236 
BAKER. 
“The ridge of the Rocky mountains may be named without offence as 
presenting a convenient natural and everlasting boundary. Along the 
back of this ridge the western limits of the Republic should be drawn, 
and the statue of the fabled god Terminus should be raised upon its 
highest peak, never to be thrown down.” 
On January 25,1843, Senator McDuffie, of South Carolina, 
speaking of the country now embraced in the two Dakotas, 
Nebraska, Kansas, and thence northwestward to Oregon and 
Washington, said: 
“ What is the character of this country ? Why, as I understand it, that 
seven hundred miles this side of the Rocky mountains is uninhabitable, 
where rain scarcely ever falls—a barren and sandy soil—mountains totally 
impassable, except in certain parts. Well, now, what are we going to do 
in such a case as that ? How are you going to apply steam ? Have you 
made anything like an estimate of the cost of a railroad running from here 
to the mouth of the Columbia? Why, the wealth of the Indies would be 
insufficient! You would have to tunnel through mountains five or six 
hundred miles in extent. Of what use will this be for agricultural pur¬ 
poses ? I would not, for that purpose, give a pinch of snuff for the whole 
territory. I wish it was an impassable barrier to secure us against the 
intrusions of others. If there was an embankment of even five feet to be 
removed, I would not consent to expend $5 to remove that embankment 
to enable our population to go there. I thank God for his mercy in 
placing the Rocky mountains there.” 
A writer in the Westminster Review , in 1846, thus describes 
the great plains of Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma: 
“ From the valley of the Mississippi to the Rocky mountains the United 
States territory consists of an arid tract extending south nearly to Texas, 
which has been called the Great American Desert. The caravan of emi¬ 
grants who undertake the passage take provisions for six months, and 
many of them die of starvation on the way.” 
Indeed, the question much debated at the time was, Is 
Oregon worth saving? Both Winthrop and Webster were 
of opinion that the government would be endangered by 
a further enlargement of territory. Mr. Berrien declared 
that the region under discussion was a barren and savage 
one, as yet unoccupied, except for hunting, fishing, and trad¬ 
ing with the natives, while Mr. Archer said the part near 
the coast alone contained land fit for agricultural purposes, 
and there were no harbors which were or could be rendered 
