ADDITIONAL FACTS CONCERNING THE NATURAL FEATURES OF THE GREAT PLAINS; THEIR PRINCIPAL RIVERS AND VALLEYS; THEIR CLIMATE, ETC., ETC.

"BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES."

In my endeavors to place Buffalo Land before the public in its true light, I have felt a desire, as earnest as it is natural, that my readers should feel that the subject has been justly treated. The opinions of any one individual are liable to be formed too hastily, and the country which before one traveler stretches away bright and beautiful, may appear full of gloomy features to another, who views it under different circumstances. A late dinner and a sour stomach, before now, have had more to do with an unfavorable opinion concerning a new town or country than any actual demerits. No two pairs of spectacles have precisely the same power, and defects ofttimes exist in the glass, rather than the vision.

These considerations have been brought to my mind with especial force when, after giving an account of our own expedition, I have searched through the records of others. A portion of the descriptions which I have been able to find are the mature productions of travelers who, perched upon the top of a stage-coach, or snugly nestled inside, have undertaken to write a history of the country while rattling through it at the best rate of speed ever attained by the "Overland Mail." What the writers of this class lack in proper acquaintance with their subject they usually make up by an air of profoundness, and positiveness in expression, and the result has more than once been the foisting upon the public of a species of exaggeration and absurdity which Baron Munchausen himself could scarcely excel.

As a rather curious illustration of the numerous absurdities which have obtained currency concerning the plains, may be mentioned the statement published more than once during the winter of 1871-2, to the effect that the snow of that region is different in character from that which falls elsewhere. In support of this assumption, the fact is adduced that snow-plows sometimes have but little effect upon it, on account of its peculiar hardness, being pushed upon it, instead of through it. A little more careful examination, however, would have discovered that the snow itself is essentially similar to that which descends elsewhere, but that the wind which drives it into the "cuts" and ravines also carries with it a large amount of sand and surface dirt; and this, packing with the snow, causes the firmness in question.

The valuable surveys being made from time to time under the auspices of the Government, in charge of persons of experience and sagacity, are doing much to replace this superficial knowledge with a more correct comprehension of what the plains really are; and, altogether, we may well hope that the time is not far distant when this whole wonderful region will be as well understood as any portion of the national domain.As the object of this work is to place before its readers all the essential information now obtainable concerning the great plains, no apology will be necessary for adding some of the observations and opinions of other competent writers upon the same subject. By far the most valuable source which I have found to draw from in this connection, is the comprehensive report published by Government, and bearing the title of "United States Geological Survey of Wyoming and Contiguous Territory, 1870. Hayden."

THE GREAT WEST.

Prof. Thomas informs us, in his report (embodied in Hayden's survey), that, lying east of the divide, "the broad belt of country situated between the 99th and 104th meridians, and reaching from the Big Horn Mountains on the north to the Llano Estacado on the south, contains one hundred and fifty thousand square miles. If but one-fifth of it could be brought under culture and made productive, this alone, when fully improved, would add $400,000,000 to the aggregate value of the lands of the nation. And, taking the lowest estimate of the cash value of the crops of 1869 per acre, it would give an addition of more than $200,000,000 per annum to the aggregate value of our products.

"One single view from a slightly elevated point often embraces a territory equal to one of the smaller States, taking in at one sweep millions of acres. Eastern Colorado and Eastern Wyoming each contains as much land sufficiently level for cultivation as the entire cultivated area of Egypt."

FALL OF THE RIVERS.

The fall of the principal rivers traversing the region above named is about as follows: Arkansas, to the 99th meridian, eleven to fifteen feet to the mile; the Canadian, the same; the South Platte, from Denver to North Platte, ten feet to the mile; the North Platte, to Fort Fetterman, seven feet to the mile. The descent of the country from Denver Junction to Fort Hays is nine feet to the mile. Thus it will be seen that abundant fall is obtainable to irrigate all the lands adjacent.

THE PRINCIPAL RIVERS AND VALLEYS OF BUFFALO LAND.

The Platte (or Nebraska), the Solomon, the Smoky Hill, and the Arkansas, are the four largest rivers of Buffalo Land proper, and form natural avenues to the eastward from the mountains which shut it in upon the west.

THE VALLEY OF THE PLATTE.

Describing this, Hayden says: "West of the mouth of the Elk Horn River, the valley of the Platte expands widely. The hills on either side are quite low, rounded, and clothed with a thick carpet of grass. But we shall look in vain for any large natural groves of forest trees, there being only a very narrow fringe of willows or cottonwoods along the little streams. The Elk Horn rises far to the north-west in the prairie near the Niobrara, and flows for a distance of nearly two hundred miles through some of the most fertile and beautiful lands in Nebraska. Each of its more important branches, as Maple, Pebble, and Logan Creeks, has carved out for itself broad, finely-rounded valleys, so that every acre may be brought under the highest state of cultivation.

"The great need here will be timber for fuel and other economical purposes, and also rock material for building. Still the resources of this region are so vast that the enterprising settler will devise plans to remedy all these deficiencies. He will plant trees, and thus raise his own forests and improve his lands in accordance with his wants and necessities.

"These valleys have always been the favorite places of abode for numerous tribes of Indians from time immemorial, and the sites of their old villages are still to be seen in many localities. The buffalo, deer, elk, antelope, and other kinds of wild game, swarmed here in the greatest numbers, and, as they recede farther to the westward into the more arid and barren plains beyond the reach of civilization, the wild nomadic Indian is obliged to follow. One may travel for days in this region and not find a stone large enough to toss at a bird, and very seldom a bush sufficient in size to furnish a cane."

THE SOLOMON AND SMOKY HILL RIVERS.

The Solomon and Smoky Hill Rivers, while possessing some of the general characteristics of the Platte, have more timber, and the entire surrounding country is uniformly rolling. The Smoky Hill is a visible stream only after reaching the vicinity of Pond Creek, near Fort Wallace. Above that point a desolate bed of sand hides the water flowing beneath. We have spoken fully of these sections elsewhere.

THE ARKANSAS RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.

The Arkansas, passing through the southern portion of the plains, has wide, rich bottoms, with a more sandy soil than is found on the streams north. Its small tributaries have considerable timber. All these valleys are being settled rapidly.

