OLOGYUB. 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 DR. JOSEPH LECONTE. 
 
 GIFT OF MRS. LECONTE. 
 
 No. 
 

BIOLOGY ua 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 
 
 GEOLOGY 
 
 NEBRASKA. 
 
 SAMUEL AUGHEY, PH.D., LL.D., 
 
 Professor of Natural Sciences in the University of Nebraska, Corresponding Member of the 
 
 Buffalo Academy of Sciences, Correspond! g Member of the 
 
 St. Louis Academy of Sciences, Etc. 
 
 OMAHA, NEBRASKA : 
 
 DAILY REPUBLICAN BOOK AND JOB OFFICE. 
 
 1880. 
 
Nfc 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1880, 
 
 BY SAMUEL AUGHEY, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ^T^HE continual demand for some of my papers on the geology of Ne- 
 braska, now out of print, suggested the preparation of this volume. It 
 includes in a revised form the most important of my publications on our 
 geology. The greater part of this work, however, is entirely new, and in- 
 cludes many facts and observations now for the first time made known. I 
 had intended to give a much fuller treatment of the Loess deposits and pe- 
 riod, but the materials have accumulated to such an extent that it was 
 thought best to reserve them for a separate volume. In preparing this work 
 I have always kept in mind the many letters of inquiry continually being re- 
 ceived about the State- such questions as are mott frequently asked of a 
 naturalist about Nebraska. Only a small part of the State has received a de- 
 tailed geological examination, and therefore many material points could 
 barely receive mention. In the sketches of our geological history, I have 
 attempted to give an idea of the chain of events that resulted in the present 
 order of things in Nebraska. My conclusions on many points are very dif- 
 ferent from others, but I have come to them by a careful study of our geol- 
 ogy for fifteen years, with all the means which I could command. Wherever 
 I have used the works of others it is acknowledged in the text. It is possi- 
 ble that there are omissions of this kind, as I may not always have remem- 
 bered whether myself or another first observed a fact or discovered a princi- 
 ple. All such omissions, if any, are unintentional. It was intended to in- 
 clude a new geological map of the State in this work, but I have not been 
 able to satisfy myself about the accuracy of some of the boundaries of geo- 
 logical formations, and therefore postpone its publication till spring. 
 
 I am under obligations to Prof. C. D. Wilber for important suggestions; 
 and to many persons over the State, whom I cannot mention in detail, who 
 have provided me with specimens from their localities. I am also under 
 great obligations to the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska, 
 to the Union Pacific Railroad, to the Atchison & Nebraska Railroad, and to 
 other roads for transportation and other favors. Without the aid thus re- 
 ceived, it would have been impossible to make many of the investigations 
 included in this work. Wherever I have gone in the State I have received 
 all possible help from the people in making geological and other natural his- 
 tory examinations. Hoping that this work will help others to understand, 
 the physical conditions of our State, and stimulate an interest in our natural 
 history, I submit it to the people of Nebraska. 
 
 SAMUEL AUGHEY. 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF NERRASKA, January 1st, 1880. 
 
 101283 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART FIRST PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Chapter. 1'ajrr. 
 
 I. Topography and General Character of Nebraska ... 3 
 II. Climatology of Nebraska . . . . . . . .17 
 
 III. Moisture and Rainfall 34 
 
 IV. Evidences of Increasing Rainfall Sources of Rainfall . . 41 
 V. Waters of Nebraska ......... 52 
 
 VI. Drainage of Nebraska, and Character of its Water . 
 
 VII. General Flora of Nebraska 
 
 VIII. Forest Trees and Shrubs of Nebraska, with Notes on their Dis- 
 tribution 84 
 
 IX. The Wild Fruits of Nebraska . 97 
 
 X. Wild Grasses 108 
 
 XI. Fauna of Nebraska Vertebrates 117 
 
 XII. Insect Life . . . 131 
 
 XIII. The Locusts Mollusks 130 
 
 XIV. Healthfulness. Reserve Forces and Probable Future of the Race 
 
 in Nebraska . M5 
 
 PART SECOND GEOLOGY. 
 
 Chapter. I'ajre. 
 
 I. Carboniferous Age in Nebraska ....... l(jl 
 
 II. Mediaeval or Me^ozoic Times in Nebraska 173 
 
 III. Mediaeval or Mesozoic Times in Nebraska, Continued . . 107 
 
 IV. The Cenozoic Age in Nebraska. Eocene Tertiary Epoch . . 209 
 V. The Tertiary Period, Continued Miocene Epoch . . .221 
 
 VI. Tertiary Period, Continued Pliocene Epoch .... 232 
 VII. Quaternary Age Glacial Period to the Loess Superficial De- 
 posits . 252 
 
 VIII. The Quaternary Age and Su erficial Deposits, Continued Loess 
 
 Period . 2(55 
 
 IX. Quaternary Age and Superficial Deposits, Continued. Terrace 
 Epoch. Alluvium. Sand Hills. Alkali Lands. Timber, 
 and Cause of Change of Climate . . ... 
 
 X. Economic Geology 
 
 Appendix . . . . . . . . . .3.9 
 
PART FIRST. 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TOPOGRAPHY AND GENERAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 NEBRASKA. 
 
 Position Surface Bottom Lands Tables of Elevation Average Ele- 
 vation and Grade How to gain a Conception of its Topography Num- 
 ber of Valleys Exceptional Features of the Niobrara River Region Sand 
 Hills Bad Lands. 
 
 "VTEBRASK A occupies a position near the centre of the Republic. 
 1 i The parallel of 40 is its southern boundary, and the Missouri 
 River, the Niobrara and the Keya Paha rivers form the Northern 
 boundary as far west as range twenty west of the sixth principal 
 meridian. West of this point the parallel of 43 forms its northern 
 boundary. Its eastern boundary is the Missouri, whose direction 
 here is a little east of south. This brings the southeast corner of 
 the State to the 95 25' meridian. The 104 meridian west of Green- 
 wich marks its western boundary down to latitude 41. Below 
 this point a line a few miles west of the 102 meridian constitutes 
 the western boundary of the State. This notch takes out of the 
 southwest corner of the State, 7,300 square miles. Were it not 
 for this offset the State in shape would approximate to a parallelo- 
 gram. The extreme width of the State from north to south is 208.5 
 miles, and its length from east to west is within a fraction of 413 
 miles. In area the State approximates closely to 75,995 square 
 miles, or nearly 48,636,800 acres. Taking Ohio, which has an area 
 of 39,964 square miles, as the type of a model sized state, it is seen 
 that Nebraska contains almost twice as much territory. The area of 
 Nebraska is 12,359 square miles larger than all the New England 
 states combined. It contains 20,000 more square miles of territory 
 than Iowa. England and Wales combined have less area by 
 17,000 square miles than Nebraska. In extent of territory it is an 
 
4 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 empire, and yet as we shall see hereafter, few states have really so 
 little waste land as Nebraska. It lies in the same path in which the 
 currents of emigration have been flowing in the line of the great 
 States of the Union, and must in the nature of things receive their 
 overflow of population. 
 
 SURFACE OF THE STATE. 
 
 The surface of Nebraska is exceedingly varied. There are in- 
 deed no elevations that can be dignified with the name of mountains, 
 but in the northern and western parts of the State there are lofty 
 hills of very varied character. Generally the ascent is gentle, 
 though occasionally it is precipitous. Unlike the ridges of the east 
 which are so generally the result of elevations and subsidences of 
 the earth's crust modified by subsequent aqueous agencies, the hills 
 and rolling lands of Nebraska are mostly wholly caused by erosion. 
 In the east the body of hills is mainly made up of massive rocks, 
 here it is partly composed of loosely compacted drift materials, but 
 mainly of Loess. In fact, Nebraska emerged so recently geologically 
 from the waters of the Loess age, that it still exhibits as a whole 
 many of the phenomena of a recently drained lake bed. The gen- 
 tly rolling lands of three-fourths of the State appear very much like 
 the suddenly petrified waves and billows of the ocean. Sometimes 
 extensive stretches of surface are met with that appear to be level, 
 but closer observation shows even these to be gently undulating. 
 From these last mentioned forms to the few isolated sections of lim- 
 ited extent,broken by canyons with precipitous sides, the transition is 
 gradual. Every shade of form and surface connects the two varieties 
 
 of relief. The 
 
 BOTTOM LANDS 
 
 are the most conspicuous modifying feature of the landscape of the 
 State. In crossing the State at rf'ght angles to the direction of the 
 streams, the bottom lands are met with every few miles. They are 
 huge, generally shallow troughs, in breadth proportionate common- 
 ly, to the size of the streams. They range in width from a quarter 
 of a mile on the smaller streams to twenty-three miles on the Platte 
 and the Missouri. They are frequently terraced, and the terraces like 
 broad steps gradually lead to the bordering bluffs which in turn are 
 very varied in height and form. Frequently the low terraces on 
 the bottoms have had their edges so worn away that their charac- 
 ter is concealed. What was once a terrace has become a gentle slope. 
 
TOPOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 5 
 
 A good example of this character are the slopes on the bottoms be- 
 tween Crete and Beatrice, and between Ashland and Lincoln. The 
 bottoms with their bordering lines of bluffs wind and vary in direc- 
 tion as much as the serpentine movements of the streams them- 
 selves. The bluffs are steepest and roughest on the Missouri, es- 
 pecially towards the north line of the State. On the middle Nio- 
 brara they frequently assume the exceptional character of borders to 
 deep canyons. Even on the Missouri there are very few that cannot 
 be successfully cultivated. Occasionally it is hard to tell where the 
 bottom ceases and the bluffs begin. This is owing betimes to the ter- 
 races that ascend the bluffs, and sometimes to the lowness of the 
 bluffs whose rounded outlines like the sides of a shallow basin merge 
 gradually into the bottom. Sometimes the wind has worn the 
 sides of a bluff into stair like forms. The observer not infrequent- 
 ly meets portions of a bluff standing out in isolated, perpendicular 
 walls like huge battlements. The innumerable tributaries that 
 creep quietly and unexpectedly into the main bottoms compli- 
 cate still further these forms of landscape. The traveler with poe- 
 try and art in his composition is often tempted to ascend a bluff adjoin- 
 ing a valley, which lying at his feet, enables him to trace it as far as the 
 eye can reach. The upland plain on the other side, whose inequal- 
 ities are wavelike, gives a sharply outlined background to the pic- 
 ture of the valley. He is at a loss to which to assign the palm of 
 greatest beauty. The effect is intensified w T hen upland and valley 
 are dotted with homesteads and cultivated grounds. The quiet 
 beauty that comes from human industry then blends with the sub- 
 limity of nature. 
 
 The dominant geometrical form observed in the forms of the sur- 
 face is the curve. The observer never gets outside of curves. 
 They intrude themselves everywhere. They are not uniform mo- 
 notonous curves, but curves infinitely varied. Rarety is a straight 
 line needed to relieve from sameness, but w r hen it is needed it is 
 there. The streams, the terraces, the bluffs, the valleys themselves 
 all follow curves. There are short curves and long curves; regu- 
 lar and irregular curves; infinitely varied, seemingly in confusion, 
 but all full of profound expression the expression of matchless 
 beauty. " The curve is the line of beauty." Here nature has put 
 forth her best efforts to exemplify this law. No artist has yet suc- 
 cessfully painted Nebraska scenery. It still awaits the master 
 mind who can catch with his artist's eye these superb forms of 
 
6 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 quiet beauty and place them on canvass. A remarkable feature is 
 the commonness of beautiful landscapes. Almost every mile along 
 the river valleys affords them. The bottoms along the bluffs at 
 every turn are sculptured with beautiful coves, which, sheltered 
 from wind and storm, afford favorite building spots formany people. 
 
 ELEVATION OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 The greater part of Nebraska is a plateau. This will be appar- 
 ent by an examination of the following list of 'elevations above the 
 sea level. For convenience the elevations are given, first in lines 
 running along the Missouri, and then in lines running east and 
 west. Those marked with a star were taken by myself with a 
 barometer and are only proximately correct. Those along the 
 Republican Valley from Orleans westward, were taken by D. N. 
 Smith, Esq., of Burlington, Iowa, and I have reason to believe 
 from observations taken with him that they are proximately cor- 
 rect. The observations in northwestern Nebraska not marked 
 with a star were taken by Captain W. S. Stanton, of the engineer 
 corps, U. S. A. The remaining determinations of heights have 
 been taken from the railroad surveys of the State. The e'evations 
 are in feet. 
 
 Southeast corner of the State on the bottoms. at the mouth of the Nemaha 
 
 River *878 
 
 Brownville 919 
 
 Nebraska City 964 
 
 " " at low water of the Missouri 919 
 
 Plattsmouth 984 
 
 Omaha, U. P. Depot '... 1,056.26 
 
 " low water of Missouri 983.26" 
 
 " high " " " 1,002.26 
 
 Blair 1,111 
 
 Tekamah *1,040 
 
 Decatur '. *1,052 
 
 Dakota City *1,069 
 
 Ponca *1,178 
 
 St. James *1,185 
 
 Green Island *1,204 
 
 Niobrara *1 ,240 
 
 ELEVATIONS NEAR THE SOUTH LINE OF THE STATE. 
 
 Falls City 904 
 
 Beatrice *1,278 
 
 Fairbury 1,324 
 
TOPOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 7 
 
 Belvidere '. x 509 
 
 Red Cloud 
 
 Bloomington 
 
 Orleans 2,150 
 
 Arapahoe 2,250 
 
 Indianola 2,600 
 
 Culbertson 2,760 
 
 State Line 3 QQQ 
 
 Head of the Republican in Colorado 4,050 
 
 ELEVATIONS ALONG THE LINE OF THE B. & M. R. R. IN NE- 
 BRASKA. 
 
 Plattsmouth 934 
 
 Omaha Junction 1,001 
 
 Louisville ', .1,041 
 
 South Bend 1,002 
 
 Ashland 1,102 
 
 Greenwood. 1,141 
 
 Waverly 1,137 
 
 Lincoln 1,164 
 
 Highland 1,429 
 
 Crete 1,369 
 
 Dorchester 1,502 
 
 Fairraount 1,657 
 
 Harvard 1,815 
 
 Juiiiata 1 ,985 
 
 Keiiepaw 2,064 
 
 Lowell 2,086 
 
 Kearney Junction 2,163 
 
 ELEVATIONS ON THE B. & M. R. R. FROM NEBRASKA CITY TO 
 YORK, VIA LINCOLN. 
 
 Nebraska City 964 
 
 Dunbar . . .1,069 
 
 Syracuse 
 Palmyra . 
 Bennett.. 
 Cheneys . 
 Lincoln . . 
 
 ,064 
 ,154 
 ,154 
 ,444 
 ,164 
 
 Woodlawn 1,194 
 
 Germantown 1,584 
 
 Seward 1,449 
 
 York *1,473 
 
 ELEVATIONS ON THE LINE OF THE ATCHISON & NEBRASKA 
 
 RAILROAD. 
 
 Rulo *887 
 
 Falls City 904 
 
8 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Salem ; 917 
 
 Humboldt 989 
 
 Table Rock 1,036 
 
 Tecumseh . 1,120 
 
 Sterling 1 ,193 
 
 Summit 1,375 
 
 Lincoln 1 ,1 64 
 
 ELEVATIONS ALONG THE LINE OF THE UNION PACIFIC RAIL- 
 ROAD. 
 
 Omaha, Union Pacific R. R. Depot 1,050 
 
 Papillion 1 ,009 
 
 Elkhorn. 1,187 
 
 Fremont 1,220 
 
 Schuyler 1,372 
 
 Columbus 1,469 
 
 Clarks 1,647 
 
 Lone Tree 1,723 
 
 Grand Island 1,887 
 
 Wood River 2,011 
 
 Gibbon 2,083 
 
 Kearney 2,143 
 
 Elm Creek 2,278 
 
 Plum Creek 2,406 
 
 Willow Island 2,547 
 
 Bradley 2,673 
 
 North Platte 2,825 
 
 O'Fallon's 3,012 
 
 Alkali 3,074 
 
 Ogalalla 3,225 
 
 Brule 3,301 
 
 Julesburg 3,535 
 
 Lodge Pole 3,835 
 
 Sidney 4,108 
 
 Antelope 4,747 
 
 Pine Bluffs 5,061 
 
 ELEVATIONS ALONG THE LINE OF THE FREMONT, ELKHORN AND 
 MISSOURI VALLEY RAILROAD. 
 
 Fremont 1,220 
 
 Nickerson 1 ,222 
 
 Hooper 1,248 
 
 Scribner 1,227 
 
 Crowell 1,296 
 
 West Point 1,337 
 
 Wisner 1 ,404 
 
 Norfolk * 1 ,428 
 
TOPOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 9 
 
 ELEVATIONS ALONG THE NORTH LINE OF THE STATE. 
 
 Niobrara *1,240 
 
 Mouth of Keya Paha , . . .*i,960 
 
 Mouth of Snake River *2,690 
 
 Camp Sheridan, Old Spotted Tail Agency *3,490 
 
 Camp Robinson 3,764 
 
 State Line on Cottonwood Creek 3,781 
 
 Indian Creek, northwest corner of State 4,013 
 
 Scott's Bluffs, thirty miles north of Pine Bluffs *G,051 
 
 Clark's Bridge, north of Sidney 3,707 
 
 Niobrara River, southeast of Fort Robinson 4,118 
 
 White Man's Fork on State Line, south of U. P. R. R 3,188 
 
 From the preceding data it is estimated that the eastern half or 
 the State along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad has an average 
 elevation of 1,700 feet, the western half 3,525 feet. The average 
 elevation of the whole line would be 2,612 feet. 
 
 Along the south line of the State the elevation of the eastern 
 half averages 1,200 feet; the western half 2,672 feet. 
 
 Along the north line of the State the data given makes the eastern 
 half beginning at Ponca 1,353 above the sea level. The western 
 half averages about the same as that of the line of Union Pacific 
 Railroad. It is proportionately greater along its middle and less 
 along its western portion. This would give an elevation of 2,312 
 feet for the whole State. This is a much smaller elevation than is 
 usually given for the State, but it is the more accurate because based 
 on elevations along the north and south line, as well as through the 
 centre of the State from the east to west. Estimates heretofore 
 made place the mean elevations at 2,550 feet. 
 
 For the first one hundred miles west from Omaha the ascent 
 is at the rate of five and a half feet to the mile. The second 
 hundred miles increases the ascent to seven feet ; the third 
 hundred, seven and a half feet, and the fourth hundred to ten and a 
 half feet to the mile. The ascent on the last fifty miles on the 
 west end of the State is eighteen feet to the mile. While these 
 figures are not exact they are close approximations to the truth. 
 The calculation has been made for the line of the Union Pacific 
 Railroad, but the south line of the State differs very little from this. 
 A similar gradual ascent characterizes the northern line of the 
 State. It will be observed that the second and third hundred miles 
 have almost the same gradual ascent. After this the ascent in- 
 creases quite rapidly until it reaches eighteen feet to the mile. The 
 
10 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 increase of elevation going north and west on the eastern boundary 
 of the State along the Missouri is much less. Taking the mouth of 
 the Nemaha as our starting point, whose elevation is 878 feet, and 
 comparing it with the elevation of the Missouri bottom at Omaha, 
 which is 1,002 feet we have a difference of 124 feet, or a rise of one 
 and a fourth feet to the mile. The fall between Omaha and Dako- 
 ta City is even less than this. 
 
 In western Nebraska the difference in elevation between the 
 south line of the State and the Union Pacific Railroad approxi- 
 mates to 352 feet. On the west line of the State the ascent con- 
 tinues going north until at Scott's Bluffs an elevation of 6,051 feet 
 is reached. Although this is only approximately correct, as I took 
 the observations with a barometer, yet there is little doubt that this is 
 the highest point in the State. From here there is a gradual de- 
 scending slope to the north line of the State with some intervening 
 inequalities and depressions in the valleys of the Niobrara, the 
 White Earth, and Indian Creek. From the Republican River on 
 the West line of the State to Big Springs in the same meridian on 
 the Union Pacific Railroad there is an ascent of 352 feet. From 
 this latter place there is a still further rise of 283 feet to the Niobra- 
 ra River, or a total ascent along this line from south to north of 635 . 
 feet, against a corresponding difference of less than 200 feet along 
 the eastern border of the State. It will also be remembered that 
 the lowest part of the State is its southeast corner, and the highest 
 part is a point north of the Union Pacific Railroad on Scott's Bluffs. 
 Take the State therefore as a whole and it will be seen that it slopes 
 tnainly toward the east and in a minor degree toward the south. 
 The only exception to this rule is the extreme western line of the 
 State, where the Colorado notch has taken from Nebraska territory 
 a section which legitimately should belong to her. Because of this 
 shortening of our southwestern border, Pine Bluffs, the last station of 
 the Union Pacific Railroad in Nebraska is near the south line of the 
 State. From here the ascent toward the north continues only for 
 about thirty-six miles to Scott's Bluffs from which there is a grad- 
 ual descent to Indian Creek near the northwest corner of the State. 
 But eastward from this point the descent is generally south and 
 still more east. As would be expected from such relief forms the 
 great majority of the tributaries of the main streams, except those of 
 the Niobrara, flow towards the southeast. Prof. Wilber has re- 
 marked that lines drawn along the main divides of the State on any 
 
TOPOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 11 
 
 map would enclose the drainage systems in forms resembling huge 
 oags. The open end representing the mouths or lower ends of 
 the rivers will face the east or southeast. 
 
 How TO GAIN A CONCEPTION OF NEBRASKA TOPOGRAPHY. 
 
 Conspicuous as are the valleys of Nebraska no good idea of its 
 topography can be formed by following them exclusively. Thou- 
 sands pass through the Platte Valley from east to west without 
 comprehending the physical features of the State. In fact, I have 
 met many old freighters across the plains who entirely mistook its 
 character, because they had followed mainly the valleys. This, too, 
 is one cause for the misstatements of tourists, who have described 
 Nebraska as a monotonous, level plain. 
 
 To gain a clear conception then of Nebraska topography, one 
 must cross the valleys and divides nearly at right angles. In do- 
 ing this it will be observed that the most rolling lands generally 
 border the valleys or bottoms. Advancing, the rolling and some- 
 times broken character gradually disappears when the divide is 
 reached which separates the last from the next drainage system. 
 Here the land swells out into a gently undulating plain that varies 
 extremely in extent. The extent of such a divide may be limited 
 to a half mile or may extend for thirty or more miles. These 
 swells or long tongues of undulating lands are found on the divides 
 between nearly all the rivers of the State. Occasionally between 
 the lesser streams a single low bluff, a few hundred feet wide, and 
 only slightly raised above the general level, marks the divide. 
 Among the most conspicuous of these divides are the beautiful up- 
 lands between the Republican and the Platte, between the Platte 
 and the Blue Rivers, and between the forks of the Blue Rivers. 
 Between the Blues and Nemahas, and between the forks of the lat- 
 ter similar divides exist. North of the Platte, conspicuous for their 
 beauty, are the divides between the forks of the Elkhorn, and at 
 the headwaters and between the forks of the Logan, and between 
 the Elkhorn and the Loups. In fact they are met with between 
 most of the streams of the State. Some of these high uplands have 
 great numbers of shallow basin-shaped depressions whose soil and 
 grasses closely resemble those of the bottom lands. They are evi- 
 dently the remains of lakes that until recently occupied their sites. 
 Indeed some of them still retain this character, being filled with water 
 the whole year round, varying from one to ten feet in depth. 
 
12 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Between these last and swamps and bogs, every kind of transition 
 form is found. Fillmore, Clay, York, Hamilton, Franklin, Phillips 
 and Wayne Counties have a notable number of these old lake beds. 
 
 NUMBER OF NEBRASKA VALLEYS. 
 
 Nothing is more surprising to one who studies the relief forms 
 of the State than the amazing number of valleys or bottom lands. 
 Some writers have stated that there were several hundred. It would 
 have been more correct to have reported several thousand. Take 
 the region of the Republican as an example. On an average a 
 tributary valley comes into the main bottom from the north side 
 every two miles. Now as this river flows for two hundred miles 
 through the State, it would give one hundred for this section alone. 
 Counting, however, the streams that come in from the south side, 
 and those flowing into its larger tributaries, this number should be 
 multiplied by at least four, giving four hundred valleys great and 
 small for this region alone. Now add to these valleys those that 
 are tributary to the Platte, the Blues, the Nemahas, the Elkhorns, 
 the Logan, the Bows, the Missouri between its larger tributaries, 
 the Niobrara and the Loups, and it will increase the number to 
 thousands. It is true that many of them are narrow, ranging from 
 one fourth to a mile in width, but still they are valleys with living 
 or extinct stream beds in the middle or towards one side of them,' 
 and having all the physical features of the larger river bottoms. 
 As already intimated there are a few minor valleys among the 
 smaller tributaries of the upper Elkhorns, Bazile, Loups, Niobra- 
 ra and Republican, in the stream beds of which the water no long- 
 er flows, but as will be shown further on many of them are regain- 
 ing, and all of them will in time, their former supply of water. 
 Thus can be seen why over the larger part of Nebraska the settler 
 can have his choice between bottom and upland. The great body 
 of these bottom lands, though composed of the richest mould and 
 modified alluvium and Loess materials are perfectly dry. It is true 
 that swamps are occasionally met with, but they occur at long in- 
 tervals and are the exception. 
 
