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Show 34 THE SHORTEST ROUTE TO CALIFORNIA. numerous sketches, and supported by reports on the geological, botanical, and meteorological character of the country traversed, from the most distinguished scientific men of the country, and giving information of a region over which it is believed no white man ever traveled before the expedition referred to; it is to be regretted that Congress has not yet ordered the report, as repeatedly recommended by the Engineer Depart-ment, to be published. Twice have the Committees on Printing in the Senate reported favorably as to the character of the report and expediency of its publication; but either from the expense, or some other cause, the results of the expedition, though costing the government at least sixty thousand dol-lars, are to be found only in the Bureau of Engineers at Washington; and thus the emigrants who make use of the road, and the Pacific Railroad Companies who have been constantly asking for it for their purposes, have been deprived of all the benefit of the explora-tions. It is to be hoped that some member of Con-gress who has an eye to the interests of the country at large, and who is not willing that all the cost and labor of the expedition referred to, over so interest-ing a section of country, should be lost, will yet ask for the publication of this report and have influence enough to get it ordered by Congress. Assuredly, the expense of printing the map, profiles, and text of the report would not be much; and this Congress should at least do, if it finds that to include the sketches would make the cost of the publication too great. Having said thus much with regard to the import- |