American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-03-16
The Northern Pacific Railroad and
the Snow Question.


Mr.. w. Minor issobssrts, the aistin-
guished Chief Engineer of the Northern
Pacific Railroad, has made statement
regarding .he snow problem on the North
ern route, which ht.s sbtSisi Interest Just
now. Mr.. Roberts spent the winter Of
1901 along the western section of the
Northern, Pacific line in Oregon and
Washington Territory. the early part OF
the present winter in Westefn Nontsoa,
near the highest elevation of the route.
aud has since been on the eastern portion
OF The rhaA, thrhueh Minnesota. , Be
sides this personal inspection HI has been
in constant communication with survey
ing and construction parties, and with
Government officials on the various parts
of the line. Ills statement, which was
made IN answnr to certain definite Ques-
tons, is as follows:
1aO BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
March 2, 1872.
route where; in the absence of ordinary
precautions, there sso,i1d be reason to an
ticipate occasional difficulty ffoin snow
are at and near the Bozeman Pass, in
Montana, and towards the western part
of Minnesota. As to tire Necessity for
unusual precautions against snow, if the
route ria the Yellowstone Valley, Deer
Lodge Pass, Clark's Fork and Columbia
River be adopted, l do not apprehend that
anx would BIZ nnedea.
The present. winter is d remarkable ore
almost everywhere, but 1t Is my opinion
that, with wcll-construGted fences at the
most exposed points, the Northern Pacific
Railroad Gun unYuestiondjly be Kept open for
1gtldr h'a1fr its entire length across tie con-
tsaent through similar trntsrs hereafter,
AOuld they occur. Our road from Duluth
to Oak Lake about 200 nlilesl has been
free most of the way this winter ,rittOnt
snow fences, and the Lake Superior and
Mississippi and the st. Paul and Pacific
Roads, in Minnesota, have had compare
lively little trouble from snow this winter.
A few miles of snow fences will render
otir line from Lake Superior to the Mis-
souri, River AS free from snow distractions
as the line from Chicago to Omaha. Even
in the Rocky Mountains, in Montana, the
Thermometer from January 9Th to the
18th, in the middle of The day, ranged
from 81 deg. above zero to As deg. above,
except the 18th, when it was 30 deg.
above. From January 18th to the 21st,
the range was from Is deg. to 81 deg.
above; from January 90 to February II
the range was from 2 deg. above to A
deg above-average, 90 deg. above !;
February ip to Is, from 80 deg above to
"a deg. above-average, 425. The first
snow storms of the present winter
came in the Rocky Mountain region of
Montana unusually early lin November
and December), were accompanied by I'M
usually cold weather, and were regarded
by the oldest settlers rs very remarkable.
Most winters cattle range through the val
leys of this region without difficulty, and
are usually fatter in spring than when
turned out on the approach of winter
feeding on the nutritious bunch grass.
At Helena, in the mountains, during the
severest weather referred to, the lowest
thermometer was about 30 deg. below
zero, and from 90 deg. to 80 deg. below in
the vicinity of the Bozeman summit But
such low temperature only O, CURED for a
few days, as witness the high range of
the thermometer from Jrluary to
February 10. My latest information from
the mountain sections of our line is a re-
port from Assistant Engineer j. w.
Flenniken, dated at Helena, Feb dary ~,
and fully corroborated by letters from
resIden of other portions of Montana,
dated the 10Th. From the former make
the following extract -
have not heard of any very serious SHOWS
on any of our lines. The jefferson has but
very little on it. Major Pease, who has just
arrived here from the Crow Agency, says that
between the Agency and the divide there is
but little snow. Between Forts Shaw and
Benton it has disappeared altogether. In the
, BitterroOt and Missoula valleys there has
been none of any account. So far l can
learn, the snow would not have delayed
trains more tbs n one day had they been run
ming. My opinion of the danger of deep
SHOWS and frequent drifts is. that at no time
will the Northern Pacific Railroad have to
encounter anything resembling the trouble
and vexation that the Union Pacific is suffer
ing. The wagon road between here and Deer
Lodge, the highest elevation on our line, has
been open and in good condition ever since
it was first broken. Mr.. Sparks,
! Just returned from the muscle Shell Valley,
says the snow has been very light, and the
cattle have no difficulty in getting plenty of
grass the entire time.
These very favorable reports, during a
winter of unprecedented severity, cover
| the most elevated and mountainous por-
tions of our line, where distractions from
snow would occur if anywhere on the
route; and when it is remembered that
the distractions on the Union Pacific
have been virtually confined to a section
of $50 miles, every part of which is at
least 1, 900 feet higher than the highest
summit of the Northern route, and most
! of which is 2 500 to 8, 900 feet higher than
the mountain section of equal length on
the Northern Pacific line, it becomes per-
| fectly safe to predict for the latter as
| complete exemption from winter blockade
as is enjoyed by railroads in New York
and New England The valley route and
sheltered position of the Northern Pacific
/ Road through Montana prevents, to a
great extent, the constant drifting of what
snow there is, which characterizes more
elevated routes, and which has been the
chief source of difficulty on the Union
| Pacific.
w. MLNoR ROBERTS,
| Chief Engineer Northern Pacific Railroad.