 No one can gain any idea of the number of these bottom lands by 
 looking at a map. Neither can they ^be found on the plats of the 
 government surveys, though in the latter they are more fully given 
 than in the former. In fact, counting in the small tributaries with 
 their narrow bottoms, not less than twenty-five per cent of the 
 
TOPOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 13 
 
 entire surface of the State is made up of bottom lands. This is a 
 higher estimate than I formerly made, but I have come to it by in- 
 creased study of the physical features of the State. 
 
 EXCEPTIONAL FEATURES OF THE NIOBRARA RIVER REGION. 
 
 The Niobrara River is the least known of all the drainage sys- 
 tems of the State. It deserves to be better known, and in the near 
 future will be visited and studied by the geologist and the artist. 
 It holds concealed many unrevealed wonders for the student of na- 
 ture and of art. 
 
 For the first ninety miles from its mouth the Niobrara is not 
 greatly different from other Nebraska rivers, save in the exception- 
 al rapidity of its current, and its sandy flats and numerous islands. 
 Its bottom is also narrower in proportion to the size of the river 
 than other streams of the State. 
 
 In going up the valley it is observed to change rapidly at about 
 longitude 99 20'. The bluffs contract and become lofty. In fact, 
 the river here flows through a deep canyon. It retains this charac- 
 ter for the next 180 miles or to about longitude 102. The sides of 
 the canyon are often three hundred and sometimes four hundred feet 
 high. The walls are mostly composed of silicious, and yellowish, 
 whitish and calcareous rocks. They are often capped with a hard 
 grit which preserves their vertical character, and often causes them 
 to be undermined and assume an umbrella form. In this cany on re- 
 gion it is next to impossible to follow along the immediate banks of 
 the river, owing to the numerous isolated buttes and walls that 
 rise perpendicularly from near the water's edge, making walls 
 across the line of travel hundreds of feet high. No indication of 
 the river's existence is here given in approaching it from either side, 
 except by the trees that sometimes rear their tops above the canyon, 
 and which grow near the water's edge. The sides of the canyon are 
 worn into innumerable labyrinths by the numberless springs that 
 have been, like the main river, chiseling the rocks for ages. These 
 lateral canyons are exceedingly mazy in their windings. Nowhere 
 else have I ever seen such cool, clear, strong and sparkling springs 
 as here abound. Their number is astonishing. They are met with 
 in places for miles every few hundred feet or yards. 
 
 At the lower end of this canyon region the rocks are of cretaceous 
 age. Towards the west end the cretaceous becomes covered with 
 tertiary rocks. Vegetation in the canyons of the Niobrara is 
 
14 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 prolific. In places pines and cedars abound. Near the east end of the 
 canyon region the oak,ash, cottonwood and elm, and occasionally box 
 elder are intermingled with pines which sometimes, however, are 
 entirely wanting. Grass, too, is abundant. Here formerly was the 
 paradise for elk, deer and antelope, wolves and foxes. Food and 
 shelter, the agencies most important to preserve brute life was spe- 
 cially abundant. No wonder that the Indian tenaciously clung to 
 this region. Here the chase always supplied him with abundance 
 of food. To him it was also consecrated ground. Here in the laby- 
 rinthine canyons among the trees, druid like, with the light of the 
 sun shut out, he communed with the shades of his ancestors. Here 
 he heard as he did nowhere else the voice of the Great Spirit in the 
 rustle of the leaves and the sighing of the winds. 
 
 Where the river enters the canyon it is about eighty-two yards 
 wide. It narrows towards its source, and before the west line of 
 the State is reached it is reduced in breadth to ten or fifteen feet. 
 The water, however, is remarkably clear and cool. Above the 
 canyon the valley is well covered with grass and a great abundance 
 of rushes. Wood, however, in this part of its course is rare. 
 
 A large part of the entire middle portion of the Niobrara River, 
 as first observed by General Warren, flows lengthwise of an anti- 
 clinal ridge. In the canyons, for example, the rocks dip away from 
 the river on each side. In places where I had opportunity to 
 measure the angle their inclination away from the stream amounted 
 to from ten to fifteen degrees. It is probable that the river has been 
 outlined only since the close of the submergence that attended the gla- 
 cial age. Flowing along this anticlinal ridge when it first emerged it 
 has continued in its old rut as the continent was rising, cutting 
 down its bed about as rapidly as the uplifting took place. It is 
 probably a continuation of some uplift and break eastward from 
 the mountains similar to the one seen near Camp Robinson. Over 
 a portion of the western end of the Niobrara River this anticlinal 
 ridge on top of which it flows is not visible. The cutting of the 
 river still continues, but its rate is uncertain but probably about a 
 foot to the century. 
 
 As would be expected the tributaries of the Niobrara that flow 
 into it from the north or south are very short. The larger ones in- 
 variably flow parallel or nearly so to it. The Keya Paha and 
 Snake River are the most conspicuous instances. I have no doubt 
 that hereafter it will be found that the Keya Paha occupies a 
 
TOPOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 15 
 
 depression beyond the anticlinal ridge along which the Niobrara 
 flows. In the canyon region, in going to the Niobrara,when within 
 twelve or fifteen miles of it I invariably found myself going up 
 hill. It was rarely sensible to the eye, but the barometer noted it 
 distinctly. When the river was reached it lay from one hundred 
 and fifty to four hundred feet below. On the north side it was 
 again down hill for a short distance. Some of the head waters of 
 the Loup originate close to the Niobrara, because of this ridge on 
 top of which it flows. This makes it impossible to drain much of 
 the country from the south. For the exceptional meteorological 
 conditions here the reader is referred to Chapter III. 
 
 SAND HILLS. 
 
 South of the valley of the Niobrara and its canyons, and com- 
 mencing about longitude 100 are the far famed Sand Hills. The 
 sands of these hills are partially moveable. Where they monopo- 
 lize the ground travel is difficult, both because of the inequalities of 
 the ground and their shifting character. They vary in height from 
 a few yards to several hundred feet. Their shape approximates 
 the conical form. A curious character of these hills is the conical 
 depression so frequently found on or near their summits which are 
 made by the winds. Many of these have the form of craters. 
 Sometimes these crater-like excavations occur on the sides of the 
 sand hills. Indeed almost every kind of wind sculpturing occurs 
 among them, and the observer is surprised at every step at the 
 strange forms that meet him. It is a fine field for the study of the 
 opposite effects on landscape of wind and water agencies. Such 
 crater-like holes freshly formed are destitute of vegetation. Form- 
 erly these " barren holes " were abundant in the sand hill regions. 
 Now the great body of them are grown over with grass, and new 
 ones in process of forming are only met with at longer intervals* 
 But by no means is so large an extent of country covered by them 
 as is sometimes represented. In going southward from the Nio- 
 brara after wandering among the sand hills for ten or fifteen miles 
 they, are found often suddenly to cease, and a grass-covered prairie 
 of great richness to take their place. There are also extensive sand 
 hills at the head of the Loups. Between these sections there is 
 generally a gently rolling prairie with occasional sand hills dotted 
 over them. There are also sand hills south of the Platte from 
 Kearney eastward several miles in width, and on the upper Repub- 
 
16 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 lican. The character and origin of these sand hills will be dis- 
 cussed in the chapter on the superficial geology of the State. Suffice 
 it here to say that these sand hills are being covered by the increas- 
 ing rainfall of the State with nutritious grasses, and are becoming 
 fine grazing grounds. While principally composed of sand they 
 also contain a large amount of potash, soda and lime, and these 
 fertilizers start vegetation as soon as there is a sufficiency of 
 moisture. 
 
 BAD LANDS. 
 
 The bad lands run into northwestern Nebraska, but cover a very 
 limited area mainly beyond the White River. They are made up 
 of indurated sands, clays and marl, and occasional layers of thin 
 hard rock. They have been cut up into deep canyons and ravines 
 by atmospheric agencies. The sides, until the talus at the bottom 
 is reached, are often vertical and sometimes capped at the top with 
 a hard rock that projects beyond the sides. Often without a parti- 
 cle of vegetation the isolated cones, columns and peaks look in the 
 distance like towers, pyramids, cathedrals and obelisks, resembling 
 the ruins of the eld cities of the Orient. The geological age and 
 the character of the fossil plants and animals will be discussed in 
 the chapter on the Tertiary Age. 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 Temperature Tables of Temperature Mean Temperature of Summer, 
 Winter and Spring Bulletins Autumns Mean Temperature of the Year- 
 Extremes of Temperature Winds Storms of Winter Purity of the atmos- 
 phere Ozone. 
 
 THE factors that enter into the determination of climate are tem- 
 perature, forms of relief, condition of the atmosphere, geo- 
 graphical position and rainfall. Before giving the characteristics 
 of the climate of Nebraska, it is important to look at the most im- 
 portant facts that produce them. For this purpose the following 
 meteorlogical tables are introduced. 
 
 TEMPERATURE. 
 
 There has been much misapprehension about the temperature of 
 Nebraska. Sometimes it has been represented as possessing a 
 semi-arctic climate; and again that its summers are of a torrid char- 
 acter. To show the real facts in the case, the following tables of 
 daily temperatures for a year are given from the reports of the Sig- 
 nal Service. The stations are on the U. P. R. R., three hundred 
 miles apart, and approximate closely to the mean temperature for 
 the whole State. 
 
 In addition to the tables of the Signal Service, no exhibit would 
 be complete without the results obtained by Dr. A. S. Childs, of 
 Plattsmouth, one of the most careful, conscientious and accurate 
 scientific observers in any country. He has been constantly report- 
 ing, first for the Smithsonian and then for the Signal Service, since 
 1 866. Prior to that year he had also been reporting at intervals. 
 The tables prepared by him follow these tw r o from the Signal 
 Service. 
 
18 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
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CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 
 
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CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 TABLE "B." 
 
 21 
 
 In the following table we have the mean temperature of the 
 seasons and years, as also the total snow and rainfall, including 
 melted snow. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Seasons. 
 
 Temp, 
 of Seasons. 
 
 Temp, of Year 
 
 . Yearly Snow. 
 
 Yearly Rain 
 and Melted Snow. 
 
 18G6 
 
 Winter 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 19 99 
 47.03 
 
 72.78 
 49 75 
 
 17 53 
 
 11 45 ins. 
 
 4.10 inches. 
 8.34 
 11 95 
 7.31 31 70 
 
 1867 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 20.15 
 39 20 
 74 31 
 
 52 57 
 
 4. l>7 
 
 35 55 
 
 6 14 
 13 17 
 9 55 
 2.65 31.31 
 
 1868 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 20 83 
 61 53 
 75 13 
 47 00 
 
 4,-S 84 
 
 1 
 27.20 
 
 2 85 
 14 55 
 14 36 
 6 15 37.85 
 
 1869 
 
 Winter. 
 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 21 61 
 47 75 
 72 44 
 45 10 
 
 47 42 
 
 39 00 
 
 5 85 
 9 60 
 24 55 
 7.35 47.35 
 
 1870 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 22 14 
 46 17 
 
 70 00 
 47.64 
 
 46 61 
 
 22 00 
 
 4 60 
 9 50 
 9.10 
 8 90 32.10 
 
 1871 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 22 28 
 49 5-z 
 71.97 
 42 94 
 
 46 82" 
 
 18 00 
 
 2.25 
 4.60 
 19.70 
 5.70 32.25 
 
 1872 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 22 "81 
 37 80 
 74.22 
 47 71 
 
 45.69 
 
 12 80 
 
 1.85 
 7.70 
 13 00 
 8 80 31.35 
 
 1H73 
 
 Winter. 
 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 17 75 
 46 92 
 76 22 
 48 79 
 
 47.58 
 
 10 06 
 
 4 30 
 35 50 
 12 20 
 7.45 49 45 
 
 1874 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 20.88 
 48 13 
 78 50 
 51 13 
 
 49.81 
 
 J>8 35 
 
 3 80 
 9 75 
 20 52 
 15 04 49 11 
 
 1875 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 15 06 
 45 55 
 71 67 
 47 31 
 
 45.09 
 
 29 26 
 
 2 08 
 12.48 
 
 28 70 
 6.96 50. t -2 
 
 1876 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 29.17 
 
 47.77" 
 72 89 
 46 73 
 
 49 20 
 
 22 00 
 
 2.10 
 10 35 
 20 41 
 9.88 42.74 
 
 1877 
 
 W T inter. 
 
 Spring. 
 S 'miner. 
 Fall. 
 
 22 95 
 47 23 
 70 88 
 49 69 
 
 47.77 
 
 23 30 
 
 1.81 
 14 46 
 18 17 
 11 18 40.62 
 
 1878 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 Summer. 
 Fall. 
 
 33.18 
 52 73 
 72 85 
 51 98 
 
 52 64 
 
 17 60 
 
 3 57 
 12 64 
 22 48 
 4 78 53 87 
 
 1879 
 
 Winter. 
 Spring. 
 
 21 84 
 
 52 98 
 
 
 22.45 
 
 1.89 
 10 26 
 
 The winter season in the above table includes December, January 
 and February. Spring, the next three, &c. 
 
22 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 TABLE C." 
 
 Gives the date of each day, from 1861 to 1876, inclusive, on 
 which the mercury of the thermometer has fallen below zero, as 
 also the degree. December being taken as the first month of the 
 succeeding civil year. The usual sign denoting below zero. 
 
 TABLE C. 
 
 1861 
 
 1862 
 
 1863 
 
 1864 
 
 1865 
 
 1866 
 
 1867 
 
 1868 
 
 Jan20 -20 Dec23 - 6 Jan 16 -10 
 21 -24! 27-3 Feb 2 -10 
 
 Nov27 - 2 NOY22 - 2 
 28-9 Dec 7-6 
 
 Dec 5 -10 Decll'- 1 
 12 - 6 Jan 1-8 
 
 NOY 9 - 7 
 Jan 6-8 
 
 23-3 Jan 9-8 5-5 
 
 29-4 
 
 8 -16 
 
 13 -20 
 
 6-2 
 
 7-2 
 
 24-6: 11 - 
 
 
 Decl4 - 4 
 
 9-7 
 
 14 -16 
 
 9-3 
 
 8-6 
 
 25 -13 
 
 12 -13 
 
 
 30 - 2 
 
 *10 -10 
 
 15 -15 
 
 21-3 
 
 9-6 
 
 27 -12 
 
 13 -1.2 
 
 
 31 -24 
 
 11 -14 
 
 16 -10 
 
 26-4 
 
 11-6 
 
 31-6 
 
 14-7 
 
 
 Jaii 1 --33 Jan 22 - 1 
 
 21 -18 
 
 27 -10 
 
 12-4 
 
 Feb 7-7 
 
 15-8 
 
 
 2 -151 24 -10 
 
 22 -30 
 
 29 - 1 
 
 15 -19 
 
 8-3 
 
 17 -17 
 
 
 3-5 25 -10 
 
 28-8 
 
 Feb 8-8 
 
 16 -26 
 
 
 18-2 
 
 
 4-4 26 -10 Jan 1(5 ~:5 
 
 9 -1C 
 
 17 -25 
 
 
 30-7 
 
 
 5 -10 27-7 
 
 17 -It; 
 
 2;> - 4 
 
 18 -13 
 
 
 
 
 6 -15 28 -10 
 
 18 -1? 
 
 21 -1( 
 
 20 - 8 
 
 
 
 
 7 -32 Mar 2 - 5| 19 - 8 
 
 23 - x 
 
 21-8 
 
 
 
 
 8-6 
 
 4 61 20 -;; 
 
 ''4 - \ 
 
 24 - :$ 
 
 
 
 
 9-8 
 
 9 -17 
 
 21 - . 
 
 Mar > - \ 
 
 27 -16 
 
 
 
 
 11 -10 
 
 
 24 - i 
 
 13 -:0 
 
 29 -15 
 
 
 
 
 
 Feb 4 -.0 
 
 14 - 9 
 
 31 - 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 -M 
 
 16 - 1 
 
 Feb J - 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 -IX 
 
 17 - 1 
 
 ti -12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 -K 
 
 24 -4 
 
 8 - r> 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 - f 
 
 
 9 -22 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Marl.' - 
 
 
 1!) -12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11-3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28 -10 
 
 December 10th, 1865, David Jardine Iro/e to Deaih. 
 T1.BLE C. (Continued.) 
 
 1869 
 
 1870 
 
 1871 
 
 1872 
 
 1873 
 
 1874 
 
 1875 
 
 1876 
 
 Dec 8 - 9 
 
 9-8 
 
 Jan 8 - 7 
 16-4 
 
 Dec21 - 4 
 22 -11 
 
 Nov29 - 6 
 Dec 3-6 
 
 Nov27 - 4 
 
 28 - 1 
 
 Dec 3-1 
 
 20-7 
 
 Dec.28 - 3 
 29 -10 
 
 Nov^l - 1 
 
 29 - 7 
 
 10 -14 
 
 17-7 
 
 23 -16 
 
 4 -12 
 
 29-5 
 
 Jan 4-3 
 
 Jan 2-5 
 
 Decl7 - 8 
 
 11 -30 
 
 18 -13 
 
 24-9 
 
 19-1 
 
 Dec 9 - 3 
 
 14-6 
 
 3-1 
 
 JsnlO - 2 
 
 23 - 5Febl9 - 8 
 
 26-3 
 
 20-1 
 
 16 - 1 
 
 15 -10 
 
 4 -10 
 
 Feb 1 -12 
 
 24 - 8| 20 -12 
 
 Jan 13-9 
 
 25-6 
 
 20-5 
 
 23 -9 
 
 5 -18 
 
 3 - 1 
 
 Jan25 - 2 Mar 8-2 
 
 14-4 
 
 26-4 
 
 21 -20 
 
 24 -14 
 
 6-8 
 
 4-3 
 
 Feb 4 -10 
 
 14-5 
 
 17-4 
 
 Jan 23 -10 
 
 23 -20 
 
 Feb 9 - 1 
 
 8 -19 
 
 Mar20 - 4 
 
 22-1 
 
 15 -11 
 
 18-7 
 
 24-2 
 
 24 -16 
 
 23-4 
 
 9 -21 
 
 
 27-7 
 
 
 Feb 9-7 
 
 25-6 
 
 25 - 3 
 
 24-6 
 
 10-9 
 
 
 Mar 4-2 
 
 
 10-2 
 
 27 - 5 
 
 26-8 
 
 
 12 -11 
 
 
 6-5 
 
 
 12 -10 
 
 28 -111 27-10 
 
 
 13 -20 
 
 
 15 - 4 
 
 
 13 - 3 
 
 31 -12 ! Jan 8-3 
 
 
 14 -19 
 
 
 
 
 
 Febl2 - 1 9-9 
 
 15 -10 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 - 6 
 
 10 14; 
 
 16-1 
 
 
 
 
 
 14-5 
 
 16 - 8 
 
 
 18-7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17 -17 
 
 
 30 - 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18-7 
 
 
 31 -10 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 ^4-7 
 
 
 Feb 2-4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27 - 8 
 
 
 3 -12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28 -23 
 
 
 4 -21 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 29 -14 
 
 
 6-6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 31 - 7 
 
 
 7-7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Feb 1 -10 
 
 
 8-2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2-4 
 
 
 9-2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20-3 
 
 
 15 - 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22 - 4 
 
 
 17-9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23-2 
 
 
 25-7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mar 3-4 
 
 
 27 - 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mar 3-3 
 
 
 In these sixteen years only twice as low as 32*and four times to 30*. 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 23 
 
 During the same period of 19 years, embraced in table "C," the 
 mercury has risen to 100 and upwards as follows: 
 
 1857. July 15, 102, August 5, 100, August 13, 101. 
 
 1859. July 14, 101. 
 
 1860. July 15, 100, July 20, 104, July 24, 100. 
 
 1861. August 3, 100, August 4, 104, August 5, 104. 
 1866. July 23, 100, August 6, 101. 
 
 1868. July 18, 100, 20, 106, 21, 100, 28, 101. 
 
 1873. August 30, 101. 
 
 1874. July 7, 102, 8, 105, 14, 103, 18, 100, 23, 104, 24, 107, 25, 113, 
 31, 110, August 9, 100, 10, 111, 19, 100, 21, 102. 
 
 Dr. Childs' remarks of the above last two months "that the heat 
 was unparalleled on any record made in the United States." 
 During this period of nineteen years eleven have passed without 
 raising the mercury to 100 degrees. 
 
 The force or velocity of the wind is now generally rated on a 
 scale of 10, as follows: 
 
 1 . Indicates a very light breeze of 2 miles an hour. 
 
 2. Indicates a very gentle breeze of 4 miles an hour. 
 
 3. Indicates a very fresh breeze of 12 miles an hour. 
 
 4. Indicates a very strong wind of 25 miles an hour. 
 
 5. Indicates a very high wind of 35 miles an hour. 
 
 6. Indicates a gale of 45 miles an hour. 
 
 7. Indicates a very strong gale of 60 miles an hour. 
 
 8. Indicates a very violent gale of 75 miles an hour. 
 
 9. Indicates a hurricane of 90 miles an hour. 
 
 10. Indicates a most violent hurricane of 100 miles an hour. 
 
 This velocity is measured and registered by rather a costly in- 
 strument named an anemometer. 
 
 Without an anemometer, the observer notes the direction from 
 which the wind comes, and estimates its force as i, 2, 3, and 6. 
 This observation and record is made three times a day the same as 
 with other meteorological instruments. In table "D," I give a sum- 
 mary of these observations for the year 1874. 
 
24 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 TABLE "D." 
 Direction and force of wind for the year 1874. 
 
 
 N. 
 
 NE. 
 
 E. 
 
 SE. 
 
 S. 
 
 SW. 
 
 W. 
 
 NW. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Dec. 1873 
 Jan. 1874 
 
 14 
 14 
 
 2 
 6 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 fi 
 
 n 
 
 11 
 
 14 
 2 
 
 25 
 88 
 
 l6 
 135 
 
 February. 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 19 
 
 17 
 
 10 
 
 
 19 
 
 105 
 
 March 
 
 30 
 
 23 
 
 g 
 
 28 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 If; 
 
 12 
 
 159 
 
 April 
 
 13 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 53 
 
 23 
 
 8 
 
 " n 
 
 19 
 
 Ih8 
 
 May 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 64 
 
 68 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 15 
 
 182 
 
 June 
 
 o 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 59 
 
 (53 
 
 10 
 
 g 
 
 13 
 
 160 
 
 July ... 
 
 g 
 
 6 
 
 27 
 
 26 
 
 74 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 
 172 
 
 August 
 
 21 
 
 6 
 
 55 
 
 37 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 157 
 
 September. 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 28 
 
 17 
 
 25 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 134 
 
 October 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 33 
 
 20 
 
 >5 
 
 
 128 
 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 43 
 
 22 
 
 7 
 
 31 
 
 141 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 170 
 
 107 
 
 150 
 
 349 
 
 454 
 
 165 
 
 118 
 
 220 
 
 1733 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 By exchanging the totals of March and April, as also by trans- 
 ferring 50 from the total of south, to the total of north, and this 
 gives nearly the mean of ten years past. 
 
 Tables "A," B," "C" and D," are all from Dr. Childs. The 
 following table of the direction and force of the wind is t.iken from 
 the report of the Signal Service. It shows how many times the 
 wind blew from the eight cardinal points, from July, 1877, to July, 
 1878. 
 
 Station. 
 
 Wind 
 
 
 :_ 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 G 
 
 1 
 
 g 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 
 be 
 
 V 
 
 | 
 
 s 
 
 C 
 w 
 
 
 
 >? 
 
 Si 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 Q) 
 
 5 
 
 | 
 
 I 
 
 Z* 
 
 w 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 w 
 O 
 
 1 
 
 ft 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 ft 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 ft 
 
 CO 
 
 p 
 
 3 
 
 00 
 
 fl 
 
 I 
 
 r 
 
 N. 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 11 
 
 31 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 3fi 
 
 33 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 51 
 
 39 
 
 63 
 
 81 
 
 
 N.W. 
 
 13 
 
 17 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 23 
 
 18 
 
 22 
 
 10 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 
 17 
 
 56 
 
 47 
 
 49 
 
 50 
 
 
 W. 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 20 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 
 S. W. 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 S 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 17 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 Omaha 4 
 
 8. 
 S. E 
 
 40 
 12 
 
 24 
 19 
 
 38 
 12 
 
 18 
 15 
 
 22 
 9 
 
 24 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 4 
 
 23 
 5 
 
 17 
 13 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 11 
 17 
 
 21 
 16 
 
 39 
 
 85 
 47 
 
 78 
 36 
 
 71 
 21 
 
 
 E. 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 6 
 
 30 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 -.- | 
 
 N.E. 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 25 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 
 Calm. 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 R 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 15 
 
 I 
 
 Blank 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 N. 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 24 
 
 18 
 
 28 
 
 
 N.W. 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 34 
 
 34 
 
 28 
 
 47 
 
 23 
 
 39 
 
 29 
 
 33 
 
 17 
 
 101 
 
 37 
 
 82 
 
 98 
 
 
 W. 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 19 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 21 
 
 10 
 
 32 
 
 43 
 
 
 S. W. 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 nl 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 13 
 
 16 
 
 13 
 
 NorthPlatte- 
 
 S. 
 
 S. E. 
 
 35 
 12 
 
 21 
 19 
 
 10 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 5 
 
 11 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 10 
 
 6 
 11 
 
 5 
 13 
 
 14 
 23 
 
 22 
 
 34 
 
 70 
 54 
 
 25 
 
 27 
 
 22 
 
 21 
 
 
 E. 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 40 
 
 28 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 
 N.E. 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 33 
 
 36 
 
 47 
 
 23 
 
 
 ICalm. 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 Blank 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 25 
 
 MEAN TEMPERATURE OF SUMMER. 
 
