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Show 56 RECONNAISSANCE IN THE UTE COUNTRY. ROUTES TO THE UTE COUNTRY. It being deemed advisable to insert at this point a general view of routes examined, and also of all roates of which information has been gained in any reliable manner, the following brief description is believed to be reliable, and certainly is entirely unbiased by any other consideration than the desire to carry out the object of the expedition, namely, clear and truthful description. San Juan mining- district.- In view of the importance of the mining interests recently developed in this district, the subject of communication is of great importance. In the district, opinion is divided,* many favoring the opening of a road from Pagosa via the old Spanish trail to its crossing of the Animas River, and thence up the valley of that river by the trail by which we descended from Baker's Park. The weight of opinion, however, among those best qualified to judge, seemed to be in favor of a wagon- road being constructed from Del Norte up the valley of the Rio Grande, cross-ing the main range by the Cunningham Pass. Although generally admitted that as favorable a grade could not be had by this route, it is nevertheless possible to build a road practicable for wagons with light loads, and with a fair probability of the work being completed in a short time and at reasonable cost. This is certainly the shortest route and makes more direct communication with preseut outlets, which may be summed up as the Denver and Rio Grande, Atchison, Topeka and Santa \ F6, and Kansas Pacific Railroads; the total distance to Puebla, the present terminus of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, via Del Norte and the Sangre de Cristo Pass, being 226 miles; while by way of the Lower Animas and old Spanish trail via Pagosa and the Sangre de Cristo the distance is not much less than 300 miles. Many of the miners in this region are speculating on the probability of a railroad being constructed across the mountains in or near Southern Colorado, and should a practicable route be found into the San Luis Valley, a great many mountain- men assert that even an extension westward is possible near or south of the old Spanish trail. However this may be, I am certain that no railroad company which meant to pay dividends would ever do more than send one scout into the terrible country around Baker's Park unless to build a branch road for mineral traffic up the valley of the Animas, and this would have to be constructed with very heavy grades. From the country seen on our two expeditions I have no hesitation in asserting that a practicable east and west railroad- route is not to be found in this region between Grand River, latitude 38° 30' and 37°. Since our return the wagon- road up the Rio Grande has been constructed as far as Antelope Park, with favorable prospects of a speedy completion across the pass into Baker's Park, the territorial legislature having granted the privilege of collecting tolls to the company formed by the miners of this region. Passes across the Uncompahgre Mountains from the Rio Grande to Lake Fork and its tributaries.- The only two passes of which I have any knowledge are the pa? s at the head of Clear Creek, to the Lake Fork of Grand River, and a pass seen from this, which appears to be at the head of a branch of Clear Creek, ( the one first crossed after leaving Camp 42 on Lake Mary,) and a stream on the western slope, which I suppose to be the head of the stream we named " Soda Creek." The first of these is described elsewhere in the report of our journey across it. The other one, which I shall name the East Pass, is described by a miner, who for a time acted as our guide, as a very low and easy pass on both sides of the mountains, with the exception of a short dis- |