Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1899-01-21
Railroad News.

Every man in the city except the news
paper reporters has an original thcor,
for the construction of pier 40. Of til,
Ninelaud Lewiston bridge
\ furry Of excitement WAS occasioucd
by miniature explosion i'll the bar room
Of the Glen Ellen wine vaults. An owe,
charge of powder was placed in brick
ilue to remove the SCOT, and the dis
charge filled the resort with smoke and
SCOT.
A party Of Northern Pacific surveyors
out fitted yesterday by purchasing of
| J, Alexander supplies for months field
work down the Snake OH the south side.
This work is TO be done under the direc-
ton of Engineer Ellison 1t means the L..
7. extension TO Paso by the Snake river
route.
The o. r. * \. Company has been
taking deal Of interest in the territory
east Of the Clearwater for the past ten
days. There are known to have sent
two or three secret agents into the south
end Of Shoshone county to spy the
Northern Pacific and to gather data about
surveys and passes, occupied and uu-
occupied
Frank Rose of Grangeville received
word Thursday night that his mother
was dangerously i'll at pendleton Oregon.
He rode through to this city on horse
back to find no boat today. He could do
better time OH the faithful horse than
to wait ioT boats and trains 50 he con
tinued the journey i'll the Old fashioned
style on horse back We have not with
all our progress out grown the saddle
horse altogether for use in cases of
emergency,
There are four passes over the Bitter
Root with perhaps two practical ap-
proaches of the west The contendinp
roads are skirinishing for the most
feasible forks Of the Clearwater. While
the contest has been -ostensbly for the
reservation district the O. r. & n. has
been doing secret work on the other side
| of the Clearwater This means a great
deal for Lewiston, Ii means the develop
| 1nent of another rich district and the
| bringing of tie trade of that district TO
the gate way,
The Orcgonan says the o. r. & n.
have over 1000 men strung along the
| sixty mile branch from Wallula to Riparia.
Eighteen sub-contractors have divided
the work among themselves, so that the
line is simultaneously under construction
| al all points. There are three tunnels to
be constructed. Wages paid laborers
are SITS day, and for tunnel men 81 TO
S2.25, Board is deducted from these
figures at the rate of "a. 20 per week. The
men furnish their own bedding, but the
contractors provide tents or bunkhouses.
Later on more men will be put on as the
work has to be finished by next July
The o. R. & N. Co. IS surveyors, fifteen
i'll number, who are campcd at the Pear
son ranch, mile from town, says the
Grangeville Daily Press, have completed
their first preliminary survey through
this city and to Mt. Idaho, the line enter
ing the corporate limits just north of
John Gelbach's residence on Junction
street running thence i'll an easterly di-
rection, crossing Coon street one block
south Of the Grangeville roller mills. The
line from Denver to the surveyors camp
is an easy one, being just trihe down
grade, from the camp to the corporation
line there is an up grade of one and half
per cent. The worst grade on the entire
line is between this city and Mt. Idaho,
there being difference of over 500 feet
in the elevation. Several surveys will be
run over this proposed line and the most
practical one adopted
George Erb returned yesterday from
secret mission to the far interior He re-
fused to tell anybody that he had been
sent as an advance agent of the o. r. &
n to select route over the Bitter Root
range by which the Oregon road was to
form junction with the c, B. & 0. The
judge would not, for any consideration,
give away the secret that the company
which sent him cares what progress the
Northern is making towards locating a
line up Cottonwood creek to Camas
prairie. He would leave the Northern
people to infer that the O. K. & N. does
not care whether the Northern Pacific
adopt the Lapwai spur or the
Cottonwood route to the prairie
but it is known Just the
same that they do care and that this COM
pany has spies in the field for this pur-
pose. OF course, Judge Erb had nothing
to do with this business except to select
a route across the Bitter Roots. The
word was brought in, however, from all
quarters this week that the Northern Pa
cifc had called in all the exploring par
ties, and that they were giving all their
attention to the main cut off idea. The
I.apwai spnr scheme is reported the one
adhered to now by the Northern Pacific
people. The Northern Pacific people are
trying to make the public and the other
company believe that they are to hold to
the I.apwai spur extension idea, but the