 From the preceding tables it will b seen that the average mean 
 temperature of the summer months, that is of June, July and Aug- 
 ust, in Eastern Nebraska, is between 72 and 74; or, more accu- 
 rately, close to 73. At North Platte it averages slightly higher. 
 Now, the summer isotherm of 72 starts about one-third of the 
 distance north of the south line of New Jersey, runs northwest 
 till it strikes the Appalachians in Pennsylvania, then goes south 
 and west, appearing again a little south of the east edge of Ohio, 
 and from there keeps a westerly direction until it strikes the Mis- 
 souri near Sioux City. There it follows the Missouri around its 
 big bend in Northeastern Nebraska and into Dakota Territory, 
 until it reaches almost to the 46th parallel. From this last point 
 it again moves a little south of west, passing through a small cor- 
 ner of Northwestern Nebraska, and thence on to Fort Laramie, 
 and thence southward, mainly near to or along the foothills, until 
 the loftier regions of Mexico are reached. 
 
 The summer isotherm of 76 is almost parallel with the last, 
 passing through Northern Kansas, but not reaching the State 
 line. Included between these two isotherms is a large part of 
 Southern New Jersey, Southern Pennsylvania, the southern half 
 of Ohio, ad the greater part of Indiana and Illinois, the southern 
 half of Iowa, and the whole of Nebraska except a very small 
 patch in the northwestern corner of the State. Kentucky, Vir- 
 ginia, Maryland and Delaware are also necessarily included be- 
 tween these isotherms. Nebraska, therefore, has a mean summer 
 temperature considerably higher than States in the East in the 
 same latitudes. There are some advantages in this high summer 
 temperature, particularly in fruit culture. It is well known, for 
 example, that some of the finest grapes only mature where the 
 summer temperature is from 68 to 72. Our fine soils and nat- 
 ural drainage, therefore, would be without avail were it not that 
 these conditions are complemented by a high mean summer tem- 
 perature. 
 
 THE MEAN WINTER TEMPERATURE. 
 
 The winter months are regarded as embracing December, Jan- 
 uary and February. The mean isochimal, or line of equal mean 
 temperature of 20, according to the Smithsonian Reports, includes 
 the south half of the State, and the northeastern portion as far as 
 
26 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 one hundred miles west of the Missouri. This line enters the 
 State near its northwest corner, and then passing southeast, and 
 then in an easterly direction, slightly north of a line half way be- 
 tween the Platte and the north line of the State until it reaches 
 within about one hundred miles of the Missouri. It then makes 
 an angle, turning to the northwest, and mainly keeping that direc- 
 tion until it strikes the mouth of the White Earth River. Cross- 
 ing Northern Iowa, it strikes the northwest corner of Illinois, then 
 turns northeast to Green Bay, and thence to the coast by way of 
 the Straits of Mackinaw. From this it appears that all of Ne- 
 braska, except the small part north and west of the line just de- 
 scribed, has an average temperature like Northern Illinois and 
 Ohio. The portion north and west of the line described has a 
 mean winter temperature slightly lower, if the Smithsonian data 
 can be trusted. The number of observations, however, on which 
 this isochimal line was based through Northern Nebraska were no- 
 toriously few and imperfect. My own conviction is that future, 
 more perfect data will assign the whole of Northern Nebraska to 
 at least the isochimal line of 20. 
 
 MEAN TEMPERATURE AND CHARACTER OF SPRING. 
 
 The next season of greatest interest is that of spring. What in 
 other words is the mean temperature of March, April and May ? 
 The best exhibit of the spring temperature is found in Dr. Childs' 
 table, " B." From that it is seen that the mean temperature of 
 spring for the last ten years was 47, 47'. The reports of the 
 Signal Offices at Omaha and North Platte do not differ materially 
 from this determination. The Nebraska Weather Service, inaug- 
 urated first by Prof. Bailey, and now conducted by Prof. Thomp- 
 son, Superintendent of Public Instruction, gives the following 
 bulletins for the spring months confirmatory of the above, with 
 additional facts of great importance : 
 
 Bulletin for March. " Highest temperature recorded, 92 at 
 Palmyra, at 2 p. M., on the 2yth; lowest 21, at Desota, on the 
 1 4th. Average noon observations for the whole State, 52. Low 
 est noon temperature 15, on the ist. Highest noon temperature 
 92, on the 27th. Average of all the observations gives the tern 
 perature of the ist at 20, and of the 2yth at 86. Four stations 
 report over an inch of rainfall, viz.: Weeping Water, 1.25 of an 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 27 
 
 inch; Sterling, 1.08; Desota, 1.43; Logan Valley, 1.04. Average 
 of all stations east of 6th principal meridian, ^ of an inch. West 
 of that line, i-io of an inch. March, 1878, had more than three 
 times that amount. Wild geese first seen in Cedar County on the 
 4th, at Kearney on the yth. Adder's tongue in bloom at Table 
 Rock on the 3Oth. Meadow larks seen at Logan Valley in Cedar 
 County on the 23d; plover and curlew on the 25th. Prevailing 
 winds of the month from the northwest and westerly points, but 
 considerable also from the southeast." 
 
 S. R. THOMPSON, Director. 
 
 Bulletin for April, 1879: " Highest noon temperature re- 
 ported from several stations, 84; lowest, 29, at Logan Valley, 
 Cedar County. Noon observations average 60. Rainfall for all 
 stations east of 6th principal meridian average 2 inches; west of that 
 line 2^/3 inches. Minden Station reports 9.93 inches. As there may 
 be some mistake about this, it is not included in the averages. Rain- 
 fall of April, '79, almost the same as April '78 It seemed drier 
 this year because at the beginning of April, 1878, the ground was 
 very moist, while in 1879 it was comparatively dry. Prevailing 
 winds from southeast. Plums in bloom on the loth, in the north 
 part of the State; peaches on i9th; apple trees on 23d. Box 
 elders in leaf on 28th. Vegetation several weeks later than last 
 year." S. R. THOMPSON, Director. 
 
 Bulletin for June, 1879: Temperature The highest noon 
 temperature was 100, reported at Humboldt, Richardson County. 
 
 The highest at no station was less than 87 ; generally it was 
 above 90. 
 
 The lowest was 50 reported from Weeping Water. The gen- 
 eral report averaged about 60 for the lowest noon observation. 
 
 Light frost on the night of the ist, at Inavale, Webster County, 
 also at Kearney on night of the 2d. 
 
 Rainfall During first ten days of the month the rainfall was 
 very slight; from many stations none at all are reported. During 
 the two last decades ten days the rainfall was abundant and 
 evenly distributed. The average of all stations reported east of the 
 sixth principal meridian is 4.88 inches, and for all west of that line 
 5.46 inches. The greatest fall reported at any one station east was 
 at Mission Creek, Pawnee County, being 8.25 inches, and the 
 smallest amount reported was at Palmyra, Otoe County, it being 
 
28 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 3.07. The largest fall reported west was at Minden, Kearney 
 County, which was 10.30 inches, and the smallest fall was near 
 Genoa, Platte County, it being 3.25 inches. The average for the 
 State was just 5 inches. 
 
 Prevailing winds were from the south and southeast. 
 
 June loth a severe storm reported from Inavale; high wind with 
 hail and rain; injuring crops and destroying buildings. Storm of 
 June 25th was severe in many parts of the State, the wind doing 
 some damage to buildings and beating down the corn. 
 
 Crops General reports very encouraging. Wheat damaged in 
 some localities by chinch bugs. S. R. THOMPSON, Director. 
 
 From the preceding bulletins the general character of the spring 
 months can be determined. March is often characterized, as else- 
 where, by frequently changing winds and sudden rises and falls of 
 temperature. Pleasant weather sets in in April. The genial sun- 
 shine and the bursting into life of the vegetable kingdom in this 
 stimulating climate renders this a most inspiring season. 
 
 AUTUMNS. 
 
 Nothing in the Nebraska climate is more notable than its pe- 
 culiar, long, mild, dry autumns. It can be seen from Dr. Childs' 
 exhibit that the average temperature for the ten years end- 
 ing with 1875, for September was 62 20', and for October 50 64', 
 and for November 35 61'. The average for the entire three 
 months for the ten years ending in 1875 is 49 49'. The signal 
 service reports the temperature at Omaha for September, 1878, 
 as 66 6', and for October, 51 i', and at North Platte for the same 
 year, for September, 64 6', and for October 44 6\ It will also 
 be observed that excessive rains seldom fall during these months. 
 The autumns are therefore exceedingly mild and long. Some- 
 times there is a short rough spell in October, but almost univer- 
 sally it is followed by mild weather which is often prolonged into 
 December, and has been known to last till January. These 
 long "Indian Summers" are here, even more than elsewhere 
 characterized by a curious haze which mellows the light of the 
 sun. It has the curious effect on "high strung" natures of rousing 
 the poetic sensibilities, and giving the weird shadowy experi- 
 ences of dream land. It is a most favorable season for toil, mental 
 and physical. The numberless things to be done on the farm 
 become, during this season, almost a pastime to the agriculturist. 
 Existence to a healthy body now is a pleasure and toil a delight. 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 29 
 
 MEAN TEMPERATURE OF THE WHOLE YEAR. 
 
 The mean temperature of the whole year in Nebraska, not- 
 withstanding the extreme cold of winter, is remarkably high. 
 The mean yearly isotherm of55, for example, which passes 
 through Washington, D. C., Cincinnati, and southern Iowa, 
 strikes the Missouri River a little south of Nebraska City, 
 and then moving a little north of west crosses the Platte 
 near Columbus, and thence in a northwesterly direction across 
 the State. This mean annual isotherm therefore embraces 
 over one-half of the State. The mean yearly isotherm of 52^ 
 which passes through Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, crossing the centre 
 of Iowa diagonally, strikes the Missouri River above Sioux City, 
 thence following the river for some distance takes in the whole of 
 Nebraska not included in the yearly isotherm of 55. The yearly 
 isotherm of 57^ passes south of Nebraska. A portion of south- 
 ern and southwestern Nebraska is therefore included between the 
 yearly isotherms of 571^ and 55 and the balance between 55 
 and 52^. 
 
 EXTREMES OF TEMPERATURE. 
 
 In Dr. Childs' record (Table) ofnineteen years the mercury 
 rose to 100 F., and upwards, twenty-nine times, or on an av- 
 erage a little more than a day and a half a year. The hot- 
 test year was that of 1874, when in July and August, the 
 thermometer rose to 100 and upwards on twelve different 
 days. On July I3th it rose to 113, it being the hottest day accord- 
 ing to Dr. Childs' record, in nineteen years. 
 
 In table C, it will be seen how many days during the time from 
 1 86 1 to 1876, the mercury fell below zero. It will also be seen from 
 this record that while the mean temperature of Nebraska is high 
 for a region in these latitudes, its extremes are great. And yet no 
 acute suffering or other ill consequences flow from it. As we will 
 hereafter see, the heat of summer is modified by the breezes that 
 fan the land. On the other hand, the severe cold of the extreme 
 days of winter are made endurable by the dry ness of the atmos- 
 phere. The dryness is so great and potent that the cold is not felt 
 here more when the thermometer marks twenty degrees below 
 than it is in Pennsylvania when only at zero. The reason of this 
 is well understood. It is moisture that intensifies the sensation of 
 chilliness. Every one knows the meaning of a drizzly, chilly day. 
 It is because the atmosphere in the east is more filled with moisture 
 
30 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 that makes the sensation and effect of cold so much more severe 
 there than here. It is owing to this fact also that a temperature 
 which is fatal to fruit buds in the east has no effect on them here. 
 
 THE WINDS OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 The atmosphere is rarely quiescent in Nebraska. While hur- 
 ricanes are very rare, storms are more frequent in winter, and 
 gentle zephyrs and winds are almost constant. These great- 
 ly modify the heat of summer and the cold of winter. When 
 the thermometer is up among the nineties, even a south or 
 southwest wind makes the weather endurable. At this high 
 temperature the atmosphere is almost certain to be in per- 
 ceptible motion from some direction. By reference to table D of 
 Dr. Childs' and the report of the U. S. Signal Office on winds, it 
 will be seen that the prevailing winds in the winter are from the 
 north and northwest. With the coming of Spring there is a great 
 change in this respect. The winds veer around and a strong cur- 
 rent sets in from the south, blowing from the Gulf of Mexico, but 
 entering the interior is deflected by the earth's motion and becomes 
 a southwest wind. This remains the prevailing wind during the 
 whole of summer, and often until late in autumn. It sometimes 
 happens that this southwest wind commences to blow during the 
 coldest days of winter, when the curious phenomenon is observed 
 of snow melting when the thermometer is at, a little above, or 
 even below zero. This of course is caused by the temperature of 
 the coming current of air being much higher than that of the place. 
 This character of north and northwest winds in winter, and south 
 and southwest winds in summer, with some local exceptions is the 
 dominant character of the atmospheric movements between the 
 Mississippi and the mountains, and the gulf to an unknown dis- 
 tance north. 
 
 THE STORMS OF WINTER. 
 
 From no cause has Nebraska, in company with Iowa and 
 Kansas suffered more in popular estimation than from the re- 
 puted severity and frequency of its storms. And yet they 
 occur at comparatively long intervals. During one-half the 
 years none 'are experienced of any severity, and when they do 
 come the laws that govern their occurrence are so well understood 
 by at least the older citizens of the State that little damage is 
 suffered from them. One of the laws of their occurrence is their 
 periodicity. When the first one of the season comes whether it is, 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 31 
 
 in November, December or January, a similar one is almost sure 
 to occur within a few days of a month from the first. Those 
 whose necessities therefore or business calls them out during the 
 winter season need only note the date of the first to know when to 
 guard against the next. It is rare, however, that more than one of 
 these periodical storms is of great severity. 
 
 When the storms commence they are rarely heralded by any- 
 thing except areas of low barometer. Even this warning is some- 
 times absent. The wind generally blows gently at first from the 
 north, northeast or northwest. It is often preceded and accompa- 
 nied by a fall of fine snow. Sometimes the storm of wind does 
 not commence till the snowfall has ceased. The wind gradually 
 increases in intensity, accompanied by a falling thermometer. Its 
 violence increases until the snow is blown into huge drifts, and 
 sometimes all that fell during several days seems mingled with the 
 atmosphere, so that it is impossible to recognize roads, or even the 
 points of the compass. Progression becomes impossible except in 
 the same direction with the wind. This is an extreme case, but a 
 truthful one, and fortunately of rare occurrence. Such storms last 
 from one to three. days, and a few instances are on record where 
 they have lasted five days. When the wind ceases to blow the 
 thermometer reaches its lowest point, and the intensest cold that 
 occurs in these latitudes is experienced. In a few days the ther- 
 mometer rises, the weather becomes moderate and pleasant, and all 
 about the storm is apt to be forgotten. So mild does the weather 
 often become in December and January between these storms, that 
 men work in the open air in their shirt-sleeves. This is what 
 often deceives the unwary, and especially new comers. I have 
 known men, starting off in new settlements for loads of wood r 
 going in their shirt-sleeves with a single coat in reserve in the 
 wagon, to be caught in such storms, and losing their way, to per- 
 ish. Proper observation and care as we have seen would avoid 
 such suffering and disaster. Notwithstanding, however, these 
 storms of winter, there are many more days here during winter 
 when men can work comfortably in the open air than in the East. 
 
 CLEARNESS AND PURITY OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 
 
 A number of circumstances combine to make the atmosphere of 
 Nebraska exceptionally pure and clear. Its mean elevation of 
 2,312 feet above the sea, its general slope towards the east and 
 
32 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 south, its distance from the sea, the constant motion of its atmos- 
 phere, the general character of its finely silicious soil and perfect 
 natural drainage, and its general freedom from swamps, bogs and 
 sloughs, all combine to give the State the purest possible atmos- 
 phere. Its constant breezes sweep away or mingle with the gen- 
 eral current of the atmosphere such impurities as may have been 
 generated from any cause. Only during the Indian summer of 
 autumn is there a haze that obscures distant objects. Fogs seldom 
 occur. It is remarkable at how great a distance' objects can usually 
 be seen. Often when a bluff is ascended the larger limbs of a tree 
 can be counted from eight to twelve miles distant. Objects univer- 
 sally appear to be much nearer than they really are, to strangers 
 coming from the East. I have sometimes been amused to see them 
 going through the same experience that befell me during my first 
 residence here the experience of shooting at prairie chickens 
 when they were a quarter of a mile off, under the supposition ^that 
 they were close by. Only gradually does the eye get accustomed 
 to measure distances in such a clear and rare atmosphere. In fact, 
 judging from the European meteorological reports, the atmosphere 
 of Nebraska is as clear, and much purer, than trje far-famed skies 
 of Italy and Greece. 
 
 Owing to this pureness of the atmosphere, clouds, when formed, 
 are exceptionally clearly out lined. They stand out as most con- 
 spicuous objects in the sky. Nothing can surpass their evening or 
 morning splendors. The sunsets are remarkable for the brightness 
 and variety of their coloring. I have seen many magnificent sun- 
 sets in the mountains, but never anything to compare for extent, 
 coloring, form and grandeur, with those that so often occur on the 
 rolling prairies of Nebraska. 
 
 Another prominent feature of the Nebraska atmosphere is the 
 allotropic form, called ozone, that oxygen so constantly assumes. 
 The amount of this in the atmosphere is very much greater than 
 in the East. During 1869 and 1870, while engaged almost con- 
 stantly in traveling and exploring over Northern Nebraska, I car- 
 ried with me much of the time the so-called Shoenbein test papers.* 
 These turned blue in a short time when exposed, thus indicating 
 the presence of ozone in the atmosphere. This rarely occurs in 
 the East, and even but slightly after a thunder-storm. Many other 
 
 *Paper moistened with a solution of potassium iodide and starch, and kept until wanted for 
 use, in a tightly-stoppered bottle. 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 33 
 
 experiments were made, all indicating that the atmosphere was 
 exceptionally rich in ozone. 
 
 The cause of this condition of our atmosphere is probably two- 
 fold. First, it is due to the comparative dryness of the atmosphere. 
 Second, it also results from the highly electric condition of the at- 
 mosphere. The greater the elevation, other things being equal, 
 the more abundant is the electricity (Tyndall). A friction electric 
 machine can be charged here on almost any day in the year with 
 ease. In the East during much of the time this cannot be done. 
 Now, one of the most potent of all agencies for the formation of 
 ozone is the silent discharge of electricity through oxygen, or 
 through the atmosphere which is in part composed of oxygen 
 (Barker). In fact, as Barker has shown in practice, there is no 
 agent so efficient for the formation of ozone as Siemer's Tube, 
 through which there is a constant silent discharge of electricity 
 from a Ruhmkorff coil. Now, through our dry atmosphere, there 
 is a constant electric discharge, which generates ozone in immense 
 quantities. The bearing of ozone on the question of health will 
 be considered under another head. 
 
34 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CLIMATE CONTINUED. 
 MOISTURE AND RAINFALL. 
 
 Abundance of Moisture The Rainy Season Decrease Towards the West 
 Vapor in the Atmosphere Rain Charts and their Explanation Excep- 
 tional Conditions of Rainfall in the Niobrara Region and its Cause Compara- 
 tive Estimates with Europe. 
 
 T^ ASTERN Nebraska has an abundance of moisture. This may 
 lj appear like an exaggeration to those who were educated to be- 
 lievethat Nebraska was an arid region. And yet there is nothing in 
 the natural history of the State better established than that there is 
 here an abundance of rainfall. 
 
 When the snows of winter disappear the ground is in good con- 
 dition to be worked. Sufficient showers come during early spring 
 to excite the crops of cereal grains, grasses and corn to an active 
 growth. Sometimes it is comparatively dry between the spring 
 showers and the June rains. These come sometimes earlier than 
 June in the last of May, and sometimes not till the last of June 
 and constitute the rainy season for the State. It begins whenever 
 the "big rise" of the Missouri and the Platte occur. This rainy 
 season lasts from four to eight weeks. In fifteen years I have not 
 known it to fail. During its continuance it does not indeed rain 
 every day, except occasionally for a short period. Generally during 
 this period it rains from two to three times a week. It is more apt 
 to rain every night than every clay. In fact during the whole of 
 this season three-fourths of the rain falls at night. It is not an 
 unusual occurrence for rain to fall every night for weeks, fol- 
 lowed by cloudless days. This rainy season of June occurs at a 
 period when crops most need rain, and owing to the regularity of 
 its occurrence, drouths sufficiently severe to destroy the crops in 
 eastern Nebraska, \vhere there is proper cultivation, have not yet 
 been known. Even in 1874, when the drouth in some parts of the 
 State was damaging, there were some fields of corn that produced 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 35 
 
 good crops where the majority were failures. The successful fields 
 were the ones that were well and deeply cultivated. After the wet 
 season of June, which sometimes extends into July, is over, there 
 are rains and showers at longer intervals until and during autumn. 
 During winter it rarely rains. Snow falls in winter, but seldom to 
 a great depth. The snows generally range in depth from one to 
 ten inches and in a few extreme cases to fifteen inches. During 
 the majority of winters, as can be seen from Dr. Childs' table A, 
 no snows fall over eight inches in depth. 
 
 West of the looth meridian the amount of rainfall gradually 
 decreases from the yearly average of thirty inches, at or near 
 Kearney Junction to twenty inches at North Platte. If the last 
 two years only were taken into the account, even there and almost 
 to the west line of the State the rainfall would be estimated at 
 thirty inches. It will hardly as yet average that much for ten 
 years, though for reasons stated hereafter there will be that 
 amount of rainfall over western Nebraska in the near future. 
 
 Even the relative amount of moisture in the atmosphere is high. 
 This is evident from the reports of the Signal Service at Omaha 
 and North Platte. It reports as much vapor on an average in the 
 atmosphere at Omaha as exists in the States in the Mississippi 
 Valley. At North Platte which represents western Nebraska, the 
 atmosphere contains a comparatively large amount of vapor. The 
 following table, taken from the report of the Signal office for the 
 year ending June 3Oth, 1878, gives the vapor in the atmosphere for 
 each month. 
 
 Monthly and annual mean relative humidity; from observations taken at 7 a. m., 
 
 2 and 9 p. wi., &c. 
 
 
 N. Platte. 
 
 Omaha. 
 
 July, 1877 
 
 Pr Cent. 
 47. 2 
 
 Pr Cent. 
 02.4 
 
 August, 1877 .. 
 
 57.5 
 
 G7 4 
 
 September, 1877 
 
 52.9 
 
 09.0 
 
 October, 1877 
 
 04.8 
 
 73.6 
 
 November 1877 
 
 64.3 
 
 73.7 
 
 December, 1877 ' 
 
 08.4 
 
 77.8 
 
 January 1878 
 
 08.4 
 
 78 6 
 
 February 1878 . 
 
 00.3 
 
 73.1 
 
 March 1878 
 
 01 4 
 
 64 8 
 
 April 1878 ; ; 
 
 54.5 
 
 59.8 
 
 May 1878 
 
 04.4 
 
 63.6 
 
 June 1878 
 
 09.7 
 
 71.1 
 
 Annual Means 
 
 01.0 
 
 09.0 
 
36 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 In addition to the preceding table it may be repeated here, that 
 according to Dr. Childs' tables the amount of rainfall during the 
 year ending November 3oth, 1877, was 40.62 inches; for the year 
 ending November 3oth, 1878, was 53.87 inches. The average for 
 the ten years ending November 3Oth, 1878, was 42.86 inches. 
 
 In order to exhibit the areas of certain quantities of rainfall to 
 the eye, I have constructed the following rain charts for the State. 
 The first chart gives the average rainfall during the ten years ending 
 November 3Oth, 1868. The second gives the average rainfall for the 
 ten years ending November 3Oth, 1878. In constructing these 
 charts I have availed myself of all the Smithsonian Reports, the 
 Signal Office Reports, and my own observations of fifteen years. 
 It will be seen that my results are very different from those hitherto 
 obtained by an exclusive dependence on the Smithsonian Reports. 
 By comparing these two maps it will be seen that there is a con- 
 stant increase of rainfall in the State. 
 
 Chart No. I. This chart gives the areas where a certain aver- 
 age amount of rainfall occurred from 1859 to 1869. The rainfall 
 during the years nearest to 1859 had less, and the years nearest to 
 1869 had more than that indicated on the chart. In other words, 
 the amount of rainfall towards 1869 approximated already closely 
 to that of the next period. These facts, however, cannot be ex- 
 hibited on the diagram. 
 
 From the Missouri River in Eastern Nebraska to a line running 
 across the State from north to south, from above Dakota City and 
 near to Sioux City on the Iowa side, the average rainfall during 
 these ten years was thirty inches. From this line to another that 
 starts near the mouth of the Bow River in Cedar County, and 
 which runs a little west of south to near Kearney Junction, and 
 then southeasterly to a point on the State line half way between 
 the Blue and Republican rivers, the rainfall for the same time was 
 twenty-six inches. The next line west of this starts a little above 
 the mouth of the Niobrara, and crosses the State diagonally to a 
 point a little east of North Platte. The space enclosed between 
 this line and the preceding received a rainfall during this period 
 that averaged twenty inches. The next line west of the last starts 
 about longitude 101, runs southwest until it strikes the Niobrara, 
 and then southerly until it reaches the south line of the State oppo- 
 site Big Springs. An average yearly rainfall of sixteen inches fell 
 here during this same period. West of this line the average rain- 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 37 
 
 ANNUAL AVERRGE RAINFALL FROM 1859 TO 1869, 
 
 ANNUAL AVERAGE RAINFALL FROM 1869 TO 1879 
 
38 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 
 
 fall was not determined, but it could not differ much from the pre- 
 ceding space. 
 
