Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1875-1878, 1877-04-25
BISMARCK.

BISMARCK.
Not Frederick Williams Ex-Chan-
cel1or-But . Town 50 Yclepod, tho
Western Terminus Of tho Northern
Pacific Rai1roaa-Its1m Important re-
1ation to tho Movement Black HILL
swsrd-Having Given Its Name to
the, Most Expiditious Route Be-
yond any ofthe Four Termini Of all
Rail Hanspsrtation--Its Sp1edid1y
Equipped Overland Limo to the
Hils-A Thoroughly Reliable
Route. ... .-..
Special Correspondence Chioso Zines.
BISMARCK, DAKOTA TERRITORY, April
6, 1877.-Bismarck, the present terminus
of the Northern Pacific railway, and the
point of departure for the overland emf
grafton by this route to the Black Hills,
is at the outset of the present season be-
ginning to command that public recog-
nition af the general character of her
through route which must make her a
formidable competitor for the business
and travelto and from the far-famed and
nuck-sought Northern gold-felds: The
citizens of Bismarck, confident of itSPe
euliar!y favorable location with respect
10 that business, and alike confident Of
the permanency and rapid, increase of
the business eself, put forth during the
seeson of 1876 the most liberal and enter
prising efforts possible to her own small
business couumunity to attract the aid
necessary to endow their route to the
Hills and place it on 4 footing of equal
competitive strength with the southern
routes. They die not succeed IN time to
intercept the rapidly augmenting bust
ness of last year. The knes of rail trans
portation nonnecting them with the east,
the directory of the Northern
Pacific. in the remoter east, were slow to
accept beliefin any enduring and profit
able business association with the Black
Hills which would justify special eaorts
to capture it. The developement of the
Bismarck route, unlike that of the Un-
ion Pacific routes from Sidney and Chey-
enne, was thus left selelyl IN the very i'm
adequate resources Of local capital and
enterprise. Other facts also tended to
give the southern lines of access to the
Hills early prominence, and to retire
those from the Missouri river, indubita-
bly, the shortest and best overland route,
into the background. The major part of
the first immigration, and the class oflm-
migrants whose discoveries made certain
the existence there of great mineral
wealth, came from the older mining ter
ritories west and south of the new gold
region. Their direct and generally only
access was by Cheyenne, and the latter
point was thus enabled at the start to be-
come at once prominently identified with
the movement to t. e Hills and with the
business thus created. Again the Union
Pacific was the great through highway
of Commerce and tiloroughfare of travel
between the east and the west, and this
fact of itself prepossessed the attention
of the public, but vaguely and inaefinate-
ly informed as 10 their relative Location,
to that road of ingress to the Hills. OF
consequence Notwithstanding the over
land roads from both Sydney and Chey-
.enne we're much more difficult and
greatly inferior as natural wagon roads,
and the distance by them very consider
bly, longer than by those leading west and
southwest to the HiKs from the Missouri
river, they attracted the investment of
large capital in their improvement and
equipment as liEes of transportation,
which the Bismarck route has not until
now been able to secnre. Without such
full and perfect equipment as stage and
freight line the superior natural advan-
tages of any route would go for nought.
The hard, level and comparatively short
overland road from Bismarck to the Hills
traversing as we'll wasered and wooded
country as can be fornd on the northern
plains, bnt uuprovided with stages, stage
stations, and supply stores, and without
large freighting organization, could not
compete with the well equipped southern
routes. But superadding these facilities,
as this season it does. upon unquestlona-
bly, the most effective natural advanta-
yes, it commands public recognition OF
its merits as beng in the average
and economical route from. the States to
the Black Hills. OF the two roads to the
hills from the Missouri rirer-that from
Bismarck and that from old Fort Pierre
the distance in miles is in favor Of the
latter, and the character of the road in
favor of the former. OF the two the Bis
marck road is the harder and considera-
and making the through time
about the same on each. The stage time
and distance (conceding that tne Pierre
road will be equipped as stage line,
which at present it is not, on each of the
four overland roads will be, during the
favorable season, as follows:
To Deadwocd from Miles. Hours
.211 30
Sidney. ITS IS
Cheyenne. ..............325 o5
The heavier grades of the Pierre road.