Bellevue gazette. [volume] (Bellevue City, N.T. [i.e. Neb.]) 1856-1858, 1857-09-10
WoOIwOrth's Facts.

wOoIwOrth's Facts.
Mn. EpIrop:-Two small works from
the pen Of James NJ. Woolwarth of Oma-
ha, have come to our notice. One is called
Nebraska in 1857" and the other Omaha
City, the Capital of Nebraska" While
reading these works, | have been led 10
wonder, why the author made so many
mistakes, or if you please, one state
ments, 1t certainly must be either the
result Of ignorance, respecting the subject
on which he was writing, or a design, will
fully to misrepresent, in order to the ac-
complishment of certain ends. shall not
accuse him of the latter, he will hardly be
willing to admit the correctness of the for
mer. While reading the works, marked
several points that | designed TO notice, but
at present will confine my remarks TO the
following:-"Now the Platte river empties
into the Missouri some fifteen miles below
Omaha, thence it flows west on nearly a
straight line some twelve miles, when
at nearly a right angle, it turns north, in
which direction it flows until it returns to
a point Just back of Omaha" First, then,
the Platte river does not turn north at
nearly a right angle some trelre miles from
its mouth" The distance by section lines,
to say nothing about the windings Of the
road, is ttcice twelve miles, which is quite
an item in so short a distance.
Neither does the river "now directly
north" after it has made its turn at nearly
a right angle. Its course is north WcSt
instead of north, as seen by every map tina.
| have examined. Even the map in Mr.
WIS own book, ''got up" for a specific pur'
pose, makes the river incline TO the west o
. north. But the strangest of all assertion
{ is, at (the Platte river) returns to a poin
: gust back of Omaha" There you have
. just back Of Omaha. How far, Mr.
W.?just back of the Capital2 AT the Pap
u pillion, the Elkhorn, or wherel The dis
{ lance, as we have seen, from the mouth c
" Platte, to the point where it begins to al
gle north west, is twenty four miles; an
u the distance from Omaha to the neare'
ii point Of the Platte, at the north bend, b
section lines, mus be thirty miles, an
, much more by the circuitous route TIL
> must always be travelled either by the raj
u road, or any other. BY stating that Il
u river turned north trelpe miles from i
&c mouth, and then flowed to a point Just ba'
Ut of Omaha, the writer designed, EVIDENT
to convey the impression, that the distan'
from Omaha to the river was less thu
We twelve miles, whereas the truth is, ii
ut more than thirty.
OF Now the question naturally occurs, wi
Oy did the author put such statements ii
III book form. BY reading on page 80,
u.s. his Hiie work, the reason will be appareI
ne He is there showing or rather endeavori
VI to show, the advantages that Omaha p,
sesses over the city of Bellevue, for Ra
p- road purposes. But really if she had
resort to such n twaddle, Oma
Oh cannot possess much real advantage af
all. In pointing out these advantages,
n forgot to say any thing about the subst;
or tial advantages of hills aud valleys, BIT
to and ravines, so n%umerously Astounding
ne tween Omaha and the river under cons
NC Grafton. He forgo, to say any thing alb
the hundreds Of thousands of shin piGSi
ice that it would take to grade the road so
OF TO be suitable for Railroad purposes.
forgot, to say any thing about the unequa
natural advantages that Bellevue posses
eat for this object. The Platte and Pappil
uld valleys, with their level, smooth surfa
as as level as the hand Of nature could IN;
os them; both outlets from Bellevue, "
he left entirely unnOticcd by our Omaha |
Use, torian.