 Chart No. 2. On this chart we have the mean annual rainfall 
 between 1869 and 1879. Along the Missouri, as far west as to the 
 line which starts near the mouth of the Big Sioux River, and 
 crosses the State southerly and then southwesterly, and then a 
 little east of south until it strikes the south line of the State where 
 the Blue River emerges from it, over this space the mean annual 
 rainfall during this period was thirty-eight inches. Closer to the 
 river the rainfall was still greater. Between this last line and the 
 next which starts on the Missouri a little south of the mouth of 
 the Bow River, runs diagonally in a curve until near Kearney, and 
 then south to the south line of the State, this section thus bounded 
 receives an average annual rainfall of thirty-two inches. West of 
 this last line there is another, which starts at the mouth of the Ni- 
 obrara, curves southwesterly to a point a little east of North Platte, 
 and then slightly southwest to a point a little west of Culbertson, 
 on the Republican River. An average annual rainfall of twenty- 
 six inches covers the space bounded by these lines. The next line 
 west commences on the north line of the State at the mouth of the 
 Keya Paha, runs southwest across the State, striking the south line 
 half way between Culbertson and the west line of the State. The 
 space between this line and the last receives an average annual 
 rainfall of nineteen inches. Between this line and the next west, 
 which starts a little east of the 101 meridian, runs in a curve south- 
 westerly to a point near Lodge Pole, on the Union Pacific Railroad, 
 and then south to the south line of the State. The space bounded by 
 this and the last line receives an average annual rainfall of seventeen 
 inches. West of this line the rainfall is not definitely determined, 
 but it probably does not differ materially from the preceding sec- 
 tion. It should be remembered in examining these charts, that 
 towards each line the amount of rainfall shades into the next di- 
 vision. 
 
 EXCEPTIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN THE NIOBRARA 
 
 REGION. 
 
 In Chapter I., some exceptional physical features were noted in 
 the Niobrara region. These exceptional physical features no doubt 
 help to produce the exceptional meteorological conditions. Of late 
 years more than formerly, in these sections during June, July and 
 
CLIMATOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 39 
 
 August, there are almost daily thunder-showers. There is little 
 snowfall in winter, but when the hot weather approaches these 
 storms are almost constant. Every time it has been my fortune to 
 be there, every day there was a thunder-storm, and on some days 
 several. The morning sun would appear with wonderful clearness, 
 and the heat would become intense by two o'clock, and then in a few 
 minutes clouds would form and thunder peal. After the outpouring 
 of the clouds, which generally lasted from thirty minutes to an 
 hour, the clouds would vanish and the sun appear. Frequently 
 there was another thunder-shower during the early hours of the 
 night. 
 
 The cause of these frequent showers appears to me to be this : 
 At the head of the Elkhorn and the Loups, and between these 
 rivers and the Niobrara, there are great numbers of small lakes 
 and ponds and sloughs. These are underlaid by an impervious 
 clayey stratum, so that the only escape possible for the waters is 
 by overflow and evaporation. Some drain into these rivers, but 
 many have no visible outlet. Near to and among these lakes are 
 the Sand Hills, already described. The sun shining on these hills 
 heats them up to an extreme degree, and necessarily also the at- 
 mosphere around and above them. I have experienced a tempera- 
 ture myself here in the shade of 110 F., when the register at 
 Plattsmouth marked only from 85 to 90 F. The consequence is, 
 that the evaporation is enormous. The atmosphere becomes super- 
 saturated with moisture. The least fall now in temperature, pro- 
 duced by a change of wind or other cause, creates cloud, the play 
 of lightning and rainfall. My own experience in this region is not 
 a solitary one. Captain W. S. Stanton, of the Topographical En- 
 gineers of the U. S. A., had a similar experience. The " cattle 
 men" who have invaded that region testify to the same facts. 
 This region of showers covers the entire section occupied by both 
 lakes, sloughs, ponds, and sand hills. With the increasing moisture 
 all over the State, it will be interesting to note the changes as the 
 Sand Hills become more covered with grasses. The rainfall there 
 will then probably continue to increase, but will be more equally 
 distributed. 
 
 Comparative Estimates with other Regions Europe: While 
 therefore many will admit that there is an abundance of rainfall 
 east of the looth meridian, they still claim that west of that line it 
 is too dry for the successful production of anything but stock. 
 
40 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 They point to the less amount of rainfall west of that line, and ask 
 how a region that receives so little can be utilized for agricultural 
 purposes. Two replies can be made. 
 
 The fallacy of this conclusion can be seen at once if we compare 
 the rainfall in western Nebraska with that which obtains in some 
 of the most favored spots of the old world. The following table 
 I have taken from Guoyot: 
 
 Table of Rainfall. 
 
 
 Depth in Inches 
 
 British Islands, 
 
 32 
 
 Western France, 
 
 25 
 
 Eastern " 
 
 22 
 
 
 21 
 
 Central and North German} 7 , 
 
 20 
 
 Hungary, 
 
 17 
 
 
 14 
 
 Northeast Portugal . 
 
 11 
 
 Madrid 
 
 10 
 
 Paris itself, according to the researches of Arago, has only an 
 average annual rainfall of twenty inches. (Cosmos, vol. I, p. 331.)* 
 
 Now it is true that there are many rainy days in western France 
 (152) and in central and north Germany (150) yet if we count in 
 the nights when it rains and the days and nights when it snows, 
 there is not so much difference as at first imagined between the wet 
 days of Nebraska and middle and western Europe. Regions in 
 Europe with less rainfall than even western Nebraska, are made 
 successful in agriculture. Less toil than is expended to make the 
 dry portions of Europe a garden would make western Nebraska 
 agriculturally rich. Even, therefore, judged by European stand- 
 ards, western Nebraska is already sufficiently watered for the needs 
 of certain kinds of agriculture. 
 
 Not only is western Nebraska far removed from desert condi- 
 tions, but every part of North America. No sections of its low 
 or table lands have the aridity that Humboldt and Ehrenberg found 
 [Cosmos] between the valleys of the Irtish and the Oby. There with 
 temperature of 74 / the dew point was at 24. The air therefore 
 contained only .10 of aqueous vapor. The structure of North 
 America makes genuine desert conditions impossible. There are 
 dry and arid sections but the aridity nowhere produces a genu- 
 ine desert comparable to the Sahara. 
 
 * See also lor early rainfall in Central Europe, Gasparins' Researches. 
 
RAINFALL IN NEBRASKA. 41 
 
 The second reply to those who object to the little rainfall in 
 western Nebraska, is that the rainfall is increasing from year to 
 year. This fact will be considered in the next chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EVIDENCES OF INCREASING RAINFALL IN NE- 
 BRASKASOURCES OF RAINFALL. 
 
 Appearance of New Springs Increasing Size of Streams Changing Vegeta- 
 tion Former Character of Vegetation Causes Producing Increased Rainfall 
 Wrong Reasons Assigned True Reason, the Increased Absorptive Power 
 of the Soil, produced by Cultivation Experimental Proofs Special Ab- 
 sorptive Power of Nebraska Soil Extension of Sufficient Rainfall over 
 Western Nebraska Original Sources of Rainfall Effect of Change in the 
 Direction of the Winds Moisture from the Rivers Amount of River Sur- 
 face Exposed to Evaporation Temperature of the Rivers Nebraska ef- 
 fected by the Amount of Precipitation in the Mountains. 
 
 SOON after I first came to the State in 1864, it was reported that 
 some new springs had made their appearance at the base of the 
 bluffs facing the Missouri bottom and river in Dakota County. On 
 investigation this was found to be correct. This phenomenon was 
 observed in other portions of the State. It has occurred, for ex- 
 ample, during the last few years in the Pierce precinct in Lancaster 
 County. Up to this time I have a record of one hundred and fifty 
 springs that have made their appearance during the last ten years 
 where they were never known before. This same appearing of 
 new springs has been noticed by many observers in the State, and 
 is particularly familiar to the older settlers of the State. Connected 
 with this same line of facts is the phenomenon of the appearance 
 of water in old creek beds, where it apparently had not been flow- 
 ing for ages. Manv of the smaller tributaries of the Elkhorn, the 
 Logan, the Bows, the Loups and the Niobrara, with beautiful 
 small bottoms and old stream beds in the midst or one side of them, 
 and which were perfectly dry when I first knew them in 1865 and 
 1866, are again living streams. Indeed many of them, especially 
 towards the head of the Elkhorns, that had sod grown over the 
 stream beds which were even difficult to find so nearly obliterated 
 
42 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 were they, are again supplied with water, not merely during part 
 of the year, but apparently permanently. 
 
 Still another fact in the same connection is the increasing size of 
 the streams of the State. Old settlers observe this. It is a phe- 
 nomenon that every old settler must notice, who has been inter- 
 ested in matters of this kind. 
 
 The changing vegetation of the State proves the same fact. 
 There was a time within the memory of many now living when 
 the buffalo grass was the most conspicuous vegetable form west of 
 the Missouri. When Lewis and Clarke passed up the Missouri in 
 1804, it was almost the only grass that they found growing along 
 this portion of their route. Fremont observed the same thing as 
 late as 1842. The first settlers in this territory found it abounding 
 along all the river counties. The early freighters across the plains 
 depended most on it for pasturage for their cattle. Now how 
 changed. It has almost entirely disappeared for two hundred 
 miles west of the Missouri. There is comparatively little of it now 
 on the third hundred. Every year it is retreating further west- 
 ward. Its place is supplied with grasses indigenous to moister 
 climates. Where formerly the ground was covered with grasses 
 from two to four inches high, there is now a carpet of green from 
 six inches to four feet high. Many of the blue joints and sorghum 
 grasses exceed even this height. Still other forms besides the 
 grasses, characteristic of moist regions, are occupying the spaces 
 left by the retreating buffalo grass. There is also an increase in 
 the spontaneous growth of timber. Wherever there are abandoned 
 cultivated fields, and the prairie fires are kept away, and the tract 
 is left unmolested from other hindering causes, thick growths of 
 cottonwood and sometimes box elder frequently, soon monopolize 
 the ground. This is especially true of lands in close proximity to 
 existing timber belts. There is an increasing disposition to do this 
 all over eastern Nebraska. Where formerly there was not suffi- 
 cient moisture to start the seeds into life on the high lands, which 
 are scattered each year by the winds, birds and rodents, there is 
 an abundance. In fact it is questionable, if prairie fires were en- 
 tirely repressed, whether groves of timber would not now gradu- 
 ally creep over all the unoccupied lands of Nebraska. The proofs, 
 therefore, that the rainfall of Nebraska is steadily increasing, are 
 manifold. If space permitted, many more could be given. It is 
 therefore probable that the early explorers of this region were cor- 
 
RAINFALL IN NEBRASKA. 43 
 
 rect in ascribing to it a partially desert character. And yet even 
 then they could only have been partially correct. No desert can 
 support countless thousands of buffalo, elk, deer and antelope as 
 the plains of Nebraska did when Lewis and Clarke made their first 
 voyages of discovery up the Missouri. The probabilities are, that 
 those eminent explorers confounded the appearance of a section 
 closely pastured, and in some places made bare by the pasturing, 
 of those immense herds of buffalo of which they speak, with the 
 barrenness that a true desert always exhibits. A land that is sup- 
 plied with sufficient moisture in such a climate as this, to produce 
 food for such an affluence of animal life, can always be made avail- 
 able for the purposes of a high civilization. 
 
 CAUSES THAT ARE PRODUCING INCREASED RAINFALL. 
 
 Various reasons have been assigned to account for the increased 
 rainfall of the State. Some have maintained that the cause is secular 
 - that there are great periods when the moisture of a region in- 
 creases for ages independent of any human agency, and that when 
 it has reached a maximum it commences to decrease, which contin- 
 ues until it reaches a minimum. According to this theory, this 
 region is now in a stage of increasing moisture. The advocates of 
 this theory point out the fact that the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and 
 Lake Mono, lying at the eastern foot of the Sierras,are both undoubt- 
 edly rising.* One of the objections to this theory is that the geo- 
 logical causes which produce increased rainfall, are not now spon- 
 taneously operative. Western America passed through many such 
 revolutions during the progress of the later geological ages, and 
 their causes are well understood. When, for example, .the region 
 of the plains was much lower than at present, and were dotted 
 over with great fresh water lakes, a much moister climate than the 
 present must have prevailed. The country between this and the 
 Pacific is not now sinking it is rather rising at the rate, according 
 to Whitney, of a foot or two to the century. Denudation keeps 
 it at about the same level. Unless therefore the cause is extra 
 terrestrial we cannot ascribe the increasing rainfall to merely secu- 
 lar changes. There are no cosmical causes definitely known that 
 would cause an increase of rainfall over an isolated region of the 
 earth. That cause, therefore, as a producer of increased rainfall 
 must also be dismissed. 
 
 *On Lake Mono see LeCutes' paper on the existence of volcanoes around Mono, read before 
 National Academy, April ISth, 1879. 
 
44 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Another theory tenaciously held by some, is that the increased 
 rainfall is produced by the iron on the railroad lines of the State 
 and the wires of the telegraph lines. A few also believe that 
 it is effected by the disturbance of the atmospheric circulation 
 through the concussions of locomotives and moving trains. The 
 objection to these views comes largely from the fact that in the 
 older States where railroad lines are much more numerous and 
 have existed much longer, no increase of rainfall has been noticed. 
 
 A more plausible theory is, that the planting of trees has been 
 the cause of increased rainfall. This, I admit, is a helping cause, 
 but cannot be the main cause of increased rainfall. In Nebraska 
 increase of rainfall commenced before the number of trees planted 
 equaled the number destroyed. Comparatively few of the first 
 settlers planted trees. Again, the statistics of forestry in the east, 
 in Europe, in Asia, show that forests modify temperature, the vio- 
 lence of winds and equalize rainfall, but do not increase it. While 
 therefore it is admitted that the growth of forests exercises the hap- 
 piest influences on climate, it is still evident that we must look 
 elsewhere for the permanent causes of increasing rainfall. The 
 same argument that applies to forests can be used in reply 
 to those who insist that increased rainfall is due to the pro- 
 ductions of corn and the cereal grains. It may be that the 
 continued and combined action of these causes has some effect in 
 increasing rainfall, but it must be small. There is, however, an 
 other cause, not heretefore mentioned, most potently acting to pro- 
 duce all the changes in rainfall that the facts indicate have taken 
 place. What then is that cause? 
 
 // is the great increase in the absorptive power of the soil, 
 'wrought by cultivation, that has caused, and continues to cause 
 an increasing rainfall in the State. 
 
 Any one who examines a piece of raw prairie closely, must observe 
 how compact it is. Every one who opens up a new farm, soon finds 
 that it requires an extra force to break it. There is nothing extra- 
 ordinary about this. For vast ages the prairies have been pelted by the 
 elements and trodden by millions of buffalo and other wild animals, 
 until the naturally rich soil became as compact as a floor. When 
 rain falls on a primitive soil of this character, the greater part runs 
 off into the canyons, creeks and rivers, and is soon through the 
 Missouri on its way to the Gulf. Observe now the change which 
 cultivation makes. After the soil is broken, the rain as it falls is 
 
RAINFALL IN NEBRASKA. 45 
 
 absorbed by the soil like a huge sponge. The soil gives this ab- 
 sorbed moisture slowly back to the atmosphere by evaporation. 
 Thus year by year as cultivation of the soil is extended, more of the 
 rain that falls is absorbed and retained to be given off by evapora- 
 tion, or to produce springs. This, of course, must give increasing 
 moisture and rainfall. 
 
 In order to test the accuracy of this theory, which struck me as 
 the only true explanation of this phenomenon as early as 1867, I, at 
 various times, made some experiments. The first accurate experi- 
 ments I made in May, 1872. I went east of the Antelope, about a 
 mile, from Lincoln, to a farm now owned by Mr. Hawley, after a 
 heavy rain. With a rule, six inches square was marked off, of un- 
 broken prairie, and this was taken up six inches deep and placed in 
 a porcelain dish that had been previously weighed. The same 
 amount to the same depth, was taken from a cultivated field. The 
 difference in weights between the two specimens was sufficiently great 
 to prove that the cultivated land absorbed at least during this rain, 
 twelve times as much moisture as the uncultivated. The 
 specimens were taken from lands only a few yards apart. After 
 another rain, from near the same locality, a square foot three inches 
 deep, was lifted and compared with a-n equal amount from an ad- 
 joining field. The specimens were first weighed, then dried and then 
 weighed again. The difference in this case indicated that ten times 
 as much moisture had been absorbed by the cultivated ground as by 
 the unbroken prairie. In June, 1873, similar experiments were 
 made and with the same results. Where the rainfall is slight, the 
 difference will not be found to be so great. Much also depends on 
 the lay of the land ; care must also be taken that the cultivated 
 land that is experimented with, lies adjoining unbroken 
 prairie, as there is often considerable difference in rainfall, espec- 
 ially in thunder storms, in the space of a quarter of a mile. In all 
 cases the experiments were made immediately after or during the 
 intermissions of rainfall. After only slight rains, the difference in 
 absorptive power was only as four to one. The mean, however, of 
 fifty of these experiments, gives an average absorptive power of 
 cultivated ground over unbroken prairie of nine to one. To make 
 allowances, however, for possible mistakes, I will make eight to one 
 the basis of our future calculations on this subject. 
 
 When the first settlements were commenced in Nebraska the 
 rainfall of the State was not over twenty inches. Of these twenty 
 
46 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 inches probably not more than five inches soaked into the ground. 
 Cultivated soil, however, absorbs nearly all the rain that falls. 
 Where thirty-two inches of rain now falls in Nebraska on cultiva- 
 ted ground, not less than twenty-four inches are absorbed by the 
 soil. Some of this is slowly given back into the atmosphere, and 
 some of it goes to form the new springs of water that are making 
 their appearance in so many places. Any one can see that this 
 must make an enormous difference in the moisture of the atmos- 
 phere and on rainfall. Before the settlement of the State, and be- 
 fore the consequent cultivation of the soil, what rain did fall, as 
 already stated, soon left the State through creeks and rivers. Now 
 the greater part of what does fall on all cultivated or broken ground, 
 is retained by the soil which becomes a reservoir of water to sup- 
 ply growing crops, and to give greater humidity to the atmosphere. 
 
 ABSORPTIVE POWER OF NEBRASKA SOIL. 
 
 No soil in the Eastern States has so great an absorptive power 
 as the land in Nebraska. There, as a general rule, the underlying 
 hard rock is soon reached, and during excessive rains the thin soil 
 is so supersaturated with water that excessive denudation of the 
 soil is common. A thin soil also dries out, because there are no 
 stores of moisture below from which it can draw supplies. Here, 
 however, the superficial deposits are of very great thickness. The 
 loess itself, ranges from two feet to two hundred feet, and often 
 where it is thin, there are below it great bodies of drift. The av- 
 erage thickness of all the superficial deposits loess and drift 
 is considerably over one hundred feet. This thickness, therefore, 
 of surface materials constitutes the huge sponge that absorbs ex- 
 cesses of rainfall, and retains it to be given back to the atmosphere 
 only gradually. 
 
 Here, then, we have a cause competent to account for the in- 
 creased rainfall of the State a cause that not only has operated 
 thus far but is continuous. Through the operations of this cause, 
 the rainfall will become even more abundant than it has yet been, 
 especially over the central and western portion of the State. The 
 area of cultivation is extending rapidly each year, and continual en- 
 croachments are made on the lands in western Nebraska, that have 
 been condemned as barren because of a deficiency of rainfall. Last 
 year a large amount of land breaking was done near to and west 
 of the looth meridian in the Republican Valley and the table lands 
 
RAINFALL IN NEBRASKA. 47 
 
 adjoining it. And it is a remarkable fact, that last winter, (1879), 
 there was an exceptionally large fall of snow, and this summer an 
 abundant rainfall in the same region. In fact, this snow and rain- 
 fall extended all over Western Nebraska. 
 
 The question is often asked whether the causes now producing 
 the increased rainfall over the eastern two-thirds of the State will 
 ever be sufficiently operative over the extreme western third as to 
 make it an agricultural region. Of this I have no doubt. It prob- 
 ably will take a longer time to produce this change here than it 
 did in eastern Nebraska. The cause of this will be discussed pres- 
 ently. When the great body of the land near to and west of the 
 looth meridian is once cultivated that is capable of cultivation, the 
 sufficiently and increasingly moist region will encroach gradually 
 on the dry region until it is entirely crowded out of the State. 
 And the reason why this cause will be slower here in its operation 
 is because extreme western Nebraska is under the lee of the Rocky 
 Mountains. The moisture-bearing winds do not strike it so direct- 
 ly as they do eastern Nebraska. This is better understood when 
 
 THE ORIGINAL SOURCES OF THE RAINFALL OF NEBRASKA 
 ARE CONSIDERED. 
 
 These sources are mainly of a two-fold and combined character. 
 One source is the moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Mexico; 
 the other is the enormous evaporation from those rivers of Nebras- 
 ka that have their source in the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 Rains are most apt to fall when there is a change in the direc- 
 tion of the winds. If the wind, for example, has been blowing for 
 days from the southwest, south, or southeast, and turns around and 
 comes from the north, rain is almost certain to fall. There will 
 also be a fall of rain if the change is from the north to the south. 
 Any one looking at a map of the United States will see that the 
 south wind coming directly upon the west end of the Mexican 
 Gulf, would strike Red Willow, Furnas, Dawson, Custer, Elk- 
 horn, and Kiiox counties. Whenever, therefore, all of Nebraska, 
 including these and the counties east of them are bathed by this 
 moisture-bearing wind from the Gulf, either after a north wind or 
 followed by one there is precipitation of moisture into cloud and 
 generally rainfall. When the wind is slightly from the southeast, 
 extreme western Nebraska shares in this rainfall, otherwise it does 
 so to only a limited extent. This is, it appears to me, one reason 
 
48 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 why there has been less rainfall in this section than in eastern Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 As, however, there are trusty indications of a regular rate of in- 
 crease of rainfall for western Nebraska, similar to that going on in 
 eastern Nebraska the probabilities are that when the eastern two- 
 thirds of the State are once properly cultivated, and its rainfall 
 averages forty inches, that of western Nebraska will approximate 
 twenty-eight or thirty inches, and that in this State is sufficient to 
 produce successfully the cereal grains, cultivated grasses and corn. 
 
 The second source of rainfall for Nebraska is the moisture from, 
 the rivers that flow from the mountains. These rivers are the 
 Platte, the Niobrara to a small extent, and the Missouri and its 
 tributaries. The flood time of these rivers is always a rainy season 
 for Nebraska. This rainy season comes earlier or later as the 
 "big rise" is earlier or later. Then the moisture that is wafted 
 here by the winds from the Gulf, is reinforced by the moisture that 
 is evaporated from these rivers; and the consequent precipitation 
 into cloud and rainfall, constitutes the rainy season for Nebraska. 
 A map of Nebraska shows how two of these rivers run the whole 
 length of the State, and that the mighty Missouri is east and north 
 of it. The Missouri too, it should be remembered, has a course of 
 four hundred miles along eastern Nebraska, for though the State 
 is little more than two hundred miles from north to south, the 
 serpentine windings of the river give it at least double that length. 
 We have, therefore, a length of four hundred miles of the Missouri, 
 and (for the same reason as applied to the Missouri) at least six 
 hundred miles of the Platte, or one thousand miles of river aver- 
 aging one mile broad, or one thousand square miles of rapidly mov- 
 ing river surface, exposed to a warm atmosphere, from which the 
 evaporation is simply enormous. The Niobrara, counting its wind- 
 ings, adds five hundred more miles of evaporating surface. Unlike 
 the floods of eastern rivers, these "big rises" last for a considerable 
 length of time, often indeed from its beginning to its close, over 
 two months. What adds greatly to the rapidity of the evapora- 
 tions is the difierence of temperature between the waters of these 
 rivers and the atmosphere. Lewis and Clarke', during their famous 
 expedition up the Missouri in 1804, spoke of the sameness of the 
 temperature of the water of the Missouri and its tributaries with 
 that of the atmosphere. If no difierence existed then, it does now. 
 For example, the signal service at Omaha for June, 1878, report a 
 
RAINFALL IN NEBRASKA. 49 
 
 mean temperature of 68 4'. My own determinations for the tem- 
 perature of the water of the Missouri at the same point, being a 
 mean of many observations for this month, give 63 9', showing 
 that the temperature of the water is for this month 4 5' lower than 
 that of the atmosphere. The mean temperature for July, 1877, at 
 Omaha, as determined by the signal office was 76. For this month 
 the signal office also report the mean temperature of the river 73^. 
 The temperature of the water at the Platte at its mouth, approxi- 
 mates more closely to that of the atmosphere, it being for June, 
 1878,68 and for June 1879, 67 9'. At North Platte the tem- 
 perature of the waters of the Platte is much lower, it being for 
 June 65 and for July 68. It should also be remembered that the 
 temperature of the water is much more uniform than that of the 
 atmosphere. Its daily oscillations are small. It is rarely during 
 twenty-four hours the same as that of the atmosphere. From all 
 these causes then the evaporation from the surface is very great and 
 the winds carry the moisture in various directions, until finally it is 
 again deposited as rain. 
 
