Butte record. (Bidwell, Butte County, Cal.) 1853-1858, 1857-04-11


1t is amusing to see the speculations of
Nearly every county has favorite route,
and we very much fear that it will require
more than the power of Congress to con-
struct the road on the route designated by
that body, and which is TO touch point on
the eastern boundary of the State, near
Honey Lake. Now, notwithstanding the va
rious surveys made by order of Congress,
the maps of which were before them when
the bill was passed, the press of California
have suddenly discovered that Congress
knew nothing about the best route at all
The route through Sierra county is recon-
mended as furnishing. an abundance of good
grass and water-another one by Galloway's
HILL" is represented as furnishing an
excellent route s'to the great American des-
sert'-the ridge between the Costumes rivers is
announced as good route for the emigrant
road to come down, and then follows the
"Big Tree and Ell Dorado routes. All these
may be practicable, and if so, their advo-
Gates have only to construct roads oil them
''to point near Honey Lake, where they
can intersect the government route. 9th
erwise we incline to the belief that the
road will follow its natural channel and
enter the Sacramento Valley in the vicinity
of Butte Creek.
We had been led to suppose, by articles
that bod opnaorad in tho Cacramanto yv,,;o,,
from time to time. upon this subject, that it
was only necessary for Congress to designate
the route, and make an appropriation, for
that journal to use its influence in its favor.
In their issue of the It'll, however, they ex-
hibit selfshness for what they term the
interests of Sacramento county and city, that
totally disqualifes the Editor for writing
upon this subject. 1t can see nothing but
the route through Ell Dorado, for which
they recently asked the State to appropriate
$500 600, while the route up the Sacramen-
to Valley, and by Honey Lake to the Hum
boldt, can be made as good a wagon road as
we have in California, for $25, 900. 1t not
only favors that route, but will not permit
the road to be constructed elsewhere, evil
IDENTIFY preferring to have no road at all, if
Sacramento is not the place it arrives at in
the State, as follows
''If a United States mail is to come through
twice week from Saint Louis, Sacramento
is the point at which it must first reach nav
igable water on the Pacific
A gain the Union permits its local feel
ings to lead it into making a very absurd
and ridiculous statement about the distance
from Salt Lake to Sacramento, and to the
exhibition of an exceedingly limited geo
graphical knowledge of the subject. We
make another extract:
If the road comes south of Salt Lake
it will he found to be several hundred miles
nearer to come directly across the noun
tain east OF this, than by the route which
comes down the valley on the Humboldt.
The direct route from here to Salt Lake,
would leave the valley of the Humboldt en-
tirely TO the north of the line"
The bill says the r ad shall start from Fit
Kearney on the Platte river, in the 40th
the surveys Salt Lake varies but a few
seconds from the same latitude, while Sac
ramento is about 10 miles farther south.
Now then, if direct route from Sacramento
to Salt Lake lessons the direction. ''several
hundred miles, it is fact which interested
selfishness alone can demonstrate.
If Sacramento desires the road to contin-
ne to that city, she has only to construct
one to Marysvlle. The counties through
which the route passes, will attend TO the
of the state, without begging for a bank
rupt State, to construct a road Mt an ex-
pense of half a million, to be covered eight
months of the year with impossible SHOWS.