66 8° KANSAS AND THE COUNTRY. BEYOND. =. An intelligent gentleman of close and accurate powers of observa- tion, who, in the summer of 1859, travelled leisurely across the ; conti. nent ‘to California, furnished. the author with an ‘extended and mi-« ~- nutely graphic description of the: country.over which he trayelledui_. - t0 wit, the valley ‘of the: Platte, the mountains north of Denver, the ‘ basin of Utah north of Salt Lake, the valley of the Humboldt, and, thence to ‘the Sierra’ Nevada--very nesrly the route.of the Union Pacific Railway of the Platte, and that of the Central; Pacific , Rail. vi road from Sacramento to Salt Lake.: Upon reaching the eastern base of the’ Sierra Nevada range, under the head. of .* General Remarks | upon the region traversed, ” he said > sgdsdSi 1 pai teat x wa, A NUry ©The country passed over from “Bort Laramie to this place i is ‘good for nothing, unless I except Bear River Valley; and that is said to be too’ cold for agricultural purposes.» Certainly it is good for nothing - else.::; With the: exception of that about Bear River, the land is en- i erally poor and. rocky..;..The, low bottoms on the, head of the Hum: boldt are rich;. but, ihere, we had ice before the ‘middle of August; ~ and from that down it is ‘too dry, even’ if it would. otherwise do. Then. there is no‘ timber, except a little on the main’ range of the Rocky Mountains,'till we come to: Bear: River, and none from. that, except: few: scrubby: cedars, until we come, to the; Sierra Nevada * mountains. };The, Indians live,on.it, but, how. no one. knows. :And — then nine-tenths of this extensive region are mountains. . - fo. not believe that, it will ever be anything but: what it now is.” Ibi is manifest. that 2 ‘road through. ‘such Ey region must ‘be ‘aatnly dependent upon its through business for its revenue. .Yet the enter- prise is a good one; for by no other can the Black Hill country, Southern Dacotah, ‘thé ‘great Salt Lake valley, and the head of Lewis . river, which runs; ‘through the best part of Idaho, bé reached. But — « whether it is, destined. ever to be a safe and, ‘reliable route to Califor- nia remains to ‘be. seen... How its, managers are to cope ’ with the ‘tre- mendous. difficulties, sopographical and climatic, towards. which. they are driving with unprecedented, speed, ‘and with’ a boldness which, in 4 A e yet solved. Jeon gait missile ned ‘htt trcitclen iid a “y oe on ' Since’ the managers of the: Union. Pacific. “Railay. of the ‘Kansas, . with a forecast eminently wisé and prudent, have resolved to seek the shores of the Pacific by a, more southern line, strictly speaking, there © / ds no: Jonger. any rivalry; or ‘competition. between’ these. two. great _ national ‘enterprises. :- » Hach , will develop the region through which . . It passes, be its natura] value what it may;'and both may reach the © : bay of San Francisco, one approaching it from the northeast, through _ Northern California, ‘the other from the southeast, through Southern B® Sra,