Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-04-14

~ au eleNeu-cOnpAhY post huu heaoquafteIn ol
the regiment, &c You can readily see that half
daily or three trips per week, with three days
schedule, would be far preferable TO daily service
with eight-days schedule.
have the honor to be, very respectfully, your
obedient servant NJ. L. Patrick,
Ig Contractor.
Mr. WALLACE. 10 that is append
ed a certificate by the United States
district Judge OF Nebraska, with whom
am well acquainted, as to the charac.
ter OF Mr.. Patrick as an honorable and
upright man. That route was expe-
dted from one hundred and eighty
hours to seventy.tive hours. | also
have statement furnished me by
Vale, Miner a. Co, of the route from
Bismarck to Fort Keogh, which | ask
the clerk to read. This route was ex-
pedited from eighty.four hours to sixty
five hours. ....... ......
The. Chief Clerk read as follows:
"Wo now call attention to the route
from Bismarck TO Fort Keogh Saint
Paul is the military headquarters for
all those Northwestern forts. Prior TO
our taking the above route all mail
matter for Fort Keogh and in the
other forts in that region went down
to Omaha thence to Franklin by rail.
road thence north about four hun.
dred and twenty miles TO Helena then
east to Bozeman and Fort Keogh,
making a curcuit of near two Thousand
four hundred miles, one Thousand miles
of it by stage when its destination
could be reached, and isnow reached in
about seven hundred miles--only three
hundred miles oft by stage. There was
a weekly mail from Bismarck to Fort
Keogh viaFortBuford, four hundred and
tiltymiles-one hundred and fittylonger
than our present route. Through the
intercession OF General Miles, Congress
established this route on a straight line,
and except at the ends, not person
lived on the line or within fifty miles
Of it; not one person had ever been
over the line there was no track or
trail even. We surveyed the road /;
built mounds in sight Of each other so
that we could keep the road across the
prairie made approaches to streams /;
built bridges and ferries houses and
stables, seventeen in number; dug
wells and built road through the bad
lands, which were considered quite i'm
passable
"This road cost US near $4,000 be.
fore we received one cent and would
have cost the Government more than
100000 TO have done the same work.
The building of three hundred miles of
road, through a perfect wilderness, and
the worst Indian country at that time
in the United States, was task which
has never been attempted before in
this country by private parties. The
result is, that each one OF our stations
is fort, as we must keep men enough
to guard our stock, for If they are
stolen by Indians the mail would stop,
and the Government does not pay us
for stolen stock, and we cannot afford
to suffer the loss They do not even
bury our men who are killed. We
must protect three hundred miles Of mail
communication, Uhich the Government
,cdS not able fully to do before our day,
thereby saving more than $500, 1000 per
year. Again, the Government pays
for transportation OF soldiers and sup.
plies on the straight line over which
we have built a road, and on which we
travel more than one hundred miles a
day, thereby saving the cost OF one hun.
dred and fifty miles of transportation,
which amounts to a very large sum.
On the slow time and small mail we
could get along with thirteen animals
and twelve men, as we could travel,
like the Arab, with our tents and pro-
visions, making twenty-five in all. By
expedition to fast time and six trips
per week, we estimated il would take
l50 men and $50 animals but to-day
we have 200 men on the line shoveling
snow, and 200 animals. We make
every trip, although the railroad can.
not make one trip in two weeks, Our
animals legs are skinned by the frozen
snow from their heels totheir gambrels.
We ncase them with sacks, wet, which
quickly freeze, and in this way only
can we travel. At the ratio of % to
300 we were entitled to more than
$4,000 under the law bnt we offered
to accept SGT $50 Tor five additional
trips and expedition. But in this offer
we made a great mistake. We did not
know that 1t showed nearly every day
for four months IN that country, and
the Thermometer for weeks at 300 to
$50 below zero, as has been the case
this Winter. We did not know of the
blizzards that would cut the flesh of
men and beasts like FIRE, or we would
not have made IT, The current quar-.
ter will not cost us less than 100000,
leaving only 100000 for the remaining
three quarters, less deductions, which
may be one.half for not running on
time
: Mr.. WALLACE. There has also
been furnished the subcommittee an
expense account of several routes by
one of the largest firms carrying mails
west of the Mississippi River, Giimer,
Salisbury & Co, from which read an
extract as to but one;
rlI .r rHE BLAcK NUS RoUrsS.
Mail mar! #.