Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-03-29
From the New York Indepeadentl
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAIL.
ROAD.

From the New York independently
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAIL.
ROAD.
BY SCHUYLER COLFAx, vIcE-PREsr-
DENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Midway across the continental
the head Of twelve hundred miles OF
Lake navigatiOn-a thousand miles
from Buffalo, the western terminus Of
the Erie Canal and as near TO It bv
water as Gsicagis-s1 HGndusdz 1nilsz
west Of the Longitude Of Sc. Louis or
Galena-is the young city Of Duluth,
the initial point Of the Northern Pa.
leifie Railroad. That great work, so
magnifeently endowed by the Gov.
eminent, is already being pushed
rapidly westward, under its energetic
controllers; and before the snow flies
next fall. il will be completed to the
western line Of Minnesota, where It
crosses the Red River Of the North
which runs nOrthward TO Lake Win
nipeg-and One-eighth Of its distance
TO the Pacific Ocean will have been
accomplished. Commencing, too.
this season on its western line, the
work will be prosecuted from both
directions, and long before the nation
celebrates its Centennial Anniversary
Of Independence, the Lakes will be
united by iron bands with that Medi-
terranean Of our Northwest, Puget
Sound.
or the auspiciOus influence Of this
enterprise, which but few years ago
\. 4
the most SAM huine of its friends have
scarcely yet a full realization. Even
taking Chicago as the starting point,
It will be (Uid st. Paul, where an arm
Of the Northern Pacific Railroad is
reached) two hundred miles less dis
tanee to Puget Sound than TO San
Francisco. Besides this, vessels from
the Golden Gate to China sail on what
is called the grand circle, instead Of in
a straight line; and any one testing
this by a string on q globe will be
surprised at the result, il they have
not previously studied the effect Of
the rOtundity Of the earth, ami its
diminished prOtubeFance a. you 20
nOrthward towards the Pnle. Hence,
when they have sailed eight hundred
miles from San Francisco, they are
only one hundred miles from the en-
trance to Puget Sound; and this
striking fact shows the advantages
this route will have in commanding
the through traffic Of Asia with our
Atlantic States, or that portion Of it
which will pass over the soil of this
nation on its road TO Europe.
Nor Is this all Development is the
great duty Of the Republic, after all
its recent trials. Resources are the
gift Of the Creator. Developing them
depends on the work of man. Along
the line Of the Northern Pacific Rail-
road, as il follows up the water cOurs-
es, the Missouri and the Yellowstone
on this side. and descends by the val
ley of the Columbia on the other, a
vast body Of agricultural land is wait
ing for the plough, with q climate
almost exactly the same as that of
New York, except that, with less
snow, cattle, in the larger portion Of
it, can subsist on the open range in
winter. Here, IL climate and fertility
Of soil produce their natural result,
when railroad facilities open this now
Isolated region to settlement, will soon
be seen waving grain-fields, and hap
py homes, and growing towns; while
ultimately a Gordon Of prosperous
States, teeming with population, and
rich in industry and consequent
wealth, will occupy that now un-
developed and almost inaccessible pOr-
ton Of our continental area.
But this Road is fortunate also in its
pathway across the two ranges Of
mountains which tested so severely
the Pacific Railroads built On-the CEN
tral line, and the OvercOmingOf which
ref -cted such well deserved honor on
their energetic builders. At the Deer
Lodge Pass, in Montana, where il
crosses the Rocky Mountains, its alti-
tude above the sea is $500 feet less than
the Union Pacific Railroad at Sher-
man, which is said TO be the highest
point at which a locomotive can be
found in the world. And on the
Pacific side of the Continent IL is even
more fortunate. From Ariz0na up to
the Arctic Circle the Columbia is the
only river which has torn its way
that mighty range, the Andes
Of North America, which in CaliiOr-
mia is known as the. Sierras, hut
which in Oregon changes it. name to
the Cascades, Nature has thus pro-
vided q path way for the Northern Pa !
cific Road through these mountains,
the sealing Of which, on the other
line, at an elevation of over seven
thousand feet Ia most wonderful tri- /.
umph Of engineeringl, cost the Cen |
tral Pacific Company millions Of dol I.
lars, and compelled them, for seventy /.
miles, to maintain a grade of over one I
hundred feet to the mile-twice the I
maximum of the Northern Pacific at
the most difficult point on its entire
route.
It is fortunate, also. in its terminus
on the Pacific coast. No one who
has not been there can realize the :
beauty of Puget Sound and its sur
roundings. One hundred miles long, |
but 50 full Of inlets aud straits that it. !
navigable shOre-line measures seven I
teen hundred and sixty miles, dotted
with lovely islets, with gigantic trees [
almost to the waters edge, with safe |
everywhere, and stretching 1
sOuIhward, without shoals or bars. |
from the Straits OF Fuea to the capital I
aud centre Of Washington Territory,
Il will be a magnificent sntrepOt for /
the commerce Of that grandest ocean /
OF the world, the Pacific.
The Land Grant Of the Uni /
ted States, exceeding Fifty Millions Of |
acres in the winter-wheat region OF /
our nation (ten times as large as the .
ara of Massachusetts,, is doubtless |
sufficient for the completion Of the
Road but, besides this, millions OF
private means are already invested In
it. The bonds based on the Land T.
Grant, and a mortgage on the Road
itself in addition, are being sold as
rapidly as the money is needed ; and,
as an investment, yielding about
eight per cent. per year In currency,
rank already with the best class Of
railroad securities. And thus the
good work viii go on with unchecked
step to Its final eOnsummatiOn, carry
ing che blessings Of settlement, d.
civilization, and Christi
anity with it in its progress, and liter
ally causing the wilderness to blossom
IS the rose.