Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-09
MORE RAILROADS
The Northern Pacific Has DeS-
ignS on Snake River.
CONSOLIDATION GOSSIP
Some of the Experience of Engineers
Who Went North For Stikine-
Teslin Railway.
CONSOLIDATION Co.'S

Teslin Railway.
While the Northern Pacific has survey
ing parties in the field in all directions
and is conducting engineering operations
evidently as much for the purpose of de-
ceiving the enemy as for the purpose of
locating real railway lines, evidence is
accommodating that one road it certainly
intends to construct is that to onnect
the Washington & Columbia river line
with it's Snake river line and Colfax.
AS long ago as 1885 the Northern Pa
cific planned a line from ColfaX south
west to Pleasant View, the present ter
minus of the Washington & Columbia
river. This line was from ColfaX to the
head of Penawawa creek and thence
down the creek to the Snake river to a
point about opposite the mouth of the
Palouse river. thence south and west to
Pleasant View.
A glance at the map will show the ad-
vantage of this route. 1t is a short line
from the heart of the Palouse country
to Hunts Junction and Pasco on the
Northern Pacific main line. At present
the Northern Pacific in hauling wheat
from the Palouse country must first go
along two sides of a triangle, first north
to Marshall junction and then southwest
to Pasco. The proposed line will give it
a straight haul on good grades to Pasco,
saving a great amount of mileage.
1t vas the intention of the Northern
Pacific at the time the surveys were made
to construct this line. Just at that
period, however, an agreement was made
with the O. r, & N. as to a division of
territory and as the building of the new
branch would cut into what was under
stood to be O. r. & N. territory that pro-
ject vas abandoned.
By going almost due north from Pleas
ant View the surveys made in 1886 show
that the grades of the Snake river are
low. Building in that vicinity is looked
for soon. 1t has already been reported
in this column that the Northern Pacific
has filed locations that will cover the
projected route and that surveyors are
at work on various portions of it's line.
A Butte railroad man, who represents
an eastern line for Montana, informed
an Inter Mountain reporter today that
there would be no open consolidation of
the Oregon Short Line and the Union
Pacific this year. He says the o~rganiza-
4 llOi vi lIe lWo IOduS HIS DeG1 so az
ranged that it is now practically the
same as one, and the future will see the
two companies playing business into each
others hands.
In the Edmonton Bulletin of recent
date appears the following account of a
survey for a new northern railway:
Party No. l of the Stikine-Teslin rail-
way, V. H. Dupont, chief, and A. T. Ker,
assistant, left Edmonton July s, 1898, for
the junction of Finlay and Parsnip rivers,
B.. c. The object of the expedition was to
find a practicable route for a railway
from the boundary line of the Northwest
Territories and British Columbia to the
junction of the above rivers. This ex-
ploration was a section of the Edmonton
and Teslin lake route. The expedition
took 60 days from Edmonton to the Fin
lay river. This was one of the fastest
trips, If not the fastest, between these
points. The supplies were freighted by
Brick Bros. from Edmonton to Hudson's
Hope, Peace River, being delivered by the
above firm in good time and condition.
Brick Bros. broke the record on Peace
river for fast transportation of supplies,
taking IA days from Peace River Cross
ing to Hudson's Hope. From this point
part of the supplies We're carried over the
portage by the party's pack horses and
then by boat to the Finlay rapids by the
pal l y IllS > IL II TIC iIlIS siIC
about one mile below the junction of the
two rivers named above. The distance
from the portage to the Finlay rapids is
rs miles. This part of the journey took
seven and one-half days, through numer-
Gus rapids, the Earle pass being the
largest. The party succeeded in passing
through them with practically a full load,
merely the top part of the load being
taken off the boat, and with but an hours
delay from the ordinary navigation on
the other parts of the river.
Between the junction of the Parsnip
and Finlay rivers and HudsOn's Hope,
Peace river runs between two ranges of
mountains, which have an elevation of
between 5000 and 1900 feet above the
level of Peace river. The peaks of some
of the mountains are bare of vegetation.
Mount Selwyn is the highest point of the
eastern range along the rivers, and has
an elevation of 6,240 feet above sea level.
1t was assembled by the chief of the ex-
petition, who succeeded in reaching the
summit, where he obtained a widespread
view of the surrounding country, pre-
senting to him a grand panorama or
mountain peaks capped with snow the
veal round, as far as the eye could reach.
Peace river has a fall of about q foot
and a half per mile on an average from
the JUNCTION of the Parsnip and F1nlay
to the canyon, and presents no serious
obstacles to navigation, with the eXcep-
ton of the Parle pass and Finlay rapids,
when it is necessary to portage suppiles
and other freight. Peace River canyon
which is about "a miles long, presents
the appearance of a large canal, cut
N--5l A~,@ IN toLo 0,Ir