DISTANCES.
That this line is the natural highway of the continent is evident from other considerations. The distances between the centres of trade and San Francisco, and with Puget Sound, will appear from the following tabular statement:—
Approximate Distances.
| to San Francisco | to Puget Sound | Difference | |
| Chicago | 2,448 miles[P] | 1,906 miles | 542 miles |
| St. Louis | 2,345 " | 1,981 " | 364 " |
| Cincinnati | 2,685 " | 2,200 " | 486 " |
| New York | 3,417 " | 2,892 " | 525 " |
| Boston | 3,484 " | 2,942 " | 542 " |
The line to Puget Sound will require no tunnel in the pass of the Rocky Mountains. The approaches of the Big Hole and Deer Lodge in both directions are eminently feasible, requiring little rock excavation, and with no grades exceeding eighty feet per mile.
All of the places east of the latitude of Chicago, and north of the Ohio River, are from three hundred to five hundred and fifty miles nearer the Pacific at Puget Sound than at San Francisco,—due to greater directness of the route and the shortening of longitude. These on both lines are the approximate distances. The distance from Puget Sound to St. Louis is estimated—via Desmoines—on the supposition that the time will come when that line of railway will extend north far enough to intersect with the North Pacific.