 NEBRASKA AFFECTED BY THE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION OF 
 MOISTURE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 As the seasons of greatest rainfall in Nebraska are the seasons 
 of greatest rise in the Missouri and the Platte, and as the magni- 
 tude of these rises is dependent on the amount of snowfall in the 
 mountains, the moisture of the plains is to this extent dependent on 
 the amount of precipitation there during the winter season. A 
 question, therefore, in which every one here is interested, is 
 whether the amount of moisture there is decreasing, is station- 
 ary, or is on the increase. Some scientific authorities have ex- 
 pressed the opinion that the whole Rocky Mountain region is in a 
 comparatively rapid process of drying up, and that the amount of 
 rain and snowfall must be less each decade and century. One of 
 the theoretical arguments presentedin proof -of this view is, that in 
 ages geologically recent, the Rocky Mountain area was a region 
 of great lakes, and that it then lay at a much lower level, but that 
 now the lakes have nearly all disappeared, and that it is still rising 
 at the rate of a few feet to the century, and that, therefore, in the 
 nature of things, the drying-up process must continue. The facts 
 relied on for this opinion, are mainly that wherever the mountain 
 sides are from any cause denuded of their timber, no young trees 
 
 4 
 
50 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 take their place. In other words, whenever the mountain sides 
 become bare of forests, they remain so. It has also been asserted 
 that many groves along the sides of the mountains and on the 
 summits were dying off without any apparent cause, except the 
 increasing dryness of the region. I am now confident that the ad- 
 vocates of this theory are mistaken in their theories and their facts. 
 It is true that since the miocene tertiary age or even since the cre- 
 tacious, the amount of water. in the form of great lakes has on the 
 whole been decreasing. But there are limits to these processes. 
 There have been many revolutions in the condition, geological and 
 meteorological, of central and western North America in the meso- 
 zoic and cenozoic ages. For example, during the earlier ages the 
 greater part of western Nebraska was dry land. But it gradu- 
 ally and slowly commenced to sink, and in the course of centuries 
 that are numberless, the Gulf of Mexico extended itself in a north- 
 westerly direction over our plains to the Arctic sea. The uplift- 
 ing of the Rocky Mountains that commenced at the close of the 
 cretaceous age, inaugurated the area of making of dry land which 
 has continued to the present time, but with many intermissions. 
 My limits will not permit me to discuss these interruptions. But 
 these facts in geological history do not warrant us to conclude, be- 
 cause in the most recent periods the tendency has been to continued 
 elevation and dryness, that this tendency must continue. Rather 
 should the opposite conclusion be reached, that sooner or later the 
 limit of elevation and dryness will be attained, and that a reaction 
 must follow as in the past. This reaction must for countless ages 
 in the future bring increasing moisture. Now, the facts of the 
 present operations of nature in the mountains do not sustain this 
 theory. 
 
 The advocates of the increasing dryness of the mountains evident- 
 ly make many of their observations at "long range." They have 
 viewed mountain sides and tops like some newspaper men have 
 battles a great way off. Commencing at Georgetown I have 
 climbed every mountain side and examined every mountain top 
 that I could see where the timber had been destroyed from any 
 cause. The whole number of such places that I examined was 
 twenty-seven, and in every instance I found countless numbers of 
 young pines and sometimes deciduous trees coming up to take the 
 place of the old ones. Often when I looked at a mountain side 
 from a distance nothing could be seen but old trees deadened by 
 
RAINFALL IN NEBRASKA. 51 
 
 fire. When, however, the spot was reached the ground was often 
 so covered with young trees from one to five years old that it was 
 difficult to penetrate through the mass of tangled limbs. Where 
 small areas were not crowded with young trees the grasses were 
 growing with a luxuriance that surprised many of the old residents 
 of the mountains. Take for example the side of Griffith Mountain 
 on the south side of Georgetown. The timber here was removed 
 for fuel and other purposes. In spots over its denuded surface 
 countless numbers of young pines, spruce and quaking asps from 
 six inches to four feet high are making their appearance. Where 
 squirrels and birds failed to plant seeds for another forest luxuriant 
 grasses and magnificent flowers cover the ground. Every nook 
 and corner among the rocks seems to be utilized for plant life. I 
 found the same condition of things on the mountain sides around 
 Middle Park. As all who have visited this beautiful region will 
 remember, the mouutain slopes are here very densely timbered, 
 and wherever I found the timber here destroyed by fires a young 
 crop was struggling to take its place. On going north from Grand 
 Lake for twenty-five miles along the western base of the main 
 range, and in sight of the Rabbit-ear mountains, about twelve miles 
 of my route, passed through fallen timber that had been destroyed a 
 few years ago by a huge fire. Some sections of this desolation 
 was already covered by a dense growth of pine from two to four 
 feet high, while in other spots the young trees were just be- 
 ginning to make their appearance. In some places it was 
 hard to tell whether the grasses or the trees would gain the 
 mastery. This section of the park is rarely visited, owing, 
 probably, to the absence of roads or trails, and yet no part is 
 more beautiful or has grander scenery. I was accompa 
 nied by D. N. Smith, of Burlington, Iowa, and both of us were 
 conducted by a notable guide, George W. Cole, whom we found 
 exceedingly intelligent and perfectly reliable, and who never flinch- 
 ed when we were in a tight place. The rapidity of growth of the 
 mountain timber has also been underestimated. I measured a great 
 many pines and spruces in Berthoud Pass that had made a growth 
 of from five to eleven inches during the year. Some quak- 
 ing asps on Willow Mountain had made a growth of fourteen 
 inches. 
 
 These facts, which, if space permitted, would be greatly multi- 
 plied, demonstrate that those are greatly mistaken who insist that 
 
52 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 the Rocky Mountain region is drying up. The evidence, so far as 
 it goes, points in the other direction, and proves that it is increasing. 
 The agency of man probably has something to do with this, just as 
 it has in Nebraska, but our limits will not permit a discussion of 
 this point. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 Lakes Springs Wells Artesian Wells Saline Springs Rivers Mis- 
 souri Platte Republican Niobrara Keya Paha White River Elklio rn 
 Logan Bow Rivers Nemahas Blues, Loups, etc. 
 
 IN striking contrast to past geological times, there are now no 
 large lakes in Nebraska. There are, however, a great numbej 
 of small lakes in the State. From their small size and their dis- 
 tance from railroads they have thus far attracted little attention. 
 Those along the Missouri, such as the ones in Dakota and Burt 
 counties, have been produced in recent times, some of them indeed 
 within a few years. The " cut-offs " of the Missouri often leave 
 small lakes. The one northwest of Dakota City is about five miles 
 long. Similar lakes, in, a similar way, have been formed on the 
 Elkhorn,the Platte and the Blue rivers. Many of these, however, 
 in the interior, are the remnants of what was once, in loess times, 
 a vast inland lake that covered the larger part of Nebraska.* An 
 extensive region of small lakes is found at the head of the Elkhorn 
 River. Of the lakelets that exist here, over thirty in number, 
 many of them are of great beauty with sandy or pebbly bottoms. 
 A still more extensive lake region exists at the headwaters of the 
 North Loup, and between that and the Niobrara River. Most of 
 these are of fresh water, but a few are saline or alkaline. At the 
 head of Snake River, a tributary of the Niobrara, there are a num- 
 ber of small saline and fresh water lakes. Perhaps the most exten- 
 sive groups of saline lakes are those at the head of Pine Creek, also 
 one of the tributaries of the Niobrara. There are also a number 
 of alkaline and fresh water lakes between the heads of the Dismal 
 and Middle Loup. In my notes of exploration and travel there is 
 
 *See chapter on Superficial Deposits of Nebraska. 
 
WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 53 
 
 a list of over one hundred, and no doubt there are many more that 
 have not been noted. In addition to these there are great numbers 
 of ponds that almost approach in size to the dignity of lakes. 
 Some of these lakelets at the head of the Elkhorn were in former 
 years, when first visited, remarkable for the number of fishes that 
 they contained. Unaccustomed to the presence of man, they 
 seemed to have no fears of him. At least, when I waded into 
 them they gathered around me in huge shoals. The alkaline lakes 
 can always be detected on sight. No grass or other vegetable forms 
 grow near the water, wliile at fresh water lakes luxuriant growths 
 of vegetation extended to the very water's edge. With the in- 
 crease of rainfall going on over the State, the level of these lakes 
 will naturally rise, and many of them that are now isolated will 
 become connected and cover much more extended areas than at 
 present. A prominent characteristic of most of these lakes and 
 lakelets is the wonderful clearness of the water. A silver three or 
 five cent piece thrown into them can be distinctly seen at the bot- 
 tom with the naked eye, even when they are from fifteen to twenty 
 feet deep. This I ascertained in many instances by actual measure- 
 ment. Most of the deeper lakes, especially of the northern and 
 western portions of the State, have gravelly, -coarse, sandy or peb- 
 bly bottoms. Here formerly, much more than at present, was a 
 paradise of water fowl. 
 
 SPRINGS, WELLS, AND ARTESIAN WELLS. 
 
 In the eastern half the State springs are abundant, and wherever 
 the lay of the land and the underlying rocks are favorable to their 
 existence. It is well known that however abundant rainfall and 
 moisture may be, no springs are produced unless the waters that 
 percolates through the soil are arrested by some impervious layers 
 along which they can be carried to some break or cut, where they 
 can flow out. Such impervious layers in Nebraska, are of two gen- 
 eral types. The first type, are those on or among the underlying 
 rocks, along which the water flows until it emerges on Lill sides or 
 edge of valleys. In south-eastern Nebraska, many springs appear 
 on top of limestone strata that underlie loosely, compacted sandy 
 rocks or shales. Where the Dakota Group of sand rock exists, 
 springs frequently proceed above some harder layers of this deposit. 
 Warner's Spring, southwest from Dakota City, in the bluffs, is an 
 instance of this character. Another is a famous spring near Teka- 
 
54 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 mah, in the bluffs, called sometimes, from the color of the rocks, 
 Yellow Springs. The former has the rock above the spring cov- 
 ered with Indian hierogliphics. Occasionally springs proceed from 
 or near the line of junction between these rocks and the next below. 
 Some impervious layers of clayey, brownish shale in the Fort Ben- 
 ton Group, also arrest the downward course of water and leads it to 
 the next break or valley of erosion to appear as a spring. 
 
 The se ond class of springs are those that proceed from between 
 different kinds of layers of the drift and loess. The drift is 
 specially remarkable for the number of clayey layers that are inter- 
 posed between layers of sand and pebbles. These layers of clay 
 carry the water to the nearest cut, where they form springs. 
 Where these layers of clay do not exist, the water is carried along 
 the top of the underlying rocks, if these happen to be hard or com- 
 pact, and springs as in the former case appear on the edges of the 
 valley. Many of the springs that emerge from the bluffs of all the 
 river valleys owe their origin to these causes. This explains, too, 
 why in many sections of the State, springs are found (often several 
 of them on every quarter section of land), and why in other por- 
 tions of the State they are found only at long intervals. The more 
 broken or rolling, other things being equal, the more abundant 
 they are. On the long reaches of nearly level land springs occur 
 at much longer intervals. On and near the top of the level water 
 sheds springs occur still more rarely. 
 
 Water, however, is abundant even here. Wells or borings 
 always obtain it. Over the greater portion of the State, shafts or 
 holes sunk down from fifteen to fifty feet are sure to obtain it in 
 abundance. The exceptions to this rule are some portions of wide 
 divides in such counties as Fillmore, Clay, Adams and Phelps, 
 where there is a great thickness of loess and drift to be penetrated 
 before impervious strata, capable of holding water are reached. 
 Many farmers prefer land with no springs or running water on it. 
 There is less waste, they claim. A well with a wind mill attached 
 supplies water to man and beast in whatever quantity needed. A 
 wind mill and reservoir attached to a well not unfrequently is made 
 to water a thousand head of cattle daily, besides supplying the wants 
 of a household. 
 
 Artesian Wells have been bored in a few places. The one in the 
 public square in Lincoln is one thousand and fifty feet deep. It was 
 put down in the hope that fresh water would be found. This effort 
 
WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 55 
 
 was a failure. At five hundred and sixty feet saline water spout- 
 ed up a in powerful current. The contractor, Mr. Eaton, however, 
 was uncertain whether the brine was here first struck, or whether 
 a current of fresh water only forced it to the surface. It was cer- 
 tain that strong brine was found at the horizon between seventy 
 and two hundred and fifty-five feet in the reddish sandstones of the 
 Dakota Group. It did not, however, flow to the surface. The 
 weight of evidence favored the conclusion that the salt water above 
 was forced to the surface by the stronger currents below, especially 
 as the tubing was so defective that all the waters encountered were 
 intermingled. Between the level of five hundred and sixty feet 
 and the end of the boring other artesian currents were struck, 
 and the mingling of all that were encountered has given a well of 
 water which, for variety of salts held in solution, is unsurpassed 
 anywhere. An artesian boring was also made in Beatrice to the 
 depth of twelve hundred feet, without, however, obtaining a flow of 
 water to the surface. One has also been put down in Omaha, and a 
 good flow of pure water obtained at a depth of 750 feet. On the 
 whole, the geological formations of Nebraska are favorable for 
 such wells. The general slope is upwards to the west and slightly 
 towards the north. And although the tertiary strata overlie the 
 cretaceous as we proceed westward, yet their thickness is far less 
 than the rise of the country. The pressure of water, therefore, 
 from between underlying rocks is sufficient to force it to the sur- 
 face from some point between five hundred and twenty-five hundred 
 feet. 
 
 SALINE SPRINGS. 
 
 There are several localities where saline springs or bogs exist. 
 One of these is in Lancaster County, near Lincoln. The largest 
 here covers approximately five hundred acres. Others of smaller 
 area are not far distant. In this largest basin the water emerges in 
 hundreds of places, and exhibits the curious phenomenon of vary- 
 ing in depth through the day. It is highest during the morning. 
 It decreases through the day, and is at its lowest point about three 
 o'clock in the afternoon. About this time any one passing over the 
 basin and closely observing it will see the salt water bubbling up 
 at hundreds of places. Where it comes up in this way the water 
 contains about ten per cent, of common salt; at least that is the 
 mean of several analyses, and is also indicated by the salometer. 
 Many diverse opinions have been expressed about the value of 
 
56 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 these salt basins. Some have regarded them as of little value and 
 incapable of supplying brine in quantity sufficient to make it pos- 
 sible to compete with the great salt-producing sections of Mich- 
 igan and New York; others again have placed an extravagant 
 value on them, representing them as capable of building up 
 princely fortunes for any who are fortunate enough to possess the 
 capital to work them. The truth is probably somewhere between 
 these extremes. If the salt water that flows away and is lost were 
 placed in reservoirs and evaporated by solar heat, a richly remu- 
 nerative business could be built up. Sooner or later this will be 
 done. When the artesian well on the Government Square in Lin- 
 coln reached a depth of 560 feet, there was a heavy flow of salt 
 water to the surface. The salt water, however, had been struck 
 long before, but it did not flow out. The salt-giving rock is the 
 reddish, porous sandstone that lies between seventy and two hun- 
 dred and fifty-five feet in depth. It is because this artesian well 
 \vas sunk down over a thousand feet and came in contact with 
 many other strata of rock containing different kinds of water, that 
 the flow now embraces so many different chemical elements An- 
 other artesian well had previously been bored on the north s'de of 
 the main salt basin. This one struck a flow of salt water at about 
 the same depth as the one on the Government Square. There is 
 some uncertainty in the mind of Mr. Eaton, who made the borings 
 in Lincoln, whether the " great flow " was produced by salt water, 
 or whether the fresh water that was then struck simply combined 
 with and forced out the salt water. All the known facts, however, 
 go to support the view that salt water is here abundant, and only 
 needs to be properly handled to make it a most profitable industry. 
 There are also saline springs and lakelets beyond and near the 
 head of the Elkhorn and Loup rivers, and at long intervals toward 
 the northwestern corner of the State on tributaries of the Niobrara 
 flowin^ from the south. I visited these under such unfavorable 
 
 > 
 
 circumstances for investigation, that I am not prepared to report 
 on their extent or probable value. 
 
 THE RIVERS OF NEBRASKA 
 
 are distinguished for their breadth, their number, and some of them 
 for their rapiditity and depth. In fact, the name of Nebraska means 
 land of broad rivers. 
 
 Chief of all, not only of Nebraska, but of the United States, is the 
 Missouri, because it gives character to all the rivers that unite with 
 
WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 57 
 
 it below down to the gulf. Forming the eastern border of the 
 State, and a small extent of its northern boundary, and being tor- 
 tuous in its path, at least five hundred miles of the river are on its 
 western and southern side in Nebraska. It is deep and rapid. Its 
 bed is moving sand, mud and alluvium. It no where in Nebras- 
 ka has rock bottom. Before rock can be reached a thickness of 
 from forty to one hundred feet of sand and mud must be penetrated 
 from low water mark. Its immediate banks, sometimes on both, 
 and almost always on one side, are steep often, indeed, perpen- 
 dicular or leaning over towards the water. It is generally retreating 
 or advancing from, or on to one or other shore. It is the shore from 
 which it is retreating that is sometimes gently sloping, while the 
 one towards which it is advancing is steep. This steepness is produced 
 by the undermining of the banks and the caving in that follows. 
 Near the bottom there is a stratum of sand which being struck by 
 the current is washed out and the bank falls in. Many acres in 
 some places have been carried away in a single season: The prin- 
 cipal part of this "cutting" is done while the river is falling. 
 One of the places, famous in early Nebraska history that the 
 Missouri in this way destroyed, is the town of Omadi, in Dakota 
 County. Almost the entire town site is now in the river. When the 
 river is low and winding through bottoms fringed with, in many 
 places, dark groves of cottonwood and other timber, it is a sad,mel- 
 ancholly, weird stream. When it is "on a big rise," however, and 
 presses forward with tremendous volume and force towards the gulf 
 it becomes surpassingly grand and majestic. It is now full of eddies, 
 and whole trees that have been undermined and have fallen into 
 the river are dragged forward at a fearful velocity. It is never 
 fordable. Boats of various kinds were exclusively used for crossing 
 the river until the advent of the railroad bridge at Omaha. Another is 
 now building by the B. and M. R. R. at Plattsmouth, The water 
 always muddy or full of finely comminuted sand, the currant rapid 
 and full of whirling eddies. It is a dangerous stream to trifle with. 
 Often, indeed, during flood times does the boiling, seething mass of 
 water look as if it had been stirred up at bottom with the sand by 
 some mighty convulsive movement of the earth. Few that fall 
 into it ever reach the shore alive without assistance. The clothes 
 are soon saturated with the sediment of the river which is always 
 turbid or muddy, and sinks the victim to the bottom. So well 
 understood, however, is this feature of the Missonri that no more 
 
58 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 persons are drowned in it than in other rivers of corresponding- 
 magnitude. The peculiar character of the Missouri gives unique- 
 ness to the scenery along its shores. A position on some of the 
 terraces or bluffs overlooking the river give views of unsurpassed 
 beauty. There is one such of remarkable grandeur above lona, 
 in Dixon County, where the river touches the bluff, throwing its 
 wide bottom into Dakota Territory. From this point the river can 
 be seen towards the east for fifteen miles. The jdark cotton wood 
 groves, the curves of the river, the Dakota plain on the northern 
 side, studded with homesteads, constitutes a picture that rivals in 
 beauty the most famous scenes in the world. Another equally fine 
 view of the river can be had from the top of the bluff on the road 
 from Ponca to the Missouri bottom. 
 
 With some obnoxious elements attached to its character, it is as 
 we have already seen, a storehouse of blessings to the sections 
 through which it flows. Had it not been for the Missouri the set- 
 tlement of this region would have been indefinitely delayed. It is 
 a highway to the commerce and markets of the world; and on this 
 highway the first emigrants reached Nebraska, and sent off their 
 products to other regions. As the Missouri is navigable for two 
 thousand miles above Omaha it was a great highway for traffic 
 with the mountain regions of Idaho, Dakota and Montana. Since 
 the building of railroads its business has fallen off. Vessels still 
 run from Sioux City and Yankton to the upper Missouri and the 
 Yellowstone. Latterly there are indications of a revival of business 
 on the lower Missouri. Joseph A. Conner, Esq. has this season 
 (Summer of 1879) shipped three boat loads of produce to St. Louis 
 from Plattsmouth. The last load took down sixty car loads of 
 corn and twelve hundred hogs. It cost him fifteen cents per hun- 
 dred against twenty-seven cents which the railroads charged. 
 Unfortunately, this competition only lasts through the summer. 
 The Missouri is not navigable for five or six months through the 
 winter season. 
 
 Next in importance to the Missouri is the Platte river. For 
 length it approximates closely to twelve hundred miles. Its head 
 waters originate in the mountains, and many of them rise in beauti- 
 ful lakelets fed by the everlasting snows. No lakelets for example 
 can be more interesting than those between the spurs of mountains 
 twelve thousend feet above the sea level, w r here the Cache Le 
 Poudre river is born. Though precipitous and eratic in Colorado 
 
WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 59 
 
 and Wyoming, by the time it reaches Nebraska it is broad, shallow, 
 sandy, but still with a rapid current. It flows through the whole 
 length of the State from east to west, dividing the State, but 
 leaving the largest part on the north. In places at low water it can 
 IDC forded, though teams are sometimes in danger of sticking fast 
 in the quick sands. It is not navigable. It has been bridged at 
 Fremont, Schuyler, Grand Island, Kearney Junction, North Platte 
 and other points. An important point on the river is North Platte, 
 where it forks, one branch being known as the South Fork, enters 
 the State from Colorado near the angle of the southwest corner, or 
 near the parallel of 41. The North Fork enters the State from 
 Wyoming near latitude 42. The average volume of water at North 
 Platte is greater than at its mouth, though it receives in the meantime 
 some large tributaries, the most important of which are the Elkhorn, 
 Papillion, Shell Creek, Loup and Wood River. A few held that 
 this was caused by evaporation. The tributaries, however, that 
 enter the Platte from the north more than supply the waste from 
 this cause. The explanation of this phenomenon is found in the 
 character of the bottom and its continuation with the Drift under- 
 lying the uplands south of the Platte. The bottom of the Platte is 
 extremely sandy, and is continuous with a sandy, gravelly and 
 pebbly deposit of the Drift under the Loess as far as to the Repub- 
 lican. It will also be seen in the lists of elevations that have been 
 given that the general level of the Republican is three hundred and 
 fifty-two feet below that of the Platte. There is therefore a descent 
 from the Platte to the Republican, and along such a formation that 
 there is easy drainage from the one into the other. That there is such 
 drainage on an extensive scale I have no doubt. Wading in the 
 Republican in August, as I have done for many miles at a time, I 
 noticed on the north side water ozing out of the drift continuously 
 every few feet in places, and rarely at greater intervals than every 
 few rods. Nothing of the kind was noticed on its southern shore. 
 Where tributaries of the Republican from the northwest cut deep 
 enough to strike the drift they share in the reception of this water 
 from the Platte. Few, however, do this. 
 
 Flood time for the Platte is generally about the same time as that 
 of the Missouri sometimes a few days or weeks earlier, but the 
 continuance of both is so long that they meet, though they rarely 
 culminate together. 
 
60 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 The Platte drains principally from the northwest. Its water shed 
 on the south is generally only a few miles from its valley, while on 
 the norrh it extends in places to within thirty-six miles of the north 
 line of the State. 
 
 If the bottoms and channel of the Platte were favorable for it 
 there would be an abundance of water for navigation. It is next 
 to impossible for railroads going to the mountains to do all the 
 business that will be demannedof them when the Platte Valley and 
 the mountain regions are once developed. Cheaper freights than 
 these that railroads furnish will also be demanded. Then a canal 
 can be built along side of the Platte to receive its waters from the 
 mountains to the Missouri. It could be made as the Suez canal 
 was, largely from artificial stone. For such a canal the valley of 
 the Platte is one of the best in the world. No one now living may 
 see such a work, but Nebraska is capable of sustaining a population 
 so dense that such a canal will be a necessity. 
 
 The Republican River rises in the Colorado Plains, near range 
 49 west of the 6th principal meridian. Here anciently there was 
 a lake whose basin was about four miles across. The outlet, or 
 river draining it, however, long since cut down the narrow rim 
 and drained the lake. Its head here in the old lake is 4,050 
 feet above the sea. A few small springs new rise below the 
 site of this old lake, and produce a tiny streamlet a foot across. 
 Other streams, about or nearly as large, soon join it, but at 
 the State line I could still, when there in the spring of 1877, with 
 D. N. Smith, jump across it. Along this part of its course there 
 are a few beautiful little lakelets into which and from which it 
 flows. Here the water is cool, and clear as crystal. When it re- 
 ceives the waters of the Arickaree, about seven miles east of the 
 State line, it assumes its characteristic character. It now becomes 
 shallow and sandy, and in places rapid. Its principal tributary in 
 this portion of the State is the Republican Fork, and comes from 
 the southwest. Its junction with the Republican is in range 38, 
 west. Frenchman's Fork is an important tributary that rises in 
 Colorado, and, flowing southeast, joins the Republican at Culbert- 
 son. After this the most important tributary from the southwest 
 is the Beaver. Red Willow and Medecine Creeks, from the north- 
 west, are also important tributaries. An immense number of small 
 creeks flow, every few miles, into the Republican, especially from 
 the north. This river, unlike the Platte, increases regularly in 
 
WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 61 
 
 breadth and volume all the way from its source to its exit from the 
 State, in Nuckalls County. It is forded in many places, and the 
 only clanger is from quicksands. There is little danger with a 
 team that does not balk in the water. It is already bridged in va- 
 rious places. As was stated in the discussion of the Platte River, 
 the Republican receives by subterranean drainage a portion of the 
 waters of the former. 
 
