CHAPTER I. 
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ROUTE NEAR THE FORTY-SEVENTH AND FORTY-NINTH PARALLELS OF NORTH LATITUDE. 
Although the ^report of Governor I. I. Stevens of his exploration of the northern route is 
clearly and forcibly written, yet, as all the facts hearing upon a particular portion of the route 
are not always to he found in one place, I have thought that it would facilitate the review to 
recapitulate the leading characteristics of the railroad route proposed, with such additional 
investigations and opinions as appeared to he necessary. The great extent of ground examined, 
the number of subjects treated, and the voluminous character of the report* seemed to require 
this somewhat laborious process. 
The general direction and position of the extreme northern route is mainly determined by 
the following considerations: 
1. From the great northern bend of the Missouri, (lat. 48° 30', about,) near the mouth of 
White-earth river, to Council Bluffs, (lat. 43° 30',) the river flows in a general southeast direc¬ 
tion. Throughout this portion of its course the country on either side is generally rough and 
broken; to the east lies the Coteau du Missouri, a high, rolling prairie, and to the west a rough 
and rugged country (including the “ Mauvaises Terres,” and excepting the smooth table-land 
divide between the Yellow Stone and Missouri) extends to the base of the mountains. To the 
east and north, the Coteau du Missouri sinks into the prairie, and near the parallel of 49° 
can be completely turned. The northern route should, therefore, seek the shortest practicable 
line between this point and the navigable waters of the Mississippi. St. Paul, at the head of 
navigation of the Mississippi, appears the most suitable eastern terminus of the road. The 
manner in which these two points are connected will be discussed hereafter. 
2. After passing the Coteau du Missouri, the valley of the Missouri and its tributaries, in 
direction and acclivity, furnish the best approach to the Rocky mountains, the passes of which, 
near the sources of the Missouri, in latitude 47°, have an elevation of about 6,000 feet, 
being nearly 1,500 feet lower than the Great South Pass. 
3. The Rocky mountains once crossed, the route to the Pacific is then determined by the 
course of the tributaries of the Columbia. 
Finally, the navigable character of the Missouri, of the Columbia, and of the great lakes, 
as well as the Mississippi—all of which can be made to aid in the construction of this road— 
gives to it, at first glance, a character of great importance. Its objectionable features are also 
apparent in its high northern latitude, and consequent severity of climate, which greatly 
detracts from the importance of the aid from navigation by obstructing the rivers with ice, 
and in the long intervals through which labor in the open air must be suspended, and, finally, 
in its contiguity to the soil of 'a powerful foreign sovereignty. 
The northern railroad route may be said to commence at St. Paul, in about latitude 45°, 
at the head of steamboat navigation of the Mississippi. The road ascends the left bank of the 
Mississippi, passing over fertile prairies or oak uplands to Little Falls, the best point for crossing 
the river, a distance of 109 miles, without rock-cutting, and with light grades, seldom exceed¬ 
ing ten feet per mile. For structures, both of wood and stone, the material is good, and near 
at hand. 
Crossing the Mississippi river with 325 feet of bridge, the line is directed to the prairie of 
the Bois des Sioux, an extensive fiat plain. Between this and the Mississippi is a high, rolling 
prairie, forming part of the divide between the waters of Hudson’s bay and those of the Mis- 