Again consulting Prof. Thomas' report, we find that "the Arkansas River, rising a little north-west of South Park, runs south-east to Poncho Pass, where, turning a little more toward the east, it passes through a canyon for about forty miles, emerging upon the open country at Canyon City. From this point to the Eastern boundary of the Territory it runs almost directly east.

"The mountain valley has an elevation of between seven and eight thousand feet above the sea, while that of the plain country lying east of the range varies from six thousand near the base of the mountains to about three thousand five hundred feet at the eastern boundary of the Territory. From Denver to Fort Hays, a distance of three hundred and forty-seven miles, the fall is three thousand two hundred and seven feet, or a little over nine feet to the mile.

"The Arkansas River, from the mouth of the Apishpa to the mouth of the Pawnee, a distance of two hundred and six miles, has the remarkable fall of two thousand four hundred and eight feet, or more than eleven feet to the mile.

"The headwaters of the Arkansas are in an oval park, situated directly west of the South Park. The altitude of this basin is probably between eight and nine thousand feet above the level of the sea; the length is about fifty miles from north to south, and twenty or thirty miles in width at the middle or widest point. At the lower or southern end an attempt has been made to cultivate the soil, which bids fair to prove a success. Around the Twin Lakes, at the extreme point, oats, wheat, barley, potatoes, and turnips have been raised, yielding very fair crops. Below this basin the river, for twenty miles, passes through a narrow canyon, along which, with considerable difficulty, a road has been made. Emerging from this, it enters the 'Upper Arkansas Valley' proper, which is a widening of the bottom lands from two to six or eight miles. This valley is some forty or fifty miles in length, and very fertile.

"The principal tributaries of the Arkansas that flow in from the south, east of the mountains, are Hardscrabble and Greenhorn Creeks (the St. Charles is a branch of the latter), Huerbano River, which has a large tributary named Cuchara; Apishpa River, Timpas Creek, and Purgatory River. On the north side, Fountain Gui Bouille River and Squirrel Creek are the principal streams affording water.

"This entire district affords broad and extensive grazing fields for cattle and sheep, and quite a number of herders and stock-raisers are beginning already to spread out their flocks and herds over these broad areas of rich and nutritious grasses. One of the finest meadows, of moderate extent, that I saw in the Territory, was on the divide near the head of Monument Creek, and near by was a large pond of cool, clear water. The temperature of this section is somewhat similar to that of Northern Missouri, and all the products grown there can be raised here, some with a heavier yield and of a finer quality, as wheat, oats, etc., while others, as corn, yield less, and are inferior in quality."

As we descend the Arkansas, the valley becomes broader, and it is often difficult to tell where the bottom ceases and the prairie commences.This stream attracted such a large portion of the immigration of 1871 that it is already settled upon for some distance above Fort Zarah. The soil is very rich, the climate pleasant and healthy, and good success attends both stock and crop-raising.

STOCK-RAISING IN THE GREAT WEST.

Mr. W. N. Byers, who has lived for many years in Colorado, lately contributed the following valuable article to the Rocky Mountain News, treating more particularly of the western half of the plains:

"After the mining interest, which must always take rank as the first productive industry in the mountain territories of the West, stock-raising will doubtless continue next in importance. The peculiarities of climate and soil adapt the grass-covered country west of the ninety-eighth degree of longitude especially to the growth and highest perfection of horses, cattle, and sheep. The earliest civilized explorers found the plains densely populated with buffalo, elk, deer, and antelope, their numbers exceeding computation. Great nations of Indians subsisted almost entirely by the fruits of the chase, but, with the rude weapons used, were incapable of diminishing their numbers. With the advent of the white man and the introduction of fire-arms, and to supply the demands of commerce, these wild cattle have been slaughtered by the million, until their range, once six hundred miles wide from east to west, and extending more than two thousand miles north and south, over which they moved in solid columns, darkening the plains, has been diminished to an irregular belt, a hundred and fifty miles wide, in which only scattering herds can be found, and they seldom numbering ten thousand animals.

"There is no reason why domestic cattle may not take their place. The climate, soil, and vegetation are as well adapted to the tame as to the wild. The latter lived and thrived the year round all the way up to latitude fifty degrees north. Twenty years' experience proves that the former do equally well upon the same range, and with the same lack of care. Time, the settlement of the country, the growing wants of agriculture, the encroachment of tilled fields, will gradually narrow the range, as did semi-civilization that of the buffalo—first from the Mississippi Valley westward, where that process is already seen, and then from the Rocky Mountains toward the east; but as yet the range is practically unlimited, and for many years to come there will be room to fatten beeves to feed the world.

"This great pasture land covers Western Texas, Indian Territory, Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota, Eastern New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, and extends far into British America. The southerly and south-easterly portions produce the largest growth of grass, but it lacks the nutritious qualities of that covering the higher and drier lands farther north and west. Rank-growing and bottom-land grasses contain mostly water: they remain green until killed by frost, when their substance flows back to the root, or is destroyed by the action of the elements. The dwarf grass of the higher plains makes but a small growth, but makes that very quickly in the early spring, and then, as the rains diminish and the summer heat increases, it dies and cures into hay where it stands; the seed even, in which it is very prolific, remains upon the stalk, and, though very minute, is exceedingly nutritious.

"In so far as the relative advantages of different portions of this wide region may be thought by many to preponderate over one another, we do not appreciate them at all, but would as soon risk a herd in the valley of the Upper Missouri, the Yellowstone, or the Saskachewan, as along the Arkansas, the Canadian, or Red River. If any difference, the grass is better north than south. One year the winter may be more severe in the extreme north; the next it may be equally so in the south; and the third it may be most inclement midway between the two extremes; or, what is more common, the severe storms and heavy snows may follow irregular streaks across the country at various points. There are local causes and effects to be considered, such as permanently affect certain localities favorably or the contrary. For instance, nearer the western border of the plains there is less high wind, because the lofty mountain ranges form a shelter or wind breaker. Of local advantages, detached ranges of mountains, hills, or broken land, timber, brush, and deep ravines or stream-beds are the most important in furnishing shelter, and, as a general thing, better and always more varied pasture ground.

