The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-01-16
Crossing the sierra Nevndas.

But now we have reached Cisco, 90
miles above Sacramento, and within 121z
miles of the Summit Ridge. 4 few min
uses delay and we are off again. From
this point the eye rests on little but rocky
dssoiation True, the hardy pines still
point their tapering fingers to the skies,
and yellow green moss tillsthe lnterstices
of the rocks-both striving, Intellectually,
however, to hide the desolate face OF ma
ture. The road here runs along the gran
lite walls of the Great Yuba Valley, which
seems to have been chilled INTO stone by
the keen air and SHOWS of this Alpine re-
gion. Away beyond us, granite peaks
stretch upward, and away below US they
are also observable. Seven miles above
Cisco we pass over two HoWe-truss bridges,
with arches The main truss of the first
| is 20S feet long from centre to centre Of
abutments, and the whole structure rests
| on The best of granite masonry The ap-
proaches are ninety feet long. Both
bridges cross deep chasms, and ar 1870
| feet perpendicularly above them. This
| was the first time q long train OF cars had
passed over these chasms, and the nervous,
as they peeped down into them, doubtless
asked themselves, Suppose bolt is loose
or timber unsound, and an accident hap
pens, in what condition would we be
|
such fears were needless. Each of the
| bridges is capable of supporting at least
eight times the load that we put upon 1t,
| and the Central Pacific Company does not
| leave bolts loose nor use unsound tlmocrs.
Two miles further on we reach Summit
| Valley, at the opening of which the whirr
and noise Of large saw-mill is heard.
| Ills mill is capable Of cutting $4,000 feet
| OF lumber per day, and is one Of a dozen
| large mills used in the service Of the rail-
| road. These mills are generally kept run
| sing day and night.
The road bed, for some miles below Disco
UP to the summit, is cut through solid
granite, and is an everlasting one. It will
require no repairs, and no slides can ever
occur upon it. The work was expensive
at the outset, but, once built, it Is done for
ever.
We halted moment at the
| Summit, and at the invitation of the Chief
Engineer of the road joined him and a
| few others to make the passage Of the
great Summit tunnel upon ths pilot ii
| front OF the locomotive. We held on IS
best we could, for every place to which
we could cling was wet and slippery with
sleet We were hardly fixed in our places,
| when the changing of the bell beside us
and a whizZlng of escaped steam betokened
dEdiA n low JULIO VI e1O NAiCOin
and we were rolling into the darkness and
piercing air of the great tunnel. At first
the novelty was pleasant, but when we
had accomplished about a third of the dis
lance through the gloom, it became op-
pressive, and in thick darkness the wheels
seemed to be going round and not propell-
| ing US forward. A ray of light could be
descerned at the eastern mouth OF the
tunnel, but it seemed no larger than a
mans hand, and one felt az though we
would never reach it. The whole affair
was unearthly, and it was almost made
devilishly so by the changing of the huge
bell of the locomotive, the sound of which,
striking the granite roof Immediately
above, came, bounding back and made a
clatter that the ear in vain sought to es-
cape. But in few minutes, in reality,
though it seemed an hour while we were
in, we reached the far end of the tunnel
and passed on through three others, max
| ing our final halt about mile beyond the
summit.
And so the trip was made, the summit
of the great Sierra Nevada range reached
and the great tunnel passed through. The
difficulties in the way of the Central Pa
cific Railroad are all practically overcome,
| for the road is nearly completed to a point
| thirty six miles east OF the summit, out OF
| the Sierras altogether. From thence TO
the western base of the Rocky Mountains,
| no difficulties worthy of the name are to
] be encountered.-Cor. Chicago Tribune.