Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-08-10
The overland Mail aud the PacIao RAIN


The Washington papers have recently published
long article carefully prepared at the Post Office
DEP rtment, IN explanation of the grounds of the
selection by the Postmaster General of the route
Una Ell Paso, for the overland mail to California
The srticle is too long for insertion in our columns
It's Importance however leads Us to furnish a con
oen5ed statement OF its facts and conclusions as
of particular interest to US here, who have con-
ceFned ourselves so much in favor of the Southern
Pacific Railroad. The considerations which have
decdFd N favor of the mail road equally deci-
siVt In favor OF railroad through the same prin-
eipal points and along the same parallels Of lati-
tude.
The subj IT is introduced by general view of
the geography. meteOrolo. aud physical character
OF the interior portioLs Of the country westward Of
the limits OF the present population with the con-
elu-iOn Lh4t the extension OF population and the
''march Of empire" must be southwestward from
the Mississippi river. This direction is affirmed 10
be Inevitable and deBonstrative from the relations
between the ''mosture-laden winds of the Gulf of
of Mexico" and the cold aud killing blasts from
the north, which meer, as the north and the south
winds prevail, a fuctuating line, and sometimes
bring, as for the last two months hard and cold
weather in Northern Texas and sometimes slow
uEuriSnt grasses Gu the plains Of the Arkansas and
the Kansas rivers
The conditions of climate are decisive against
any of the northern routes. That by the South
Pass and the Salt Lake is dismissed as not to be
considered at all. The rigors of winter may be
estimated from the fact that there has been frost
and ice there the 31st of JuIys It is therefore,
clearly improbable for tue mails.
Two other routes further South were left for con-
slderation. They respectively called the Albu
querque and the Ell Paso routes, these being the
names OF the several points at which the Upper
Rio Grande is passed. FL Paso is near the SOD par
allel. and Albuquerque near the 18th parallel of
North latitude. Both converge at Little Rock, in
Arkansas, pursuing one line thence to Memphis.
The upper route proceeds directly west from Little
Rock TO Fort Smith, on the western boundary OF
Arkansas and thence through the Indian territory
and New Mexico, and across the Rio Grrnde at AL
buqueFque, and through Williams Fork to Los An
gelos. The other defects southwardly to Fulton,
in Southwestern Arkansas whence it takes route
across Texas to FL Psso, and thence through New
Mexico and the valley of the ella to Sau. Diego -
Our readers know how short a connection opens
Fulton To Marshall, in Texas, the initial point OF
the Southern Pacific road and thus opens the whole
line to the Mississippi at New Orleans Between
these tworoutes the Post Master General was cali
ed upon to decide, after excluding the Northern
routes generally, and the South Pass and Salt Lake
lines as impractcab!e.
The first poiut was that of comparative length.
In this the difference is too slight be considered
BY The upper route, the distance FROM San Francis
to Memphis is estimated at 2, 2O2 miles; by the
lower route at 222.
The suliect of climate is the next topic. Tina
of the Albuquerque route is affected by tire greater
height Of the mountainous plateau in which it runs,
FL Paso line. The result is that in the former
there is often extremely severe weather in win
ter. The thermometer Often falls many degrees
below zero and men detached duty are often
badly frozen there. The snow in the mountain
passes has laid two feet deep in March. The
temperature at FL Passo is comparatively mild; the
snow never lies on the plains, and the thermome-
ter never falls to zero.
In addition this superiority of climate the E.
Paso route was asserted to bave the preference,
NJ 4ir,pna aUu
ed and cultivated country through which it passes.
OF this, testimony is quoted from the reports of ex-
ploring ofhcers-mOre particularly that OF Captain
John Pope, who, speaking of the immense region
OF deset which stretches down the interior of this
continent, remarks that between the 30 ana "a deg.
Of north latitude It's continuity is broken, and that
broad belt of we'll Watered and well timbered
country projects into the ''parched and treeless
waste Of the plIns and approaches to within three
hundred miles Of the Rio Grande, at Ell Paso The
Same fact is commented upon by Capt. Marcy.
OF the country beyond the Rio Grande, the same
favorable occurreuce of testimony is quoted to show
that the FL Paso is best in every important p4rtic
uldr-thst it is we'll watered for hundreds of miles,
has fine timber, and abounds in game and cattle
On some Of the stations one or two artesiau well;
may be required in the dry season. IL Is the ordi
nary track selected for the principal herds which
are driven the continent, as the only wei
Watered route.
The general distinction is that the uncultivatab,
belt OF the desert is from $50 TO 400 miles shorte
on the line of the 32d parallel than on the line o
the 35th parallel.
These comparisons are supported by the testimo
ny Of such ofhc RS as Major Emory, Capt. Marcy
Capt. Gray, Commissioner Bartlett, Capt. Hun
phries Lieut.. Maury, and other explorer, and tn
recorded opinion of the late Secretary of War, VIII
reported, eier an examination of all the facts acce'
sble TO him at the time, but which have since bee
fortified by new discoveries and further explOra
tons ''that the route of the 32i parallel (the Z
Paso route,) is not only the shortest and least CO
" route to the Pacific" but "the shortest an
cheapest route to San Francisco, the greatest CON
mercial city on our West IN coasts"
The agreement Of facts is far clearer to tn
wisdom Of the selection OF the route for the ovCi
land mail, and it il still stronger for the wisdom
carrying the railroad along the route, tha
which is designated and will be improved an
built upon by the Southern Pacific Company in tn
city.-M o. PicayHHe.