Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-01-09
The Bracing Northwest.

Mr.. Noyes gives the following par
ticulars in relation to trip to the
Northwest: We have made the trip
over the Northern Pacific railroad,
from st. Paul to Portland, and over its
affiliated rail and steamboat routes in
Oregon and Washington territory, and
returned TO this point without getting
''snowed up" or meeting with any OF
the delays, accidents, or discOmfOrts
that were predicted for us in undertak-
ing so late in the season to cross the
mountains in this northern latitude
over the heavy grades of the temporary
zig gag tracks above the tunneling
work. The return trip in November
has been even smoother than the pleas
ant one out in October. The weather
this side of the Cascade mountains has
been perfect, the air clear and of
sparkling, champagny flavor.
In the brief time since our passage
westward great deal of work has
been done upon the road. There
seemed to be no signs Of that danger
Gus retrenchment in the expenditures
for the improvement and completion
of the road and for the safety of the
passengers talked of in Wall street.
Some 1900 men were at work beyond
the Mullan pass ballasting the only
portion of the road that has not yet
been packed. At Garrison, the juno
ton of the Utah Northern railroad with
the Northern Pacific, where, when we
went out, there was only a shanty or
two, and two railroad companies held
their passenger stations and ticket Of
fees In old railroad cars standing on
switches, quite a little town had sprung
up and a large force of men were
working day and night in the construct
ion of a spacious passenger station and
freight depot.
The Mullan Tunnel, 1850 feet in
length, at the main divide of the
"ROckies," " had been completed, and
We came through it November 4 (ours
being the second train to make the
passage), thus avoiding the tedious and
somewhat hazardous, though grandly
picturesque, Zig-Zag climb up the steep
grade track i'm some places 2i0 feet
to the mlle) 10 the top of the pass.
This tunnel through the main divine
of the Rocky mountains, on the North
ern Pacific road, is 5,547 feet above
the sea-, 500 feet lower than the
highest elevation of the Union Pacific
railroad and !, 200 feet below the high
est elevation on the Central Pacific.
The tunnel is mainly through solid
rock, but in some places loose rock was
encountered, requiring heavy timber
casing. The work upon this tunnel,
as elsewhere upon the road, has been
done in the most substantial manner;
and with the exception of the short
stretch of unballasted road beyond
Mullan's pass, already referred to, and
the temporary tracks over the pass at
the unfinished BoZeman tunnel, there
is nothing in travelling its 1900 miles
of rail TO suggest to the passenger that
he is gong over new road. And the
equipment of the road and the provi-
sion for the comfort OF passengers is
not only surprisingly complete for a
new road through a savage wilderness
and over the great mountain ranges of
the country, but in most respects it
surpasseS anything that the oldest and
wealthiest lines can show. One can
take passage at st. Paul in Pullman
sleeper having all the latest improve
ments, get his meals (75 cents each
leisurely In tir5t-claSS dining-caT,
avoiding the usual scramble for badly
cooked twenty minute dinner" at
railroad eatiRg-houses, greatly to the
advantage of his digestion, and travel
comfortably all the 1900 miles to Port
land, Oregon, without change OF cars,
or delay to reweigh or transfer baggage
But the character of the construction
and equipment of this road is only one
of the surprises of this amazing new
northwest. In fact, one has to recon-
struct all his pre-cOnceived notions of
this region. If Proctor Knott were
to come out here he would find that all
the wild exaggeratiOn of his burleSque
upon the pretentions of the new north
west is getting to be sober fact, only
the progressive boom has now got so
far West of Duluth as to make that
thrifty place figure on the map as an
eastern city, so TO speak. Here are st.
Paul and Minneapolis, with pOpula-
tions already of $4,000 or $4,000 each,
and which probably in another decade
will grow to be one city with d COM
bined population of half amillion. Then
going further west We strike the i'm
mense current of emigration pouring
into Dakota by every line of rail, and
which has increased the population of
that territory in twenty years from less
than fifteen hundred to 315 O0O in 1888