 The Niobrara River, from its source, in Wyoming, to its mouth, 
 is 460 miles long. Its source, in Wyoming, is 5,100 feet above the 
 sea level. At the State line it is about ten feet wide, and of beau- 
 tiful, clear, running water. Its elevation here above the sea level 
 approximates closely to 4,594 feet. It continues to be clear 
 and sparkling, but widening to about fifteen feet down to longi- 
 tude 103 15'. From this point it widens rapidly until, in longitude 
 102 30', it is from sixty to eighty yards wide. Here it enters a 
 canyon whose walls are high and steep. This canyon region con- 
 tinues down to longitude 99 20', or about 180 miles. After its 
 emergence from the canyon it is still a broad, rapid, sandy river to 
 its mouth. Owing to its rapidity and quicksands, it is exceedingly 
 difficult to ford in the lower part of its course. At least, this was 
 my own experience. After sticking fast in the quicksands a few 
 times, and being compelled to take a wagon apart and carry every- 
 thing to shore, the river loses all romance for the explorer. In the 
 lower part of its course there are many low islands, mostly cov- 
 ered with timber. It flows into the Missouri in range 6, west, and 
 32, north. 
 
 There are numerous tributaries of the Niobrara, most of which 
 are of small size. On the south side, the first of importance is the 
 Verdigris. This beautiful stream, which rises in Antelope County 
 and flows north through the west end of Knox County, flows into 
 the Niobrara six miles from its mouth. Between this and the 
 mouth of the Keya Paha, on the south side, there are a great num- 
 ber of small tributaries. From the mouth of the Keya Paha to 
 the Wazihonska there are also a great number of small tributaries, 
 and the most of these are remarkable for the great number of fine 
 springs of water which feed them, and for the groves of pine and 
 oak on their narrow bottoms and on their bluffs. The word 
 Wazihonska signifies, in the Dakota language, " the place where 
 the pine extends far out." This stream is about forty-five miles 
 long, and its valley, though much narrower, closely resembles that 
 
62 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 of the Niobrara. Snake River is the next tributary of importance. 
 Its mouth is near longitude 100 45'. Its bed is thirty-five yards 
 wide, and it has a narrow valley. Its bluffs are covered with pine. 
 Beyond Snake River there are no large branches coming in from 
 the south. 
 
 The Keya Paha is the first large tributary above its mouth on 
 the north side of the Niobrara. It is about 125 miles long. Where 
 I crossed it, fifty miles above its mouth, is has a fine valley, three- 
 fourths of a mile wide, with a good soil, and some cottonwood 
 timber. The bed of the river, like that of the Niobrara, is sandy, 
 but its waters are clear, and delicious to the taste. At its mouth it 
 is about fifty-five yards wide. The next tributary from the north- 
 west is Rapid Creek, which, however, is only nine yards wide at 
 its mouth. It connects with the Niobrara in longitude 100 23'. 
 Its valley is in some places half a mile wide, and the soil is, judging 
 from the vegetation, quite fertile. A few small trees fringe its 
 banks. It is about fifty-five miles long. Reunion Creek, which 
 flows into the Niobrara at longitude 101 18', has hardly any bot- 
 tom, and flows between lofty rock bluffs, very hard to ascend or de- 
 scend. At its mouth it is fifty-eight yards wide, and has clear, cold, 
 rapid-running water. 
 
 At longitude 101 30' a creek flows into the Niobrara, a little 
 more than half the size of Rapid Creek, which it closely resem- 
 bles. Above this there are a great number of small rivulets, 
 which flow into the Niobrara, many of which are dry except in 
 rainy weather- They, however, indicate the former abundance of 
 water here, and will, with the growing moisture and rainfall of the 
 State, again, no doubt, become permanent fresh-water streams. 
 The peculiarities of the exceptional characters of the Niobrara 
 region are given in a former paragraph under this head. 
 
 The White River flows through Northwestern Nebraska It 
 enters the State from Wyoming, flows eastward and northeast- 
 ward, north of the Niobrara, until it enters Dakota Territory, 
 a little east of longitude 103. It has its source not far from that 
 of the Niobrara, near a sudden descent of 500 feet, south of Hat 
 Creek Station, on the road from Fort Laramie. This abrupt de- 
 scent, when approached from the south, is not suspected until it is 
 reached. Sometimes this descent is a slope that a team can climb, 
 and again it changes to a bare wall five hundred feet high. Nu- 
 merous brooks flow down the gullies and ravines formed on the 
 
% WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 63 
 
 side of this steep ascent and wall, and these go to form White 
 River. The road from Hat Creek Station to Camp Robinson, 
 thirty miles distant, lies near its base. " From Hat Creek the 
 trend is a little south of east for thirty-eight miles to the point 
 where this road makes its steep and difficult ascent." Beyond 
 this point it runs northeasterly for a few miles, then southerly un- 
 til it meets and terminates the northern bluffs of White River, iii 
 the prominent landmark called Soldiers' Grove Cliffs, north of and 
 overlooking Camp Robinson." * * * "It was traced eastward 
 to Camp Sheridan, forming the southern border of White River 
 valley." (Captain Stanton.) Hence, the river and its valley are 
 shut out from the rest of Nebraska by this natural barricade on the 
 south. On most maps of the State, this range is represented too far 
 to the north. It forms in the midst of a valley otherwise easily 
 traversed. The White River in Nebraska has many small trib- 
 utaries, many of which are beautiful, clear rivulets. Except the 
 ridge just mentioned, it flows through a rather gently rolling 
 country. 
 
 The Elkhorn River, is one of the most beautiful streams of the 
 State. It rises west of Holt and Elkhorn Counties. Near its 
 source the valley widens to a very great breadth, and the bluffs 
 bordering it are low and often almost inappreciable. In the 
 region of its source especially south of the centre of the valley, are 
 a great number of beautiful, small, fresh water lakes. Within a 
 region eighteen by twelve miles square, there are at least twenty of 
 these lakelets, most of which drain into the headwaters of the West 
 Fork of the Elkhorn. It soon becomes in size a respectable 
 stream. In the eastern border of Madison County it receives the 
 North Branch of the Elkhorn, which rises in the southern part 
 of Knox County. Unlike the West Fork, or main branch, it does 
 not originate in a lake region, but in a region of innumerable 
 small springs. The channel is full of water holes, between which 
 the water often in midsummer flows under-ground. Soon it looses 
 this character and becomes a rapid, clear, deep and beautiful 
 stream. The general direction of the main river approximates to 
 250 miles. Its direction is southeast. It empties into the Platte 
 in the western part of Sarpy County. For a large part of its 
 course, the Elkhorn flows over rock bottom. It has considerable 
 fall, and its steady, large volume of waters will render it a most 
 valuable manufacturing region. 
 
64 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 The Logan is the most important tributary of the Elkhorn. 
 It rises principally in Cedar County. Of several branches of this 
 river, it is impossible to tell which is the longest or deserves the 
 name of principal stream. They all originate in bogs or old 
 filled up lake beds. Large beds of peat are here found. After 
 erne - gi ig from these bogs, which lie in the midst of the most 
 beautiful and gently rolling lands conceivable, these Logan streams 
 soon become constant, clear, and rapid. The bottoms are pebbly 
 or sandy. There are many of these branches in Wayne County, 
 which through their instrumentality, has among the finest physi- 
 cal features of any sections of the State. There are numerous 
 smaller tributaries of the Elkhorn, all of which have characters in 
 a miner degree like the parent stream. The general direction 
 of all these Logan rivers, is southeast, until Burt County is 
 reached, after which it is south, until a junction is formed with the 
 Elkhorn in the eastern portion of Dodge County. 
 
 The Bow Rivers in northeastern Nebraska are not known as 
 they deserve to be. They are known as the East, the Middle and 
 the West Bows. No rivers of the State have interested me more. 
 The water is clear and cold. They originate in the coolest and 
 most delightful springs of mostly soft water. In the centre 
 of Cedar County, near Curlew, there is a spring of cold water that 
 emerges from a bluff strong enough to turn a mill. In fact, almost 
 every half mile, along these rivers, these magnificent springs make 
 their appearance. Except the East Bow, their general direction 
 is northeast. The East Bow flows northwest until it unites w T ith 
 the Middle Bow. Below St. James, all united they join their 
 waters to those of the Missouri. Sooner or later, when fish cul- 
 ture receives the attention in this State, which it deserves, these 
 Bow Rivers will become noted as trout streams. 
 
 The Nemahas early became noted rivers in Nebraska. The 
 north branch of the Nemaha runs in a southeasterly direction, 
 diagonally through Johnson and Richardson Counties, until it 
 unites with the main river, in the latter county. Its length is 
 about sixty miles and increases regularly in size, from its source to 
 its mouth, by the addition of numerous tributaries. The main 
 Nemaha rises in Pawnee County, takes a southerly direction into 
 Kansas, then turns northeast into Richardson County and then 
 flows a little south of east, until it unites with the Missouri near 
 the southeast corner of the State. Its length is but sixty miles, 
 
WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 65 
 
 but it receives so many comparatively large tributaries, that its 
 magnitude at the end of its course is much greater than many 
 much longer rivers. The bottom lands of these rivers are broad, 
 often beautifully terraced, and the bordering bluffs are gently 
 rounded off. The impression left on the mind, after traversing 
 these valleys, is that their beauty cannot be surpassed. The fall 
 -and size of these rivers and their larger tributaries, will supply 
 motive power to an immense number of manufacturing industries. 
 The Little Nemaha is a smaller edition of the " Big Nemaha." 
 It rises in Cass County, flows in a southeasterly direction through 
 Otoe, and Nemaha Counties, and unites with the Missouri near 
 Nemaha City, in Nemaha County. It also has numerous tribu- 
 taries. It is a beautiful stream of water, and with its characteristic 
 wide bottoms and gently rounded bluffs, gives character to the 
 counties through which it flows. 
 
 The Blues are among the most important rivers of Nebraska. 
 The main branch with its tributaries drains eight counties, which 
 are among the best in the State. It is about 132 miles long. It 
 rises in Hamilton County, and after flowing for thirty-six miles, a 
 little northeast, it curves around and follows a southeast direction 
 through Butler, Seward, Saline, and Gage Counties. It enters 
 Kansas from the Otpe Reservation, where it ultimately unites 
 with the Republican. The Middle Fork of the Blue also rises in 
 Hamilton County, and flowing first a little north of east, unites 
 with the North Blue at Seward. Its length is about sixty miles. 
 The West Fork of the Big Blue rises in Hall County and flows a 
 little north of east through Hamilton, then east through York, 
 and then southeast through Seward, and finally unites with the 
 main Blue, five miles above Crete in Saline County. School 
 Creek and Beaver Creek are tributaries of the West Fork of 
 nearly the size of the parent stream. Turkey Creek is also a 
 large tributary from the northwest, which unites with the Blue 
 near the line of junction, between Saline and Page Counties. All 
 these Blue Rivers and their tributaries, few of which can even be 
 alluded to, are remarkable for the amount of water which they 
 carry off, and the great beauty of the bottom lands through which 
 they meander. The uplands between the bottoms are also for the 
 most part gentlv rolling and composed of the richest soil. The 
 bottoms are often terraced, and the materials in such cases are 
 mostly of a Loess character. The bluffs bordering these bottom 
 
 5 
 
66 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 lands are generally gently rounded off, and infinitely varied. It 
 is doubtful whether the mind could imagine a section better sup- 
 plied with rivers and creeks and rivulets giving an abundance 
 of water privileges of the best character. There is such an abun- 
 dance of water in these rivers and their tributaries, and the fall 
 adequate, that the motive power is ready to propel a vast amount 
 of machinery for manufacturing industries. With superior water 
 privileges and the choicest lands a dense population must here 
 rapidly accumulate. 
 
 There is still another Blue River that rises in Adams County 
 and flows in a southwesterly direction through Clay, Nuckolls, 
 Thayer, and in the southeast corner of Jefferson County, enters 
 Kansas where it finally unites with the " Big Blue." About no 
 miles of this river are in Nebraska. In its most important features, 
 it resembles the " Big Blue." Like the last, it is a magnificent 
 stream. It also has numerous tributaries, which are in miniature, 
 what the parent stream is. 
 
 The Lottos, next to the Niobrara, are the most unique rivers in 
 Nebraska. Even these streams, however, have many things in 
 common with the other rivers of Nebraska. The whole length 
 of the middle or main Loup approximates to 250 miles. It rises 
 a little east of the 102 parallel and fifty miles from the north line 
 of the State. My barometer indicated 3,230 feet above the sea 
 level for this point. There are a great number of small lakes and 
 lakelets. I counted nine within a radius of ten miles. Some 
 of them drain into the Loup. It flows in a southeastern direction 
 until the southeast corner of Howard County is reached, when it 
 turns first a little north of east, and then a little south of east, and 
 unites with the Platte, near Columbus, commencing at its lower 
 end on the north side. Its first important tributary is the Beaver, 
 and then Cedar Creek, which originally took its name from the 
 Cedar Groves along its banks. The North Loup also rises among 
 a cluster of small lakes, a little east of the 101 meridian and forty- 
 five miles from the north line of the State. Here I found a dozen 
 of small lakes within a radius of eight miles, and many of them 
 of great beauty, with pebbly and sandy bottoms, and with water 
 clear as crystal. Calamus Creek is its most important tributary. 
 I regret that I failed to reach its source. The entire length of this 
 Loup, until its junction with the Middle Loup is 150 miles. Its 
 general direction is southeast. Perhaps there is no more interest- 
 
WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 67 
 
 ing and beautiful valley in all Nebraska than the North Loup. 
 The water is of crystal clearness and the fertility of the valley is 
 very great. The scenery is varied. This judgment formed 
 twelve years ago, is more than confirmed since its settlement. 
 Corn and the cereal grains are most successfully produced. 
 Timber and fruit trees are grown with an ease surpassed nowhere 
 in the State. 
 
 On the south side the main tributaries are Mud Creek and the 
 South Loup. This latter river rises immediately beyond the west 
 boundary of Custer County, and flows in a southeasterly direction 
 into Buffalo County, and then northeast to its junction with the 
 Middle Loup in Howard County. There are a large number of 
 smaller tributaries. The rivers are in places excessively sandy and 
 quite rapid. The quality of the bottom lands vary more than in 
 other Nebraska valleys. There are many sandy elevations here. 
 At the ordinary level there is a somewhat sandy loam, rich in 
 humus and of a dark color. In depressions slightly below the level 
 of the former, and often of a cloggy texture, the alkaline soil 
 occurs. Slightly elevated above both these varieties is a coarser 
 sandy soil. These different soils often shade into each other, and 
 again they are sharply outlined. The good soil, however, greatly 
 predominates over the inferior varieties. Very little of the alkaline 
 soil however can be called poor. Cultivation permits the waters to 
 percolate through it and carry to lower levels the excess of alkaline 
 matter, and much is consumed by the crops that are cultivated, 
 especially in wet seasons. Here as elsewhere over the State, where 
 these soils occur, a few years of cultivation often renders them 
 equal to the best in the State. 
 
 Towards the head of the Loups the sand hills in places crowd the 
 bottom lands. Where they occur travel is difficult. Often where 
 they are most abundant they suddenly cease and the country 
 changes to a gently rolling plain of first and second class land. 
 Some explorers have pronounced one-half of the region of the 
 Loups waste land. This is certainly by one-half too high. And if 
 one-fourth of the upper Loup region is taken up with sand hills 
 they still make choice pasture or grazing grounds. It is remarkable 
 that where twelve years ago the sand hills were comparatively 
 bare they have now, through the influence of increasing rainfall, 
 become covered to some extent with a growth of nutritious grasses. 
 This is proof, if any were needed, of the abundance of mineral 
 fertilizers which these sands contain. 
 
68 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Salt Creek derives its name from the number of saline springs 
 and bogs that unite with it in Lancaster County. It is formed near 
 Lincoln by the junction of Oak Creek, Middle Creek, South Creek 
 and other small' streams. From this place it flows in a northeast- 
 erly direction until it unites with the Platte below Ashland. It is 
 a rather deep stream with a muddy bottom. Its valley is composed 
 of remarkably fine bottom lands. The slope from the bottom up 
 to the top of the bluff on the southeast side is exceptionally gentle. 
 In many places it is impossible to tell where the bottom leaves off 
 and the upland begins. The characteristics of the salt springs are 
 discussed under the head of the Historical, Superficial and Econom- 
 ical Geology of the State. 
 
 There are many other rivers of Nebraska to which our limits 
 will not permit us even to allude. Important, however, among 
 these are the Weeping Water in Cass County, the Wahoo in 
 Saunders County, Elk Creek in Dakota County, and South and 
 West Iowa Creeks in Dixon County. All possess more or less 
 of the general character of Nebraska rivers. Traveling over the 
 State in almost any direction, and the study of a good map, 
 demonstrates that this State is eminently the land of many and 
 broad rivers. Many of the smaller streams, however, in eastern 
 Nebraska are losing their character of broad and shallow streams. 
 They are becoming deep streams. They have, since the settlement 
 of the country, been cutting deep between their banks. Many 
 streams which sixteen years ago could be stepped across are now 
 wider, and very much deeper than then, and running between such 
 high banks that they can only be readily crossed by bridges. Shut 
 out from the influence of the sun their evaporation is much less, 
 and their size increases from this cause as well as from the increase 
 of rainfall. 
 
 The water supply, therefore, of Nebraska, is most bountiful. 
 Rivers or creeks often both are found in every county. The 
 number of rivulets is enormous. Where springs fail to appear 
 water can be obtained by wells. 
 
 THE WATER POWER 
 
 of Nebraska is simply enormous. As the rise of the State towards the 
 west approximates to seven and a half feet to the mile, the fall of most 
 of the streams averages at least one-half of that. Were the streams 
 straight, they would average the same fall as the rise of the country, 
 
WATERS OF NEBRASKA. 69 
 
 but fhey all meander more or less through their wide bottoms. 
 Every few miles, however, places can be found on most of the 
 creeks and rivers where the fall is from seven to ten feet to the 
 mile, and even more, for the reason that the descent is very 
 irregular, being much greater at some points than at others. 
 Where there is no fall for a mile, it is made up by a more rapid 
 descent further on. Counting in then all the creeks and rivers of 
 the State the motive power that is now wasted and waits tobe'used 
 is beyond calculation. 
 
 The dams built across the Nebraska rivers are best modeled after 
 those of the beavers. These brute engineers constructed their dams 
 by laying sticks and twigs up and down the streams across their, 
 currents, and filling in the interstices with mud. It has been found 
 by experience that mill dams constructed in this way, with brush, 
 wherever there is no rock bottom, most successfully resist the 
 action of floods. In fact, very few dams well built on this plan 
 have ever been disturbed by the severest freshets. 
 
70 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DRAINAGE OF NEBRASKA AND CHARACTER OF 
 
 ITS WATER. 
 
 General Character of the Drainage Character of the Water Source of 
 Impurities Character of the River Water Temperature of the Missouri 
 River Water Water of the Platte, Republican and Bow Rivers. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE DRAINAGE. 
 
 FROM the preceding presentation of facts, and the discussions 
 concerning them, it is clear that the drainage system of Ne- 
 braska is complete. The State, as a whole, slopes eastward, and a 
 little southward. There is little flat land. The great body of the 
 State varies from a very gently, almost imperceptibly rolling region, 
 to one that is made up of rounded, hill-like masses, with long, gentle 
 slopes. The subsoil is the best in the world for drainage, being 
 made up principally of Loess materials, and, where these run out, 
 is composed of Alluvium, or Drift. The Loess contains eighty 
 per cent, of finely comminuted silica, and as this deposit is of enor- 
 mous average thickness, it absorbs excessive rainfall like a sponge. 
 The Alluvium also contains a large amount of silica, and the Drift 
 is noted for that material. The average elevation of the whole 
 State is about 2,312 feet above the sea. In the lay of the land, 
 therefore, its physical character, its slope, and elevation above the 
 sea, it is in the best possible condition for perfect drainage. It is 
 owing to this combination of causes that farmers are seldom, in the 
 wettest weather, delayed more than a day or two in plowing. In 
 fact, as soon as the rain ceases, in most soils, they can plow with- 
 out injury to the land. It is also owing to these causes that Ne- 
 braska possesses such admirable natural roads. Twelve hours after 
 the heaviest rains the roads are comparatively dry. It is true that 
 roads that cross creek bottoms are sometimes an exception ; and 
 this is because occasionally there are longer or shorter distances 
 here that are underlaid with strata of clayey material. Here the 
 
DRAINAGE AND CHARACTER OF WATER. 71 
 
 water stands longer, and in the rainy season the mud may continue 
 for a few weeks or a month. Such cases only attract attention be- 
 cause of the general dryness of the roads. Less road taxis needed 
 than in any other State. The obstacles to good roads are the 
 creek and river crossings, which are everywhere being rapidly 
 bridged. It is sometimes objected that there are peat bogs in the 
 State, and, at long intervals, a few marshes. These are, however, 
 the remnants of old lakes, and these, having a small accumulation 
 of clay on their bottoms, retain the water, and make possible that 
 accumulation of peaty matter, much of which may eventually be- 
 come important for fuel. 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE WATER. 
 
 The commonest ingredient of the water of springs and wells is 
 carbonate of lime. Then follow, in minute and varying quanti- 
 ties, in different springs, carbonate of potash and soda, sulphate of 
 potash, magnesia, soda and lime, chlorides of sodium, and potas- 
 sium, and iron and free carbonic acid. Many springs are free from 
 the most of these salts. Carbonate of lime, the commonest of 
 these impurities, is seldom present in injurious quantites. Perhaps 
 three-fourths of the springs and wells of the State contain it, in 
 amount varying from a trace to distinctly hard water. There are 
 many springs and wells whose waters are remarkably soft. Those 
 along the Bow Rivers are mainly of this character. Generally, 
 where springs emerge from the gravel beds and pebble, or strata 
 of sand in the Drift, the waters are soft, and otherwise remarkably 
 pure. Wells sunk into such deposits are also apt to be free from 
 lime, or contain it in only minute quantity. On the other hand, 
 water obtained in the Loess, whether from springs or from wells, 
 has a perceptible quantity of carbonate of lime, and a small quan- 
 tity of iron in solution. There are also strata in the Drift contain- 
 ing a large amount of lime, and this often is the source of the 
 hardness of the water that proceeds from this deposit. In general, 
 the water of springs and wells is remarkably clear and cool, and 
 free from injurious ingredients. The reader, of course, under- 
 stands that such a thing as absolutely pure water is an impossi- 
 bility, except by distillation. It is the salts that natural water con- 
 tains that make it palatable. It rarely happens that any organic 
 matter is present in a spring or well, unless it gets there through 
 the carelessness of men. This leads us to consider the 
 
72 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 SOURCE OF IMPURITIES. 
 
 Sometimes the water of springs and wells has a disagreeable 
 taste from an excessive quantity of iron that is present. It may be 
 a peroxide of iron, but more frequently it is a sulphate or sulphu- 
 ret. This is particularly the case with springs and wells that flow 
 over or through rocks of Cretaceous age, abounding in iron 
 pyrites, the decomposition of which, and combination with the 
 \vater, gives it its peculiar iron and sulphur taste. The Dakota 
 group, for example, abounds in peroxide of iron, and the Fort 
 Benton group in iron pyrites. Seme strata of the upper carbon- 
 iferous equally abound in the compounds of iron. I have some- 
 times been called on to decide the character of such water, on the 
 supposition that it was impregnated with organic matter, but, on 
 analysis, nothing could be found except iron and sulphur, besides 
 the ordinary salts that are universally present. Such waters are 
 probably more disagreeable than unhealthy. 
 
 Impurities from the presence of organic matter in water are far 
 more fatal to health. There is no need for the occurrence of such 
 cases, but, unfortunately, through ignorance or carelessness, they 
 do occur. 
 
 It sometimes happens that filth is permitted to accumulate near 
 wells, and, too often, all unsuspected, drains into them from the 
 surface. Owing, however, to the porous nature of the soil, filth 
 more frequently drains into them by subterranean passages. I 
 have frequently been called to examine well water that was be- 
 lieved to be the cause of illness in families. Often I found organic 
 matter, which frequently was partly composed of uric acid. The 
 source could universally be traced to a sewer, vault or cattle-yard 
 near by. In fact, in such a soil as that of Nebraska, no filth, and 
 especially no sewer matter, should ever be placed within seventy- 
 five feet of a well or spring. It is almost absolutely certain to 
 drain into a well if closer than that. One hundred feet, or more,, 
 would be a safer distance. This is often inconvenient, and some- 
 times nigh impossible in towns. Under such circumstances, where 
 \vater works cannot be provided, families should depend on filtered 
 cistern water for household use. Where rainfall is as abundant as 
 here, cisterns can be made capacious enough to supply water for 
 households during the whole year. More sickness, I am confident, 
 is caused by well water that has been permitted to become tainted 
 
DRAINAGE AND CHARACTER OF WATER. 73 
 
 by foul matter than from all other causes. Even in the country, 
 where these faults could so readily be avoided, wells are too often 
 located alongside of the cattle-yard, or close by a cesspool. The 
 inevitable consequence is, that the water sooner or later becomes 
 impure, by the presence of decayed animal matter. 
 