"There is never rain upon the middle and northern plains during the winter months. When snow comes it is always dry, and never freezes to stock. The reverse is the case in the Northern and Middle States, where winter storms often begin with rain, which is followed by snow, and conclude with piercing wind and exceeding cold. Stock men can readily appreciate the effect of such weather upon stock exposed to its influence.

"The soil of the plains is very much the same every-where. To a casual observer it looks sterile and unpromising, but, when turned by the plow or spade, is found very fertile. Near the mountains it is filled with coarse rock particles, and under the action of the elements these become disproportionately prominent on the surface. Receding from the mountains, it becomes gradually finer, until gravel and bits of broken stone are no longer seen. Being made up from the wash and wearing away of the mountains, alkaline earths enter largely into its composition, supplying inexhaustible quantities of those properties which the eastern farmer can secure only by the application of plaster, lime, and like manures. These make the rich, nutritious grasses upon which cattle thrive so remarkably, and to the constant wonder of new-comers, who can not reconcile the idea of such comparatively bare and barren-looking plains with the fat cattle that roam over them.

"Besides the plains, there is a vast extent of pasture-lands in the mountains. Wherever there is soil enough to support vegetation, grass is found in abundance, to a line far above the limit of timber growth, and almost to the crest of the snowy range. These high pastures, however, are suitable only for summer and autumn range; but in portions of the great parks and large valleys, most parts of which lie below eight thousand feet altitude above the sea, cattle, horses, and sheep live and thrive the year round. The cost of raising a steer to the age of five years, when he is at a prime age for market, is believed to be about seven dollars and a half, or one dollar and a half per year. A number of estimates given us by stock men, running through several years, place the average at about that figure. That contemplates a herd of four hundred or more. Smaller lots of cattle will generally cost relatively more. The items of expense are herding, branding, and salt—nothing for feed."

THE CATTLE-HIVE OF NORTH AMERICA.

In this connection we may very properly quote from the same writer the following paragraph in regard to the source from whence all the cattle are now brought—that great natural breeding ground, the prairie land of Texas.

"Texas is truly the cattle-hive of North America. While New York, with her 4,000,000 inhabitants, and her settlements two and a half centuries old, has 748,000 oxen and stock cattle; while Pennsylvania, with more than 3,000,000 people, has 721,000 cattle; while Ohio, with 3,000,000 people, has 749,000 cattle; while Illinois, with 2,800,000 people, has 867,000 cattle; and while Iowa, with 1,200,000 people, has 686,000 cattle; Texas, forty years of age, and with her 500,000 people, had 2,000,000 head of oxen and other cattle, exclusive of cows, in 1867, as shown by the returns of the county assessors.

"In 1870, allowing for the difference between the actual number of cattle owned and the number returned for taxation, there must be fully 3,000,000 head of beeves and stock cattle. This is exclusive of cows, which, at the same time, are reported at 600,000 head. In 1870 they must number 800,000—making a grand total of 3,800,000 head of cattle in Texas. One-fourth of these are beeves, one-fourth are cows, and the other two-fourths are yearlings and two-year olds.

"There would, therefore, be 950,000 beeves, 950,000 cows, and 1,900,000 young cattle. There are annually raised and branded 750,000 calves. These cattle are raised on the great plains of Texas, which contain 152,000,000 acres. In the vast regions watered by the Rio Grande, Nueces, Guadalupe, San Antonio, Colorado, Leon, Brazos, Trinity, Sabine, and Red Rivers, these millions of cattle graze upon almost tropical growths of vegetation. They are owned by the ranchmen, who own from 1,000 to 75,000 head each."

As specimen ranches, may be named the following: Santa Catrutos Ranch belongs to Richard King. Amount of land, 84,132 acres. The stock consists of 65,000 cattle, 10,000 horses, 7,000 sheep, 8,000 goats. Three hundred Mexicans are employed, and 1,000 saddle horses, on the place. O'Connor's ranch, near Goliad, is an estate possessing about 50,000 cattle. The Robideaux ranch, on the Gulf, belonging to Mr. Kennedy, contains 142,840 acres of land, and has 30,000 beef cattle in addition to other stock.

THE CLIMATE OF THE PLAINS.

Mr. R. S. Elliott, who has studied this matter carefully, says: "The plains have been so often described as a rainless region that great misconception in regard to the climate has prevailed. The absolute precipitation is much greater than has been in past years supposed, and is due to other causes. Meteorologists who have described the rain-fall of the plains as derived only or principally from the remaining moisture of winds from the Pacific, after the passage of the Nevada and Rocky Mountain ranges, have been greatly in error, and the better conclusion now is, with all authorities who have given any special attention to the subject, that the moisture which fertilizes the Mississippi Valley, including the broad, grassy plains, is derived from the Gulf of Mexico.

"At Fort Riley about sixty-nine per cent, of the annual precipitation is in spring and summer; at Fort Kearney, eighty-one; and at Fort Laramie, seventy-two per cent. From observations at Forts Harker, Hays, and Wallace, on the line of this road, the same rule seems to hold good. Records have not been long enough continued at these three posts to give a long average, but the mean appears to be between seventeen and nineteen inches at Hays and Wallace, and possibly rather more at Harker. The actual average for 1868 and 1869 at Hays is 18.76 inches, and for the first six months of 1870 the record is 10.68 inches. At Wallace the record for 1869 was over seventeen inches, and in 1870, up to October 1, about the same amount had fallen.

"Without records there can be only conjecture; and I can only remark that there does not seem to be much diminution in the annual rain-fall until we get as far west as the one hundred and third meridian. Thence to the base of the mountains (except perhaps in the timbered portions of the great divide south of the line of this railway) the annual average may be possibly two or three inches less than in the midst of the plains—a peculiarity explained, hypothetically, by the fact that the region 'lies to the westward of the general course of the moisture currents of air flowing northward from the Gulf of Mexico, and is so near the mountains as to lose much of the precipitation that localities in the plains east and north-east are favored with. The mountains seem to exercise an influence—electrical and magnetical—in attracting moisture, which is condensed in the cooler regions of their summits, while the plains at their feet may be parched and heated to excess.' This explanation may be fanciful, but the fact remains that near the mountains the rains seem to decrease north of the great divide; fortunately, however, this occurs in a region where irrigation may be applied extensively and where there is sufficient moisture to nourish bountiful crops of grass.

