Note 2 — Chapter I · Why I went to Great Salt Lake City.—The various Routes.—The Line of Country traversed.—Diaries and Disquisitions.
Reading edition
The following table shows the lengths, comparative costs, etc., of the several routes explored for a railroad from the Mississippi to the Pacific, as extracted from the Speech of the Hon. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, on the Pacific Railway Bill in the United States Senate, January, 1859, and quoted by the Hon. Sylvester Maury in the “Geography and Resources of Arizona and Sonora.”
Routes. Distance by proposed railroad route. Sum of ascents and descents. Comparative cost of different routes. No. of miles of route through arable lands. No. of miles of route through land generally uncultivable, arable soil being found in small areas. Altitude above the sea of the highest point on the route.
Miles. Feet. Dollars. Feet.
Route near forty-seventh and forty-ninth parallels, from St. Paul to Seattle 1955 18,654 135,871,000 535 1490 6,044
Route near forty-seventh and forty-ninth parallels, from St. Paul to Vancouver 1800 17,645 425,781,000 374 1490 6,044
Route near forty-first and forty-second parallels, from Rock Island, viâ South Pass, to Benicia 2299 29,120 [3] 122,770,000 899 1400 8,373
Route near thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth parallels, from St. Louis, viâ Coo-che-to-pa and Tah-ee-chay-pah passes to San Francisco 2325 49,985 [4] Imprac- ticable. 865 1460 10,032
Route near thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth parallels, from St. Louis, viâ Coo-chee-to-pa and Madeline Passes, to Benicia 2535 56,514 [5] Imprac- ticable. 915 1620 10,032
Route near thirty-fifth parallel, from Memphis to San Francisco 2366 48,521 [4] 113,000,000 916 1450 7,550
Route near thirty-second parallel, from Memphis to San Pedro 2090 48,862 [4] 99,000,000 690 1400 7,550
Route near thirty-second parallel, near Gaines’ Landing, to San Francisco by coast route 2174 38,200 [6] 94,000,000 984 1190 5,717
Route near thirty-second parallel, from Gaines’ Landing to San Pedro 1748 30,181 [6] 72,000,000 558 1190 5,717
Route near thirty-second parallel, from Gaines’ Landing to San Diego 1683 33,454 [6] 72,000,000 524 1159 5,717
[3] The ascents and descents between Rock Island and Council Bluffs are not known, and therefore not included in this sum.
[4] The ascents and descents between St. Louis and Westport are not known, and therefore not included in this sum.
[5] The ascents and descents between Memphis and Fort Smith are not known, and therefore not included in this sum.
[6] The ascents and descents between Gaines’ Landing and Fulton are not known, and therefore not included in this sum.