THE MILWAUKEE AND MISSISSIPPI RAILROAD COMPANY. This pioneer railroad of Wisconsin is fully completed to Prairie du Chien, its terminus on the Mississippi river, and is not only one of the most prosperous, but one of the best conducted roads in the State. An immense amount of freight and travel pass over it, which formerly were carried over the Illinois roads to the river. We annex extracts from the Report of its Superintendent. It is with great satisfaction that I can state to the public generally, that our road, with all its connections and arrangements for business from New York to St. Paul, is in complete order, and ready for the earliest opening of navigation. "In the first place, the road terminates on the Mississippi river, about seventy miles above any other. Now, if we consider Chicago as the starting-point, we can take a passenger thence over the Chicago and St. Paul Railroad to Janesville, and thence over one hundred and thirty miles of our road to Prairie du Chien, from eight to ten hours in advance of the route via Dunleith, which advantage is sufficient, in my judgment, to give at least one hundred and thirty miles of our road the great bulk of travel to Northern Iowa, Minnesota, St. Paul, and the Upper Mississippi country. Then, if we start at Milwaukee, we shall find our road has connection with Chicago, via Lake Shore Railroad, and is, in the course of next year, to have a connection across Lake Michigan to Grand Haven, which is directly east of Milwaukee; and thence with the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, with the New York Central and Erie Railroads, and with the Grand Canada Trunk Railroad, extending to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These routes, for at least nine months of the year, are the shortest, cheapest and quickest, from the principal Eastern cities and from New England, through the Grand Trunk Railroad, through Milwaukee, and over the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, to the great Northwest. "From the two connections above mentioned, the Milwaukee and Mississippi Road is to receive an amount of through business which will have scarcely a parallel in the West, and which, added to our already large local business, must fully establish the position I started with, that the M. and M. Railroad would be the best paying road west of Lake Michigan." Lines of steamers are daily running in connection with this railroad at Prairie du Chien, and the Company is rapidly controlling the great bulk of the freight and passenger traffic between the Upper Mississippi and the East. As an evidence of the remarkable increase of business, we will give the number of arrivals at St. Paul for the last seven years. During the year 1856, 172,052 passengers were transported over this road, without the slightest injury to any one, except a lady, who had her shoulder injured by the breaking of an axle, which threw the car in which she was sitting at the time off the track. The amount of freight moved over the road, for the past year, was: Tonnage going east, 62,216; tonnage going west, 90,361; total, 153,577. The aggregate amount of earnings, for the same period, was $680,472 48. A dividend of ten per cent. cash was paid in 1856. THE DETROIT AND MILWAUKEE RAILROAD. The line of this railroad is drawn from Grand Haven, in the State of Michigan, and directly opposite Milwaukee, to Detroit, at the foot of Lake St. Clair, and at the terminus of the Canada and Great Western Railway; branching from it at Owasso or Flint, directly east to Port Larnia, the terminus of the Grand Trunk Railway from Montreal, Toronto, and London, in Canada-making an air line from Milwaukee to the starting-point of the three great Atlantic roads the Grand Trunk, the New York Central, and the New York and Erie. As the shortest possible connecting link between the termini of the diverging roads from Milwaukee to the different points of the great Northwest, it is justly considered one of the most important to the State of any of the roads outside of its limits. The annexed table of distances and passenger fares by different routes, will show the advantages of this route, in point of economy and expedition, over all other means of communication between the Eastern States and the principal points of importance in the Northwest. Table of Distances, &c. FROM NEW YORK TO BY WHAT ROUTE. MILES. AMT. TIME. Milwaukee, via Detroit and Milwaukee Railway............... "Michigan Central Railroad... 66 66 "Buffalo and Michigan Southern Railroad.. "N. York and Erie and Michigan Southern "Penn. Central and Detroit and Milwaukee Prairie La Crosse, via Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad....... "N. York and Erie and Mich. Southern St. Paul, via Detroit and Milwaukee Railway.... 66 66 66 N. Y. and Erie and Mich. Southern Railroad The business prospects of the Detroit and Milwaukee Road are very flattering. They have carried over their line, in the last six months, over 129,000 local passengers, and their receipts have, in the same time, amounted to $143,342. At this rate they will have, per annum, for local traffic, over $680,000. A few years will make a vast increase of their business, both local and through. This Company lately received from Government over one hundred thousand acres of land, which ought to produce at least one million of dollars. THE MILWAUKEE AND HORICON RAILROAD. This road runs from Milwaukee northwest (N. 45° W.) to the City of Superior, 325 miles, passing through, on its route, Horicon, Waupum, Ripon, Berlin, and Stevens' Point, and the whole line presents no material deviation from an air line. It is proper to remark here, that the charter of the, La Crosse Road and the Milwaukee and Horicon, occupies the same ground between Milwaukee and Horicon, 51 miles, and an arrangement was made between these companies, under a contract running twenty years from the time of opening the Milwaukee and Horicon Road beyond Horicon. This road is now finished to Berlin, 92 miles from Milwaukee, and is being hurried forward without delay. It connects, at this point, with the Valley Road, already built to Fond du Lac, and at Ripon with the Winnebago, extending to Oshkosh, and the Ripon and Wolf River Road, besides other important connections, building by separate companies. It will be perceived that the Milwaukee and Horicon Railroad occupies the position of a grand trunk line, extending diagonally through the middle of the State from the southeast to the northwest. At the City of Superior, it will connect with the contemplated Northern Pacific Railroad, and will form the air line from it to Milwaukee. The total amount of tonnage passing over this road, for ten months of 1856, was 25,655, and 27,400 passengers. This is a very encouraging prospect, when it is considered that but 17,8 miles were in operation for this period. 84 100 GREEN BAY, MILWAUKEE, AND CHICAGO RAILROAD. This Company was organized in 1852, and the road completed between Milwaukee and Chicago in 1855. It runs along the Lake Shore from Milwaukee to the State line, a distance of 40 miles, connecting there with the Chicago road. It is commonly called the Wisconsin Lake Shore Road, and during the close of navigation (about three months every year), it is the only means of connection, for passengers and freight business, with the great Eastern and Southern routes, and must prove one of the best roads in the United States. As a passenger road, it is one of the best in the West-running its trains with great regularity and precision during all seasons of the year. It was only in operation seven months of the year 1855, and therefore the comparative business is only given for that period for the two past years. MILWAUKEE AND BELOIT RAILROAD. This road leads from Milwaukee, in a southwesterly direction, to Elkhorn and Delavan, a distance of 49 miles, where it will shortly intersect with the Racine and Missis |