"The vegetation of the plains along wagon tracks and rail road embankments shows a capability of production scarcely suggested by the surface where undisturbed: wherever the earth is broken up, the wild sunflower (Helianthus), and others of the taller-growing plants, though previously unknown in the vicinity, at once spring up.

"I have been on the plains all the time since early in May till this date (22d of September). There has been much dry weather, but I have not seen one cloudless day—no day on which the sun would rise clear and roll along a canopy of brass to the west. There has always been humidity enough to form clouds at the proper height; and on many days they would be seen defining, by their flat bottoms, the exact line where condensation became sufficient to render the vapor visible. I conclude, from all this, that abundant moisture has floated over the plains to have given us a great deal more rain than would be desirable if it had been precipitated.

"Sometimes a storm would be seen to gather near the horizon, and we could see the rain pending from the clouds like a fringe, hanging apparently in mid-air, unable to reach the expectant earth. The rain stage of condensation had been reached above, but the descending shower was re-vaporized apparently, and thus arrested.

"These hot winds are not, so far as I have observed, apt to be constant in one place for any considerable length of time; they strike your face suddenly, and perhaps in a minute are gone. They seem to run along in streaks or ovenfulls with the winds of ordinary (but rather high) temperature. They do not begin, I believe, till in July, as a general rule, and are over by September 1, or perhaps by August 15. Their origin I take to be, of course, in heated regions south or southwest of us; but their peculiar occurrence, so capricious and often so brief, I can not explain to myself satisfactorily.

"I may remark that this season, since about the 15th of July, in these distant plains, has given us rain enough to make beautifully verdant the spots in the prairie burnt off during the 'heated' term in July. From Kit Carson eastward, the rains have been, I think, exceptionally abundant. All through the summer we have had dew occasionally, and it has been remarked that buffalo meat has been more difficult of preservation than heretofore—facts indicative of humidity in the atmosphere, even where but little rain-fall was witnessed. Turnips sown in August would have made a crop in this vicinity—four hundred and twenty-two miles west of the state line of Missouri,"

CLIMATIC CHANGES ON THE PLAINS.

"Facts such as these," continues the same writer, "seem to sustain the popular persuasion that a climatic change is taking place, promoted by the spread of settlements westwardly, breaking up portions of the prairie soil, covering the earth with plants that shade the ground more than the short grasses; thus checking or modifying the reflection of heat from the earth's surface, etc. The fact is also noted that even where the prairie soil is not disturbed, the short buffalo grass disappears as the 'frontier' extends westward, and its place is taken by grasses and other herbage of taller growth. That this change of the clothing of the plains, if sufficiently extensive, might have a modifying influence on the climate, I do not doubt; but whether the change has been already spread over a large enough area, and whether our apparently or really wetter seasons may not be part of a cycle, are unsettled questions.

"The civil engineers of the railways believe that the rains and humidity of the plains have increased during the extension of railroads and telegraphs across them. If this is the case, it may be that the mysterious electrical influence in which they seem to have faith, but do not profess to explain, has exercised a beneficial influence. What effect, if any, the digging and grading, the iron rails, the tension of steam in locomotives, the friction of metallic surfaces, the poles and wires, the action of batteries, etc., could possibly or probably have on the electrical conditions, as connected with the phenomena of precipitation, I do not, of course, undertake to say. It may be that wet seasons have merely happened to coincide with railroads and telegraphs. It is to be observed that the poles of the telegraph are quite frequently destroyed by lightning; and it is probable that the lightning thus strikes in many places where before the erection of the telegraph it was not apt to strike, and perhaps would not reach the earth at all.

"It is certain that rains have increased; this increase has coincided with the extension of settlements, railroads, and telegraphs. If influenced by these, the change of climate will go on; if by extra mundane influences, the change may be permanent, progressive, or retrograde. I think there are good grounds to believe it will be progressive. Within the last fifteen years, in Western Missouri and Iowa, and in Eastern Kansas and Nebraska, a very large aggregate surface has been broken up, and holds more of the rains than formerly. During the same period modifying influences have been put in motion in Montana, Utah, and Colorado. Very small areas of timbered land west of the Missouri have been cleared—not equal, perhaps, to the area of forest, orchard, and vineyards planted. Hence it may be said that all the acts of man in this vast region have tended to produce conditions on the earth's surface ameliorative of the climate. With extended settlements on the Arkansas, Canadian, and Red River of the south, as well as on the Arkansas, on the river system of the Kaw Valley, and on the Platte, the ameliorating conditions will be extended in like degree; and it partakes more of sober reason than wild fancy to suppose that a permanent and beneficial change of climate may be experienced. The appalling deterioration of large portions of the earth's surface, through the acts of man in destroying the forests, justifies the trust that the culture of taller herbage and trees in a region heretofore covered mainly by short grasses may have a converse effect. Indeed, in Central Kansas nature seems to almost precede settlements by the taller grasses and herbage."

THE TREES AND FUTURE FORESTS OF THE PLAINS.

Mr. Elliott continues his article as follows: "The principal native trees on the plains west of ninety-seventh meridian are: Cottonwood, walnut, elm, ash, box-elder, hackberry, plum, red cedar. To these may be added willow and grape-vines, and also the locust and wild cherry mentioned by Abert as occurring on the Purgatory. The black walnut extends to the one-hundredth meridian. The elm and ash are of similar, perhaps greater range. Hackberry has been observed west of one hundred and first meridian. Cottonwood, elder, red cedar, plum, and willow are persistent to the base of the mountains. The extensive pine forest on the 'great divide' south of Denver, although stretching seventy to eighty miles east from the mountains, is not taken into view as belonging to the plains proper. Its existence, however, suggests the use of its seeds in artificial plantations in that region. The fossil wood imbedded in the cretaceous strata in many parts of the plains is left out of consideration, as belonging to a previous, though recent, geological age; but the single specimens of trees found growing at wide intervals are silent witnesses to the possibility of extended forest growth.

