, 1859-03-29
The North Platte Route to tho Gold
Mines

From the Iowa State Democzat,]
: Fonr kxARsEr, Feb 18Th. 1852.
l left Chicago on Thursday the 1!th' With
through ticket to Fort Kearncy, via G. r. !.
and II, l. II. R. RS, taking Western Stage Co.'s
Concord coach ut Iowa City. left you prcpar-
ed for a long and hard trip, but was drawn
through without delay to Des Moines; the roads
rather muddy. After leaving Des Moines we
had good roads 10 the Bluffs where We arrived
snnasf night stopping Nth Jones Of re- ansa r.
Crossing the State We passed large number Of
teams and e1nigrants bound for tile mines: and
found they had begun to pour into the Bluffs,
and had already large number gone west 81
the Missouri. heard no complaints from emf
grants about procuring outfits anywhere IN the
Crossing the Missouri on the ice, which was
thin, rotten and risky, coming yery near letting
US in, we had just time to call on the "Hcrn-
dom und mine hosts, Messrs. Miller Richard
son, whom, no one can len7c Omaha without g1E-
ing 4 call, and took seat again in the Western
Stage Co.'S coach, behind fine team, tyr Fort
Kearncy, prepared, after any number OF Warn-
inss, to be sIoughed down, drowned in the Platte
or killed by trcacherous Pawnee. We were
rolled through in little less than thirty trAyel-
ing hours, to the other side Of Jordan, all sound
but awful hungry, not slough or stream DE-
tained us q minute, we Ind a jolly crowd: and
quick and pleasant trip The Platte valley we
entered at E!khorn and passed through con.
siderable settlements to Loup Fork, some suail
towns, Elkhorn, Fremont, Wallace, Ashburgens
/ and Columbus. After entering the valley re
kept it all the way and finer roa& lntFeT sac,
10 see the Platte valley Itself is worth tElp
| to tile mines; the Loup Fork we we're fefrled
boats running here and another ready to be put
! in this side Of Loup Fork. Settlements are few
| and fir between; Grand Island City, (half burnt
! down q short time ugo,) Crocker's and Henry's
| Ranches being all except stage station or two.
| We torded the Platte without trouble or delay,
| merous channels, the river bed apppar~
| emily firm with about IS inches Of wMer.
The government, see, makes continued use Of
| the ford in hauling wood from the Islands to
the Fort and they bring over very hcayy loads
! without the least trouble, and must say am
| highly pleased SO far with my trip ind the
| stories hare been told about this ronte; bad
roads, no settlements, streams unbridged, &c,
is all u humbug, and you can refutc theln In tote,
/ and l believe from what / can learn here from
those who have been the other routes, that this
| is the quickest and best from Chicago to the
mines, and shall bring my, teams this way
teams by the middle Of april sure, and cnme
this way, for the road from Omaha is bridged By
the finest road bridges ever saw, and Ill
told here that it cost government over $Gp,0"t
{rather e1travagant,) but in my opinion vel
spent The brid ges across the Pappillions, Elk
horn, Shell Creek, &C., would be good modrl
for the st. Joseph and Burlington road croaker
in Iowa and Illinois to copy from. Sus a!s'
surprised to see the heavy settlements in th
Platte Valley.
The stopping places all the way through from
! Iowa CITY found good, with one or two exccp
tions, and there arc stores, blacksmiths, &c, u
| to this place, this side Of the Missouri and l III
tud here it is the only road from the Missoul
] Al 41.r<1 1so, nft II t,flna
came through in seven days from Chicago. an
Charley, who started with me and went til
st. Joseph route, arrived to-day. lie cam
directly through, hut WAS seven days from :
Joseph, BY 1Iockaday's Salt Lake coaches, i
making The trip, and all the passengers wer
loud III their denunciations Of the road bs
tween here and st. Joseph. | am told her
slider it full $50 miles from the Fort to st. il
seph; from here to Omaha it is called frol
1cO to $50 miles, and l should Judge it wa
correct. There are no stages running fro'
here to any points on the Missouri River, e!
l cept Omaha and st. Joseph, and nsl7ise all wf
intend to visit the mines, either by stage or the
own conveyance, to come By railroad to low
: City, and to buy through tickets ut chicago III
all tic points where they can for Fort kearne
rs it gives one considerable advantage in sea
and il, being put through quick, md they. vi
: beat those WHO 70 by st. Joseph, if by railroa
J. ! and stage, ut least uFe days, nid IL py leai
!. / ten 10 fifteen. The teams here now from 5
! Joseph and Lcayenworth have been twenty
Z thirty days on the road, while several team
e | from the Bluffs and Omaha have been but Gig
q | to ten days. No teams here as yet arrived fro
plattsnlouth or Nebraska City. There is OF
man lcrc who came to Plattsnouth via bu
ling:on road; lc lad to hack il through to the Mt
:. there being nothing but two horse hacks b
= ! yond the lies Moincs, and then had to come ,
10 Omaha and take stage there. The agent he
$ tells me that tca1ns generally made trips fro
e Nebraska City and fIattsmouth in eighteen
twenty-four days. There has already pass
here quite number and variety Of teams +
:, / the mines; hand carts "a Ia Mormon" whe'
d barrows, ox-carts. "Pemblnn fashion and t.
c nlcn with " "sheet.iron prairie aat-boat,. =
:; should call it, but believe they call it q Tub
a sia" If what have passed is II fair sample
+ lie crowd "bound for the mountains" it will
l. a"young," energetic, but as motley a crew
ss was Napoleon's army on its rctrcnt from Nj
X COW We think Of going Oh to the crossing
e South Platte in tl.c Salt Lake stage; if we Dc
= will write you from there.
3t 1 am trulv. S. F. FoHp.