Railroad Surveys Research Articles

Isaac Stevens: Practical Geographer of the Early Northwest

As THE first governor of Washington Territory, Isaac Ingalls Stevens left a vivid and controversial mark on the events of his time and region. His efforts toward the establishment of territorial government, the settlement of serious Indian problems, and the promotion of the general interests of his Territory have given him a secure place in Western history. An examination of his descriptions and evaluations of large areas of the Pacific Northwest, a result of his direction of one of the Pacific Railroad Surveys, suggests that he may deserve an equally secure place in the history of regional exploration. In the broadest view, all the innumerable adventurers who helped unroll the map and push forward the frontier of this country may be accorded a place in the history of American exploration. In practice, of coursc, the great explorers are singled out from the throng of their lesser contemporaries. Those who first penetrated into new country, the true trail blazers, are obviously deserving of prominent recognition, as are those whose journeys carried important political implications in the international strategy for continental control. On the other hand, the popular fame of certain explorers undoubtedly rests on the arduousness of their travels and the colorfulness of their adventures or on some fortuitous stroke of publicity at the time rather than on any objective evaluation of historical importance. None of the common criteria of distinction will adequately serve the purposes of the student concerned with the nature of the land itself, a study that is a necessary corollary of the history of settlement and agricultural development. Here merit must be assessed according to the geographical knowledge contributed by the reports of the explorers and surveyors. The Pacific Railroad Surveys provide an illustration in point. These Explorations and Surveys, To Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean,'

Lincoln Ellsworth, 1880-1951

Lincoln Ellsworth, a pioneer in arctic and antarctic exploration by air, and first to fly completely across both polar regions, died on 26 May 1951 following a heart attack. He was in his 72nd year. A restless desire to see new lands, cross new seas, and to expand earth's frontiers was the expressed motive in all that Ellsworth did. Born of wealthy parents, he decided early in life to devote himself to exploration, and gave up a life of leisure to fit himself to lead expeditions by aircraft, ship, canoe, submarine, dirigible, and on foot to Alaska, the Canadian Northwest, the Andes, and both polar regions. His expeditions were not mere stunts for fortune or self glory, but, in spite of the quiet way in which he organized them, they were often spectacular and in total added much to geographical science and to the record of courageous leadership. After brief periods at Yale, Columbia, and McGill universities, Ellsworth left college to become an axman on the first Canadian transcontinental railroad survey. Later he was a prospector and mining engineer in Alaska and the Canadian Subarctic. Going to France as a volunteer in the First World War, he qualified as a flier only to have his service curtailed by pulmonary illness. In 1924 he led a geological expedition across the Andes from the Pacific to the headwaters of the Amazon. In 1925, with Amundsen and Riiser-Larsen he attempted a North Pole flight from Spitsbergen, but was forced back after one of the two aircraft was lost. On the return Amundsen stated that Ellsworth with almost incredible hardihood and personal risk had saved the lives of the entire expedition. In 1927, with Amundsen and Nobile, Ellsworth flew across the North Pole in the dirigible Norge. In 1931, as representative of the American Geographical Society, he flew in the Graf Zeppelin on its arctic flight. For a time he supported Sir Hubert Wilkins' early attempts in the field of arctic submarine exploration. Although the submarine venture was unsuccessful, the association of these two explorers, when directed to the Antarctic, brought geographical results of the highest order. From 1933 to 1939, Ellsworth made numerous flights with Balchen, Hollick-Kenyon, and Lymburner in which he discovered nearly 400,000 square miles of the Antarctic Continent. His books include: 'The last wild buffalo hunt', 'Our polar flight', 'Search', and 'Beyond horizons'. He collaborated with Amundsen in 'The first crossing of the Polar Sea'. Although awarded high honours by his own and foreign governments and by scientific and exploring groups, Lincoln Ellsworth remained a sincerely modest man, quick to seek and act on the counsel of his expeditionary associates, whom he chose with care, but yielding to no one his unequalled leadership in courage and determination.

The Pacific Railroad Survey in California July - December, 1853

The Pacific Railroad Survey in California July - December, 1853

Ornithologists of the United States Army Medical Corps

IN this volume Colonel Hume has collected a great deal of interesting biographical information on thirty-six members of the United States Army Medical Corps, who at one time or another were connected with the study of birds. A few of the names are well known outside the United States, such as Charles Bendire, author of “Life Histories of American Birds”, Robert Shufeldt, a great student of bird anatomy and contributor to Newton's “Dictionary of Birds”, and Eliot Coues, a prolific writer and best known by his outstanding book “Key to North American Birds”. The majority, however, are only known to students of works on North American birds, since much of their work was done during the Pacific railroad surveys, and different boundary commissions.

Some Extensive Railroad Surveys, and Their Cost Per Mile

The following paper is not a theoretical discussion of railroad location. It is intended to give a general description of some extensive railroad surveys, a brief outline of methods and results, and the cost per mile. The writer does not remember having seen a similar statement covering so many miles, viz., 1 400 miles of preliminary lines and 600 miles of location; and therefore trusts the paper may prove of value. The surveys were completed some time ago, at which time the tables of mileage and cost were prepared, but not heretofore published.

Closure to Railroad Surveys

Closure to Railroad Surveys

The Rôle of Possible Eutectics in Rock Magmas

Composition of Igneous Rocks, Expressed by Means of Diagrams, by Professor Iddings, completes a trilogy of works, which will leave a permanent impression upon the nomenclature and progress of petrography. No one who has not done a little work of the sort can begin to conceive of the amount of labor employed in the comparatively small paper of less than one hundred pages which has just appeared. And even so, it is probable that vastly more in the way of experiment in trying to group the facts in different arrangements has been done, of which no trace remains. We see the finished railroad survey, and can form some conception of the engineering, but we cannot know how many lines may have been run through the dense forests before settling upon the final track.

A Novel Railroad Survey

I herewith present for the information and consideration of this Society, the features of what I shall term a “novel railroad survey,” which was conceived and executed under my management, over cer...

Discussion on a novel railroad survey

Discussion on a novel railroad survey