Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-08-21
From the i. F'.& D. r. r. Survey; q;
= Miller . Hill, Morrison ca, i s&. <..'1:. .ss

3,'ss..l,.t August liz, l879.7 as{,) gsis ri.
Editor Transcript :-aDeeming 1T not
'improba able, that the movements Of our
party might be of interest to some Of
your readers, have concluded to send
You a few items showing what We are
about, our purpose destination, and
what we have thus far accomplished j
With COL, G.. Mcclellan in charge as
chief engineer : we started on The morn.
ing of August 18th to survey the line Of
the Little Falls & Dakota railroad, which
road has as its starting point Little Falls,
and for its objective point Big. Sto re
Lake. AS is quite we'll known our party
began work on said line atSauk Center,
in Stearns county, on: the Goth Of June
last, under the management of Mr.. x. J.
Kinney, Of Pope county. but BY a com>
blnation Of untoward circumstances moth
was accomplished BY him, and the party
did nothing until the 18th of the present
month when Coll Met Clellan, an engineer
OF long experience in such work, took it
IN hand and at once begun active operas
tlons. Up to this writing we have pro-
gressed as tar as section five, in the town
OF Swan River, or about six and one>half
miles from our starting point, This week
we expect to make from eighteen to
twenty miles more, which will take US
over into Todd county and if not delay
ed by unfavorable weather or accidents,
we hope to reach Sauk Centre early in
September, from which point the work
can be pushed through at the rate of
from ten to twelve miles per day. That
will soon take US to, the end of the route,
where it is proposed to commence the
work of locating back this way, the line
we are running now being only prelim-
mary one to ascertain the most feasible
route for locating the road permanently.
Our party consists of our chief engineer,
Col. q. Mcclellan, Of St. Paul, who has
cnarge OF the entire work, Mr.. Treherue,
also Of st. Paul, who is our gentlemanly
and efficient transit man, and Mr.: John
Abercrombie, of Alexandria, who does
the levelling, and as practical worker
and one who understands his business he
has no superiors. In addition to these
we have two chainmen, one stake driver,
two flag or rod>men, two ax>men, one
staf>man or Jewelers. assistant, two
teamsters, one Of whom is your we'll
known fellow townsman, Dick Steele,
and last, but by no means least, one
cook; and if good and efficient culinary
artist is a blessing to party, then we
are blessed indeed, for there is not one of
our party but will bear me out in the as
sertion that Virgin is the ne plus s1ztra of
all cooks. We all enjoy our camp life
hugely, and after we have had our sup
per and the boys gather around thecook's
ire to tell their stories, crack their jokes
and listen to song from Billy Ragans,
who IS the nightingale of tho party, con:
tentment IS depicted on every counte-
nance, and all is lovely and serene: We
are at present camped on the premises of
Mr.. A. K. Miller, who formerly resided
IN your town, and we all unite in thank
ing him for his polite and gentlemanly
Kindness to us while here. I see that
there is a rumor to the effect that the st.
Paul & Pacific Railroad Company will
at once commence building a road from
Morris, to the Black, Hills. I do not
place much: credence in the report, but
consider it merely as intended to put a
damaper on the Little Falls 4 Dakota rail>
road scheme, which-we all know will
prove inimical to the interests of that
road and even if they should build such
line Of road, I cannot believe that the
people Of the region Of country through
which our line will pass will for one mo>
ment give up the idea of an outlet for
their products that will relieve them
from the grinding extortions Of the Min
neapolis Mlllers' Association. Our road
will provide them good and direct
communication with Duluth and the
eastern markets, and their farm products
will then bring them better prices. So
we say to the farmers, you who make a
country great and prosperous, look to
your own interests and do not be led off
after. false gods by the delusive stories Of
grasping and avaricious corporations,
which seek to deceive you solely for their
own benefit.
Well, I have occupied enough of your
time and space for the present., but may
in the near future give you a few lines as
to the crops and whatever else that may
prove of interest that comes under my
observation as we advance with our
work. r. M. WoRTHINGTON.