30 BOOK OF A HUNDRED BEARS 



selected a competent young man to investigate. 

 I say ^'competent/' advisedly. He was a graduate 

 of Pungtown University, had studied pinochle at 

 close range in Milwaukee, and spent two years 

 among the mountain ranges of Chicago. 



He was two years investigating the matter, and 

 his report, published by that celebrated publishing 

 house, ''Government Printing Office," may be 

 found in the basement of almost any public build- 

 ing. Following a time-honored precedent, the 

 report was not filed till the work was finished. 

 And finished it was. At last Bear River was con- 

 quered. The last lump of nasty gray mud was 

 squeezed out of its depths. Rock met rock and 

 there the road was, and there it is. 



I saw it, and you may get a fair idea of it from 

 the illustrations. At midlake, in one direction, 

 you cannot see land, and on every side it is far 

 away and dim. And I saw one engine haul one 

 hundred and ten loaded cars across it with ease. 

 One hundred and ten, instead of two engines to 

 twenty cars. That was what the cutoff was for, 

 as well as saving forty-three miles and two hours 



