Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1871-04-15
The Northern Pacific Railroad.
BY SCHUYLER CnLFAX. VICE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES.

In, lHe western leTUiDus VI VIC bIle W.
nal, and as near To II by water as Chico
GOA hundred miles west Of The lonpl
,ude OF 81. Louis or Gsens-is they Oun.
c,y of D"luh, the inlnsl point OF 'h'
Northern Pacific Railroad. That grea,
work, so m.gnticenIIy endowed by the
Government. Is already beng pushed rs'
pldlv westward. undrr It's energetic con
nollers and before the snow iiIes next
Fall, 1t will he compile Led 10 The western
line OF Minnesota, where II crosses The
Red River of the Norlh.--which runs
nurlhwsrd 10 lake WInnIpsg-.nd oae.
eighth OF lis distance To the Pacific Ocean
will have been accom- lshed. Con-
menclng. 100. This season on lis western
line. the work will be prosecuted from
bolh directions and long before. The nauOn
celebrates lis Centennial Anniversary %.
lndepe ndence, the LIKES will be united
by iron bands with thai Mediterranean oi
our Northwest. Puget Sound.
Oi he susplcinus Influence OF this en-.
,etpri.e. which but lew years ago would
have been considered SO daring, the most
eanpuine Of ii. friends have scarcely get
toll realization. Even taking CnIcsg' as
the starting poinl,il will be (Uia 81. Paul,
here an arm of The Northern Pdc'hc
Railroad is reached) TWO hundred miles
less distance 10 Puget Sound than 10 San
francisco. Besides this, vessels from the
Golden Gate 10 Cnina sail on what Is
called The grand circle, instead OF III
straight line and any one testing this
by suing on globe will be surprised
al the result II they have not previously
stldled the effect OF the rotundiy OF the
earth. and It's diminished ptolubrrance as
,uu 20 norIhward towards The Pole.
Hrnce, when they have sailed eight hun
dred miles from San Francisco. they are
only one hundred miles from the entrance
to Puget Sound and TINS striking TACT
shows the advantages this route will have
IN commanding The through traffic OF Asia
with our Aanuc States, or that portion
OF 1t which will pass over The soil VI this
nanou on lis road to Europe.
Nor is this all. Development is the
great duty OF The Republic. alter all lis
recent irials. Resources are HE gut OF
,he Creator: Developing them depends
on The work OF man. Along the line OF
the Northern Pacific Railroad, as It fol
lows up Tho water courses, The Missouri
and The Y ellows!one on this side, and
descends by The valley Of the Columbia
on The other, a vast body OF agricultural
land is waiting for The plough, with eli
mate almost exactly the same as that oil
New York. except that, win less snow,
caule. IN The larger portion OF II, can sub
sist on the open range in winter. Here,
if climate aud fertility Of SOIL produce
lhelt natural result, when railroad iac.l-
ties open This now isolated region To set
element. will soon be cen waving grain
fields, and happy homes, and growing
towns; while ultimately a Gordon OF pros.
porous States, 'eem'ng with populanon,
aud rich in industry and consequent
wealth. will occupy IhAt now undcvelop
ed and almost inaccessible portion u our
continental area.
Bot hi, Road is fortunate also in It's
pathway ACROSS the two ranges OF noun
tsIns when tested so severely the Pacific
Railroad. Quilt on the central line, and
The overcoming OF which reflected such
well deserved honor on their energeuc
builders. At the Deer l. ,dge Pass, IN
Montana. where 1t crosses the Rocky
Mountains, lis siulude above The sea Is
$500 feet less than the Union Pacific
Railroad al Sherman. which Is SAID 10 be
The highest pO,nl al which locomotive
can be found IN ive world, And on the
Pacific eide 81 The Comment II Is even
more fortunate. From Auzona up 10 the
Arctic Circle 10 Columbia Is Me only
river wh!th has i0rn lis way through mat
mighty range, the Andes OF NOrlh Amer.
lea, which 10 CdlIUIola is known as The
Slerras, bu. which in Oregon changes liz
name 10 the Cascades. Nature has thus
provided PAIN AWAY for the Northern Pa
clfic Road through these mountains, The
scaling OF which, on The other line, at al
elevauol OF over seven thousand feet "a
most wonderful triumph o. englneenng),
cost the Central PdcIic company NIL
lions OF dollars, and compelled them. Tor
seventy mlles,,o maintain grade Of over
one hundred feet to The mIle-I@lce The
maximum OF The Northern Pacific at The
mus, difficult point on lis entire route.
1t is fortunate. also, 10 lis terminus on
the Pacific coast. No one who has not
been there can realize The beauty OF Puget
Sound and lis surroundings. One hun
dred miles long, bui so full Of inleIs and
Straits tia, It's navIgabIe shOre.llne mea-
sures seventeen hundred and sixty miles,
dotted with lovely ,slet., with glsanlic
trees almost 10 the waIer's edge, with
safe anchorage every where's and stretching
sOuthwsrd, without shoals or bars. from
the Straits OF Fuca to the capital and CEN
ire Of Washington Territory, II will be
magnificent entrePot for the commerce o!
thai grsndesl ocean Of Ihe world, HE Pa.
clfic. The Land
Grant Of the United Sates, exceeding
Fifty Millions OF acres 10 The winter
wheat region OF our nation (Ien times as
large as lne area Of Massachusetts, Is
doubtless sufficient for HE completion Of
The Roaj but, besides This, millions Of
private means sre already invested 10 II.
The bonds based on the Land Grant, and
a mortgage on The Road itself IN edition,
are beng sold as rapidly as the money is
needed; and, as an investment. yieljldg
about eight per cent. PeEyear IN curien-