43-2Military AffairsMilitary Wagon Road in Wyoming and Montana. [1644] Would pass the Crow agency; transport of Indian supplies.1874-22

House of Representatives Executive Document No. 22, 43d Congress, 2nd Session (1874)

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43D CoNGRESS,} HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 2d Session. {Ex. Doc. No. 22. MILITARY WAGON-ROAD IN WYO:.\IING AND :l\IONTANA TERRITORIES. LETTER FRO:\f THE SECRETARY OF WAR, RELATIVE TO The bill (H. R. 2854) for the location and construction' of a milit((,ry tcagon-roail front Green River City, Wyo., to the Yellowstone National Park, and to Fort Ellis, J.l'Jont. DECEMBER 15, 1874.-Referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and ordere!l to l:Je printed. WAR DEPARTMENT, December 10, 1874. The Secretary of War has the honor to return to the Honse of H.ep-resentatives House hill 2854, "For the location and construction of a, military wagon-road from Green River City, Wyoming Territory, to the Yellowstone National Park, and to Fort Ellis, Montana Territor.v,7' and to transmit, for the information of the Committee o.n 1\filitary Affairs, as requested by the chairman of sai<l committee, under <late of June 9, 1874, letter of the Chief .of Engineers of the Army, dated June 16, 1874, and copy of report of Capt. W. A. Jones, Corps of Engineers, which fully sets forth the advantages to be derived from the construc-tion of said road. Under date or' November 28, Lieutenant-General Sheridan states : "In forwarding the report of Oapt. William A. Jones, Engineer Oorps, of his reconnaissance of the route referred to b.v the within papers from Green River City, Wyoming Territory~ or its vicinity, to Fort Ellis, l\lon-tana Territory, via the Yellowstone Park, under date of l\lay 10, 1814, I did not express myself as in favor of the projected road. Since that date I have had opportunity to make a personal exarniuation of the road through to Camp Brown, Wyoming Territor.v, which causes me to reconsider my former action; and I now return these papers with m,y approval, and recommend that the road, as proposed by the within House bill, introduced b.v the Hon. W. H. Steele,· of \Yyoming Terri-tory, be favorably cousidered by the honorable Secretar.v of vVar." Wl\1. W. BELKNAP, Secretary of TfTar. 2 1\IILIT.A.RY W.A.GON-RO.A.D. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Wash,ington, D. C., June 16, 1874. SIR: In compliance with reference to this office of bill No. 2854, introduced into the House of Representatives on the 6th instant by the Hon. Mr. Steele, for the location and construction of a military wagon-road from Green RiYer City, Wyo., to the Yellowstoue National Park and Fort Ellis, Mont., I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of a letter from Uaptain W. A. Jones, of the Corps of Engineers, in which the advantages which are expected to accrue from the construction of said road are fully set forth; and also beg leave to refer to my letter of the 13th instant, forwarding to you a copy of a report by Captain Jones of a recounais~ance of Northwestern Wyoming made in 1873. The letter from the Committee on l\tiilitary Affairs inclosing the bill is returned herewith. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Ron. WM. W. BELKNAP, Secretary of War. A. A. HUMPHREYS, Brig. Gen. and Chief of Engineers. W .A.SHINGTON, D. U., June 12, 1874. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date upon the subject of a proposed military wagon-road in Wy-oming. The road proposed by this bill is over the line discovered by me last year while making the reconnaissance of Northwestern Wyomiug. I consider it a perfectly practicable project, which can be attained at a reasonable expense. Tue road ·will leave the Union Pacific Railroad near Green River City, W~yo., at such a point (probably Point of Rocks) as will give the shortest distance from the railroad to the mouth of vVind River Valley. This Yalley is followed up to its bead, where there is a pass over which the grades are perfectly easy and practicable. It is probable that this pass '"ill be practicable for winter travel, as it lies in such position that the prevalent winds are intercepted by neighboring mountain-ranges, and cannot reach it with sufficient force to drive the snow into drifts that will be serious obstructions. It is the testimony of miners, freighters, and others in the territories, that winter roads can easily be maintained in the mountains, provided the snow does not drift badly. Whether this should prove t,rue or not, the proposed road would remain open as long as the present route via Corinne, and longer than the Missouri River route. From this pass the road will proceed northerly to Yellowstone Lake, following down its eastern shore, and thence down the Yellow-stone River, passing the Great Falls and along the crest of the Grand Calion, and by the Mammoth Hot Springs on Gardiner's River to Fort Ellis, Bozeman City, and the Crow Indian agency. .From here there are good roads to the principal cities and mining towns of Montana. The route traverses the Wind River Valley~ (avoiding the present mountain-road between Camp Stambaugh and Camp Brown,) where the soil is quite well adapted to agriculture and grazing, as has been proved by experience, and. the climate is exceptionally mild; the Teton Basin, a tl10roughly well-watered and well-timbered area of country, wllere the MILITARY V..TAGON-ROAD. 3 soil is quite rich, and rain falls with sufficient equability to render irriga-tion unnecessary probably; the Yellowstone National Park, passing all of its wonderful phenomena except the geyser basins, which can be reached by a short side road, and a stretch of country in Yellowstone Valley, north of the park, which is now cultivated with success. Gold, (in veins and diggings,) coal, coal-oil, iron, and gypsum occur in the Wind River country, :fine coal in the Teton Basin, and gold, (in veins and diggings,) lead, and silver in the Yellowstone region. It will thus be seen that this road will open up and develop a country of considerable and varied resource~::!. It will also furnish the shortest and a most agreeable route to the Y ellowstone National