"Were it possible to break up the surface to a depth of two feet, from the ninety-seventh meridian to the mountains, and from the thirty-fifth to the forty-fifth parallel, we should have in a single season a growth of taller herbage over the entire area, less reflection of the sun's heat, more humidity in the atmosphere, more constancy in springs, pools, and streams, more frequent showers, fewer violent storms, and less caprice and fury in the winds. A single year would witness a changed vegetation and a new climate. In three years (fires kept out) there would be young trees in numerous places, and in twenty years there would be fair young forests. The description of the 'broad, grassy plains,' given in the foregoing pages, attests their capacity to sustain animal life. For cattle, sheep, horses, and mules, they are a natural pasture in summer, with (in many parts) hay cured standing for winter. The famed Pampas, with their great extremes of wet and drought, can not bear comparison with our western plains. For grazing purposes, the habitable character of our vast traditional 'desert' is generally conceded, and hence it need not be enlarged on here."

THE SUPPLY OF FUEL.

Of the question of fuel for the future dwellers upon the face of Buffalo Land, Hayden, in his report, speaks as follows:

"The question often arises in the minds of visitors to this region, how the law of compensation supplies the want of fuel in the absence of trees for that use. Many persons have taken the position that the Creator never made such a vast country, with a soil of such wonderful fertility, and rendered it so suitable for the abode of man, without storing in the earth beds of carbon for his needs. If this idea could be shown to be true in any case, we would ask why are the immense beds of coal stored away in the mountains of Pennsylvania and Virginia, while at the same time the surface is covered with dense forests of timber. We now know that this law does not apply to the natural world; and, if it did, this western country would be a remarkable exception. The State of Nebraska seems to be located on the western rim of the great coal basin of the West, and only thin seams of poor coal will probably ever be found; but in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains, in Wyoming, and Colorado, coal in immense quantities has been hidden away for ages, and the Union Pacific Railroad has now brought it near the door of every man's dwelling.

"These Rocky Mountain coal-beds will one day supply an abundance of fuel for more than one hundred thousand square miles along the Missouri River of the most fertile agricultural land in the world."

Of this coal area, Persifor Frazier, Jr., says: "Those beds which occur on the east flank of the Rocky Mountains have been followed for five hundred miles and more, north and south; and if it be true that these are 'fragments of one great basin, interrupted here and there by the upheaval of mountain chains, or concealed by the deposition of newer formations,' then their extension east and west, or from the eastern range of the Rocky Mountains or Black Hills to Weber Canyon, where an excellent coal is mined, will fall but little short of five hundred miles. Throughout this extent these beds of coal are found between the upper cretaceous and lower tertiary (or in the transition beds of Hayden), wherever these transition beds occur, whether on the extreme flanks or in the valleys and parks between the numerous mountain ranges. Assuming that the eroding agencies together have cut off one-half of the coal from this area, and taking one-half of the remainder as their average longitudinal extent, we have over fifty thousand square miles of coal lands, accounting the latitudinal extent as only five hundred miles; whereas we have no reason to believe that it terminates within these bounds, but, on the contrary, good reason for supposing that it extends northward far into Canada, and southward with the Cordilleras. All this territory has been omitted in the estimate of the extent of our coal fields."

DISTRICTS CONTIGUOUS TO THE PLAINS.

The reader has now had the salient features of the great plains placed before him in succession. The more interesting districts immediately adjoining will well repay the reader for a brief consideration.

THE NORTH PLATTE DISTRICT.

A late writer, who has studied the country of which he speaks very closely,[6] thus describes the North Platte District:

"The distance from the mouth of the North Platte, where it joins the South Platte on the Union Pacific Railroad, to its sources in the great Sierra Madre, whose lofty sides form the North Park, in which this stream takes its rise, is more than eight hundred miles. Its extreme southern tributaries head in the gorges of the mountains one hundred miles south of the railroad, and receive their water from the melting snows of these snow-capped ranges. Its extreme western tributaries rise in the Wahsatch and Wind River ranges, sharing the honor of conveying the crystal snow waters from the continental divide with the Columbia and Colorado of the Pacific. Its northern tributaries start oceanward from the Big Horn Mountains, three hundred miles north of the starting-point of its southern sources.

"It drains a country larger than all New England and New York together. East of the Alleghany Mountains there is no river comparable to this clear, swift mountain stream in its length or in the extent of country it drains.

"The main valley of the North Platte, two hundred miles from its mouth to where it debouches through the Black Hills out on to the great plains, is an average of ten miles wide. Nearly all this area—two thousand square miles—is covered with a dense growth of grass, yielding thousands of tons of hay. The bluffs bordering these intervals are rounded and grass-grown, gradually smoothing out into great grassy plains, extending north and south as far as the eye can see.

"Of the country, Alexander Majors says, in a letter to the writer of this article: 'The favorite wintering ground of my herders for the past twenty years has been from the CachÉ a la Poudre on the south to Fort Fetterman on the north, embracing all the country along the eastern base of the Black Hills.' It was of this country that Mr. Seth E. Ward spoke, when he says: 'I am satisfied that no country in the same latitude, or even far south of it, is comparable to it as a grazing and stock-raising country. Cattle and stock generally are healthy, and require no feeding the year round, the rich 'bunch' and 'gramma' grasses of the plains and mountains keeping them, ordinarily, fat enough for beef during the entire winter,'

"All this region east of the Black Hills is at an elevation less than five thousand feet. The climate, as reported from Fort Laramie for a period of twenty years, is 50° Fahrenheit. The mean temperature for the spring months is 47°, for the summer months 72°, for autumn 60°, for winter 31°. The annual rain-fall is about eighteen inches—distributed as follows: Spring, 8.69 inches; summer, 5.70 inches; autumn, 3.69 inches. The snow fall is eighteen inches.

