Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1881-09-08
THE CLEARWATER PASS PRAC-
TICABLE FOR A RAILROAD
AND A CERTAINTY.


ici, has been forced to concede that
he knows nothing about the pass but
what It" gathered from McCartney's
notes, aud says that we claim no
personal knowledge of the pass, which
is true, and says that since we are so
positive of its existence. why don't We
point it out, and that we will be paid
Tor so doing. Were we robust and
healthy man and engaged in the bust
hess of hunting passes in the noun
tains, we might be induced to comply
with his suggestion, if the considera-
ton was sufficiently large. But as
matters are we are content to stay at
home and report what others who
have seen and went through the pass
say about it. In the first place Maj.
Truax,::who was with Mr.. Bird when he
opened the Lo I.o trail to the Bitter
Root, says the highest point on the trail
is only 5000 feet above the level of
the sea, as noted 10y his imromc .or,
and that this high point il this side of
the crossing Of the Lo Lo fork of the
Clearwater, and consequently not in
the main Bitter Root divide, and that
the pass of the main divide near the
Lo Lo trail is only about 5000 feet.
If the Major is right, then the height
Of the divide is no serious objection to
railroad, provided that height can
be reached from either side. by easy
grades. In fact the MAJOR told us
when he left for the Bitter Root few
weeks ago, that he was not hunting for
a lower pass than the Lo Lo, that
that suited him provided the ap.
proaches to it from where q road
would leave the river to be easy, and
that was the only object he had in
making the trip to those mountains.
He and his party have got through as
we learn by telegram from one of
his men, dated Missoula, August 81, to
this city, but the telegram makes no
Of the pass. The Dayton
Chronicle of the Sd inst has the fol-
lowing:
THE Pass FoUND.-it isrumored that
Major Truax and party have found
the Clearwater pass about which so
much has leeu said and written, and |
which Engineer McCl rtnev of. ;ne n.
p r. II. failed to frh.. The route up
is said to be better I'll an
participated, the heaviest grade not
exceeding IS feet to the mile. We
hope and actually believe
that this rumor is founded on fact
Lewiston will then have railroad and
50 will Camas Prairie, and the Pataha
country. Light is dawning in the
East.
From this we infer that Maj. Truax
las sent telegram to the parties in
whose behalf hv made the trip, con-
aiming the substance of the Chron-
cle's allusion, which has reached the
ars of the editor of that paper. This
t it elf ought to be sufficient to scatter
o the winds the theory OF the former
hlef engineer of the Northern Pacific
hat there was mo practicable pa for
railroad through the Bitter Root
Mountains south of the Pen d'Oreille
BASS" upon which assumption that
great corporation made the worst
'lunder of the age in railroad building.
We have never claimed that there was
pass via Clearwater lower than
1000 feet, and have always been told
hat that elevation was no barrier to
abroad il it could be reached by easy
trades. Now Mccartney, in his re-
'ort has assumed the Lo Lo PASS to be
900 feet as reported t. him. But
Truax makes it only 5000 feet, and
he grade not to exceed IS feet per mile,
the Chronicle can be credited. This
makes the pass practicable and bursts
II counter theories, and sustains the
osition which the TELLER and other pa
crs We have edited in Lewiston have ia
en- that a practicable pass for a railroad
xistsd via the Clearwater through the
bitter Root range. Now we go fur
her and say thai south of the Lo Lo
ass there is much lower pass than
his, by at least 1000 or 1900 feet,
that if the Lo Lo is only 5000 feet,
,en our more southern pass is less
,an 1000 feet above sea level. We
link however that Maj. Truax has
nderestimated the height of the Lo
o, though for the sake of the arru-