past eleven years to my knowledge) an abundance of grass, water, and wood for all practicable purposes has abounded. It has the best passes through the mountains, and it is by far the best natural road from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast. The telegraph, mail, and express lines are on this route and most of the emigration passes over it. From March 1 to August 10 of this year three passed Fort Kearny on this route going west 9,386 teams and 11,885 persons, which conveys some idea of the vast amount of trade, travel, and capital that is flowing to the great mineral regions of Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Idaho. In going via this route west from Denver choice can be taken of the new route through Berthoud Pass and via White River and Uintah Valley, surveyed and explored the past summer by Lieutenant-Colonel Johns and party, and which is now being opened. The Platte routes are marked B B on map. The third route, and the one just established, which possesses many advantages to the travel south of Iowa and Nebraska, is the one leading from Atchison, Leavenworth, Kansas City, &c., up the Kansas River to Fort Riley; thence via Fort Ellsworth along the Smoky Hill to its source; thence crossing to the Big Sandy, and leading to Denver, where it connects with all the other routes diverging from that center. The distance from the Missouri River to Denver by this route is about 600 miles. It is a very good natural road, with no obstacles to overcome, except from Big Creek, on the Smoky Hill, to Beaver Creek, which flows into the Platte. There is no running water portions of the year. The road as now laid, however, obviates this trouble by striking numerous springs, and by wells being sunk so that water on the distance named can be obtained every eight or fifteen miles. The balance of the route is well supplied with water. The entire route is well supplied with grass, and innumerable herds of buffaloes, and an abundance of other game roam along it for hundreds of miles. Butterfield's overland dispatch, stage, express, and freight line has lately been established on this route, which is opening it up permanently and effectually. This route is marked C C on map.

The fourth and last great route is the Arkansas River route, which either follows the Smoky Hill route to Fort Ellsworth, and strikes from thence across to the Arkansas River, or otherwise keeps farther south, striking the upper road at Fort Zarah, and leading from thence via Forts Larned, Lyon, and Union to New Mexico. This route follows a stream which, like the Platte, rises in the Rocky Mountains, and is abundantly supplied with water and grass, and for all practical purposes of travel is supplied with wood, except for a distance of perhaps 250 miles. Over this route passes all the trade of and travel to and from New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of North Mexico and Texas, marked on map D D. The great difficulty of making road to connect these overland routes from north to south between the 100th parallel of longitude and the base of the mountains is the fact that as soon as you leave the great streams you lose running water. The secondary streams that rise in the divides instead of the mountains-for instance, the White Earth, Cheyenne, and a portion of the Republican and Smoky Hill-are from 100 to 200 miles of their length from their head destitute of running water during the summer and fall months. Occasional springs and water holes or lakes, to be sure, can be found, but to make roads follow these would take them from their proper direction and add greatly to their distance and often to their grades. In view of these facts, and of the peculiar advantages for travel to particular destinations attached to each of these great routes, I hold that in any and all