"There is in the North Platte Basin, east of the Black Hills divide, at least eight million acres of pasturage, with the finest and most lasting streams, and good shelter in the bluffs and canyons. As I have said before, we can only judge of the extent and resources of such a single region by comparison. Ohio has six million sheep, yielding eighteen million pounds of wool, bringing herd farmers an aggregate of four and one-half million dollars. This eight million acres of pasture would at least feed eight million sheep, yielding twenty-four million pounds of wool, and, at the same price as Ohio wool, six million dollars. Now, this money, instead of going to build up ranches, stock-farms, store-houses, woolen mills, and all the components of a great and thrifty settlement, is sent by our wool-growers and woollen manufacturers to Buenos Ayres, to Africa, and Australia, to enrich other people and other lands, while our wool-growing resources remain undeveloped.

"As you follow the North Platte up through the Black Hill Canyon, you come out upon the great Laramie plains, which lie between the Black Hills on the east and the snowy range on the west. These plains are ninety miles north and south, and sixty miles east and west. They are watered by the Big and Little Laramie Rivers, Deer Creek, Rock Creek, Medicine Bow River, Cooper Creek, and other tributaries of the North Platte. It is on the extreme northern portion of these plains, in the valley of Deer Creek, that General Reynolds wintered during the winter of 1860, and of which he remarks, on pages seventy-four and seventy-five of his 'Explorations of the Yellowstone," as follows:

"Throughout the whole season's march the subsistence of our animals had been obtained by grazing after we had reached our camp in the afternoon, and for an hour or two between the dawn of day and our time of starting. The consequence was that, when we reached our winter quarters there were but few animals in the train that were in a condition to have continued the march without a generous grain diet. Poorer and more broken-down creatures it would be difficult to find. In the spring they were in as fine condition for commencing another season's work as could be desired. A greater change in their appearance could not have been produced even if they had been grain-fed and stable-housed all winter. Only one was lost, the furious storm of December coming on before it had gained sufficient strength to endure it. The fact that seventy exhausted animals, turned out to winter on the plains the first of November, came out in the spring in the best condition, and with the loss of but one of their number, is the most forcible commentary I can make on the quality of the grass and the character of the winter.'

"These plains have been favorite herding grounds of the buffalo away back in the pre-historic age of this country. Their bones lie bleaching in all directions, and their paths, deeply worn, cover the whole plain like a net-work. Their 'wallows,' where these shaggy lords of animal creation tore deep pits into the surface of the ground, are still to be seen. Elk, antelope, and deer still feed here, and the mountain sheep are found on the mountain sides and in the more secluded valleys of the Sierra Madre range—all proving conclusively that this has afforded winter pasturage from time immemorial. Since 1849 many herds of work-oxen, belonging to emigrants, freighters, and ranchmen, have grazed here each winter.

"South of the Laramie plains is the North Park, one of three great parks of the Rocky Mountains, so fully described by Richardson, Bross, and Bowles. This North Park is formed by the great Snowy Range. It is a valley from six to eight thousand feet high, ninety miles long, and forty miles wide, surrounded by snowy mountains from thirteen to fifteen thousand feet high. These mountain tops and sides are completely covered with dense growths of forests; the lower hill-sides and this great valley are covered with grasses. The forests and mountains afford ample shelter from sweeping winds. Here, as well as on the Laramie plains, the buffalo grazed in great herds; and here the Ute hunters, from some hidden canyons, dashed down among them on their trained and fleet ponies, shooting their arrows with unerring aim on all sides, and having such glorious sport as kings might court and envy. The Indians are now gone from this valley, and the buffalo nearly so. On the two million acres in this valley not twenty head of cattle graze.

"This great park, splendidly watered by the three forks of the Platte, and by a hundred small streams that drain these lofty mountains of their snows and rains—rich in all kinds of nutritious grasses, plentifully supplied with timber; on the tertiary coal fields, with iron, copper, lead, and gold—has not one real settler. There are a few miners, but where there should be flocks and herds of sheep and cattle without number, there is only the wild game—the elk, antelope, and deer."

THE VALLEYS OF THE WHITE EARTH AND NIOBRARA.

These streams are branches of the Missouri—the one mainly in Dakota Territory, and the other in Nebraska. The following graphic paragraphs concerning them are from Hayden again:

"I have spent many days exploring this region (the White Earth Valley) when the thermometer was 112° in the shade, and there was no water suitable for drinking purposes within fifteen miles. But it is only to the geologist that this place can have any permanent attraction. He can wind his way through the wonderful canyons among some of the grandest ruins in the world. Indeed, it resembles a gigantic city fallen to decay. Domes, towers, minarets and spires may be seen on every side, which assume a great variety of shapes when viewed in the distance. Not unfrequently the rising or the setting sun will light up these grand old ruins with a wild, strange beauty, reminding one of a city illuminated in the night, when seen from some high point. The harder layers project from the sides of the valley or canyon with such regularity that they appear like seats, one above the other, of some vast amphitheater.

"It is at the foot of these apparent architectural remains that the curious fossil treasures are found. In the oldest beds we find the teeth and jaws of a Hyopotamus, a river-horse much like the hippopotamus, which must have sported in his pride in the marshes that bordered this lake. So, too, the Titanotherum, a gigantic pachyderm, was associated with a species of hornless rhinoceros. These huge rhinoceroid animals appear at first to have monopolized this entire region, and the plastic, sticky clay of the lowest bed of this basin, in which the remains were found, seems to have formed a suitable bottom of the lake in which these thick-skinned monsters could wallow at pleasure."

Of the fauna of the Niobrara and Loup Fork Valleys, he speaks as follows: "In the later fauna were the remains of a number of species of extinct camels, one of which was of the size of the Arabian camel, a second about two-thirds as large. Not less interesting are the remains of a great variety of forms of the horse family, one of which was about as large as the ordinary domestic animal, and the smallest not more than two or two and a half feet in height, with every intermediate grade in size."

NEW MEXICO—ITS SOIL, CLIMATE, RESOURCES, ETC.

