The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1868-03-27
Sound and the other at Portland. Ore

/ SnGqualmic Pass at an elevation of > Oh
feet, nearly 1900 feet less than wher,
the central road crosses the Sierra Neva
da, and crosses the summit at Il distanc,
Of - miles from Seattle.
On this section there are fine agricuI
tural lands, timber, and coal; and OF
the eastern slope Of the Cascades there
are known to exist large coal beds. and
rich deposits of gold all the way to the
British possessions. From the summit
/ level there will be an easy Grade to the
head of the Yakima and down its valley
/ for l45 miles to the crossing of the Co
lumbia
In the valley o the Yakima there are
some of the finest agricultural lands Il
be- found in Washington Territory
where the settlers have raised good corn.
and climate so mild in winter that il
has been considered for a number OF
years the safest place to winter large
herds Of cattle east of the Cascademoun-
tains.
Ninety-siX miles above the mouth OF
the Yakima are extensive forests Of vel
low pine, which can be RATED down dur
ing high water to points along the line
OF road. At the crossing Of the Column
bia river the other line from Portland
forms junction with this Portland is
now the largest town in Oregon and is
the terminus OF the line Of steamers from
san Francisco and the point at which
the business OF the Willamette valley
centres and form which the OREGON
steam Navigation Company extend
their line of steamers up the Columbia
to Nallula, $40 miles from the Pacific.
This would give a connection at once
with the line east, by means of steam
erS, while the road was being construct
ed.
Or starting from the mouth OF the
Peluse, on Snake river, the point to
which steamers ascend from Portland
nearly the whole year, to Fort Benton.
on the Missouri where large numbers
Of steamers arrive and depart every sea-
son, il would be but 535 miles. Or. TO
take the route via Pen IL Oreille lakcan
Clarks Fork of the Columbia. where
there are three steamers and 200miles Of
navigation, would reduce the actual
travel by stage at this time to 30 miles.
ON the line ofthe North Pacafic road. be-
tween the Pacific and the Atlantic.
This steamboat navigation. reaching
nearly across the continent on thenorth-
ern route, VIII be found To be of very
great advantage in constructing the line.
a the work can be commenced at eight
different points AT the same time. and a.
before shown, workmen and material
can be forwarded on the Columbia and
Missouri 10 within five hundred miles Of
each other.
From the crossing Of the Columbia To-
the CPur d'Alene Mission, at the en-
trance of the Bitter Root mountains. is
IS miles.
The route for the first ninety miles Of
this section lies over rolling prairie.
with very good grass. but no timber.
The remaining distance 10 the noun
tains lies through fine groves of pine
timber, with the finest OF grazing most
of the way, rich alluvial bottoms. and
streams OF the pureSt water.
This section crosses what is known a.
the great plains of the Columbia. ex-
tending from the southern boundary Of
Oregon, and lying between the Cascade
range on the west and the Blueand Bit
ter Root mountains on the east. and
stretching far into the British posses
sions in the north.
This couhtry, until very recently. has
been considered more especially fitted
for pastoral country, but ln every in
stance whore the cultivation of the soil
has been attempted. the results have
the raising Of all kinds of grain and
vegetables, bat all kinds of fruits of the
temperate zone in the greatest perfec-
tiou.
In the Walla Walla valley. which is
about equally divided by the 18th paral-
lei, and has been settled scarcely seven
years, We're produced in 1866 over one
million bushels of grain, six hundred
thousand of which was wheat | have
seen IN that valley large fields Of wheat
average nfty bushels per acre: and in
1867 the best quality of flour, put up in
htty-pound cotton sacks, sold for 81 -
gold per barrel, and yet this valley
was not taxed to one-fifth of it, capaci- |
ty of production. This valley alone /
would be able to supply the whole force /
i'm constructing the Western /
Division with -four, beef, and bacon at I
cheap rates.
1t is not generally known in The East |
that we have climate west of the /
Rocky mountains that VIII admit OF |
raising peaches and grapes and sweet /
potatoes, rs far north as the 47th paral- /
lei.
-Four wears ago last spring / planted |
in the Walla Walla valley an orchard of /
one thousand small yearling trees. Last /
summer | raised from that orchard over /
one thousand bushels of the finest quail /
lty OF peaches, apples, pears, plums, /
and grapes; andin 1860 | raised /
over thirteen thousand pounds Of sweet 4
potatoes. | ask pardon for making use /
Of this personal notice, but a. ii may APP /
pear strange to some | prefer TO assume /
the responsibility myself And still /
there are thousands Of acres living un-
and near this railroad route,
which will produce as well as the Walla 4
Walla valley.
All that this country needs to make ii
a desirable place for hundreds of thous-
lnds of homes is Il railroad To render
these places accessible, and to bring the
timber and lumber down from the
on either side OF these plains.
where there are unlimited forests, which
will remain useless until some way is
devised to get it out on the plains, there
BY rendering both sections valuable.
Let railroad but he built, and in a
short time all these plains will be dotted
over with cottages, with their little
farms, and orchards, and herds.
From the Cpur d'Alene Mission to
The summit of the mountains is forty
eight miles, where a railroad can be built
1t an elevation of 8, 800 feet. From this
point down the st. Regia Borgia to the
crossing of the Bitter Root river is thir-
.y-nine miles. This portion Ofthe route
passes over what is known as the H'Mul-
IAN road, ;" and is the route over which
-hree-fourths of all the travel and freight
now passes from the Pacific to Montana,
md over which about 100wagons passed
asst season, including an emigrant train
rom Minnesota with persons from the
lge of three months to ninety-five years.
This train passed over in November with
he loss of but one animal, proving that
he route cannot be very difficult, and
yet this is considered the most difficult
part of the entire route-between Lake
superior and Puget sound. All of this
section is timbered with the finest quail
ty of pine, cedar, and fir, with rock and
al the material for building a road on
The ground, and no portion of this will
De as difficult of construction as from
Harper's Ferry to the Ohio river on the
Baltimore and Ohio road. From the
crossing of the Bitter Root to Hellgate
valley, siXty-five miles, the country is
that the valley is wider and the grades
somewhat lighter. From Hellgate val
lev to Cadotte's Pass, the summit of the
Rocky mountains, distance of ia
miles, there are settlements all the way,
with many good farms in Bitter Root
valley, where the settlers raise good
crops of wheat, oats, barley, potatoes,
and i'm some instances corn and tOma-