New-York daily tribune., 1858-12-03
TFr NORTYVrST.
EX-GOv. STEVENS or OREGON BEFORE TliE
GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIEIY.

Ls,i evening the Hon. Isaac /. SIr,ESs. ate Gov
craor @. toe Te.rilor. oi Ongor AMI now Delegate 10
lie Il, sc q ReYeseutalye, al WasLDS,on up-
Iearci tel,rett American Ge1g aphcl Soce'y. a,
tre Hal cftte Hsto-'csi ce'y ard delivered ~ in.
teres'rg discourse ~ the No,th-Western pa; of the
Territories a the Un'sd Satss.
Ire Rev. DR.. HAwKs presided. After the Usual
preliminary basiuess, Gov. SIE'SNs VAS introduced
10 tie audience, and II 2roC>eled Si,R It's remarks.
Iie frs, descrbsd tie geographical Ses,ures Of the
courify, snd reter.e5 to Ge rea, water haeS which
stretch ac,oss tie country OF these the Columbia
and Missouri nearly ir.erlcCked one sncther. From
the heads ofstesmtost navigation at Priest, Rapids
On toe main Columbia srd the mouth OF the Pelouse
en tie SBake tributary ot tie Columbia the distance
was bu' $50 mile, bv laLi 70 Fort Beut,n the heaf OF
rsy caiior the Missouri o. the PicTSr Cosst was
Pugtt Sound. which W.. admitted by scientific aud
practical MT - De the hnes; roadstead on
eilltr coast Hy Lewis s ClarkeS surveys 4. ~
psared that the momtsin-passes were but 5000 fee
sbove he level Of tie sea- and The same anthcrltie
oke of the territory constituting now the eastern
part Of Washington as beng prairie country. TIE
land wac elccl'eut au1 could De- easily and probably
cultivated. TIE Characteristic ~ the country along
the Saskatchewan W lch cmp.i s into lkf'on Bay.
ard tha, IN the vicinity os fraser and other imporisn
~ eTs, alluded "a, after which NJ Stevens stated
thcI,sou-ccs Of tie Norl-West. A.o0t POce, Souni
were vast quantities Oi timber. SpSrs wers sen
theIce fer TIE nsyese G. frarce AMI Great Bg tain.
SeveIiy five millions # lumber here sawed an
Tuelly by immense steam NILS. Alor, the coast,
from the mouth of tae CcluntIa t. Van.
couNers Island, were huo col ami halbu fish
cries ard parts o the coast wer,
u hne whaling gronrd. The Mscaw ln1laus. little
tnbe Nv Dg st Cape ta.terr. at tie entrance G the
straits Of San juan do Fuca, had ,uade, WITH thcir
rude implements of fishery over 81 orc gallons ~ oil 10
Il sugle year. Coal sbouu'ed oa the shores OF the
Sound The agricultural resources ot the country the
SPEAKER referred 70 az some cugtb, with the view OF
ia. inn t>-iou
Oregon ana Washington SId tue county east we're
-, fitted fer t'lage. TIE s.l was generally good;
The interior was itmarsab" graZihg eoaufIt ann
lsrgc portions If tie territory Nete arabic lls H.