Park. The present approaches to Montana from the East are only two: viz: (1.) The Missouri River route, which involves wagon transportation from Fort Benton, or from Carroll, over a desolate country. This latter affords about the same wagon-road distance to Fort Ellis as the one from Fort Benton, and, should it prove available, will supersede it. (2.) The land-route via the Union and Central Pacific Railroads to Corinne, Utah, and thence to Montana by wagons. The road proposed by the bill is an improvement upon this, as will be seen from the following tables, and will thus bring the two main routes into a closer competition, giving the mining and agricultural in-terests of Montana an improved outlet and better competing lines of land and water travel, and affording all of the attendant advantages in the transaction of business, settlement of new country, and the ship-ment of .Army and Indian supplies. It is fraught with lasting benefit to the people of Montana and Northern Idaho, and will hasten the utiliza-tion of the Yellowstone National Park as a place of summer resort. Tables. Miles. ( Byrail: 1 Omaha to Corinne, Union Pacific Railroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .• . . . . . . . . . 1, 055 I. ~ Omaha to Point of Rocks, Union Pacific Railroad . . . . .• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . 805 I Distance saved by rail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 250 l ( Omaha to Yellowstone Lake, present route: I ~~-~ir;lo~!~;~~1~~~~~~~i~~~: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1, ~~~ I I Omah~~g~~f:t ro0t~~~~ks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • M~g~· Point of Rocks to Yellowstone Lake..................................... . ....... 289 Omaha to Yellowstone Lake ........................................................ . 1, 576 I Omaha to Yellowstone Lake......................................................... 1, 094 I Distance saved from Yellowstone Lake ............................................ . II. Omaha to Bozeman, Montana, present route : 1 ~:;::et~ocT~~f~!~~~ r~~--------~~~~ _-_- ::::~~ ~~---·~.- ~.-.-.-~.- .-.- .-.-.-~~: .- ~ .- .- .- ~ ~ .- .-::: ~~.-.-.-_- _-.-.-.-~~~: 1, ~~: I Omaha to { ~~~~!!~s } . ........................................................... -1, 458 Proposed route : Miles. I Omaha to Point of Rocks . ........................................................ 805 I Poi:~::·:::,~:~:~:!.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ...... 437 l, 242 482 t Distance saved to { ~~~~!~~s} .................. . .................................. . 216 4 MILITARY WAGON-ROAD. ( ~ Passenger rates, (railroad:) I Omaha to Corinne, Utah................................................................. $79 25 III.J Omaha to Point of Rocks, Wyoming ..... ...... ................. ......................... ~7 25 L Amount saved per man . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 00 ( .. Freight rates, (railroad:) I Omaha to Corinne, (third-class,) per ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $42 20 IV.< Omaha to Point of Rocks,(third-class,) per ton........................................... 32 20 l Amount saved per ton ...................•....................................... 10 00 *As the distance (wagon-road) is about the same in the two cases, the saving effected can very fairly be represented by the saving over 250 miles of railroad. To sum up: The proposed wagon-road saves 250 miles of railroad; 482 miles of distance to the Yellowstone National Park ; and 216 miles to Fort Ellis, Bozeman, and the principal cities of Montana, which is one of the most productiYe mining regions of the West; is the shortest and most practicaule road to the Yellowstoue National Park and Mon-tana; is heavily timbered through the belt of country where the heavy snows fall, indicating a probable winter route, while, at present, there is none; opens up a large tract (2,000,000 acres) of low-lying timber-land-a very important feature; will open to settlement the Wind River Valley, the Teton Basin, and the \~alley of the Upper Yellowstone; will hasten the attainment of the objects for which the Yellowstone Park was created by law; and will afford better competing lines of travel to the mining and other industries of Montana. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, The CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. United States Army, Washington, D. 0. W. A. JONES, Captain of Engineers. Forty-third Congress, First Session, H. R. 2854. In the House of Representat.ives, April 6, 1874. Read twice, referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, aud ordered to be printed. Mr. Steele, on leave, introduced the following bill: A BILL for the location ancl construction of a military wagon-road from Green River City, Wyoming Territory, to the Yellowstone National Park, and to Fort Ellis, Mon-tana Territory. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of Arnm·ica in Congress assemblecl, That there shall be locatell and constructed, under the direction of the Secretary of War, a military wagon-road from·Green River City, in the Terri-tory of Wyoming, or from such other point in said Territory as may be selected, to the Yellowstone Natiouttl Park, aud to Fort Ellis, in the Territory of Montana. And the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to expend, for the prosecution of Si1id work, any sum of money necessary therefor, not exceeding the sum of sixty thou'3and dollars; which said sum of money, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereuy appropri-atell for that purpose out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. 0 

Letter from the Secretary of War, relative to the bill (H.R. 2854) for the location and construction of a military wagonroad from Green River City, Wyo., to the Yellowstone National Park, and to Fort Ellis, Mont.

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Letter from the Secretary of War, relative to the bill (H.R. 2854) for the location and construction of a military wagonroad from Green River City, Wyo., to the Yellowstone National Park, and to Fort Ellis, Mont.

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