St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1866-03-15
ST. CLOUD MINNESOTA. THURSDAY MARCH IS 1866
Northern acific Railroad.
A BRANCH FROM ST. CLOUD.

q DAANCd bhUM 0Is CLUUD.
STAGE AND EXPRESS LINE FROM
ST. CLOUD TO MONTANA.
. An Early Movement to he made.
From, the Chicago Tribune. .sE
Our readers may remember that Con
gress two years ago granted the charter,
with muDifcent grant Of lands, to q
Northern Pacific Railway Company. As
TOO often happens in such cases, the men
who procured the charter were unable o
build The road. They had little, if any,
means, aud for other reasons could NOT
command the confidence of the public
Within the past few months the Company
has been re-organized, AMI it is now in the
hands of some Vt the largest capitalists
and best known citizens of Boston ard
OF her ports Of New England. Judge
Saith, the President of the Vermont Cen
'ral Railroad, has accepted the Presidency
Of the Northern Pacific, and it Is now
believed that something tangible will soon be
done to open Up This second great thor
oughfnre across the continent.
The Company, as We learn, do not pro-
pose to wait for the road to be built from
either end till the lines NEE: somewhere
in the Rocky Mountains, before opening
up continuous line Of travel and transit
for the accommodation of the public
Ttey will avail themselves, probably, du-
ring the coming summer Of the great eivers.
the Missouri sud the Columbia and their
navigable tributaries, to put on line of
stages and express teams over the portages
between them. thus affording greatly need
ed mail and other facilities for the mining
population of Montana and Idaho. Che
fact may be new to many of our readers,
but it is nevertheless true, that between
the head of navigation on the Missouri
and the north braDch of the Columbia,
through Mullen's Pass, the distance is only
three hundred miles. This pass is only s.
ZOO feet above the level of the sea, which
is ! 300 lower than either Bridger's or the
South Pass, and Capt. Mullen himself,
with whom We recently had a long confer
ence, assured US that he had been Through
this pass six times, in every winter month,
and the deepest snow he ever found there
was fifteen inches in the winter of 1854
The maximum grade Of the road will be
only seventy two feet to the mile, and for
most Of the way much less. The Indians
cross through it At all seasons, whenever
they wish. Near this pass. vest Of the
mountains there arc 5000 miners at work
this winter, in one of the most productive
gold districts known to that emiaen,ly rich
and productive region. Over this psrtaKe
of three hundred miles, there is good
rosl built by the Government. under the
sup psrvision of Captain Mullen
The Upper Missouri, above Fert Clark,
affords better navigation for light draught
steamers than tn. lower sections of that
while below it Is spread out over large
space, ant becomes dangerous to boats by
the number Of snags and sand bars that
Of the Upper Missouri the company will
put on sufficient number of light draft
steamers. and as soon rs the three hundred
miles Of rail can be laid through the noun
tains, a tine riH be built t,co hundred and
eighty miles from ST. CLOUD, Minnesota,
By which railpoy COMMUNICATION seiN. be
opened to Fort Clark. This will save
seventeen hundred miles of uncertain and
difficult navigation on the lower Missouri.
Tn Oregon Steam Navigation Company
!. will meet the North Pacific Company at
the head of navigation on tho Lewis river,
the north branch Of the< !olumhia. They are
building steamer to run on the upper
navigahle waters of that river this winter,
anil sesides the railways around the Cas-
cades and the Dalles, there will be land
portage Of only a hundred aud fifty miles
between the mountains and the Pacific
j Ocean. These increased facilities will
make stirring times in Idaho and Montana,
and ponr an immensely increased stream Of
the shining dust into the Golfers Of the.
/ nation. " "
The country along the line of this road,
is the only one that mits Of prosperous
settlements entirely across the continent
That he road will be built at no distant
day, there cannot be particle of doubt !;
aud that it, and the central and Southern
lines, as we'll, if built honestly for, cash,
will pay reasonable percentage on their
cost to their stockholders, is equally clear
to all who understand the vast re u rces
, OF the central portions of the continent.
and how largea through traffic they vii!
i command from the commerce of the world.
| St. Cloud, which for some time at least
| will be the starting point of the travel and
express business. and from which e rail-
way will doubtless first be built westward,
will, tits hoped, be connected by rail with
/ Chicago during the present year It il
understood that an English company are
furnishing the money to build the road be.
tween St. Paul and Winona, and the North
western has agreed to meet them there, at
any time that shall be designated by the
| other company With this new stage aud
! express line, and steamers on the Missouri,
and the Columbia, entirely across the con-
tinent. our business men may prepare for
a great accession to their trade, our man
ufactures of mining machinery greatly en-.
Elarged orders, and the country for such !
development of the mineral resources ol
Montana and Idaho as will equal if no,
surpass all the wonders heretofore realized
il the progress Of the country.
-Just think Of prosaic Connecticut or
iginating, in our day, such romance d
fka fnlloWin0 ~ NOrwa1k ia AZ Arniaod q inon