Bordering on what might be called the south-western corner of the plains, or perhaps more properly forming, over its eastern half, part of them, lies New Mexico. I find the following valuable description of the soil, climate, and productions of this section in the report of Prof. Cyrus Thomas:

"The best estimate I can make of the arable area of the Territory is about as follows: In the Rio Grande district, one twentieth, or about two thousand eight hundred square miles; in the strip along the western border, one-fiftieth, or about six hundred square miles; in the north-eastern triangle, watered by the Canadian River, one-fifteenth, or about one thousand four hundred square miles. This calculation excludes the 'Staked Plains,' and amounts in the aggregate to four thousand eight hundred square miles, or nearly two million nine hundred thousand acres. This, I am aware, is larger than any previous estimate that I have seen; but when the country is penetrated by one or two railroads, and a more enterprising agricultural population is introduced, the fact will soon be developed that many portions now considered beyond the reach of irrigation will be reclaimed. I do not found this estimate wholly upon the observations made in the small portions I have visited, but, in addition thereto, I have carefully examined the various reports made upon special sections, and have obtained all the information I could from intelligent persons who have resided in the Territory for a number of years.

"As the Territory includes in its bounds some portions of the Rocky Mountain range on which snow remains for a great part of the year, and also a semi-tropical region along its southern boundary, there is, of necessity, a wide difference in the extremes of temperature. But, with the exception of the cold seasons of the higher lands at the north, it is temperate and regular. The summer days in the lower valleys are quite warm, but, as the dry atmosphere rapidly absorbs the perspiration of the body, it prevents the debilitating effect experienced where the air is heavier and more saturated with moisture. The nights are cool and refreshing. The winters, except in the mountainous portions at the north, are moderate, but the difference between the northern and southern sections during this season is greater than during the summer. The amount of snow that falls is light, and seldom remains on the ground longer than a few hours. The rains principally fall during the months of July, August, and September, but the annual amount is small, seldom exceeding a few inches. When there are heavy snows in the mountains during the winter, there will be good crops the following summer, the supply of water being more abundant, and the quantity of sediment carried down greater, than when the snows are light. Good crops appear to come in cycles—three or four following in succession; then one or two inferior ones.

"During the autumn months the wind is disagreeable in some places, especially near the openings between high ridges, and at the termini of or passes through mountain ranges. There is, perhaps, no healthier section of country to be found in the United States than that embraced in the boundaries of Colorado and New Mexico; in fact, I think I am justified in saying that this area includes the healthiest portion of the Union. Perhaps it is not improper for me to say that I have no personal ends to serve in making this statement, not having one dollar invested in either of these Territories in any way whatever; I make it simply because I believe it to be true. Nor would I wish to be understood as contrasting with other sections of the Rocky Mountain region, only so far as these Territories have the advantage in temperature. It is possible Arizona should be included, but, as I have not visited it, I can not speak of it.

"There is no better place of resort for those suffering with pulmonary complaints than here. It is time for the health-seekers of our country to learn and appreciate the fact that within our own bounds are to be found all the elements of health that can possibly be obtained by a tour to the eastern continent, or any other part of the world; and that, in addition to the invigorating air, is scenery as wild, grand, and varied as any found amid the Alpine heights of Switzerland. And here, too, from Middle Park to Los Vegas, is a succession of mineral and hot springs of almost every character.

"The productions of New Mexico, as might be inferred from the variety of its climate, are varied, but the staples will evidently be cattle, sheep, wool, and wine, for which it seems to be peculiarly adapted. The table-lands and mountain valleys are covered throughout with the nutritious gramma and other grasses, which, on account of the dryness of the soil, cure upon the ground, and afford an inexhaustible supply of food for flocks and herds both summer and winter. The ease and comparatively small cost with which they can be kept, the rapidity with which they increase, and exemption from epidemic diseases, added to the fact that winter-feeding is not required, must make the raising of stock and wool-growing a prominent business of the country—the only serious drawback at present being the fear of the hostile Indian tribes. But, as these remarks apply equally well to all these districts, I will speak farther in regard to this matter when I take up the subject of grazing in this division.

"The cattle and sheep of this Territory are small, because no care seems to be taken to improve the breed. San Miguel County appears to be the great pasturing ground for sheep, large numbers being driven here from other counties to graze. Don Romaldo Baca estimates that between five hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand are annually pastured here—about two-thirds of which are driven in from other sections. His own flocks number between thirty thousand and forty thousand head; those of his nephew twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand; Mr. Mariano Trissarry, of Bernalillo County, owns about fifty-five thousand; and Mr. Gallegos, of Santa FÉ, nearly seventy thousand head.

"Don Romaldo Baca stated to me that his flocks yielded him an annual average of about one and a half pounds of washed wool to the sheep; that the average price of sheep was not more than two dollars per head; that the wool paid all expenses, and left the increase, which is from fifty to seventy-five per cent. per annum, as his profit. From these figures some estimate may be formed of what improved sheep would yield.

"Wheat and oats grow throughout the Territory, but the former does not yield as heavily in the southern as in the northern part. If any method of watering the higher plateau is ever discovered, I think that it will produce heavier crops of wheat than the Valley of the Rio Grande.

"Corn is raised from the Vermijo, on the east of the mountains, around to the Culebra, on the inside; in fact, it is the principal crop of San Miguel County, but the quality and yield is inferior to that which can be produced in the Rio Grande Valley and along the Rio Bonito. The southern portion of the Rio Pecos Valley and the Canadian bottoms are probably the best portions of the Territory for this cereal.

"Apples will grow from the Taos Valley south, but peaches can not be raised to any advantage north of Bernalillo, in the central section; but it is likely they would do well along some of the tributaries and main valley of the Canadian River. They also appear to grow well and produce fruit without irrigation in the ZuÑi country; and the valley of the Mimbres is also adapted to their culture. Apricots and plums grow wherever apples or peaches can be raised. I neglected to obtain any information in regard to pears, but, judging from the similarity of soil and climate here to that of Utah and California, where this fruit grows to perfection, I suppose that in the central and southern portions it would do well.

"The grape will probably be the chief, or at least the most profitable, product of the soil. The soil and climate appear to be peculiarly adapted for its growth, and the probability is that, as a grape-growing and wine-producing section, it will be second only to California. From Col. McClure I learned that the amount of wine made in 1867 was about forty thousand gallons, and that the crop of 1869 would probably reach one hundred thousand gallons. I have not been informed since whether his estimate was verified or not. A good many vineyards were planted in 1869—at least double the number of 1868. Several Americans, anticipating the building of a railroad through that section, have engaged in this branch of agriculture. The wine that is made here is said to be of an excellent quality.

