Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1857-07-24
Overland California Mail.

ne IreSlueut anu IOstmaSIer-ueHeTdi,
with a wonderful show and pretcnsion Ct
fairness, have virtually rulli6.d the great
enterprise Of an overland mail to Califor-
MA. After long investigation aad repeat
ed references, it has been decided to give
the contract to the lowest bidders and the
most responsible men, but to locate the
route in wholly impracticable region and
au uuiuhabited country. They have care
fully thrown both the shells to the anti
sectional interest, while the fat oyster
within it has been as carefully passed over
to the extreme South. The contract, as
awarded, names Memphis and St. Louis as
the eastern termini Of the maiu line, but,
in fact, makes Memphis the only termi-
nus.
ST. Louis is no more termination, un-
der this arrangement, Of the great route
sought to be established, than Bufalo or
Portland is. But let US see what may be
expected from tie new Memphis route,
which the emigrant trains for the last
nine years have never found, though the
region has always been the pet Of the
Government. In order to get the utmost
possible southing at the beginning, the
mail will 20 from Little Rock about 100
miles nearly south to Fulton, thence due
west 100 miles to Preston on Red River
in Texas, thence west two degrees south
to Fort Fillmore, near FL Paso. From
Preston to El Paso the country is mainly
a desert. The line touches in places the
feeble springs constituting the head-wa-
ters of the Texan rivers. 1t crosses sun
dry Lidnos estacados 9 jorny2os del mHer-
tros, in which, as the words imply, water,
wood and grass are strangers to the trav-
eler, and silence and death become his IA
miliar companions. From Fort Fillmore
to Fort Yuma the line lies in the Gadsden
purchase, in which there is one town Tu-
eson) of two or three hundred inhabitants;
the other population consists Of sand flies,
rattlesnakes, very beautiful and fee. an
telope, and a singular species of lizard,
which has attracted the attention of nat
uralists. This region is thought to be
well adapted to experiments in making ar
tesian wells, upon the principle that
generally worthless cur must be a good
coon dog, being f. for nothing else. Fort
Yuma, is, Of course, the most southerly
rO1-s o-ss~---.-, 49, -
tance to San Francisco is FIVE degrees of
latitude and seven of longitude, say $50
miles.
The motives and purposes Of the Ad-
miuistration in selecting route like this
are obvious enough, ,and l can not perceive
why there should be any eoncealment
about them, since the same sort of thing
has been going on for two generations.
The design is to grade the way for a
Southern Pacific Railroad, under the pro-
ject heretofore supported BY Jefferson Da-
Wis and p. NJ. G. Brown, as a member Of
the Nashville Convention, Of making the
Government of the present United States
pay for the builliug of . railroad, which
shall connect their intended "Nigger
Confederacy" with the Pacific.
The North has been grossly outraged
by this allotment to the extreme South Of
the Pacific Overland Mail route, while the !
whole nation will be piIlaged of its treas
ure by mail contractors, who can never be
mail carriers.-NT y Tribune