The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1867-03-13
rrr cExrnAL PACIFIC RAILROAD.
Prospects and Capabtlfties Of the Road
WorR Already Oone-E6eet OF the En.
texpFtss, &C, 20.

Wers xirssay 6ens-Ka.ei Of the En-
terpFfss, &C, 20.
From the n. Y. world-l
SACRAMENTO, CAL, January Q.
/ have been sojourning in this town-the
capital Of the State-for few days, and
while here have gathered a number OF very
interesting itams Of information relative g
the Central Pacific Railroad, which road WI
form the weseern half of the great continent.
al railroad that, stretching over plain and
over the Rocky and Sierra Nevada
ranges of mountains, will unite the Atlantic
10 the Pacific coast reduce the tune taken
70 make the Journey between them rom tven>
ty.two dsys to about ten days; and what is st.
most as important as the reduction OF time,
the railroad willdo away with see sickness
and it's attendant horrors, as weifss the dread
tul discomforts Of roasting passage through
the tropics within the confined limits OF .
steamship. =,
When discussing anything connected wlth
this meet railroad, alnoat AL who, havs trSt
ed .ef Il, after they have viewed the more Her-
cuiean difficulties it has had 10 surWornt, thsi
good it will accomplish, and the strength It
will give TO our country; the assistance II VIII
live to the development OF the vast aud yet
comparatively unpeopled section It will pass
through, and the close ties by which It will
mite the people Of the Atlantic with those Of
the Pacific say when these facts have been
brought home to them they have always felt
40 iubilant that the exubearnce of their feel-
ings could only be reduced by induiging IN
poetio figures and 6ovipg expressions, such
as the marriage Of the Pacific with the Allan
tic. the binding of the Orient with the Occi>
dent by iron bands, and many other kindred
expressions.
Now, poetry and romance are welt enough
in their place, and they are certainly not out
Of it while dealing with the subject Of the
railroad. but this is peculiarly hard matter
of. fact age, aud the jingle of dollars has more
music in it than the jingle ofpoetry, facts are
more acceptable than fancy, and profits than
verses. Therefore | propose giving you
short matter>of>fact account of the work that
has been and is to be done upon our half of
the railroad, of the monetary profits that have
already flowed into its treasury from that por-
ton already completed, and OF the increase
that the future promises, &c, &c.
Although ever since the early discovery OF
gold on this coast, the subject OF acentinentAl
railroad has been agitated in Congress, and
the necessity for it admitted, yet so great was
the desire for different sections to possess 1t,
and so ardently did each press It's claim tor
possessing the best route, that the govern
ment became bewidered on the subject, and
for some time It WAS questionable whether
the road would be built at ell. But ut last
the Central Pacific Railroad Company, of
California, triumphed, not through over
reaching but through the now universally
admitted fact that the route they selected was
b, far the best and most practicable one, aud
their desire TO build the road on this side the
most earnest and determined. But after they
triumpeed in Washington they had another
battle TO wage here with the Sacramento
Valley Railroad Company, which with It's
friendsnow proclaiming with stentorlsn voices
thai their route via Placerville and Lake
ruhoe, was the best and most practicable
over the Sierrss, and promised the greatest
profits. The Central Company, whose route
| is by Dutch Flat and Bonner Lake, seeing
that capital was being divided when it should
| be united in the great work, and with the
object of making theirs beyond all peradven-
ture the route, bought ont the Sacramento
Valley Railroad Company, which road has
come to a s,andsull fifty miles from Sacra
mento, while the Central Pacific koad Is
being rushed along eastward as iast as al
industrial army of some ten thousand men
with all the necessary weapons and material
can make IL.
| The road was commenced in 1868, but OPP
| position and other drawbacks hampered il
progress greatly. Ii is nov flushed; and the
locomotive is running ninety three miles east
ward from Sacramento to Cisco station Thu:
is within twelve miles OF the dreaded summit
of the Sierras. The elevation above the sea
of each OF the principal stations on the route
| thus far is AS follows: Newcastle, thirty~ont
| miles from Sacramento, $50 feet elevation
| ColtaA, - miles, 2, 44s feet; Dutch Flat 81
miles, 3.475; Cisco, 90 miles, 5,9ll feet
The road is now graded close to the summit
| which will be crossed at an elevation OF : ,O5t
feet. By far the most difficult part Of tb,
road has now been built; that from the sum
| nit down the mountains eastward will be com
1arstively easy, and the grade light In com
ing up, the highest allowed grade, ll6 feet tC
the mile, is bot once reached the average
ascending grade to the summit is but IS fee
TO the mile. In descending the eastward side
Of the Sierras. 90 feet will be the greatest de
lscending grade, and the average onlyTortl
feet When the eastern base OF the Sierrss
lis passed, there is slmosta natural grade 70
the westerly base of the Rocy Mountains
This part OF the road eau be built ten times
more rapidly and about as much more cheap
ly than that already done. All the hard worl
GAME az uIHk Nutu tuH s(OiuRhIf NCtC odu
Cling with not a sea only, but seas Of opposi
ton, and while the funds IN the treasury wer'
not as plenty as now. Had this road fell int
the hands of spectators it would probably
never have been built, but il was taken hole
Of by number Of the richest and most en-
lterprising men in the State They have givet
it and are still giving it all their time, thei
energies ard their influence, and above all
their money. All the county, State and ma
tional monetary aid that was received ha
been thrown into the work and this terribl,
| earnestnese that has characterized its mana
gers was what silenced opposition more thai
anything else. so that its former greatest de
tractors are now It's warmest friends. Ant
it was no sentimental wish alone TO see tn
road completed that made its owners give Il
il so lavishly They know well the presen
trade and the yet comparatively undevelopeC
resources of the extremely rich country tina
is waiting for the development that the roa
will give; and they know, also, that ever
dollar expended upon II will come back wit
interest in vey near future after its compile
ton, and that one sharei in their hands wit
: the road built will be worth two while it
. unfinished.
The road will be complete to Virginia City
Nevada, l55 miles from Sacramento in tn
the fall Of 1868; to Salt Lake City, $50 mile
: from Sacramento, in January, 1870; and
not there met by the Union Pacific Railroad
the company will keep on pushing eastwar
until they are stopped by the Union in it
western progress. The road thus, with il
equipment thus far has cost about 80. OO0, 00t
T and before it rs entirely finished 10 the Stat
line, 156 miles from sacramento. II will COS
about S2,UtN,Wo more. These figures te
the story OF what difficulties had to be ovel
come. Had not tue utmost carefulness bee
, observed, too, these figures would have bee
greatly exceeded. At first, indeed, it wa
thought the cost OF labor would be an nsu
: mountabe obstacle; and it might have bee
e had not the company inaugurated new ii
I dustral weapon by using Cinnamon, of whol
they employ some 5000. at $40 per montl
1t has been found too, despite prophecies I
d the contrary, that this class of labor is niue
/ more tractable than white almost II not quit
q Is effectual, man for mas, and about 30 p,
/ cent. chesper. In addition to Chinese labo
= ers there IRE about 1000 whites employe
I all that can be obtainedl who are paid q
i average Of $40 per month, and are also boar
il ed, which the Chinese are not. 100 hors,
and mules, and many carts are used, an
$50 kegs Of blasting powder, costing 81 p,
u keg, are daily consumed. These forces al
|. used on the building of the road alone, 40
;. are exclusive OF the force employed on ii
portion finished. For about fifteen miles th
side of the summit of the Sierras the road h,