"Beets here, as in Colorado, grow to an enormous size, and it is quite likely that the sugar beet would not only yield heavy crops, but also contain a large per cent. of saccharine matter. I am rather inclined to believe that soil which is impregnated with alkaline matter will favor the production of the saccharine principle. I base this opinion wholly on observations made in Utah in regard to its effect on fruit; therefore experiments may prove that I am wholly mistaken. It is possible the experiment has been tried; if so, I am not aware of it.

"The Irish potatoes are inferior to those raised further north. Cabbages grow large and fine. Onions from the Raton Mountains south have the finest flavor of any I ever tasted, and therefore I am not surprised that Lieut. Emory found the dishes at Bernalillo 'all dressed with the everlasting onion.' But, as to the 'Chili,' or pepper, which is so extensively raised and used in New Mexico, I beg to be excused, unless I can have my throat lined with something less sensitive than nature's coating. Sweet potatoes have been successfully tried in the vicinity of Fort Sumner and along the head-waters of the Rio Bonito. Melons, pumpkins, frijoles, etc., are raised in profusion in the lower valleys; and I understand cotton was formerly grown in limited quantities.

"As a general thing, the mountains afford an abundance of pine for the supply of lumber and fuel to those sufficiently near to them. Some of the valleys have a limited amount of cottonwood growing along them. In addition to pine, spruce and cottonwood, the stunted cedar and mesquit, which is found over a large area, may be used for fuel. The best timbered portion of the Rio Grande Valley is between Socorro and DoÑa AÑa. The east side of the Guadalupe range has an abundant supply of pine of large size. Around the head-waters of the Pecos is some excellent timber. Walnut and oak are found in a few spots south, but in limited quantities, and of too small a size to be of much value."

THE DISAPPEARING BISON.

In connection with this general review of Buffalo Land, it is interesting to note that while civilization, advancing from the east, pushes our bison west, another tide of human beings, creeping out from the mountains eastward, presses the buffalo back before it. The brute multitude is thus between two advancing lines, which will soon crush it. In confirmation of this, I find the following in Hayden's notes of the country along the base of the Laramie Mountains:

"These broad, grassy plains are not yet entirely destitute of their former inhabitants; flocks of antelope still feed on the rich, nutritious grasses; but the buffalo, which once roamed here by thousands, have disappeared forever. No trace of them is now left but the old trails, which pass across the country in every direction, and the bleached skulls which are scattered here and there over the ground. These traces are fast passing away. The skulls are decaying rapidly, and this once peculiar feature of the landscape in the West will be lost. Two years ago I collected a large quantity of these bleached skulls and distributed them to several of our museums, in order to insure their preservation.

"There is also a singular ethnological fact connected with these skulls. We shall observe that the greater part of them have the forehead broken in for a space of three or four inches in diameter. Whenever an Indian kills a buffalo, he fractures the skull with his tomahawk and extracts the brains, which he devours in a raw state.

"Indians or old trappers traveling through the enemy's country always fear to build a fire, lest the smoke attract the notice of the foe. The consequence is that they have contracted the habit of eating certain parts of an animal in an uncooked condition. I have estimated that six men may make a full meal from a buffalo without lighting a fire. The ribs on one side are taken out with a knife, and the concavity serves as a dish. The brains are taken out of the skull, and the marrow from the leg-bones, and the two are chopped together in the rib-dish. The liver and lungs are eaten with a keen relish; also certain portions of the intestines; and the blood supplies an excellent and nutritious drink.

"Both Indian and buffalo have probably disappeared forever from these plains. Elk, black-tailed deer, red deer, mountain sheep, wolves, and the smaller animals, are still quite abundant, especially in the valleys of the small streams, where they flow down through the mountains. Elk Mountain and Sheephead Mountain have always been noted localities for these animals."

THE FISH WITH LEGS.

But while the buffalo has become extinct in that locality, an inhabitant of the water may be preparing (query: in support of the theory of development?) to take its place. I quote again from Hayden:

"There are other attractions here, of which the traveler will be informed long before he reaches the locality. The 'fish with legs' are the only inhabitants of the lake, and numbers of persons make it a business to catch and sell them to travelers. During the summer season they congregate in great numbers in the shallow water among the weeds and grass near the shore, and can be easily caught; but in cold weather they retire to the deeper portions of the lake, and are not seen again until spring. These little animals are possessed of gills, and, were it not for the legs, would most nearly resemble a miniature cat-fish. But when warm weather comes, a form closely resembling them, but entirely destitute of gills, may be seen in the water swimming, or creeping clumsily about on land. Sometimes they travel long distances, and are found in towns, near springs or wet places, usually one at a time, while those with gills are never seen except in the alkaline lakes which are so common all over the West."

THE MOUNTAIN SUPPLY OF LUMBER FOR THE PLAINS.

In connection with this (the western) border of the plains, it is interesting to note what the same writer says, of a future supply of lumber:

"Not only in the more lofty ranges, but also in the lower mountains, are large forests of pine timber, which will eventually become of great value to this country. Vast quantities of this pine, in the form of railroad ties, are floated down the various streams to the Union Pacific Railroad. One gentleman alone contracted for five hundred and fifty thousand ties, all of which he floated down the stream from the mountains along the southern side of the Laramie Plains. The Big and Little Laramie, Rock Creek, and Medicine Bow River, with their branches, were here literally filled with ties at one time; and I was informed that, in the season of high water, they can be taken to the railroad from the mountains, after being cut and placed in the water, at the rate of from one to three cents each. These are important facts, inasmuch as they show the ease with which these vast bodies of timber may be brought to the plains below and converted into lumber, should future settlement of the country demand it."

"On the summits of these lofty mountains are some most beautiful, open spots, without a tree, and covered with grass and flowers. After passing through dense pine forests for nearly ten miles, we suddenly emerged into one of these park-like areas. Just in the edge of the forest which skirted it were banks of snow six feet deep, compact like a glacier, and within a few feet were multitudes of flowers—and even the common strawberry seemed to flourish. These mountains are full of little streams of the purest water, and for six months of the year good pasturage for stock could be found."

THE END.

[1] See illustration on page 137.