Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1902-10-27
OLD WESTERN TRAILS.
Great Transcontinenta1 Railways Now
Run Over Them.

Great Transcontinenta1 Railways Now
Run Over Them.
The early explorers and pioneers Of
the western part of the United States
made the paths that are now the great
railway highways CT commerce. The
old trails of the plains, deserts and
mountains and the routes of the pres
ly associated, as in the greater num-
Der Of cases the big Western railroads
followed the course Of the wagon
tracks Of fifty years ago. When the
American colonies were declaring their
independence Of Great Britain the "old
Spanish trail" was being laid out by
party under the command of Francisco
Sylvester Velez Escalante, in the inter-
est of the Spanish missions in Califor-
MIA.
This expedition left Santa Fe. in July,
l776, and after travelling over what Is
now known as the San Juan country,
reached spot where Grand Junction,
Colo, an important present-day rail
way center is located. From there the
party "trailed" to Salt Lake, and from
there to Los Angeles, Cal. The new
Denver and Northwestern Railroad
and the Salt Lake and Los Angeles
line will closely follow much Of this
old Spanish trail.
The Union Pacific Railroad runs over
the old Platte-Overland route from
| np,,0 1,, TO t1,r fob
Topeka and Santa Fee follows for many
hundreds of miles the old Santa Fe
trail while in Arizona the same road
touches at many points the southern
overland trail. The Santa Fe trail
runs through the Ration Mountains
southern spurs of the Rocky Noun
tains in New MeXico), and the engi-
neers who built the Santa Fee Railroad
found many problems solved in the
way Of mountain railway construction
by simply following the trail Of the
Spaniards Of many years ago.
There are still to be seen along this
trail Spanish houses that were built in
the time when that part of the country
was within Mexican territory. while
there are also many rOadhouses that
fifty years ago dispensed cheer and
comfort to the weary travellers who
crossed the plains and mountains for
the precious yellow metal.
The Rio Grande system follows the
trails made by Gunnison in 1S53-54.
The Colorado Southern, from Fort Col
Inns to Trinidad, Colo, runs along the
trail between Fort Laramie and Fort
Union, and the Oregon Short line Is
built along the Oregon trail from Salt
Lake to Columbia. The Central Pa
cific, now owned by the Southern Pa
cific, runs from Ogden to San Fran
cisco by route that many years ago
was travelled by Spaniards and Indi-
ans. across the northern end Of the
Great American desert and through
the beautiful Sierra Nevada Noun
tains.
From the snow-capped summit Of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains to the green
fields around San Francisco Is a ques-
ton Of eight hours by the fast overland
limited on the Southern Pacific. and
along the route may still be seen the
path or trail that years ago required
many days Of work and danger sue
cessfully to traverse. From Denver
to Salt Lake City the Denver and Rio
Grande Railroad follows old trails and
the Grand River. along which the wan
dering Mormons plodded ON their way
IN tho hupod for h0vou NJ root Roth
the Book Island and Union Pacific,
says the New York Tribune. follow
ancient trails, and the big Rock Island
bridge at Omaha crosses the Missouri
River from Council Bluffs at a point
where the wealth seekers from the
East. with their families, live stock
and prairie schooners. used to ford the
muddy stream.