, 1864-01-28

1ssE.Eze>EezzRsk<-1..zS>>:sezcS
colfax about It. Brother Northrup held his
ground Up came mfssive notifying broth
er n that his room was considerably better
than his company. Brother E.fell back in good
order upon the ante-room, grasplng his
stationery In the other. When last heard
dom he YVES holding his own against heavy
odds, and writing many PACED protest to
the Speaker Washington Star
THE PACIFIC RAILROAD.
HOW and where shall 1t be Located.
--- CHICAGO, Jan. %, 1854.
Editors Chicago Tribune:
AS the Pacific Rail Road enterprise is again
being agitated before the public, perhaps
few words on that subject may not be out Of
place or unintereEting. The discussion Is now
mainly confined TO the question as to the best
route for crossing the mountains. In the
construction Of the Road through that region
seycrnl thingg must be taken into considers
ton, which should exert controlling iuhu-
euce in its location, 1st-That route should
|, be selected which will best accommodate the
whole region Of country, both north and
SOUTH: through which it passes. 2d-Tho
most feasible route, and the one least OBJ
structcd by enows. 3d-The route along
which Will be found In the greatest abun-
dance, timber and fuel, including coal j. Tho
valuable mineral- discoveries lately made in;
Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and the rich
and extensive agricultural region along the
head waters Of the Missouri and Columbia
rivers, must now be taken into the account
In the location of the Road. The immense,
emigration pressing into those inviting re-
gions must be accommodated rs we'll Us other
parts Of the country. How can this be donee
Perhaps this question is not easy of solution,
bnt still discussion Of the merits Of the scy-
cral routes may assist at arriving at a correct
conclusion. There is region Of conn-
try lying west Of Iowa and Minnesota and
north Of 40 degrees Of north latitude, .{includ-
ing Oregon and Washington Territory eqnal
to eight Of the largest States in the Union
mot including Texus). To develop: the re-
sources Of that vast region Of country the
roal must be located through or Us near to 1t
as will be- consistent with the interest of
other portions Of the country. The route
through the South Pass is the only one which
can By my possibility effect this object, while
portions Of the mountain region Southwest
The further South the main mark Is located,
the longer. less feasible, and more expensive,
will be the branch Northwest for the accom-
modation Of this vast region Of country.
In no part Of the continent Is there more
inviting country than the valleys Of the head
waters OF tic Missouri and Columbia Rivers.
This iB the unanimous testimony Of all rocky
mountain men. In less than ten years these
rich and fertile valleys will be teeming with
NM Stfn nrt4
development OF the mineral wealth Of the re-
giou will inevitably demand M equal develop
ment of Its agricultural resources. Tho South
Pnss Is the nearest route to this inviting field
OF national enterprise.
2. This is really and truly the only practi-
c1ble (at least the only feasiblc) route. Tho
most southerly route {by the way Of Denver
City is in fact utterly irnpractlcable, judged
Of by the testimony Of its most Jealous
friends. Dr.. Evans, Governor Of Colorado,
at the Railroad Convention ut Chicago, In
September, 1e62, when directly interrogated
on the point, stated that there must be
tunnel through the Snowy Range Of the Rocky
Mountains, Of from three to four miles in
length, the rock being granite; and that the
suowe in the passes leading to it would be
from five to six feet deep. for SIX months in
the year. Also that the elevation would be
enthusiastic advocate Of that route, aud
consequently would not be very liable to ex-
|. aggerate its difficulties In my Judgment,
Elk feet Of snow would most .etlGctually
blockade any roaa in any part Of the country.
Much less is doing that kind Of work pretty
thoroughly this winter. Dr.. Evans further
stated On THAT OCCASION tsth:t that route was
The most fCnsiblc-in fnct the only feasible
one south Of the South Pass. His only OBJ
jectfcn to the hitter route was lis greater
Of that route was decidedly preferable
fer road to any other. He stated
many reasons for that opinion and
nnong others, That there arc no deep
and nar1ow gorges liable to be filled by
drifting SHOWS. This testimony ia most In
ct lcast from one who Is most deeply inter
ested in disparaging 1t for the sake Of build
ing upon his own fayorite route. Now gran
ite tunnel Of three or four miles in length, at
IN elevation of L, GOO feet, and SHOWS six
feet deep for six months in the year, would
be formidable obstacles In any country, much
more on the route to the Pacific Dr. Evans
Eaw and appreciated these objections, md
therefore sought to break their force by sta
ling That "tlc snow rangc of the Rocky
Mountains was rich in. gold, and probably
that yakt and valuable discoveries would be
made, sufficient to pay The expense Of the
tunnel" (His own words taken down ut the
time-) Mir Rnggles, Of New York, very per-
tinent]y remarked on the Instant, "that the
enterprise in cont emplation was to build
hass s &oef1 efnaa n9 s pesBss gGa 2ea
must be sought out, which would not neces-
state tunnel four miles long through e1an-
lie rock, ut an elevation Of twelve tlonslnd
feet, nor one mile either, or the enterprise
would 10 failure" ] think most unpleju-
diced minds Will como to the s1mo conclusion.
The only other route is By the way Of the
north fork Of the PIntte, through Brfdger's
Pass, now. called the 'tClEcne Pass.'' DR..
Evans, On the occasion referred TO-, stated
THAT lc Gid rot believe that route to be at
al feasible or, even practicable, in eonse-
quence of the great number of deep and mar I
row Eorges, which always I'LL with drifted
erow during the wintcr. often to the depth Of
sercFal hundred feet. Tho only possible way
Of overcoming this obstacle on this route,
will bc to house In the road in these places.
far exceeding tie cost Of the road, This cx-
panec will be vastly increased from tile fact
that there Is NO timber for the purpose for
hundreds Of miles in either direction. THIS
rass also has IN elevation ofabout twelve
lis report Of: these seyeral routes,: led vol
P:cifc r. r. Surveys, Tnge sG,) eays, t.The
mountaincers Of this section state that they
csn travel over the plains of the South
sin winter. When the gorges' Of the more
snow md impraeticable Of passase:' "''''
% Repo sags H. # VI area; soagih g Fass ef
Inns in Its character nothing Of a
mountain gap, being merely depression in
the line Of intersection Of two gently inclin-
cd plains, sloping east and west" The
nmount Of snow that falls is not exactly
known, lut it must be small, and there is
reason to think that probably the accumula-
tions of the winter rarely exceed one foot In
depth AL Rocky Mountain men, both Gov
crnnent employees, emtgrants aud hunters,
without exception, confirm these state.
mtnts In relation to Ill these passes.
Tie only other question I wish to refer to
at this time, is as to the timber and fuel, in
cluGing coal, on tho several routes. In this
respect, the South Pass hns in,measurahly
the advantage. Taking the Platte Valley
Route, the road will reach the pine region at
Fort Larimle. A few miles north Of the
Fe1t arc vnst forests ofpine, ofevery variety,
including the "rcd," or "mountaIn pine"
which is Eearly equal to cedar for ties. From |
thence the entire range of the Wind River
Mountains, north Of the Sweet Water is
covered with timber Of different species,
mostly pine. This. is the only routo
eiflc, Railroad Reports, page IS, says:
Goal Of excellent qualify -abounds
upon the northern Platt and evidently under
lies the whole eastern portion of the route.'
Lieut. Warren In printed letter to Geo. ". |
Jone, rage Z, says: "Va1uable coal exists !
and is even now. used by the blacksmiths |
along the route" In 1st vol. Pacific Rail- |
road Reports, page CT, he says: "Coal is |
found In quantity In various localities on |