COMPARISON OP THE DISTANCES ON SEVERAL ROUTES. 
127 
It is not believed that any route will be found leading from the good passes at the sources ot 
the tributaries of the Bitter Root, and those of the Missouri and Yellowstone, and the upper valley 
of the Bitter Root, to the Little Salmon river, and thence to the Columbia, which will come into 
competition with that of Clark’s fork. It is possible, however, that a route from the western fron¬ 
tier of Missouri and Iowa may be found, which, passing through the Black Hills and one of these 
good passes, will more readily reach the valley of the Columbia and the waters of the. sound 
than by the South Pass. 
Assuming Council Bluffs as the point of departure of such a route, the distances will be re¬ 
spectively to Seattle, by the Columbia river and the Snoqualme Pass, as follows: 
Black Hill and Northern Pass. South Pass. 
Council Bluffs to Seattle, by the Snoqualme Pass. 1,997 miles __2,128 miles. 
“ “ by the Columbia river. 2,183 “ __ 2,283 “ 
This examination is an important one, especially if the South Pass prove a difficult and almost 
an impracticable line. A comparison of the profile of the northern route, and that by the South 
Pass, establishes the superiority of the former, not only in the lower elevation of the range 
itself, but of a large space of country adjacent thereto. The information furnished by the surveys 
of Colonel Fremont and Captain Stansbury makes it probable that the Great Salt Lake valley 
must be a point of any route to the Columbia river, through the general region of the South Pass, 
and that it can but be reached by the river Timpanogos, which flows into Lake Utah, at a point 
about fifty miles south of the Great Salt lake. 
The Golden Pass, a pass a few miles to the north, and the Weber river, still farther north, will 
probably afford practicable passes. It is possible that the valley of the Bear river, as far as Soda 
springs, (where, from flowing in a direction a little to the west of north, the river turns suddenly 
to the south,) and thence to Snake river, in the general direction of Fort Hall, would afford a 
feasible route. The elevation of Soda springs is 5,738 feet above the sea; that of Fort Hall 
4,700 feet; the distance is about fifty miles, and an intermediate range, probably at least 500 
feet high, would have to be crossed. From the height of the summit, on the direct line to Fort 
Hall from the Great Salt lake, about 6,400 feet above the sea, a route in this general direction 
would be difficult. It will require thorough examinations in subsequent surveys, and is alluded 
to in this connexion in explanation of my adopting the Great Salt Lake valley as a point of the 
route. The river Timpanogos is adopted as the best entrance into the valley. 
The importance, however, of the Great Salt Lake settlement as a point in the communication 
across the continent cannot be over-estimated, and the feasibility of routes through that region 
both to San Francisco and Puget sound should be ascertained by actual examination. 
Before proceeding to the plan of construction, and other matters of a general character, I will 
endeavor to show that no obstructions need be apprehended from snow, and at a subsequent part 
of my report I will allude to the governmental measures required to guard against the hostilities 
of the Indian tribes. 
