40 
REVIEW OF THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN ROUTES. 
completed, they are of about equal length. The crossing of the Mississippi is already accom¬ 
plished upon at least one line, extending towards Chicago upon the southern, while upon the 
■ northern it is yet to he completed. The crossing of the Missouri is yet to he attempted on the 
southern, while on the northern it is wholly avoided. On the northern, the crossings of the 
Marais, Sun, and Teton rivers, which are problems in engineering, are (as combined) more dif¬ 
ficult than the bridging of the Missouri. The crossings of these rivers cannot he avoided by 
a preliminary line, and occur on the northern route before reaching the mountains. That of 
the Missouri river need not he attempted by the preliminary road at all. If the line of detour 
of the northern route, by Little Falls, is adopted—which will necessarily occur from the great 
needs of construction on the inland sections regarding timber—a quite elaborate process of build¬ 
ing must take place ere the extension of a preliminary road can occur. From Little Falls to 
the plateau Bois des Sioux, the country “is broken and springy, needing a large increase of 
culvert masonry and ballasting throughout.” Thence, after reaching the Great Cheyenne river 
of the north, the fine country of northwestern Minnesota is of broken and undulating surface, 
over which a constant reduction of minor summits must inevitably occur: The erection of 
masonry must take place, and excavations and embankments of equalized work he used in 
reducing a rolling country to practicable gradients. The substratum of this grand section, 
against which the waters of the Missouri are thrown, and turned hack or directed toward the 
south, is of gravel and clay admixture partaking of the nature of hard-pan. It is costly of 
reduction, and, when placed in road-bed, must he ballasted. The need of ballasting is impera¬ 
tive in making use of the rail over such material, when exposed to the action of severe frosts 
and sudden changes of temperature. In contradistinction, the southern route traverses a gravel 
plain, upon which the rail can he placed without any tedious operations.. By the use of prac¬ 
ticable curvatures to avoid minor obstacles, which a locomotive engine cannot readily accom¬ 
plish, loaded trains can probably pass to the broad surface west of the mountains. They can 
certainly pass, with very slight reduction, directly to the mountains, and, as over the main 
stem of both the California and Oregon routes, aid the construction of both lines west without 
delay. The obstructions to the navigation of the Missouri will not practicably prevent water 
transportation to Westport, or to the mouth of the Platte, for the southern line, hut during 
eight months in the year will interfere with building the northern by water carriage. 
The difference in the cost of constructing two first-class lines of the present day over these 
routes—say of two thousand (2,000) miles each—would not probably range less than twenty-five 
millions (25,000,000) of dollars in favor of the southern. It lies chiefly in the difference of 
moving the loose gravel and sand of the southern road, which, at eastern prices, can he readily 
accomplished (including hauling) at fifteen (15) cents per cubic yard, and of moving the harder 
material, with an admixture of clay and large pebbles, in some instances verging on hard-pan, 
and in all instances so closely packed as to require picking, of the northern route. The latter 
class of excavation is worth, at eastern prices, twenty-five (25) cents per cubic yard, and also 
requires the large additional cost of transporting clean gravel and sand very long distances for 
ballasting, or for the formation of a road-bed. 
The difference also consists in the amount of excavation. In the one instance, the line being 
confined to elevated plateaux, where an excellent quality of loose, clear gravel, thrown in from 
side-ditches, and dressed two (2) feet above the surrounding surface, is sufficient for the rail; 
in the other, a's passing over the before-mentioned undulating or broken surface, requiring 
continued cart-work and culvert masonry at long haul. Some of the best portions of the 
northern line (through Milk-river valley, for instance) extend over a level river bottom; hut 
the road is prevented using such advantages by reason of spring freshets, which cause the ne¬ 
cessity of more than double the amount of work to elevate the grade far above the surrounding 
surface. 
In the mountain sections the difference is extreme ; the severe work on the southern route 
being confined to a limited section, and upon the northern extending through nearly imprac- 
