miles over an undulating region north of Bill Williams mountain, through thick pine forests, with undulating but descending grades, the maximum being about thirty feet per mile. Here small summit is passed which divides the waters of the San Francisco from those flowing northwesterly towards the Little and Great Colorado. With light work here the proper route turns southwesterly towards the Val de Chino a tributary of the San Francisco river, distance of forty-tive miles, with maximum grade of forty feet per mile. Cross ing this valley to reach Pueblo creek an ascend lHS Sldue ol HlIy lceG per Iullo lOT lOuTteeu miles, thence an ascending grade of forty five feet per mile for fifteen miles, enables us to make the Aztec Pass with forty feet cutting.
 "The Aztec Pass divides the waters tha flow into the San Francisco and Bill Williams fork, the former flowing to the Gila, and the latter to the Great Colorado. From this pass the best route would continue down this stream to near camp No. 1O0; thence over small di- vide between Canon creek and White Cliff creek; thence down the latter to its junction with Big Sandy, the main branch of Bill Williams fork. From Aztec Pass, for fifteen miles, the descend ing grade will be sixty five feet per mile; thence across the Canon and White Cliff creeks sum- mit with light work, and down White Cliff creek thirty miles to the mouth of Canon creek, with descending grade of ffty-o feet per mile, the descent via Canon creek from camp No. 1Oo would be about seventy-ive feet per mile, through deep canon of basaltic rock. From the mouth of Canon creek the valley of Big Sandy and Bill Williams fork presents no obstacle that cannot easily be overcome, either in grade or curvature, to the Great Colorado. In the Striped Canon there are several salient points which it will be necessary to tunnel to the extent of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet, in order to maintain a work able curve
 Between camps Nos. 12O and 121 Big San- dy unites with Bill Williams fork, which comes from the N. E. From a careful examination of my typographical notes, trangulations, de- ductlons, etc., feel confident in stating my opinion as to the source of this fork-that 1t is Ill pass which We saw some few miles to the south of us between the Black mountains and Mount Hope. By a slight detour in the Val de Chino, this pass can be attained, and the val ley of Bill Williams occupied for the route there, by saving about fifty miles of distance and the probability of an uninterrupted descent of about twenty eight feet per mile.
 Following up the left bank of the Great Colorado, whose ascent for thirty.four miles is about one and half foot per mile, suitable point for crossing was found among the ''Need- les," series of porphyritic and trap dikes, through which the stream forces passage.- Notwithstanding the formidable appearance of the rocks at a casual glance, there are but three points where they infringe directly upon the river, and these points are quite narrow and easily perforated or blasted off entirely To cut off large bend of the river in the Pah- Utah valley, grades of about sixteen feet per mile will be necessary to pass the gravelly spurs of the plain. At the crassing, the rocks afford enduring abutments, and the river, being one hundred and fifty yards wide, is easily spanned From this point proper location will be found. by leaving the river and commencing the ascent of the high table e-lands that lie between the Great Colorado and the Mohave rivers, through the pass hitherto supposed to be the em5omeh- msent of the latter, but which was found to be but dry bed of stream heading in the ele- vated rim of the Great Basin, which undoubt- edly extends thus far south. Thence turning southeasterly to junction with the Sierra Me- vada, at the San Bernadino mountain, the ex- ploration continued west and through pass in the highest point of this river, there being much lower ground both to the north and south of this point, as shown by tho. map. This pass is attainable, however, by practicable grades the maximum being about sixty -four feet per mile.
 "The distance from the "Needles" to the pass is about nienety miles, Cutting thirty feet at this summit, we have an uninterrupted descent for fifty-six miles Following the de- tours of great valley) to Soda lake-an im- Irro and o,,lxy I,c,, IL. llz