New Orleans daily crescent., 1866-11-14
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f 7s a " E
The bell is ringing on the Sierra Nevada aud in |
he valley of the Plates it is time to look out for
3fhe locomotive, and prepare for its approach, |
The Pacific railroad is no longer wild dream o. :, ,,
Iii untrustworthy proHisei; it has haa1 ,,facad III
the basis of sound pecuniaTy Inv sttnebt ond ifs
prospects are SO good that 1t il nrngrassin, Win
speed almost uneqnalled in The annals Of railway
history, 1t has already advanced SO far as to have
an important econor rliealyalue; ana before twelve
months we may expect to see travellers go and
of the rail-
The two nominal and intermediate termni of
the route are Omaha, on the Missouri river, and
Sacramento, although larger city than either
can grow to be, must be the ultimate and real ter
minus at each end. Travelling westward from
Omaha we reach Fort Kearney in 250 miles, the
Forks of Platte in $50 miles, Julesburg in $50, Dem
yer lin 600, Salt Lake city in 1900 Austin in 1900
Virginia city in 1900 and Sacramento in 1875
miles.
But the road is now in running order from
Omaha to Fort Kearny, $50 miles, at the eastern
end, and from Sacramento to Alta, 10 miles, at
the western end, so that 1855 miles emily are to be
built; and the Union Pacific Railroad Company
| has promised that the cars shall run to the Fork
OF Platte on the LIST Of January, so the distance
4 will have been reduced another hundred miles by
4 the beginning of 1857. Peculiar Influences are
/ driving the work ahead at both ends In the first
place Congress has provided that each company
shall have as much of the road as it can build so
that the company which advances with most
4
ri0r of the continent makes it of vast importance
TO get as much as possible. It is now evident that
4 the Pacific Railroads. to be one of the most pro-
/ fitahle investments in the country.
Besides the struggle between the two railroad
companies the Union Pacific of the East, and the
/ Central Pacific of the West, to get as much as
possible of the read, there ia additional motive for
/ rivalry in the Montana and Utah trade. Mer-
chandise will seek the route which has the shortest
distance for teamng, and the best road. When
4 the Central Railway passes the summit OF the
Sierra and Nevada, the Eastern and Western
lroutes viii have nearly equal advantages for the
traffic of Salt Lake, but the Western will COM
mand the trade nf Idaho, as the Eastern will COM
mand that of Colorado Merchandise can be pur-
/ chased for about the same in San Francisco as in
St. Louis, 50 the chase is fair and the game is
great. Utah has now population of 100000
although the United States Of 1860 reports it at
only 40,2f3. Salt Lake City alone has rs 900 in.
| hahitaats, and there are half dozen towns with
4 5000 inhabitants each; 50 the estimate Of 100000
/ made by varions Weinfofmed persons and
accepted by Mr.. Bowles, is not far from the truth
Agriculture is moe profitable in that than in any
/ part Of the Union.
4 During the last four or five years the Mormons
/ have been making money abunaantly by supply
ing the troops and miners Of the adjacent Terri
4 tories, so that now they form a wealthy com.
/ munity. Montana has population of thirty thou
sand and it's rapidly increasing. Although it
seems that Its best mines were exhausted soon
after their discovery, yet is destined to occupy
\ an important place among the gold producing
States, The gold and silver mines of idaho are
| only beginning to show the greatness which they
will attain. Itsplaoers will soon be worked out,
/ but the auriferous and argentiferous lOdes are
among the richest on the continent With such
resources, the interior Territories must soon grow
to abe populous States, with trade worthy Of a
contest between the Atlantic and tine Pacific. And
all the trade mast go to the railroad. There is no
Limitation to their charges, and no competition
possible now OF probable in the future. The rail-
road can afford to transport freight It one-thlrd
the price paid to teams, and make money then.
Besides the trade of the interior Territories we
may expect aconsiderable travel across the con
tinent. Stages can average about six miles an
hour, and at that rate the 1865 miles of stage road
between Alta and Fort Kearney can be traversed
i in less than twelve days. while the "trip from San
i Francisco to Alta can be made made ia ten hours
! and thatfrom Fort Kearney to New York in less
than four days. Thus we see that in case of need
the trip from the metropolis of the East to that OF
/ the West of our continent can be made regularly
within seventeen days. By 2OOmiles of additional
rail- one day time is saved; and before the end
| Of next year the trip will be made to New York
regularly, overland. in fourteen or fifteen days
and so maug9trayelers will go that way that the
/ stage company will find it profitable to make bet
ter time andproYfde better stations along theroa
It's not improbable that within three years we
shall be able to make continuous trip to New
York by rail- So let us be prepared for the ap-
proaeh Of the locomotive Alta Californian