daus were rich m horses hud catt.e, aud mary
sf them had already atteised good dea! OF
skill IN tie eastern pait ct the country IN farm
ing. Ouc little trbe-the Upper Pend dOr.eHes o. the
Flat Head nation, and who lived at the foot Of tac
Rocky oun,aiLs al already over fifty farms ave
rae five acres each in cultivation and Father Des-
net H. distinguished Jesuit Missionary among the
indians who bad established a mission at th.s poiut,
had stated that this tribe would b. abe to supply the
trhdir po-ts cf the Fnr Company east ot the noun
tpirs this year with several huBred barrels OF -four
Indian could be raised close to tsc foot of the
mnnutains and eat 20 Lake S1perior there were but
three sections of abcl fifty miles each wtere the land
was rot tillab'c. GOV Stevens than examined IN
question OF the climate. lie etfuccd the9mom'tri'
ca and meteorological observations al the coolest parts
,f the northern route iIom ~, Pduls u Pdset
sound aud compared them with thse along
the routes Of the Grand-Tru Railway
CANADA ana the great huseltu hpH
MosCox 10 NJ. Petersburg The eoldest pat o. the
route was from St. Paul to Pembina. b the data
furnished il appeared that duIng tue 80 days ot mo
Winter the average temperature on the route was
abou, freezing point, whereas on the other ronteS
uamed at Montreal Q1obec, Moscow, &C., the mer
cury was Rot above tle freezing point more tnan ~ 10
H. days during the Winter moths. with reference to
the depth Of SHOWS he cited the statements at expor
ing parties in 1853 ~. Isu. Muleu, ia Crossing tho
IL. tv MQnn.ains with wagon frotn Fort Benton TO
the Bitter Root Valley in March, 1851, dd not see any
snow on the whole route. When the lecturer passed
over the mountains there wac but ID inches o SOY
dinu agents had given repeated assurances that the
Idians crossed themcuutans during the WINTER season
with their families. at Fort Benton s,eds are never
used frtreveng tauspoit, but II gong thence Win
stores FOR the Fur Companys poets they always use
wagons. There would be less snow ON railroad
establ he'd the northern route tlan there now
tie railroads of Nave ard Cauade. Coy. stevens
aid tribute To tie prcscut National Administration
for ID efforts il opening the overland mail routes TO
California. Ii had now advertised fer pr0pcias 10
o-en q mail route from s.. Pan - Puge- Sound,
through The territory which te had described To
shC. tie cBtre feasibility of this, he cod from the
statements Of Mr.. toirs, late United ), Consul
a. the AMOR certain facts relative to MS mail ser
vice of Russia between Moscow and hkootsk, III ST.
IBERIA. The distance was not S'O, o-t 5,i-p ml.e'
having On the route 30 stations, with potGqsters
and the necessary relays Of horses. The 60 rGctors
were obliged to carry tue mails twice each "eek-
ard tra' sport passengers over the route at oer
tain rates Of trave, namely, eight miles an
hour in Winter, 81 IN Summer, and - in the
Fal. In the Winter, the time required FIR
carrying tie mails the entire roue was from % %
30 days, average rate Of travel OF from III 20 Ia
miles per day, While the Government cOnrlefs went
over the same route 10 from IS 10 20 days, M rate
yaryrg nom III 20 2s miles per day. The route was
located between the J2d and 10Th parallels o ttitdde,
ard the Thermometer during large portion ot the tue
was below zero. Tie average tcuparature ~ Moscow
in Winter was iJ and AT TobOlsk / above zero,
and ut Tomsk q, aud at lrkootsk below zero Inc
average temperature for the Winter AZ The three last
. =. p l..
And along this roule were five hundred cities aud
villages Indicating that an extreme cold weather pre-
seIted 10 difficulties in the occupation Of country.
Already the mail nas carried from ~. Paui 10 LII
Crosse q dstaIcs Of $50 miles 10 two days, aud they
had a. set, never failed in tme the speaker then
noticed the proposed routes through British Columbia
along the Saskatchewan. IGe routes were NJ, as ia
voruble as to distance. The air lines from s. Peul
were from 100 TO 800 miles ger than by British Co.
umba. Their passes, too, were higher, and the snow
lad IN them longer by the narratives # certain OH
oers cf the HudsOus Boy Company i appeared that
IN Athabasca portage the was from four to eight
feet deep IL May. Again, the streams IN British CO.
hmba running nortl and soutb did not admit Ot 30
direct e route with water facilities 10 tho Pacific.
The Saskatchewan and Lake Wilnepeg could not be
uayiga,ed but five mon hs In tie year, while the Mia
SCUM wss nayigable for months As to distance,
GOV. stevens stated that from Puget Sound TO any
port the Gaf Ct Mexico or the AtlAuti, ~ way OF
ST. Paul, from 100 10 ODD niles nearer than from
San Francisco TO the points by way Of the South
Pass and It. Louis Puget S0und, TOO WAS the
nearest point 10 Ala. Men of cnterpuze IN
Great Britain ard lanada rapidly awak-
eling TO the importance of this nouhera route,
abd when it should be opened il would be the route
OF transport Cf the wealth Of Asia t. Europe and the
United States. As il was row question 70 be deter
mined between the United States AID Great Bntaln
On which sde Of the lue the route should be located
AMI on which side the commercial city should be bui
at Puget Sound, tle question became 'ne ot haouai
interest ard tie eLterprse national aud not sec
tcLa one.
vote of theuks was terdered Gov Stevens for ais
able and interesting address.
Tie following persons we're elected officers OF The
g. .ort tLe Naar.