Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-01-30

/ was particularly interested in that part
, OF General Dodge's paper wherein he de-.
} scrsbed his discovery of the way to cross
the Slack Hills beyond Cheyenne there
} was no Cheyenne them He was limited
} by the law to il6 feet grace to any mile.
Instead * following the valley of Lodge
Pole creek as sill previous engineers had
done. he caose the upper, or anti-clinal
line, instead Of the lower, or sin.cinal line.
This was stroke of genius, by which he
surmounted tas Rocky Mountains by
grade of eighty feet to the mile, whereas
by any other rosie then known he would
hare been forced TO a grade of 200 feet or
| to adopt short coryes through Laramie
! Pass.
EoNoRs DUE TO THESE BrKLpERs.
The Union and Central Pac6c railroads
I were the pioneer tranScontnental roads in
| America, ald every man who did his part
should receive all honor. Now there are
I've trans continental railroads, the last the
Canadian Pacific.
II so happens that two years ago having
| Travelled by every other, expressed wish
| 10 return from San Francisco eastward by
the Canadian Pacific, just completed. 70
my amazement discovered that the Presi-
dent Of that railroad was Major w. C. Van
horne, one OF our railroad men. educated
IN our war between Nashville and Atlanta.
He was then, as now, the President of that
roati, with salary Of from $4,000 to $50
goo, ana they talk OF making him Duke.
he san hold his own with any Duke |
have thus far encountered. ANYHOW. he
acted like Prince to me. From his
office in Montreal, he ordered bis agent
at VIC, orias b. c., to sxtend to General
Sherma every possible courtesy. which
was done. had a special car for myseli
and daughter, Lizzie, with privilege of
stopping over at any station
On the way eastward | met many people
and heard m2,y things of great interest to
me, and, ruay5e to you. There are three
mountain ranges between the Mississippi.
or rather the Missouri Valley and
the Pacific 0cean: The Rockets the
Wahsatch, and the Cascades These csn.
verge to the northwest so that in the
Canadian Pacific the engineers had TO
meet them closer together than by orr
" Northern Pacific or by the Central
and " Union"
ovERcoMIEe' EHR OBSTACLE.
In the first explorations, the English en-
gineers saw no escape from the conclusion
that to pass these ranges from their start
ing point TO the Pacific" Vancouver n
magnificent port-they would have TO fol-
low the grade of the fraser river by its west
branch, TO It's very head, near the Henry
House, and thence TO descend the Atha-
basca" eastward to Winnipeg, ETC. This
route was about 100 miles longer than the
- direct line" The Board of Directors in
Montreal then called on our United States
experienced engineers, and found man,
Randolph, believe who undertook to cut
across this great bend o. loop. Instead of
following the west branch of Fraser river.
he took the east branch, "Thompson's. up
TO the Kamloop's Lake. The mountains
eastward seemed impossible, but he
reasoned I" where there is a will there is a
way" Through brush and trees he forced
his way and found a pass in the Cascade
Range called Kicking Hcrsen where his
horse had kicked him on the knee. Per
severing, he, in the next or main range.
observed the fight of an eagle. which did
not, as usual, pass over the highest visible
peak, but disappeared around point; so he
followed the same course, found an unex-
pected break and located railroad with
less grades than the Union Pacific, and
saved distance of four hundred miles. or
two hundred millions of dollars. In look
ing over the usual time tables of the
Canadian Pacific, you will find the 'Kick-
ing Horse Pass" and Eagle Pass" through
which millions of people will travel and
millions of dollars worth of freight will pass.
All are, in part, the consequence of our civil
war, and of the men it educated.
General Dodge's most admirable paper
will be embraced in our next annual re-
port.