Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1880-10-02

Notes of "a Visit TO fhe New Railroad
Which Detroit Enterprise Is Pashing
Through the Upper Peninsula will
of the Post and Tribune.

Through the Upper Peninsula will
derness.
Correspondence of the Post and Tribune.
EsCANABA, September II, 1880.
One year ago, when | visited this
northern country, everybody was asking
"Why don't YOU Detroit folks build the
Marquette and Mackinac railrOad?" Now
this question is no longer asked for the
road is well under way and no one for a
moment questions its speedy completion.
While i'm Marquette, and having a few
hours of spare time, perched myself on
a car of lumber and passed over the &c
miles already cOmplet sd at this end. For
the first 10 or II miles after doubling
the bay at ChOcOlay, the course is nearly
due east and near the lake, much of Ethe
time in sight of it, and through pine
plains and pine barrens, with light
sandy soil. The rOad-bed. as far as the
track is laid, is in excellent condition
After getting some 15 miles out from Mar
quette the course is through heavy tim
bered lands, covered with hemlOck
birch, maple, and a gOOdly variety of
other timber, valuable for charcoal and
other purposes. A large number of
kilns will soon be in readiness for busl-
ness along this road, and the shipment
of charcoal to furnaces i'm and about
Marquette will soon become an impOr-
tant item i'm its business. The termina-
tiOn of the first 20 miles is i'm the vicinity
of sucker lake, Mountain Gap, rather
rough and rocky section extending some
half dozen miles, after which the course
is said to be more level but heavily tim
bered. If one enjoys rough, wild scene
ry he can find it here to his fullest de-
sire.
The immediate work is being pushed
under the careful supervision of Geo.
I'll. Briggs, assistant engineer. Grading
and track laying are being pushed with
all possible vigOr at both ends of the
line with view of getting as many
miles of iron laid as possible before the
snow flies, The route as surveyed is
about 15S miles, with 50 $40 feet to the
mile as the heaviest grade. The COM
pany expect to have some 40 miles on
the west end and 30 on the east cOmplet-
ed by the time winter sets in. The track
is now laid some Is or 20 miles out from
the straits. Clearing and grading will
be continued through the winter. From
point some 40 miles from the straits
the company propose building branch
to the Sault canal to eventually connect
with Canadian line now i'm prospect
This line from Mackinac to Marquette
will form an important link in the
Northern Pacific connection, which will
only need the completion of the Jackson,
Lansing and Saginaw to the straits and
line from the western terminus of the
Marquette, HOughtOn and OntOnagOn to
Duluth to make it complete. With this
road completed by September, 1881, Mar
quette will find herself nearly 300 miles
nearer Detroit and the east than she
now is, Then Detroit will be about
equidistant with Chicago. In my hum
BILE opinion, with the completion of this
line of road there will grow up an i'm
pOrtant shipping point at or near Point
st. Ignace. Already there is in process of
erection there what is said will be the
largest blast furnace i'm the world. In
length of season, and distance from east
ern markets it would have a decided adj
vantage over both Escanaba and Mar
quette. But whether ore can be shipped
from Marquette to the straits by rail al
sufficiently low rates to make up for the
difference in lake transportation is a
question. There can be little question
however, that the completion of this
road will add materially to the number
of blast furnaces in the vicinity of Mar
quette from the ease i'm getting char.
coal. Already the old Marquette and
Pacific rolling mill has been transform
ed into blast furnace with a capacity
of from so to 60 tons of pig iron per day
and raceifurnace which has also been
closed for several years, will soon, in al
prObility, be turning out molten lava
Others are sure to follow. All kinds OF
business is booming in this country
thanks to resumption and tariff that
while it yields a liberal revenue, protects
the labOrers of this country from being
compelled to come down to the cheal
labor prices of Europe. A. H. III.