The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1861-12-28

g emu i' bSleV ~ virginia -S'' 1881 OI'hs
You will SEE by the above that the ac.
tual distance on an air line from Sacra-
mentO to Carson, the respective capitals
Of California and Nevada, is less than one
hundred statute miles. Our proposed
road keeps very close to the straight line,
not varying from il, probably, TO thE OK.
tent Of three miles at any one place from
Sacramento to Lake Biglcr. When We
cross the Lake it still adhereS To the
straight line on to Carson, And here &C.
ours the proper place to answer your over.
whclming objection that our line hits the
Lake and subjects us to II lrrriage Of ten
miles. This would certainly be serious
Objection if it happened to be true; bat
it has no foundation in fact. We can 20
found the North end Of the Lake aS easily
As the other route can get round the South
end, aud that too by pass through the
Eastern range, at least thousand feet
lower than the Daggett trail pass as now
travelled. You will please to remember
that the great bulk Of freight which goes
over the mountains finds its destination at
Washoe, Virginia. Gold Hill, Silver City
and Chinatown. Now straight line
from Sacramento to any Of these places
will hardly touch the North end of Lake
Biglrr, whereas u straight line from Pla.
ccrville hits the Lake little South of its
centre. When the road is opened, there
will no doubt be ferry, to be used, how.
ever, only MS Il convenience. When cir
cumstances prove unfavorable for cross.
ing the Lake, the teamSter can either de.
post his load in a warehouse or mo, OH
to Washoe or Virginia, and get Their.
day SOONER than il he had gone by the
way of Placerville. This Washoe Valley
must become place of great importance.
Ii has on the East, the silver mines of I'M
told richness, located amid barren desert
destitute Of timber and nearly SO Of water.
On the West is an unbroken forest Of
vast dimensions, and numerous streams
Of fresh and pure water flow down into
the valley from the Eastern range Of the
Nevadas. Here the smelling Of the silver
ores will take place to vast extent, and
large population will concentrate. There
is now an old emigrant wagon road from
WashOe Valley to that Of Lake Bigler,
which at small expense can be made
very good; and when the valley Of Lake
Bigler is reached, there is good natural
rOad to the Georgetown pass. In fact the
people Of Bigler Lake Valley came up last
season to the Georgetown pass (Which is a
fine meadow aud with their wagons haul
ed together and carried away cOnsidera-
Bile quantity Of hay. Mr.. Wren, our sur
veyOr, being pressed fur time, did not run
his grade line from the summit down to
the Lake, the slope being so gradual that
it was obviously within the extreme grade.
The opinion Of Mr.. Wren, with some
twenty others who have since passed over
the route, is that the whole descent from
the Georgetown pass to Lake Bigler is
less than five hundred feet, which is some
eleven or twelve hundred feet lower than
the Strawberry Valley fold Johnson) pass
as now travelled.
And now n word as to distractions by
snow: Have not all, or nearly all, Of your
difficulties with the snow occurred at ele-
vations more than five hundred feet above
Lake Bigler? II so, VIC have nothing to
fear on the Georgetown route. Again,
the average elevation from Georgetown to
the Lake is less than from Placerville to