ROUTE BY WAY OF SAN FELIPK CAJJoN. 23 



60 feet per mile for 21.98 miles, to the watering place at Cariso creek; thence to Sackett's wells 

 the grade is nearly horizontal^ a distance of 15 miles, avoiding the ridges over which the wagon 

 road now passes, and nearly following the course of the creek. 



At Sackett's wells the supply of water is abundant, and is derived from holes sunk in an 

 arroya or bed of a stream leading into the channel of Cariso creek. This point is fairly on the 

 open plain of the desert, and should this route be selected for the road it will prove one of the 

 most imjjortant and valuable water stations on the entire line. 



From Sackett's to the Colorado river the desert appears to the unaided eye a perfect level , 

 but it is shown to be undulating, and composed of several gentle slopes or swells of surface 

 rising to a level terrace in the vicinity of Alamo Mocho. 



The two "lagoons" on the desert being now dry, water is obtained from a well dug in the 

 channel which connects them, at a point about half way between, and 14.5 miles from Sackett's. 

 This watering place is known by the name of " Indian Wells." The water is at a depth of 

 about 30 feet, and is of tolerable quality. 



From here to Alamo Mocho is a stretch of 20 miles without water, over a surface generally 

 even and free of obstructions. From the Alamo wells to Cook's well is another space of 20 

 miles in a direct line, the soil being chiefly a coarse gravel, intermixed with sand. From 

 Cook's well to the Colorado river at Pilot Knob the road lies along the valley or " bottom" of 

 the river, a distance of 14 miles, mostly through a thick growth of mesquite, willow, and cotton- 

 wood. From Pilot Knob to Fort Yuma, opposite the mouth of the Gila, is seven miles, making 

 the total distance by this line from tide water at the bay of San Diego to the proposed crossing 

 at the fort 200 miles and a half. 



The character of the portion of the desert just described is now so well known that it is 

 needless to enlarge upon it, and with the simple statement I am enabled to make from frequent 

 examinations and intimate acquaintance witli the ground, that three-fourths of the distance is 

 already graded and prepared by nature for the j-eception of the rails, I take leave of the subject 

 without further remark. 



PROPOSED EOUTE BY WAY OF SAN FELIPE CANON. 



A mere inspection of the route through the pass which drains the valley of San Felipe would 

 not, probably, lead an observer to the conclusion that it is adapted to railroad purposes, and it 

 was only after the difficulties of the line on the wagon road became apparent that attention 

 was siiecially directed to it as a possible substitute. A careful survey of this pass, with the 

 chain and level, demonstrated the following facts : Its length by the windings of the creek is 

 2.67 miles. The difference of level of its two extremities is 437.30 feet, and the average slope 

 of the creek is, therefore, 162.5 feet to a mile. The level station, at the entrance of the caiion, 

 is at least ten feet liigher than the necessary elevation of the proposed road bed, and that at 

 the outlet can be raised, say 150 feet, by following the side hill, so that the resulting grade will 

 be reduced to the practicable limit of 103 feet per mile for the two and a half miles. 



The side slopes of the pass present a ragged and rocky appearance, nearly identical with 

 those of the Cajon Gap, near the mission of San Diego, and the two passes are nearly equal as 

 to their length, breadth, and curves. They are so clearly similar that both must be accepted 

 or rejected together. 



