The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-08-14
- 1t 70 PoaTulHb.
y B6nftIe Z Southern survey
Practically Completed.


outhorn railroad hass nearly COM
Uooood Ipeetion Of the iipe from this
GDty 70 Portland All the difficuss
Dso11esus are solved. aud IL rsTaains
ely for the surveyors 20 marx cat .
- from their present camp In .tise
nortAexn part Of Clarke county ts
Voneouver. on the Columbia. Here
~ river IL broad and the current
e1oW, and = crossing eau easfly b.
modo. From the south shore Of the
sives . railroad already rms 10 East
Portland. The surface OF the country
lGyond the Columbia - nearly ievei.
ond The road can almost faake = iss
line - junction in Portland eifh the
Goulhern Pacific, of which the reattl@
= Southern ts the northern extern
Ton.
cAs 81 ErsL5 ~ Tgs aeyTEs.
Probes and maps are nos Deing
uads up by the company, ~ weli -
ootimAteS Of the coat Of construction
- the road, and 81 soon AZ these. 70.
esther With the survey Of the read,
oto cors1plsted, engineers v 10 he pat
Out the work ready for construction.
1he road viii be buiit rapidly when
1tarted. and viii not require more
than ten months for completion 81 the
entire line from Seattle u Portland.
sHoKr LINZ To PORTLAND.
In general. II may he said that the
route parallels that Of the Northern
Pacific and Puget Sound Shore. bat
u II much more direct. reducing the
distance 70 Portland 81 miles Leas.
ing West Seattle. where the terminal
bulidings and yards viii be situated.
the survey hears southward, ascend
Ing the White river valley TO the west
Of the Puget sonnd shore line. The
Northern Pacific track Is crossed f,si,
once. near PuyuiInp. This viii give
Tacoma connection with the Southern
Pacific. but still only through
the Northern Pacific, which.
however, II nov Heets In Port
land. The rail distances between
seattle and Taroms viii be materially
decreased. From payallap the eur
vsy tends southeast, nowhere ap-
preaching the Northern Pa
cific line. IL was thought that the
Northern's route, which from Tensno
70 katama IL teiesally direct. and
which for the last thirty miles Of this
distance follows river valleys. was The
only feasible one, and the engineers Of
the Seattle & southern despaired Of
finding way through the hills 10 the
east. Hut their fear was born Of liz
n0rancc Of the country. A practical
bic route Ii now marked out. with
only few tunnels and heavy eats or
grades. As the Columbia river IN APP
preached. the road does not attempt
. crossing below the mouth Of the
Willamette, but continues to the
point on the big stream that Is nearest
10 Portland Vancouver. Above Van
CONVEX the Columbia narrows rapidly.
and congress has granted permission
70 bridge the river few miles above.
THROUGH MINIS AND FAaxs.
The great advantage OF this route
over that Of the Northern Pacific Il. OF
course. its direcsness Competent
authorities say that 1, controls an
equally rich country. The Chehalis
and GowIsfz rivers rise ia the Cas-
cades. and there II fine farming land
away mp In the headwasefs. The
Seattle h Southern skirts the foothills,
and has agricultural country tributary
on both sides. There IL known io be
abundant iron and coal In the noun
tains east Of the new railroad, pariie.
ulariy up the Tsldon river. and the
country is heavily timbered. Tee
Northern Pacific crossing Of the
Columbia ~ kalaiua Is about "a lie
abandoned, and another route
adopted, farther down. Even this
will not avoid the danger and lneun-
venience when the big stream il high.
Fortunately IL will not be in the power
Of any rival railroad Ia impesl, the
progress OF this line. Tracklaying can
be pushed from both ends, and The
one crossing oil the Northern Pacific
can not be successfully resisted.
srArrIs's rLKAsaSr PROSPECT.
Ii ~ Impossible to predict the
changes that will be made In The
map Of the state of Washington hy
the new road. Portland wsil lie a sta
ton, net the Northern terminus OF
the Southern Pacific. and series IL
prosperous communities established.
tributary To- the city of Seattle, the
seaport for shipment oil their coal, the
market for their ores aud farm pro-
ducts, the SQUIRE of their
supplies of manufactured articles.