The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1869-04-17

THE PACIFIC RAELROD AND
ITS ADVANCE.
J. w. MACK,
Co. School Sup't.

The dispatch from San Francisco TO
New York by rail, as given in the tables
by the Central Pacific Railroad
Company, is 1905 miles, including l24
between Oakland aud Sacramento, 1.727
between Sacramento and Omaha, and /, :
453 between the last-named point and the
Eastern metropolis. There are three
great watersheds on the route between
the two oceans-the Rocky, the Wasatck
and the Sierra Nevada, which form the
boundaries between tho Mississippi Basin,
the Colorado Basin, the Salt Lake Basin
and the Sacramento Basin. The termi-
nj are at the level Of the sea, but Sierra.
Wasatch and Rocky watersheds rise to
considerable attitudes. The level and
low character Of the Atlantic Slope may
be inferred from the fact that at Omaha,
,465 miles from New York, the elevation
Is only 965 feet, whereas cast of point
200 miles from Oakland no point Of the
road for l, 100 miles has an altitude of
less than 200 feet. The highest eIeya-
tions are at Evans Pass, on the spur of
the Rocky Mountains, $500 feet Bridg-
er's Pass, on the main Rocky watershed,
800; Echo Pass, on the Wasatch water.
shed, $3.50; Pequop Pass, on the Toano
divide, between Salt Lake Valley and
Humbolt River, 7,lS0, and Donncr Lake
Pass, on Sierra the Nevada, 7,042 feet.
The large streams crossed are the Miss.
issippi, Missouri, North Fork of the Platte
and Colorado, and of less note are the
Bear, Humbolt and San Joaquin.
The route lies between parallels 80 and
43o of latitude. The Eastern terminus is ia
4Io37 and the Western in 37o48'; Chi.
cago in 42o; Omaha, 1920; Bridger'
Pass. 1890, Monument Point, 4lo40i
Big Bend of the Humboldt, 49o; Donnei
Lake Pass $4,000, and Sacramento
|38034. For 1,5O0 miles westward from
Omaha the route lies between 41o and
42o, or if it passes those lines, leaves
them for very short distance, present.
ing remarkably straight route for O
country so mountainous. After the road
is completed, it will not be necessary tc
go further North than 42o, though most
of the travellers will probably take the
Erie road through New York State, aud
that will carry them to 43o.
The cold is severe in the winter over
the greater part of the route, and snow
falls to considerable depths on the Sierra
Nevada and along the whole route east oi
Bridger's Pass. The interruption of rail
road traffic for week at time is not an
uncommon event in New York, Illinois
and Iowa. We have not yet had sufficient
experience to know how much observa
ton the snow will cause on the Sierra
and rocky ranges. This winter (for the
Spring has not commenced yet at the
high eleyations) the Central has been
closed three or four days and the Union
three weeks or more. The Central has
sixty miles on the Sierra and 100 miles
in the Toano Mountains, more than s, 5,000
feet above the sea, and ten miles altogether
more than $500 feet high; and the Union
has 500 miles in the Wasatch and Rocky
Mountains 5000 feet high, and 200 over
$500 feet high. The Central Road is
protected by sheds, but whether it will
be possible to protect the Union Road in
ike manner is very doubtful.
Prom Ogden to New York, 2,439 miles,