, 1866-09-14
The Routes to Montana.

trout, from elght 10 twenty pounusi Sou Oe
caught in the streams, while the plains and tim
Der abound with grouse, chickens, pheasants,
deer, moose, elk, ibex, antelope, shep goats,
bears, panthers and cougars, and the most suo>
lime mountain scenery, altogether presenting
one of the most delightful routes for travel on
the coast.
The vallies of the Bitter Root and He'll Gate
are much larger than expected to fn6away up
there in the Rocky mountains, and are rapidly
settling up with good, industrious, enterPrising
families.
This season they have raised in those TAllies
about 80, 900 bushels of wheat and $1,000 bush
els of oats and barley, besides great quantities
of vegetables. ..
The grasshoppers have done them little or no
uamasv .L;. in these valleys, and every
thing looks prosperous and cheerful.
The mines are paying about an average with
most of the mines in the northern country.
They are deep and not easily prospected I
think the amount of gold that will be taken out
in the aggregate, and all kinds of business will
steadily increase in the next FIVE years.
came home by the lake. The upper part of
the trail by that route is very good, but the
lower part, from Little Falls, to Cabinet noun
tain, IS miles, is a most miserable trail, over
rocks and sharp points, and great deal of low
ground, which must be very soft up the middle
of June, and for the last 30 miles scarcely
spear of decent grass is found 1t Is altogether
the most disagreeable portion of the whole IL :
90 miles that Itraveled over. 1t is also &c miles
further land travelthan on the other route, with
the addition of 55 miles on the lake, making 81
miles further from He'll Gate to the Spokane
Bridge, the point where both roads pass, than it
is via the Mullan route. The route is wild
enough. For instance-one evening whilst aui-
etly fishing under the banks of the Pen dOreille
river, two enormous panthers sent up a most
hideOus yell, and in a moment a fine, large elk
came dashing down the mountain side into the
river, evidently intending to swim to the other
side. At that instant he caught glimpse of
our campfire, stopped, gazed a moment at it,
gave a loud snort and bounded off in another
direction.
The lake is most beautiful little sheet of
water, the mountains coming down in many pla-
ccs almost perpendicular to the waters edge,
While the lake is so deep that the water looks
almost as blue as indigo.
Messrs. Moody & Co. deserve great credit for
risking their capital and time in opening up this
lake route, andf their upper boats prove a sue
cess, and if they can make better time than can
Ue uIsu0 Ou tue Otner route, 1t will be a great
benefit to the travelling community. To the
] h,s H..
will be much pleassnter to get on boat and
ride hundred miles or so than to be thumpipp o
along through the dust and over the rocks on
a tired " Cayuse."
| But what the country most needs is a direct
route opened up one which heavy wagons, af-
ter loading at Walla Walla or some point on the
river, can go directly through to the mines with
out unloading, and on which all military outfits,
&C., with their teams and wagons, can pass free
of cost, and over which the settlers from the
lower vallies, with their teams and families and
beds, can roll right along without detention,
and over which the enigrant, who wishes to set
tie in our beautiful valley or go down to the
coast, and has not the means to pay for taking
his family and teams and SaSons down on the
boats, can roll right on over the mountains free
oil cost and find the best of grass for his poor
teams, These are considerations which think
demand the immediate opening of the Mullau
road To prove the practicability of the route, it
is only necessary to say that nine wagons, with
families of women ana children, have gone safe
y over the road this season, and I intend to
take wagon with a span of horses and lIOo
pounds of freight over it in October.
examined the route carefully, frequently get
ting off my horse and examining the grades on
either side of the trail, and know that when
the road is properly located and graded, and the
bridges placed above high water mark, there
will be no better mountain stage road on this
coast, and that there will not be a grade on il
over which a span of horses can not draw a ton.
If the road bad been open so that teams could
have passed over it loaded this season it would
have been OF immense value 10 this valley. To
the farmers alone it would have saved an inns
mense sum. Instead of selling their wheat for
60 cents per bushel, it would have readily com.
manded one dollar. The assessment roll shows
that l2,164 acres Of wheat were sown this sea.
tuat IL WOQlQ average 27 buSh-
els to the acre-which is probably rather below
than above the average-the yield would be
344,62s bushels. Adding, then, the additional
40 cents which they would have received, at one
dollar as the price per bushel, the difference to
them in their wheat alone would be Sls7. .s51 20.
This is no speculation, but the actual fact
for the superior quality of our Walla Walla |
Hour would have entirely driven the Salt Lake |
and St. Louis -four out of the market, if it csuld
have been laid down there at reasonable figures. |
The miners all told me they made no distinction
between the Walla Walia -four and the best Or. |
gOn brands. This is simply one item Anyper
son can readily perceive the immense difference
it would have made in other branches of busi,
ness.
Inere Is another reason why the MuIlan road
should be opened. There are on this northern
coast hundreds of persons and small families
who would like to make visit to the Atlantic
states, but the expenses and the dangers of the
trip via the lsthmus are so great that it has kept