The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-07-01

/ Ol tue lHuldn summer, were Gil unexpected III IuO
| heart of q mountain region.
/ "From knowledge obtained upon the spot and
from report, there are doubtless other passes
better adapted to railway purposes; but our
| condition did not permit US to make any exami-
nation outside the line of travel.
| "Briefy, the results worked out in the journey
to this place, supported by a previous journey at
| the same season of the year go to show that the
mountain regions exhibit no extraordinary rigor
of climate. The autumns are prolonged and
open. Up to the middle of December, there mad
been no snow, either to impede travel or to drive
cattle from their open range, to render shelter
for them neces sary.
"With the. exception of about one hundred
and fifty mile, upon the high plains, or the Ar
kansas river, he route is continuously wooded
but along th. whole distance, pasturage is ex-
| cellent and abundant.
In capacity to support population, IN SAUL
brity of clinsfe, and fertility of SOIL the Rocky
Mountain ranges which the line passed, are sim
| gular and exceptional Singular in the great
number of open, fertile valleys, and perhaps ex-
ceptional in the general availability and open
| character ofGae country, and in the remarkably
small propastion of rugged and impracticable
| ground, wher compared with European, and
especially Asiatic mountains.
"The line ii direct, and the inclinations easy
| the heavier 81 AIDES together and continuous, and
none heavy enough to make snow an impede
ment upon the rails Upon the whole line, there
| are but two great distractions, easily overcome
i by moderate tunnelling and lesser grades than
| are now in .fce upon railways In England, over
which is pa ss-ng necessarily the largest traffic OF
i the world.7
The rsost implicit reliance is due to
the statements which Col. Fremont has
here given 70 the public, and on which he
has hereestsked his character. In all the
surveys with which he has covered the
western half of our continent, and which
have given him renown throughout the
civilized world, and which have been scru-
tinized by many men entirely competent
to detect aid expose an error, none have
| yet been abb to detect flaw. He has since
been embossed by half the nation, and it
is not to be supposed that he would put
| forth a statement of which he did not feel
perfectly secure, and hazard that high
reputation which he has so gloriously won
| and worn with modesty so admirable.
desire>low to CONTRA his work with
that of Capt. GunnisOn, WHO reported this
line as inn Practicable, and it must be evil
dent that lie latter has committed an er-
ror, unpal donable under the circum-
stances, ,J less it can be accounted for
upon the opposition of his inexperience
in railroa, engineering. 1t is clear to me
that his ,tror has arisen from this fact,
and that n running his line up the Huer-
fano he I, as followed the water level from
the mouth Of that river, (and the other
streams which he followed until he came
up to the mountains themselves, and found
the grades too precipitous to be practical
BILE for a r1ilroad, instead Of developing
route by working up gradually on the
high lands at the mouth Of the river, and
thus averaging his grades through the
whole dist ance, from the mouth Of the
river to die highest crest of the pass by
which the mountain range was to be
crossed. A man might as well attempt
to follow the water line of Niagara river,
from Levi,town to the Great Falls, with
a railroa !, and mount the falls perpen-
dicularly instead of beginning to develop
the route oy gradual and easy ascent
from Le,!istown, by which means a rail-
road has been actually constructed be-
tween tae points named, upon grades
which were perfectly practicable.
Capt. Gunnison has either fallen into this
error, or he has failed to find the pass in the
mountains which Fremont traversed, and
therefore this negative testimony of an
officer, without experience in railroad en-
eineerins, of his inability to find pass,
biased ton, as we may well conceive him
to have b.yen, by the wishes of those who
sent him, should not be allowed to weigh
against tie direct and affirmative test-
mony OF man of experience as rail-
road engineer whose reputation stands
as high Is that Of any man upon this con-
tinent. / assume, therefore, that the re-
suits which have read to the House, and
which show that the great dividing line of
the cont;l,ent can he passed by a railroad
upon js>ade of fifty-fve feet to the mile,
and whie;, is less by about one-half than
the grade to be overcome on any other
route, is established by the most incontesta-
bic proof. Beyond the Cochetope Pass, the
country is. difficult, but entirely practicable,
as is shown by the report Of Col. Fremont,
expedition. From his report make the
following extract:
Our progress in this mountainous region was
necessarily slow; and during ten days which it
occupied uyto pass through about one hundred
miles OF the mountainous country bordering the
eastern site of the Upper Colorado valley, the
greatest depth OF the snow was among the pines
and aspens on the ridges about two and half feet
and in tt valleys about six inches The atmos-
phere is too cold and dry for much snow, and
the valleys, protected by the mountains, are
compara,i-r free from it, and warm. We here
found villages of Utah Indians in their wntering
ground, n little valleys along the foot of the
higher n o lntains, and bordering the more open
country 2f the Colorado valley. Snow was here
Decent ei 25) only a few inches deep-the grass
general appearing above it, and there being
none un Ter trees and on southern hill sidesn
The horses of the Utahs were living on the
range, a ID Notwithstanding that they were used
in hunt NJ, were in excellent condition One
which " had occasion to kill for food had on it
about t, o inches of fat, being in as good order
as any uifalo we had killed in November on the
eastern ,L.ins- Over this valley country-about
one hun In ed and fifty miles across-the Indians
informe, rs that snow falls only few inches in
depth lth as we saw it at the time.
"The il Immediate valley of the Upper Colorado
for abo me hundred miles in breadth, and from
the 18th to the 22d January, was entirely bare of
snow, a d the weather resembled that of autumn
in this O,lntry. The line here entered the BODY
of mou Is ms known as the Wah-satch and An
ter-ria aliges, which are practicable at several
places his part of their course but the fall
ing snC and destitute condition of my party
again j, t. rfered to impede examinations. They
lie bet, e'.n the Colorado valley and the Great |
Basin, oil at their western base are established
the MOI IN settlements of Parowan and Cedar |
City. hey are what are called fertile noun
tains, oLndant in water, wood, and grass, and |
fertile u eys, Offering inducements to settlement
and fac lilies for making road. These noun |
tains e great storehouse of materials-tim-
Hor ,.L L. -. -.