The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1903-08-06
NEW MOUNTAIN GATEWAY.
Second Pass In the Rockies DiscOv-
cred Last Year in the Cana
dian Range.

DIR. j. Norman Collie, distinguished
Great Britain, has in the past few
years made four expeditions into the
Canadian Rocky mountains to the
north of the Canadian Pacific railroad,
wher the mountains were very little
known. With great ability and perse-
verance he has explored this difficult
mountain region from a geographical
point of view and has assembled
lofty snow-clad peaks for the purpose
of adding to his routemaps all the top
ographical details in sight from these
high points of observation, says the
New York Sun.
He has rendered a distinct service to
American geography by making these
mountains and the drainage among
them better known. His excellent
maps are helping atlas makers to i'm
prove their mapping of the mountains
of this continent.
On his last expedition he found a
new pass over the mountains. He
was looking for it, for on one of his
previous expeditions he conceived the
idea that there should be a practical
pass across the water-parting in this
region between the drainage systems
OF the Atlantic and Pacific. This was
one of the problems before him last
summer and he solved it successful
lie found the pass where he believed
it to be, among the headwaters of the
northern fork of the Saskatchewan
river in about 81 degrees 46 minutes
north latitude and III degrees 3 min
~es west longitude. The pass is 1000
feet above the sea. At its east end
rises Single creek, which is fed by
the melting glaciers and empties into
the middle fork of the North Saskat-
cheWan.
At its west end is another valley
through which flows a stream to the
south fork of Bush river, which emp
ties into the Columbia river and flows
10 the Pacific. He named this gateway
through the mountains Bush pass, be-
cause it leads to the Bush river.
FROM the top of the mountain reveal
ing to him wide area of Topography
he saw the pass leading over the valley
OF the Bush river in the very position
he had thought it must occupy. It
remains to be seen whether this impor-
tant pass will ever be turned to eco.
nomlc account as the route of Il rail
road or wagon highway across the
mountains. At any rate another i'm
portant pass has been added to those
already discovered among the Canadi-
an Rockies.
II Will be remembered that the
scheme of the Canadian Pacific rail
road was laughed at as impracticable
| until the great gateway through Kick
ing Horse pass was discovered. 1t was
some time before the pass through the
mighty Selkirks farther west was dis
covered, but it was there. lust where
II was needed for the extension of the
railroad to the Pacific coast.
another great pass has been discoy-
cred on the upper waters of the Peace
river, where two lakes lie practically
/ upon the summit of mountain rance.
This pass leads to the Skeena river. by
! n
son, the finest port of the Pacific coast
OF Canada, with great shipping facili
Ties and large coal fields close at hand
/ One of the railroads recently planned
in Canada is to cross this pass to reach
Port Simpson.
The great significance of these oata-
ways across the mountains north of
the Canadian Pacific railroad is that
they lie directly west of the vast north
ern wheat belt of Canada, in which
scarcely sod has yet been turned.
The day is not far distant when many
thousands of square miles of this re-.
gion will be devoted to wheat GROWING
and it will be a great advantage to
Canada to be able to ship the harvest
both across the Pacific to the orient
and across the Atlantic to Europe.