The emigrants' guide to California : containing every point of information for the emigrant -- including routes, distances, water, grass, timber, crossing of rivers, passes, altitudes, with a large map of routes, and profile of country, &c., with full directions for testing and assaying gold and other ores

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~ · 8 · tier; or, by land, across the States of Illinois and Iowa, to Independence, or St. Joseph. The best place to cross the Mississippi is at Rock Island, or Davenport. The expenses on the route from New York to St. Louis, are nearly as follows: To Albany, fare one dollar; to Buf­falo, by canal, five dollars : by railroad, nine dollars ; from Buffalo to Chicago, steerage, six dollars : cabin twelve dollars ; from Chicage to Peru, two dollars and fifty cents; from J>eru to St. Louis, i.n cabin, five dollars: on deck, three dollars. From St. Louis to Independence, or St. Joseph, distant 450 miles, in cabin, six dollari : on deck four dollars­the various prices along the route will be much reduced if opposition existSJ. If the navigation of the upper lakes has not commenced for the season, at the time you reach Buffalo, your course will then be to take the boat to Sandusky, and the Ohio river to St. Louis; or take the Detroit boats, and cross Michigan on the Central railroad to Michigan City; from there to Chicago, 40 miles, you take the mail steamer. The· time required to travel from Buffalo to Independence, is about as follows: 'fo Chicago by the lakes, 1200 miles, four days : by Central railroad, three days; to Peru, 100 miles, by ca­nal, twenty-four hours; from Peru to St. Louis, 300 miles, two days; from St. Louis to Independence, 400. miles, three days and a half; to St. Joseph, 50 miles; 6 hours-total distance 2,051 miles-total time from Buf­falo to St. Joseph, including lost time, eleven days. By · referring to the Diagram of routes through the western States, subjoined, each individual can readily discover the shortest route to the frontier. The rivers, when they can-be used are the most rapid and 1. n some respects the cheapest ro' ute, as the roads at tbe time of your leaving home, will be almost i;fnpassa- 9 ble. From Cincinnati to St. Louis, the charge for caLin pa~sage is seven dollars : on deck, four dollars. Recol­lect again, you had better sell all your wagons aild teams at home, unless you get a wagon made for the purpose ; in that case, take it apart and carry it with you on the steamboat. If steamboats are generally adopted as the mode,of conveyance, the Emigrant from the neighbor­hood of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers; and Lakes, need not leave holne before the lOt'h of April; they can easily reach the l{ansas by the 20th of April. Those leaving the mouth of the l{ansas by the 1st of May, in our opin .. ion, will have the best time of it; the road will then be well settled. We will leave you t'J choose your own starting point, simply stating that Westport, Independence and St. J o­seph have facilities peculiar in the1nselves, for the outfit .. ing of the Emigrant-every requisite for comfort or lux ... ury on the road, can be obtained at either of those plac~s, on nearly as low terms as at St. Louis. You would do well if you are crossing from the Missisippi, through southern Iowa, or Northern Missouri, to get such ar­ticles as flour, bacon, &c.,-they will undoubtedly be cheaper on the road through to the Missouri, than when you reach the frontier,-as appearances at present would warrant us in asserting that more persons will congregate at these points · during the coming, and suc­ceeding springs, than the wisest foresight can make~sulta .. ble provisions for. Your teams should be either oxen or mules. If oxen, they should not be over six years old, and not too large; the greatest difficulty may arise here­after, unl~ss you are careful at the start. Your time for starting from home should be arranged so as to be on the frontier by the 20th April. Your travelling parties should not be too large, not more that fifty men. Do not