St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1864-03-24
MAIL ROUTE FROM ST. CLOUD TO
&S IDAHO. sIH

MALL ROUTE FROM ST. CLOUD T(
| IDAHO. Il
We have received ffo.n Senato
Ramsey The Memorial Of the Legi.la
ture Of Minnesota ii favor fave; If '.the es
tahlishmont of mnil route from thu
city Of st Cloud, in Minnesota, by The
i wav Of Fort AbercroaAbie and Ban
: mock City. in the Territory Of Idaho, tt
Fort Walla- Wolla," as offered in the
Senate March 4th, and referred to the
Committee on Post Offices aud Pos,
Roads: >..-&. 81. ..a-essr...
Your memorialists, the legislature Of the
state OF Minnesota, would respectfully rep
resent, that the emigrant ronte from St.
Cloud to Bannock City, by the way Of Fort
Abercrombie, is now ascertaincd by re.
pe"tcd trials, to be q complete success
Besides the pioneer expedition and explor-
alton of Governor Stevens, Captain Fisk
has made tw" successful trips over nearly
the same tract, with wagon trains and
rso"nted men, during the last two YEARS.
The face of the country along this route
is highly favorable for national thorough
fare, as it passes ever the water shed Of
the contlnent-has less snow than any 9th.
or road to the Notwithstanding for the
greater part along valleys Astounding in
water, grass, and wood, from St. Cloud to
Abercrombie, = distance Of ITO miles,
The country is rich in soil, and capable Of
supporting dense population. Thence to
Fort Union, if not so productive. is yet not
barren, as grass and water, soil and wood,
are found in sufficient quantities to supply
emigrant trains. and to support settlements
at intervals for most of the distance. From
Fort Union to Fort Benton, near the foot
Of the Rocky mountains, distance of 300
miles or more, the Missouri vally lies al
most due east and west, Astounding in fuel,
timber, and bottom lands, with many small
er valleys opening to it from the north, fer
tile in grass, and capable of producing the
cerals. From Fort Benton to Fort Walla.
wall", passing completely over the noun
tain and mineral region, Is good wagon
road leading to Oregon and Washington.
In no other latitude on the continent of
North America do the Rocky mountain re-
g'ons afford so much arabic and productive
land, will, wood, timber, and water mex
haustib!e from fort to fort. In military
point Of view, it is believed to be more i'm.
portant than any other known route to the
gold mines in Idaho and Washington Ter
ritorics. From Fort Abercrombie to Fort
Benton, and north Of that line to and be-
yond the British possessions, is the great
buffalo range Of the continent, and is now
and will continue to be for years, perhaps
ages to come, the hunting grounds of the
hostile Sioux. Attracted by game or I'M
PEELED by fear. these savage demons will
linger and hang on these borders where
neu raj territory will afford them m easy
refuge, if not friendly encouragement
1t is along this vicinity of cotcrminous
boundary that line of forts will soon be
found necessary, Of which the first in the
series will be -4bercromLie. They will be
necessary 70 shelter our cmigrant trains to
the mines and to the Pacific, as we'll as our
frontier settlements, which will steadily
push along this thoroughfare to the foot Of
the mountains, and to the mines Of Idaho
and Washington. Semi-weekly mails,
therefore, following the thousands Of our
countrym IN who arc preparing to pass over
this rell-attested routeto Virginia and Ban
mock cities the ensuing spring, is but har-
binger Of national necessity which can
not be long in safety postponed. The
large sum Of money already expended by
the nation in opening this route and in
building a military road across the noun
tains: leading, rs it does, from one national
fortress to another, and alluring thousands
of our countrymen to golden cities, should
not have been vainly consumed. when 50
little noe remains to be done to have it end
in national blessing.
Your memorialists, therefore, ask that
semi-weeAly mail route be established from
tho city Of St. Cloud, "a point to which
eastern AMI southern mails daily arrive
by the way of Fort Abercrombie, Virgin
ia, and Bannock cities, in Idaho, and
thence to Walla-Walla, to connect with
other mail routes running through Oregon
and Washington. ..:.
CHARLES SHERWOOD,
President of the Senate.
JARED BENSON,
Speaker Of the House of Representatives.
Approved Februrry twentieth, one thou
sand eight hundred and sixty-four.
STEPHEN MILLER.
An INCIDENT. ,..
1t will be recollected by the readers
Of the Shakopce Argus two or three
weeks since an article on its local page
was cut out by the publishers, it con-
tanning some reflections which they con-
cluded had better not be made public.
The paper by due course Of mail reach
ed subscriber at Jordan in Scott coun-