The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-10-16

half. When commerce on the
Pacific becomes anything like what
it has been on the Atlantic, the adj
vantage will be much more in favor
of this railway. The distance from
Liverpool to Yokohama Gin Japan)
is 9,456 miles, whilst by the shortest
of the American lines it is 10,426
miles. The virtual commencement
of the construction was made in
British Columbia in 1878, and it has
been prosecuted with but little inter-
ruption ever since. More than three
hundred miles have been cut through
solid rock, innumerable rivers of
various sizes have been crossed,
some by iron bridges above 1000
feet in length; most of them by
wooden trestle bridges, one of which
the highest in America-is 2S7
feet above the water. Fourteen
streams have been diverted, from
their natural channels by digging
and tunnelling. Many other diff
culties have been overcome, arising
both from the severity of the climate
and the peculiarities of the position
through which the road had to be
made. Three miles were laid in
January, 1885, with the thermo-
meter at 40 degrees below zero, and
$4,000 feet one day when it was
below registering point. The most
formidable of the difficulties were
the floating muskegs between Port
Arthur and Winnipeg. A "mus.
keg" is formed on the surface of
lake by the floating plants intel
lacing with others springing up from
the mud beneath. These form
resting-place on which other grasses,
plants, shrubs, and even trees find
a footing, germinate, flourish, and
die. There is thus consolidated a
body of vegetable mould which il is
not always easy to distinguish from
the solid earth, nor to decide
whether it is strong enough TO carry
the road. AT Barclay there was met
one of the worst of these muskegs.
The embankment over it broke when
half finished, erd disappeared be-
meath. They p' p'oceeded TO fill it up,
bet its capacity receive all they
could tip into it seemed inexhausti-
be. Az last it began to be stable,
but it is computed, from the amount
of stuff tipped into il, that it must
have been 200 feet deep.
In fact, work could never have
been undertaken but for the deter
mination of the Canadian Govern
ment to have a railway from sea to
sea through their own territory, and
their generous grants of land along
the line, their donation of the por-
rions which had already been COM
pleyed by them, and iheir guarantee
Of per cent for ten years, and that
no rival road would be sanctioned
f,r chat period. The company, or
'tie syndicate as it is called, who
have taken up these te.ms and put
it through, have at their head more
than the ordinary proportion of
"Scotsmen. Sir George Stephen
the president, comes from Dufftown,
anG was for some time a dry goods
salesman in Glasgow, Manchester,
and Montreal. Sir Donald A. Smith
balls also from the north, and made
his mark at first in the service Of The
Hudson Bay Company. Mr.. r. B.
Angus was born in Bathgate, and in
1852 entered the Bank of Montreal,
of which he became general manager
in 1870. Mr.. d. M'Tavish is from
Inverness, and has been long known
IN connection with the Hudson Bay
Company. The vice-president and
general manager is Mr.. Van Horne,
long idep ,ified with several Of the
most successful railways in the west.
The connection between the finish
ed portions of the track in the east
and west was made at Mount
Stephen, in the Rocky Mountains, in
the spring, and freight cars have
been passing. SunGry passengers
have also been going across, taking
their chance of caboose or a freight
Car in the regions where no regular
traius were running, living some
times in rude mountain hotels and
sometimes in The engineers camps.
AS parts of Che line were not taken
over from the constructors by the
th;e oo,,IJ not bo o-o;lol