New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-05-11
THE PACIFIC RAILROAD ROUTES.

lecture On the Character and Resources Of the
Country Bordering the dieren Railroad Routes
Columbia College recently, 9eiore Ine sect,on On
NATIONAL S9ry NJ Ine ICONS s 81 oe d AZ he sa;s
that he had spent five years in Goyernment service e1
pOrng the erSry %e,s II 'ns s until thew
started say from St. Louis for the Rocky Mountains and
by e e e2 % v earth wh Which he
was acquainted offered equal agIlsnnrai nduS e
lev NAV be said to e1tend from the AIeghany 70 the
Rocky sIountansa level platform which shows scarcely
The Is given to forest growing while that west
OF the river is level and with the exception OF the tea
There is no desert west of Louis many of map.
Indicate Every portion productive, and capable OF
spon to support Sg The short Of I'll territory Is
more nutrcous than the more nxurent product OF me
wateIed In Colorado there is desert which has been
tide tnat way The four ranges Of mountains which
marked feature; OF the pog65sph oeS I me
s sR Nevada are the and sthe coas. SoSnans
over the last three named. Of the proposed
S"e Of the Fs E %a S s s TSs
TO the late Russian possessions through which there
way to the ocean The Columbia passes through gorge
nearly 5000 feet deep. cut through granite and wtn DO
lies the great belt silver which reaches down into Mex
leo II is upon this belt OF silver that the Com
.slver" and Nevada" almost synonymous. In Califor
the Sierra Nevada range IS called the Cascade Mou
confined TO tract $50 miles long by 50 broad ana Is oas
about onewentieh of the whole He said that TINS was
the specimen OF Western territory; consequently
we must regard the Mississippi Valley as the great
source of supplies In speaking OF the merits OF the
different proposed routes, he said the Northern or
parallel" route not the best because from the coass
To the limit of the praries the country s broken by
mountains aud roads would be bl0ckaded Dy snow
East OF the mountains there would be no serious dlh
Guilty. Near Superior the atmosphere IL moist ana
the land well tnbcrcd and well watered but Is not the
hest for purposes OF agriculture The Middle or Union
route starting branch from st. LOUIS and one nom
Chicago crosses miles Of territory west from the
river, mostly fairly fertile, but with little which
NAV be called sterile. IL goes tnronen
the South Pass where the two branches unite ana must
cross Nevada, but that will be an OBSTRUCTION
very easily surmouuted The route from ST. Louis via
Albuquerque to San Diego known as the Atlantic ana
Pacific Railway, crosses the Colorado desert and tne
speaker believed there will be much hesitation before ths
route adopted. The Southern route wa Memphis was
n fayOrte of the South, and he believed tne moss
practicable Of all 10 crossed productive gsb
both 10 mineral and agricultural productions where e
climate was fine, ard timber water ana game eounuaht
IL was 500 miles shorter than the other routes ana It's
Western terminus IL on the Gulf OF California Itpassea
through the Rocky Mountains at ~ Pas ana AVOIDS the
sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges altogether
Mr. Sypher followed the speaker, confirming the ideas
advanced nv the Professor IN regard to the merits Of the
Southern route and announced that company had been
formed 10 construct the road with probability that 10
would be finished soon, not before the Central route
WAS cotnpleted. j