 Another source of impurity, though by no means as dangerous 
 as the last, is the curbing used for wells. The water of wells often 
 gains a bad repute by the disagreeable taste and odor given to it by 
 the cottonwood or pine lumber which is used to protect them from 
 caving at the bottom. The first settlers, before stone quarries were 
 opened, or brick were burned, resorted to this method to secure 
 their wells. It is still practiced to a large extent in many sections 
 of the State. Frequently, in examining wells that were declared 
 to be unfit for use, nothing was found the matter with them except 
 this wooden curbing, which had imparted to it its own taste. 
 
 CHARACTER OF RIVER WATER. 
 
 The waters of the creeks and rivers of Nebraska must neces- 
 sarily vary a great deal in character. That of the Missouri is the 
 most peculiar. It is always muddy. It has this character to the 
 mouth of the Yellowstone, above which the Missouri is, for a larger 
 part of the year, a clear stream. It is the Yellowstone that gives 
 character to the Missouri, it being, like the Missouri below their 
 junction, turbid to its source. In 1873 I collected water from its 
 channel, at Omaha, during high water, when the bank was nearly 
 full, and in October, during low water, at the same place. The 
 sediment was separated by filtration, and the amount was as fol- 
 lows: At high water, 403.7 grains from one gallon; at low water, 
 51.9 grains from one gallon. 
 
 This result differed slightly from that of Prof. Emmons, of the 
 Iowa geological survey. His determination was as follows: At 
 high water, 404 grains per gallon; at low water, 52 grains per gal- 
 lon. The amount of suspended sediment at high water is, there- 
 fore, upwards of seven times as much as at low water. It was 
 found, however, that the amount of solid matter held in solution, 
 was greatest at low water. This would naturally be expected, as 
 during flood time the sediment has but recently been added to the 
 water, but by the time low water arrives, the river has exercised 
 its solvent powers. In the chapter on the Superficial Deposits 
 of Nebraska, the reader will find analysis of Missouri River sedi- 
 
74 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 ment. Only a qualitative analysis was made of the water with the 
 following result: 
 
 Carbonate of lime was present in the largest quantity. Next 
 came carbonate of soda, iron in various forms and carbonic hydro- 
 chloric acid. In smaller proportions there was present sulphuric 
 acid, magnesia, and organic matter. Only a trace of potash 
 appeared. Iron was clearly most abundant at high water. 
 
 The temperature of the Missouri River at Dakota City during 
 
 May, 1869, was 60 
 
 June, 1869, was 62 
 
 July, 1869, was 70 
 
 August, 1869, was 73 
 
 September, 1869, was 66 
 
 October, 1869, was 54 
 
 November, 1869, was 36^ 
 
 December, 1869, was 35 
 
 The above were my own observations. The following are 
 taken from the report of the United States Signal office at Omaha 
 during 1877 and 1878. 
 
 
 Temperature at 
 bottom . 
 
 Average 
 depth of 
 water. 
 
 J U ly 
 
 Max. 
 77 
 
 Min. 
 
 70 
 
 64 
 4fi 
 32 
 32 
 
 87 
 
 Feet. 
 26 
 
 io 
 
 10 
 10 
 14 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 72 
 6 
 45 
 38 
 
 October ..... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 March 
 
 52 
 
 
 Mav 
 
 
 June 
 
 During several years between 1873 and 1879 I attempted to 
 ascertain the temperature of the Missouri at Plattsmouth, but the 
 result did not differ materially from the above. 
 
 Though the water of the Missouri is muddy, yet when it is 
 allowed to settle and become clear, it is singularly sweet, and in 
 summer, when cooled with ice, it is even delicious. I have seen 
 barrels filled with Missouri water, in July and August, and 
 whether standing in the sun or shade, no infusoria or other minute 
 animal forms could be detected with the microscope, even after 
 a week's exposure. I have had no such experience with any other 
 river water anywhere. Probably, one reason of this is, that the 
 sediment held in suspension, by the water, carries to the bottom, as 
 it settles, all organic matter. Eventually infusoria appear in it in 
 
DRAINAGE AND CHARACTER OF WATER. 75 
 
 from ten to twelve days, while with ordinary water, under the 
 same circumstances, they can be found within a week. 
 
 The waters of the Platte do not differ materially from those of the 
 Missouri. It holds almost as much sediment in suspension during 
 flood time, but materially less during low water. In 1874, I 
 took a sample from the Platte, near Omaha Junction, in flood 
 time in June, and one from the same place, at low water in Octo- 
 ber. The following result was obtained by filtering. At high 
 water, 397 grains from one gallon; at low water, 39 grains from 
 one gallon. It is seen from this result that the amount of sedi- 
 ment held in suspension by the Platte^ during high water, is over 
 ten times as great, as during low water. The difference is much 
 greater than between high and low water, in the Missouri. In 
 other words, the Platte much more nearly becomes clear than the 
 Missouri. The qualitative analysis also showed the presence 
 of lime, soda, iron, carbonic and hydrochloric acid. Then in less 
 quantities followed sulphuric acid, magnesia, potash, and organic 
 matter. There was less lime and iron, and more potash than in 
 the water of the Missouri. Analyses varied considerably between 
 high and low water, and between samples taken at different 
 places. The above is, therefore, only an approximation to the 
 correct composition of the water. 
 
 The temperature of the Platte waters is comparatively high. 
 At or near its mouth, its average for June, 1879, was 69; for July, 
 76, and for August, 78. When, however, the water of the Platte 
 is left to settle, and become clear, it can safely be used for domestic 
 purposes. It is purer than that which is used by the majority 
 of mankind. 
 
 On analysis, it is found, that the water of the Republican closely 
 resembles that of the Platte. As it receives by drainage a consider- 
 able quantity of the water of the Platte, and flows over similar 
 deposits, this similarity in chemical character would be expected. 
 
 The Niobrara River varies in different parts of its course in the 
 quality and temperature of its waters, more than any other river in 
 Nebraska. Where it enters the State, it is a clear, sparkling 
 stream, and before it reaches the canyon region, it approximates in 
 character to that of the upper Platte. Here, however, it flows 
 between lofty walls and receives such a vast number of cold 
 springs of water, that the whole river partakes of their character. 
 After it emerges from this canyon region, it again gradually approxi- 
 mates in the character of its water to that of the Platte. 
 
76 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 The Bow Rivers, as we have already seen, are peculiar in the 
 great number of pure springs of water, that are found along their 
 whole length. Their mean temperature is, therefore, somewhat 
 lower than that of other rivers of the State. And yet because 
 of the springs with which they are directly fed, large sections 
 of them never freeze, even in the coldest winters. For reasons 
 previously stated the water of these rivers is less hard than that 
 of other rivers of the State. The only other river with which I 
 can compare it, in these respects, is the Bazile, and in a still less 
 'degree, the Verdigris. The Bazile, like the Bows, is largely fed 
 by springs flowing directly .into it. 
 
 The waters of the remaining rivers that rise within the State 
 have many points in common. One of them is the blackish hue 
 that is given to them after rains and during flood time. This 
 is caused by the organic matter which is brought down by every 
 rivulet from the black surface soil of the State. This black soil 
 being from one to twenty feet in thickness, all the water pouring 
 into the rivers, after rains, is more or less, loaded with it. This, 
 then, gives to the waters those ingredients which constitute its dis- 
 solved substance. Among these in addition to the organic matter, 
 is lime, salts of soda, potash and magnesia, and iron. In minute 
 quality, also, sulphuric and hydrochloric acid. When flood time is 
 over, the streams that rise within the State, are proximately clear. 
 The Blues have in places, a blue tinge, and yet objects can be seen 
 at the bottom, where the water is from two to four feet deep. 
 
GENERAL FLORA OF NEBRASKA. 77 
 
 CHAPTER VII, 
 
 GENERAL FLORA OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 AN OBSERVER casually passing over the State little suspects 
 the wealth of vegetable forms that clothe the land. To under- 
 stand, however, its botany, this one fact needs to be borne in mind, 
 namely that Nebraska is the meeting place of two somewhat 
 diverse floras. Here the plants indigenous to dry regions and those 
 common to humid sections come together. The slope of the land 
 eastward is so gentle that Rocky Mountain forms come more than 
 half way to meet their distant relatives from the moister regions of 
 the Missouri and Mississippi. In fact here Rocky Mountain plants 
 by slight and gradual change in environment, have adapted them- 
 selves to a climate very different from their native habitat. The 
 same can be said of forms whose centre of dispersion was the Mis- 
 sissippi basin. Hence it is that the best botanical floras of the 
 schools such as Gray's Manual and Wood's Class Book do not 
 describe many of our floral forms. Singularly enough what they 
 leave off can mostly be found in Porter's and Coulter's Colorado 
 Flora. The former were only intended for the region east of the 
 Mississippi, but this section, in addition to that, grows many of the 
 plants of the Rocky Mountains. This is one reason why there is 
 such a wealth of vegetable forms in the State. It has drawn for 
 its supplies from two diverse regions, and owing to the magnifi- 
 cence of its climate, and the richness and variety of its soils, it has 
 successfully acclimated plants from high, dry and cold regions, and 
 those from low, humid and hot sections. I have thus far collected 
 over 2,100 species and varieties of plants from this State.* Com- 
 paring this number with the lists from other States, it will be seen 
 that our wealth of native varieties and species is exceptionally 
 great. And yet the harvest to be gathered, especially among the 
 lowly cryptogamic forms, is hardly touched. 
 
 * See my Catalogue of the Flora of Nbrafka, published by the University of Nebraska, 
 1875. The next edition will hare at least 100 additional species. 
 
78 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 The highest of all the orders, the Crowfoot Family (Ranuncu- 
 lacece) is represented by forty-two. Characteristic among these 
 for their humble beauty are six species and one variety of Anemone. 
 Five species and one variety of Crowfoot (Ranunculus) are abun- 
 dant in their season. The Larkspurs (Delphinium) are still more 
 abundant. No species, however, of this family is so remarkable 
 for its beauty and abundance as the Columbine (Aquilegia.) They 
 are a conspicuous form along the line of the Burlington & Missouri 
 Railroad in Nebraska, between Ashland and Plattsmouth. Here they 
 grow to a size, and attain to a beauty rarely witnessed elsewhere. 
 
 Among the early flowering plants the violets here, as elsewhere, 
 hold a conspicuous place. No temperate region is complete without 
 them. Eleven species adorn our prairies and woodlands. One of 
 them, the Downy Yellow Violet ( Viola pubescens) is found only 
 in the belts of timber. The Larkspur Violet ( V. delphinefolia) 
 and the Arrow-leaved Violet ( V. sagittatd) are the most abun- 
 dant. Their abundance sometimes is so great in woodlands that 
 they give a violet hue to the ground and exclude all other forms. 
 
 In the Pink family no flower is so abundant as the Starry Cam- 
 pion (Silene stellatd). Its favorite locality is the thick underbrush 
 of woodlands. 
 
 The Mallows are represented by some delicately beautiful forms. 
 Chief among these is one with scarlet flowers and branching stems 
 (Callirrhoe involucrata). Another (C. triangulate?}, is more abun- 
 dant, and only less beautiful than the last. Another, with a scarlet 
 salmon color, shading into yellow purple, grows in patches cover- 
 ing the ground. This is one of the most desirable for cultivation. 
 Two species of Hebiscus are abundant, but one of them (If. trior- 
 num) which has become abundant in many parts of the State, is a 
 foreigner, having escaped from cultivated grounds. 
 
 The Pulse Family (Leguminosce) are exceedingly abundant in 
 species and individuals. One of the earliest of the species of this 
 order to bloom is the Ground Plum (Astragalus caryocarpus), 
 so called by the early " voyageurs" over the plains. Its young 
 tender pods are no mean substitute for peas, as I many times ascer- 
 tained by experience when camped on the unsettled prairies. Its 
 purplish violet racemes of flowers which often shade into white, 
 are the most conspicuous forms on the plains in their season. 
 There are nineteen other species of Astragalus in the State, many 
 of which with intense scarlet flowers are marvelously beautiful. 
 
GENERAL FLORA OF NEBRAtitfS 79 
 
 They increase in the number of species towards the western part 
 of the State, their centre of distribution being the Rocky Moun- 
 tains. Other characteristic forms of this order are the Psoraleas, 
 Prairie Clovers (Petalastemon violaceus and P. candidus], Tick- 
 Trefoils (Desmodiums), and Indigo Plants (Baptista). Baptisia 
 leucophaea, with its large racemes of cream-colored flowers, is 
 abundant, and arrests the attention of every one traveling over the 
 prairies when it is in bloom. The Wild Senna (Cassia Mart 
 landicd) is exceedingly abundant and largely sensitive, and full of 
 beautiful yellow flowers is one of the most interesting plants in the 
 State. Still more highly sensitive is the Sensitive Brier (Shrankia 
 uncinatd). Its rose-purple flowers are in small heads, and is most 
 abundant in Southwestern Nebraska. 
 
 Of the Rose Family there are fifty-nine species in the State. Of 
 these the wild plums are the most conspicuous. These are found 
 in almost every county, and grow to a size and spread into varie- 
 ties, and attain a richness of flavor rarely equaled elsewhere. The 
 Cinquefoils (Potentilld) are represented by fourteen species. The 
 wild strawberries, raspberries and June berries are all well repre- 
 sented. Of wild roses there are at least four species. Occasion- 
 ally one of these (Rosa blanda) becomes a nuisance, its eradication 
 being difficult from old formerly abandoned fields. 
 
 The Evening Primrose Family (Onagraccd) gives many beautiful 
 forms to the State. One of these ((Enothera biennis] which has 
 been successfully reduced to cultivation, is found growing in West- 
 ern Nebraska with flowers three and four inches in diameter. 
 Another one, growing in Central and Western Nebraska, is still 
 larger, but with a low stem, and the flowers light yellow, with 
 orange veins. One of the commonest forms of this order in 
 Eastern Nebraska is (Enothera serrulata. Its flowers are yellow 
 and its leaves narrow and serrulate. All the species of this order 
 increase towards the western limits of the State. 
 
 One of the most curious of all orders is the Cactus Family. Of 
 this order there are in this State twenty species and varieties. 
 Along the eastern counties the commonest forms are Opuntea 
 vulgaris and O. Rafinesquii. They increase greatly in numbers of 
 species and individuals towards the central and western portions of 
 the State. One of the most beautiful is the Cereus caespitosus. It 
 is of a short cylindrical form, w r ith rose purple flowers two and 
 three inches in diameter. The yellow flower becoming green of 
 
80 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 C. viridiflorus is scarcely less beautiful. Many admire most the 
 large, deep purple flower of C. fendleri, and the scarlet one, open 
 day and night, of C. gonacanthus. The varieties of colors among 
 these flowers is exceptionally great, shading from pink purple to 
 yellowish green, and from deep scarlet to rose purple and yellow. 
 
 The Honeysuckle Family is represented by fourteen species, the 
 most common being the Yellow Honeysuckle (Lonicera flavd}. 
 The Sweet Wild Honeysuckle (L. grata] is abundant in the State. 
 The Hairy Honeysuckle is rarely met with. The Bush Honey- 
 suckle (Diervilla trifida), so common in the East, is also abundant 
 here on the borders of woodlands. 
 
 The Composite Family is the most abundant in the number of 
 species of any in the State, there being at least 244 different forms. 
 Some of the earliest and some of the latest flowering plants belong 
 to this order. One of the former is Townsendia grandiflora. 
 Almost stemless, crouched among the dead grass, it is a most 
 beautiful object amid the bleakness of early spring. There are 
 nineteen species of sunflowers. These in the latter part of sum- 
 mer and autumn everywhere attract attention, and still later by 
 their seeds furnish food to great nnmbers of grouse, quail and 
 other birds. The beautiful blazing stars (Liatris) are represented 
 by six species. The asters here find a most congenial home, 
 as twenty- eight species adorn our prairies. The Golden Rods 
 (SaKdago), so well loved by the bees, are represented by twenty 
 species. The Coreopsis, so much sought after and cultivated 
 in the east is represented by eight species. A short distance 
 northeast of Fairmount, acres are covered with these golden-hued 
 flowers, to the exclusion of all other forms. One of the most uni- 
 versally spread of this order is Aplopoppus rubignosus, and A. 
 spinulosus. The former is peculiar in being "viscidly pubescent," 
 the flowers in subglobose heads, and generally have many, on erect 
 stems from ten to eighteen inches high. It is one of those curious 
 forms that has spread over the State from the lofty regions on the 
 west. 
 
 The finest representative of the Lobelia Family is becoming ex- 
 ceedingly rare. I refer to the cardinal flower (L. cardinal is], 
 which was abundant along the Missouri wooded bluffs, but is now 
 rarely met with. 
 
 The Figwort Family finds here a most congenial home. Twenty 
 species of Pentstemon grace the State; only six, however, are found 
 
GENERAL FLORA OF NEBRASKA. 81 
 
 in the eastern counties. They increase rapidly westward, until the 
 mountains are reached, where they have their greatest develop- 
 ment. Among the most beautiful are P. grandiflora and P. ceru- 
 leus. P. albidus is only found along our western border. More 
 of these beautiful species deserve a place in the garden than have 
 yet been admitted there. The scarlet Castilleias, in western Ne- 
 braska, are not less beautiful than the last. The rose-purple 
 Gerardia also abounds in places. It is curious that a homely mem- 
 ber of this tribe, the common mullein of the East, though not 
 native, has, since its accidental introduction, spread rapidly over 
 eastern Nebraska. 
 
 The Verbenas are among the most generally spread species of 
 the State. Some of the native nine species of the State are found 
 in every county. Verbena hastata is most abundant. V. bracle- 
 asa is at home in every county. I have seen it grow at the very 
 edge of the Bad Lands, and at the foot of the Sand Hills. 
 
 Of the forty-eight species of the Mint Family, perhaps the most 
 attractive is Salvia azurea, which grows here from four to five 
 feet high, with showy, azure blue flowers, in a spike-like raceme. 
 
 The Polemonium Family receives here a wonderful develop- 
 ment in the number of individuals. Phlox is the most abundant. 
 In June, in many places, the prairies are made scarlet by their 
 numbers. Some of the counties along the Elkhorn and its tribu- 
 taries are particularly remarkable for their numbers. The Logan 
 bottoms, in Wayne County, in former years, had a most extra- 
 ordinary profusion of these flowers. The Gilias are most abundant 
 towards our western limits. One form, however, {G. tricolor^ 
 first described from California, is frequently seen in eastern Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 Of the Convolvulus Family, the most interesting form is the 
 Bush Morning Glory (Ipomcea leptopkylla). Its purple, funnel-form 
 flower, three inches long, is a most attractive object in southwestern 
 Nebraska. The dodder, also, unfortunately, abounds in our woods. 
 
 The Night- Shade Family is represented, among many others,, 
 by the Potato-Beetle weed (Solanum rostratum). It was intro- 
 duced from the mountains by freighters across the plains. It is the 
 original plant on which the potato beetle fed, before the more 
 luscious potato came in its way. 
 
 The Gentian Family is most fully represented by the type genus 
 Gentiana. Of the fourteen species that here belong to this order, 
 6 
 
82 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 nine belong to this genus. They are rarer than in former years, 
 G. crinita, or fringed gentian, being now rarely found. One 
 species, with a short stem, is a very late bloomer in autumn. It is 
 of a very deep blue color, and appears after the first frosts. 
 
 The Milkweed Family is particularly rich in species of the 
 genus Asclepias, of which there are fourteen different forms. 
 Asclepia verticillata, with its greenish-white flowers, is rapidly, 
 for some reason, increasing in southern Nebraska. - 
 
 The Buckwheat Family is represented by forty-two species. 
 The ioint-weeds (Polygonuni) are the most abundant. Of these 
 there are nineteen species and varieties. Polygonum amphibium 
 and its two varieties, are the most abundant, it being found abund- 
 antly in low, swampy ground. The Missouri bottoms seem to be 
 its centre of distribution. The plant is remarkable for the large 
 amount of tannic acid which it contains. 
 
 The Spurge Family is conspicuous in the State, not for the 
 number of species, as there are only twenty-two, but because of 
 the singular appearance of a few forms. Euphorbia marginata, 
 so abundant in every county, is conspicuous for its beautiful silver- 
 white margined leaves. These are recognized a great way off. 
 This plant is cultivated in the east for its beauty of form. Here, 
 in places, its very abundance makes it a nuisance. E. hetero- 
 phylla, on the other hand, has a beautiful scarlet-red base to its 
 upper leaves. This species does not make itself so conspicuous as 
 the last, as it needs to be sought after to be found. 
 
 The Orchis Family is well represented by twenty-nine species. 
 Only a few are abundant. The Great Western White Orchis 
 (Habernaria leucophced) is found sparingly in all low lands. Its 
 cream-white raceme of flowers are remarkable alike for their 
 beauty and their delicious odor. The common Lady Slippers 
 (Cypripediuiri) are abundant in some woodlands. C. pubescens is 
 most frequently met with, and grows to a size rarely observed in 
 the east. 
 
 The Iris Family is chiefly remarkable for the great number of 
 individuals of one species, namely, the Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrin- 
 chium Bermudiand}. When in bloom, it is observed everywhere 
 on the prairies, because of the attractiveness of its numerous, tiny, 
 star-like, blue and white flowers. 
 
 The Lily Family furnishes one of the earlie&t of our flowering 
 plants, namely, the Dog's-Tooth Violets (Erythronium). E. 
 
GENERAL FLORA OF NEBRASKA. 83 
 
 Americanum and E. albidum often make their appearance when 
 snow still covers some of the hillsides. Three species of Lily 
 grow wild, and the almost universal Solomon's seal. One of the 
 most peculiar of all species is the so-called Soap Plant (Tucca an- 
 gustifolia). It is exceedingly abundant in western Nebraska, and 
 very rarely met with in the eastern counties. It contains a large 
 amount of alkaline matter in its tissues, and hence its popular 
 name, it frequently being used by " voyageurs ," in the absence of 
 soap, for washing. The plants do not bloom every year, but when 
 a flower-stalk is produced it bears from a dozen to one hundred 
 and twenty large, greenish, cream-colored, lily-like flowers. Its 
 leaves are long, narrow, numerous and pointed. 
 
 Abundant among the plants of the State are the sedges. They bear 
 such an external resemblance to the grasses that they are commonly 
 confounded with them. There are at least one hundred and fifty- 
 four species in the State, varying in size from forms only a few 
 inches high, to flags, in ponds and sloughs, six feet high. They 
 can generally be recognized by their three-cornered stems and 
 solid culms, differing in this respect from the grasses, whose culms 
 are round and hollow, or, at least, are not angled. As everywhere 
 else, the genus Carex is represented by the most species, more than 
 two-thirds of all in the State belonging to it. 
 
 The higher Cryptogamia (Flowerless Plants) are well repre- 
 sented in the State. Thirty -six species and varieties of ferns 
 flourish in our woodlands. Four species of Lycopods are also met 
 with. Over one hundred species of mosses have been identified. 
 At least sixty-two species of lichens are scattered over the State. 
 The Fresh Water Algae are exceeding abundant, and of these 
 ninety-two species have been detected. In this department I have 
 only skimmed the surface, but hope to renew my labors in this 
 field, when many more will be added to the number of our species. 
 
 As some features of our flora have a special interest, I will dis- 
 cuss them more in detail in the following chapters. 
 
84 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS OF NEBRASKA, 
 WITH NOTES ON THEIR DISTRIBUTION. 
 
 IN the early reports on Nebraska it was represented that some 
 half dozen species of forest trees were native here. Such reports 
 were evidently made at random. It has too often happened that 
 men with a respectable acquaintance with natural history felt com- 
 petent to to describe the physical aspects and flora of a region after 
 going through it on horse back at a gallop. Only after the most 
 painstaking labor of fourteen years have I found many of the species 
 contained in this list. Since my own catalogue of our Flora was 
 published, and after I had given a list of our trees and shrubs to 
 different parties for publication I discovered some additional species 
 within our borders. One of these is the common white walnut or 
 butternut ( Juglans cinerea ), that turned up in Dixon County, a 
 few miles from lona, in a woodland that I had frequently ex- 
 amined before. Simon Baltzley first informed me of its existence. 
 I have no doubt that still more trees remain to be added to our 
 Flora. There are so many sequestered canyons clothed with timber, 
 which no botanist has yet visited, that it would be extraordinary 
 indeed if some of them did not contain species as yet unknown in 
 the State. I have shown elsewhere that in times quite recent, geo- 
 logically, Nebraska was heavily timbered with a varied forest veg- 
 etation.* When the causes commenced to operate that finally re- 
 duced its area to present limits, some of the species retired gradu- 
 ally to such protected localities as favored their perpetuation. One 
 of these causes probably was forest and prairie fires, inaugurated 
 by primitive races, for the chase and for war. Some species are 
 now confined to spots where fires cannot reach them. Another 
 cause was probably the encroachment of the prairie on the timber 
 area, caused by the ground being so compacted by the tread of 
 countless numbers of buffaloes, that tramped out growing shoots^ 
 
 *Chapter on Superficial Deposits ef Nebraska. 
 
FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS. 85 
 
 and unfitting the soil for the burial, germination and growth of 
 seeds. Since the buffalo has retired, and prairie fires are repressed, 
 and rainfall is increasing, the area of timber lands is spontaneously 
 -extending again in many directions. 
 
 The following is my corrected list of our trees and shrubs. For 
 the sake of convenience, the trees and shrubs are placed in separate 
 lists, but the botanical order is preserved in both : 
 
 FOREST TREES. 
 
 1. Papaw (Asimina triloba.) This species is generally a shrub 
 in Nebraska, but I found a few in Richardson county that reached 
 the dignity of small trees. Found only in southeastern Nebraska, 
 and most abundant in Richardson County. 
 
 2. Linwood. Basswood. (Tilia Americana^ Most abundant 
 along the bluffs of the Missouri. On the Elkhorn, Upper Loup, Ne- 
 maha, etc. Have seen it as far as the 102 meridian on the Nio- 
 brara, and on the Upper Republican. One of our native trees, 
 most deserving of cultivation. 
 
 3. Var. Pubesceus of this species is found along the Missouri 
 bluffs, south of the Platte, and on the lower Republican. 
 
 4. Hop Tree (Ptelea trifoliata.) Tree and shrub. Grows to the 
 size of a small tree in St. John's timber in Dakota County. Found 
 also on the Niobrara. Have not met with it south of the Platte. 
 
 5. Staghorn Sumach. (Rhus typhina.} Rare. Have seen only 
 a few specimens in Dakota and Dixon Counties. 
 
 6. Ohio Buckeye (.sEsculus glabra.) Occasional in southeast 
 Nebraska. Most abundant on the Nemaha, and in Nemaha and 
 Otoe Counties. 
 
 7. Sweet Buckeye (A. Jlava.) Rarer than the preceding, but 
 lias about the same range. 
 
 8. Sugar Maple (Acer sacckarinum.) Rarely found native in 
 Nebraska. I have only observed it in the Plyburg timber in Da- 
 kota County. 
 
 9. Silver Maple (Acer dasy carp um.) Rare in Nebraska. Found 
 one growing during the last year, for the first time, on bottom 
 near the borders of Cass and Otoe Counties. 
 
 10. Red Maple (Acer rubrum.) Abundant among other timber 
 along most of our water courses. 
 
 11. Box Elder (N eg undo ace ro ides ^ One of the most abun- 
 dant trees in the State. It ^rows largest and finest in northeast 
 
86 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Nebraska. Many trees of this species, near Ponca, are two feet in 
 diameter, and from forty to fifty feet high. On the Missouri bot- 
 tom, in the same section, they often grow in dense thickets. Is 
 found to the west line of the State in south Nebraska, and to the 
 102 meridian along the Niobrara and its tributaries. Also on the 
 Platte, in places, on the Elkhorn and the Loups. One of the 
 easiest of our trees to propagate. 
 
 12. Red Bud. Judas Tree (Cercis Canadensis^ Common 
 along the Missouri bluffs. Occasionally on the Platte, Republican, 
 Elkhorn and Loup. Sometimes a shrub. 
 
 13. Coffee- Tree (Gymnocladus Canadensls^] Nowhere abun- 
 dant. It is often met with in most of the larger timber belts of 
 the State. I have found it of larger size and more frequently in 
 Dixon and Dakota Counties than elsewhere in the State.- I no- 
 ticed a few near the mouth of F airfield Creek on the Niobrara. 
 
 14. Honey Locust (^Gleditschia triacantkos.) Common south 
 of the Platte, but rare north. A few on the Loup and on the Re- 
 publican. 
 
 15. Water Locust (G. monosperma.) Rare in Nebraska* 
 Found only a few growing south of the Nemaha in Richardson 
 County. 
 
 1 6. Wild Red Cherry (Prunus Pennsylvanica^) Southeastern 
 Nebraska. Saw the finest in Richardson County. Grows there 
 thirty feet high. 
 
 17. Wild Black Cherry (P.serotina?) Southeastern Nebraska, 
 along the Missouri bluffs and on the Nemaha. 
 
 1 8. Choke Cherry (P. Virginiana^ Common along the Mis- 
 souri bluffs, on the Republican, Nemaha, Niobrara and Loup* 
 Only occasionally reaches the dimensions of a tree; generally a 
 shrub. 
 
 19. Scarlet Fruited Thorn {Cratcegus coccinea.) Tree small. 
 As frequently a shrub as tree. Widely spread over Nebraska 
 wherever there is timber, but nowhere abundant. In the form of 
 a tree it formerly could be frequently found along the Missouri 
 timbered bluffs, from the Omaha Agency to the north line of the 
 State. 
 
 20. Black Thorn (C. tomentosal) A low tree, but often a mere 
 shrub. It exists of tree size on the middle Niobrara. 
 
 21. White Ash (Fraxinus Americana.) Grows in northeast 
 Nebraska to a magnificent size, and is comparatively abundant. 
 
FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS. 87 
 
 Found in less numbers south of the Platte. Have seen it near the 
 west line of the State, on the Arickaree, and on the Niobrara as 
 far as the 101 meridian. Also found on the Elkhorn and the Loup 
 and Blue Rivers. 
 
 22. Red Ash (F. pub esc ens?) Very rare in eastern Nebraska. 
 Have met with it sparingly on the Republican, Arickaree, and on 
 the Niobrara. Occasionally found on the Elkhorn and Loup. 
 
 23. Green Ash (F. viridis.) Medium sized. Common in east- 
 ern Nebraska. Found a few in southwestern Nebraska, on the 
 Arickaree, on the Niobrara, Loup, Elkhorn ank Bazile. 
 
 24. Black Ash (F. sambuctfolia.) Rare. Found it for the first 
 time during the last few years near the Nemaha, in Richardson 
 County. 
 
 25. Blue Ash (F. quadrangulata?) Tree here of medium size. 
 Next to White Ash in abundance. Most frequently found in south- 
 eastern Nebraska. I have seen a few of them on the Republican, 
 Elkhorn, Loup and Niobrara. 
 
 26. Slippery or Red Elm (Ulmus fulva.) Found' widely spread, 
 but nowhere very abundant over eastern Nebraska. It is apt to 
 be met with in timber belts along water courses. It is met with 
 at intervals along the Republican, Nemaha, Elkhorn, and on the 
 Niobrara. 
 
 27. White Elm (U. Americana^ Same localities in the main 
 as the last, but more abundant. 
 
 28. Cork White Elm (U. racemosa.} A few in Dakota and 
 Dixon Counties. Still more rarely met with in Cass, Otoe and 
 Nemaha Counties. Found a few on the Niobrara, east of the 
 mouth of the Snake river. A fine specimen on Mr. Master's 
 grounds, a few miles east of Nebraska City. 
 
 29. Wahoo Elm (U. alata.} Rarest of all our elms. Have 
 only seen three specimens in Nebraska one in Cass and two in 
 Richardson County. 
 
 30. Hackberry (Celt is occidentalism] Common in eastern Ne- 
 braska. It is sparingly represented on the Republican, is more 
 abundant on the Niobrara. A few are also found on the Elkhorn 
 and the Loups. 
 
 31. Red Mulberry (Morns rubra.} Found sparingly all along 
 eastern Nebraska, and generally on the timbered bluffs of the Mis- 
 souri. The finest trees occur in Dakota and Dixon counties. It 
 also occurs on the Niobrara as far west as the loist meridian. 
 
88 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 32. White Mulberry (M. alba?) This species is supposed to be 
 a foreigner introduced into the State. As I have some doubts 
 about this, I give it a place in this list. Have only found it on the 
 Missouri bluffs, southwest from Dakota City. 
 
 33. Buttonwood (Platanus occidentalis?) Have found it only in 
 Cass, Otoe, Nemaha and Richardson Counties. Most abundant in 
 Otoe. The bottoms of the Missouri afford it a congenial home, 
 and here it flourishes. In some groves it has excluded most other 
 forms. 
 
 34. Butternut (Juglans ctnerea.) Rare in Nebraska Know of 
 but one tree native to the State. This was first found by Simon 
 Baltzley, Esq., near Ionia, in Dixon County, on the Missouri bot- 
 tom, near the bluffs. 
 
 35. Black Walnut (/". nigra.) On the whole the most valuable 
 of our native trees. It was formerly quite abundant in eastern 
 Nebraska. Owing to the high price of the lumber, millions of 
 feet have been shipped away, the bulk of it going to St. Louis. 
 In 1865 and 1866 a half million feet of lumber was taken from 
 Dakota County alone. In Dakota and Dixon Counties there are 
 yet some of these Black Walnuts standing, forty feet without a 
 limb, and from three to five feet in diameter. They are found on 
 the Republican, on the Loup, and on the Niobrara and Elkhorn. 
 When raised from the seed, and not transplanted, they are com- 
 paratively fast growing. One of the most desirable trees for cul- 
 tivation. 
 
 36. Shell Bark Hickory (Carya alba?) Found, at long inter- 
 vals, in southeastern Nebraska, and still more rarely north of the 
 Platte. 
 
 37. White-heart Hickory (C. fomentosa.) Have only seen a few 
 of this species, in Richardson and Nemaha Counties. 
 
 38. Pignut Hickory (C. porcina.) Mostly in northeastern Ne- 
 braska, and on the Niobrara. 
 
 39. Butternut Hickory (C amara.~) Our commonest species. 
 Have observed it sparingly in every county along the Missouri, 
 and also at long intervals on the Republican and Elkhorn. Often 
 these hickories only reach the dimensions of shrubs. 
 
 40. Burr Oak ( Quercus macrocarpa.} Our most abundant spe- 
 cies of oak. Found all along the Missouri, on the Niobrara and 
 its tributaries, as far as to the iO2d meridian, on the Elkhorn, the 
 Upper Loups, on the Nemaha, Republican, etc. 
 
FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS. 89 
 
 41. Var. Olivce formis, of the above, is found principally in 
 northeast Nebraska 
 
 42. Post Oak (Q. obtusiloba.} Sparingly on the Elkhorn and 
 Niobrara. 
 
 43. White Oak. Variety of. (Q. alba. Var. Gunnisonii.) 
 Rather abundant in some of the canyons leading into the middle 
 course of the Niobrara, also a few on the Upper Loup. Rare in 
 eastern Nebraska. 
 
 44. Yellow Chestnut Oak (Q. primus. Var. acuminata.) South- 
 eastern Nebraska; occurs sparingly. 
 
 45. Swamp White Oak (Q. bicolor.) Most abundant in tim- 
 bered bottoms and edge of bluffs, in northeast Nebraska and on 
 the Niobrara. More sparingly represented south of the Platte, in 
 the counties bordering on the Missouri. 
 
 46. Yellow Chestnut Oak (Q. castanea.) Southeastern Ne- 
 braska. Sparingly on the upper Niobrara. 
 
 47. Dwarf Chestnut Oak (Q. prinoides.} Though this is a 
 shrub, it in exceptional cases grows to the size of a small tree. 
 Eastern Nebraska, Elkhorn, Nemaha and the Niobrara. 
 
 48. Black Jack Oak (Q. nigra.} Occurs sparingly in south- 
 eastern Nebraska, and most abundantly in Richardson County. A 
 few in northeast Nebraska, on the Niobrara and Elkhorn. 
 
 49. Scarlet Oak (Q. cocdnea.} Occurs sparingly along the 
 Missouri, on the Nemaha, Elkhorn and Niobrara. 
 
 50. Var. tinctoria of the above is a rarer form. I have obtained 
 it only from Otoe County, through Mr. Masters. 
 
 31. Red Oak (Q. rubra.) Found on the Niobrara, Bazile, Mis- 
 souri, Elkhorn and the Nemaha, but nowhere in large quantities. 
 
 52. Swamp or Pine Oak ( Q. palustrus). Have only found it on 
 the Missouri bluffs and between north of the Platte and on the 
 Niobrara. 
 
 53. Iron Wood (Carpinus Americana). Very sparingly repre- 
 sented in most of the eastern woodlands of the State. Most 
 abundant in Northeastern Nebraska. 
 
 54. Paper Birch (Betula papyraced). Only occasionally repre- 
 sented along the wooded bluffs bordering the Missouri bottoms. 
 Found it once on the Niobrara, near the mouth of Rapid Creek. 
 
 55. Red Birch (B. nigrd]. Rare in Nebraska. Found my first 
 and only specimen three years ago, on the timbered bluffs in 
 southern part of Dakota County. 
 
90 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 56. Glaucous Willow (Salzx discolor]. Generally a shrub, but 
 on the Missouri bottoms and on Willow Creek, a tributary of the 
 Republican, sometimes becomes a small tree. Is widely spread 
 over the State. 
 
 57. Long-headed Willow (S. rostratd). This generally a shrub, 
 but often reaches the dimensions of a tree on the Missouri bottoms, 
 and especially in the St. John's timber in Dakota County. Found 
 on the Niobrara, Republican and Loup. 
 
 58. Black Willow (S. nigrd]. Abundant on the Missouri bot- 
 toms in a few localities. Largest trees occur in St. John's timber 
 in Dakota. It is also found on the Republican, on Willow Creek, 
 Nemaha, Elkhorn, Loup and Niobrara. 
 
 59. Shining Willow (S. lucidd]. Generally a shrub, but on the 
 islands of the Platte and low Missouri bottoms it often reaches the 
 size of a small tree. Found also on the Elkhorn, Republican, 
 Loup and Niobrara. 
 
 60. Long Silver-leaved Willow. (S. longifolia var-argophylld}. 
 Also generally a shrub, but is found of tree size in St. John's 
 timber, in Dakota County. It is also found on the Loup and 
 Southeastern Nebraska. 
 
 61. American Aspen (Poputus tremuloides^] I found this species 
 within our western border, only during the last few years. Oil 
 Upper Republican, North Branch of Platte and Niobrara. 
 
 62. Cottonwood (P. monilifera.) This is the most widely spread 
 and abundant tree in the State, being found, with few exceptions, 
 on our western and northern border, wherever trees grow at all. 
 It apparently does equally well on upland or bottom. It constitutes 
 extensive forests on some of the Missouri bottoms. Some trees in 
 the St. John's timber, in Dakota County, five feet in diameter at the 
 butt, were over three hundred years old, as that \vasthe number of 
 rings that were counted on them. 
 
 63. Angled Cottonwood (P. angulata^] Rare. Found only in 
 northeast Nebraska. 
 
 64. Balsam Poplar (P. balsamifera^] Have found it only in 
 Cedar County, and on the Niobrara. 
 
 65. Var. Candicans of the above have found only on the middle 
 Niobrara. 
 
 66. Western Yellow Pine (Pinus ponderosa^] Canyons and low 
 bluffs in western Nebraska and on the Niobrara. 
 
 67. Pinus flexilis. Rare. Fonnd a few growing northwest 
 and southwest of Sidney, and finer ones on the Niobrara. 
 
FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS. 91 
 
 68. Engleman Spruce (Abies Englemanii.) Have found it only 
 on the Niobrara and tributaries. 
 
 69. Douglass Spruce (Abies Douglassii.) On the Niobrara and 
 its tributaries. 
 
 70. White Cedar (Cupressus thyotdes.) Northeast Nebraska, 
 along the Missouri and on the Niobrara. 
 
 71. Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana^] Generally scattered 
 over the State where timber occupies bluff lands or dry bottoms, 
 but abundant only in a few localities in northeast Nebraska, on the 
 Niobrara, and on the Loup. Extensive groves occur on the Loups 
 and their tributaries, and on the Niobrara and its tributaries. It is 
 one of the most hardy and most easy to cultivate of all our ever- 
 greens. A slow grower, it is still a most desirable tree, because 
 of its great hardiness, and when trimmed into shape, of great 
 beauty. 
 
 After subtracting from the foregoing list ten kinds that are as 
 frequently shrubs as trees, the number of species and varieties 
 that are left is still sixty-one. In the St. John's timber, in Dakota 
 County, and at the edge of the bluffs, I once on the space of two 
 acres counted eighteen species of the trees included in this list. 
 Facts like these demonstrate the great adaptation of Nebraska to 
 the growth of forests. A little assistance from man, and nature 
 will again gradually clothe a large part of the plains with a cover- 
 ing of timber. 
 
 SHRUBS. 
 
 1. Papaw (Asimina triloba^) Southeastern Nebraska. Some- 
 times becomes a small tree. 
 
 2. Creeping Barberry (Berberh repens.) On Loup and Nio- 
 brara. One foot high in the mountains; here from one to two feet 
 high. 
 
 3. Downy Hudsonia (Hudsonia tcmentosa^ In counties border- 
 ing the Missouri, and occasionally in Johnson, Lancaster and 
 Satmders. Everywhere rather rare. 
 
 4. Shrubby St. John's Wort (Hypericum prolificum.) Have 
 seen it only on south side of the Nemaha in Richardson County. 
 
 5. Naked Clustered St. John's Wort (H. mtdiflarum^ Widely 
 spread over eastern Nebraska, but nowhere abundant. Have seen 
 it on the Republican, on Wood River and the Elkhorn. 
 
 6. Prickley Ash (Zanthaxyfam Americanum] Along the Mis- 
 souri, Niobrara, Blue, Republican, etc. 
 
92 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 7. Hop Tree (Ptelea trifoliata^ Only found a few specimens 
 in Dakota and Dixon Counties, and on the Niobrara. 
 
 8. Smooth Sumach (Rhus glabra?) Common in Nebraska. 
 
 9. Dwarf Sumach (/?. copallina?) Only met with at long in- 
 tervals in the eastern counties. 
 
 10. Fragrant Sumach (R. aromatica^] Have found this only on 
 the Niobrara. 
 
 11. Alder-leaved Buckthorn (Rhamnus alnifolius^] Have only 
 met it at long intervals in northeastern Nebraska. 
 
 12. New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus Americanus.) Common. 
 
 13. Dwarf Redroot (C. ovalis.) Widely dispersed as the fore- 
 going, but not so abundant. 
 
 14. Climbing, Bitter Sweet (Cetastrus scandens?) Common in 
 woodlands. Have seen it as far west as 101 meridian. 
 
 15. Spindle Tree (Euonymus atropurpureusl) Only occasionally 
 found on the borders of timber belts. 
 
 16. Strawberry Bush (E. Americanus.) Rarer than the preced- 
 ing, but found at long intervals over the greater part of eastern 
 Nebraska. 
 
 17. Var. obovatus of the preceding, I found only in Dakota 
 County. 
 
 18. American Bladder Nut (Staphylea trifolia.} Common along 
 the Missouri bluffs, on the Nemaha. Occasionally on the Blues and 
 on the Niobrara. 
 
 19. False Indigo (Amorpho fruttcosa.) Common along all our 
 principal water courses. 
 
 20. Yellow or Red Plum ( Prunus Americana?) Found in the 
 thickets in and bordering timber belts, in canyons, draws and narrow 
 valleys in almost every county in the State. In many places very 
 abundant. 
 
 21. Chickasaw Plums (P? chicasa.} Same distribution as the 
 preceding. 
 
 22. Dwarf Cherry Sand Hill Cherry (P. Pumilla.) Found 
 most abundantly in central and western Nebraska, on sand hills and 
 on sandy land. 
 
 23. Choke Cherry (P. Vtrgimana.} Found all along the Mis- 
 souri, on the Niobrara, Platte, Nemaha, and in places on the Re- 
 publican. Sometimes becomes a small tree. 
 
 24. Nine Bark (Spircea apulifolta.} This shrub grows from four 
 to six feet high. On the Niobrara, and rarely in eastern Nebraska. 
 
FOEEST TREES AND SHRUBS. 93 
 
 25. Var. parvifolia occurs only rarely, on the Niobrara. 
 
 26. Meadow Sweet (S. salicifolia.} On low grounds in eastern 
 Nebraska. Have seen most in Dakota County. 
 
 27. Cercocarpus parvifolius. Diffusely branches from the ground, 
 with tomentose leaves six to eight lines long. Have found it only 
 on the Niobrara. 
 
 28. Scarlet Fruited Thorn (Crataegus coccinea.) This sometimes 
 becomes a small tree. Not abundant, but widely spread in wood- 
 lands over eastern Nebraska. 
 
 29. Black Thorn (C. tomentosa.) Sometimes a low tree. Most 
 abundant along the Missouri and on the Niobrara. Found at longer 
 distances on the Blue, Republican, Elkhorn and Loup. 
 
 30. Var molts of the above I have seen only once on the Re- 
 publican. 
 
 31. June Berry (Amelanchier Canadensis.) Frequently met with 
 in woodlands over eastern Nebraska, on the Republican, Elkhorn, 
 and quite abundant on the Niobrara. 
 
 32. Var. Botrychium. Only on the Niobrara. 
 
 33. Var. Ablongifolia. Quite small. Southeast Nebraska. 
 
 34. Var. Alnifolia. More abundant than the type form, and in 
 the same localities. 
 
 35. Climbing Prairie Rose (Rosa satigera.) Northeastern Ne- 
 braska. Have found the most in Dakota County. 
 
 36. Swamp Rose (R. Carolina.) Most abundant in Northeast- 
 ern Nebraska, and rare south of the Platte. 
 
 37. Dwarf Wild Rose (R. lucida.) Abundant everywhere. 
 
 38. Early Wild Rose (R. olanda.) Found all over the State. 
 
 39. Wild Gooseberry ( Riots cynosbati.) Northeastern Nebras- 
 ka, and on the Niobrara. 
 
 40. Smooth Wild Gooseberry (R, Rotundifoltum.) Common 
 all over Nebraska, in woodlands, sheltered valleys, ^canyons and 
 draws. 
 
 41. Swamp Gooseberry (R. lacustre.} Abundant along the 
 Missouri bottoms and in spots on the Nemaha, Platte, Elkhorn,. 
 Loup and Republican. 
 
 42. Smooth Wild Gooseberry (R. hirtellum.} Common in most 
 woodlands in Nebraska. Many forms of gooseberry have not yet 
 been reduced to order. They grow here with an exceptional lux- 
 uriance. See chapter on Wild Fruits. 
 
 43. Wild Black Currant (R.floridum.) Occasionally found OB 
 
94 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 the Missouri bottoms and its tributaries, and on the Republican. 
 Most abundant on the Niobrara. 
 
 44. Missouri Currant (J?. aureum.) Rare in southeast Ne- 
 braska. On the Loup and the Niobrara, and occasionally on the 
 Elkhorn. 
 
 45. Dwarf Cornel (Cornus Canadensis^] This barely a shrub. 
 Stem mostly subterranean, and only five or six inches above ground. 
 On the Niobrara. 
 
 46. Round Leafed Cornel (C. cirdnnata?) Occurs sparingly in 
 most of the woodlands in eastern Nebraska, on the Republican, and 
 more abundantly on the Niobrara. 
 
 47. Kinnikinnick (C. sertcea.) More abundant than the last. 
 Found in most of the woodlands of the State. 
 
 48. Red-osier Dogwood (C. stolonifera^] Most abundant in the 
 timber belts and their borders in northeastern Nebraska, and on the 
 Niobrara. Rare in south Nebraska. 
 
 49. Rough-leaved Dogwood (C. asperifolia^) Sparingly in tim- 
 ber belts in southeast Nebraska. Have only met it in Dakota and 
 Cedar counties in north Nebraska. 
 
 50. Panicled Cornel ( C. paniculata^) Rare. Only found a few 
 on the Niobrara. 
 
 51. Alternate-leaved Cornel (C. alternifolia^ Rare. Only in 
 northeastern Nebraska. 
 
 52. Cornus pubesceus. North branch of the Platte, and on the 
 Niobrara. 
 
 53. Wolf berry (Symphoricarpus occidentalism) Common in timber 
 belts and their borders. 
 
 54. Snowberry (S. racemosus.) Common on the prairies and bor- 
 ders of woodlands. 
 
 55. Var. parciflorus of the above mostly in southeastern Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 56. American Woodbine (Lonicera grata.) Rare. Only in north- 
 east Nebraska. 
 
 57. Yellow Honeysuckle (L. flava^) Rather abundant. Have 
 seen it on the Niobrara as far west as 102 meridian, and on the 
 Republican as far west as the Arickaree. Lines the sides of wooded 
 bluffs and their borders. 
 
 58. Hairy Honeysuckle (L. hirmta.) Rare. Have only ob- 
 served it once on the side of a bluff above Ponca, and once near the 
 Yellow-banks on the Elkhorn. 
 
FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS. 95 
 
 59. L. involucrata. On the North Platte and on the Niobrara. 
 
 60. Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla trifida.) Counties on the Mis- 
 souri, north of the Platte and on the Niobrara. 
 
 61. Elder (Sambucus Canadensts.) Sometimes is here ten feet 
 high. Common and abundant. 
 
 62. Red-berried Elder (S. pubens.) Rare. Have seen it only 
 on the Niobrara. 
 
 63. Maple-leaved Arrow- wood (Viburnum acerifolium.) Have 
 seen it only on the Niobrara. 
 
 64. Var. paudflorum. Extreme western Nebraska, and the Nio- 
 brara. Rare. 
 
 65. Button Bush ( Cephalanthus occidentalism) Sparingly in east- 
 ern Nebraska, along the Missouri. 
 
 66. Small Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus.) In bogs at the 
 head waters of the Loups and their tributaries. Four to nine feet 
 high. 
 
 67. Dwarf Bilberry ( V. caespifosum.) Rarely met with in north- 
 east Nebraska, and on the Niobrara. 
 
 68. Bearberry (Archtostaphylos Uva-ursi.) In the middle Nio- 
 brara region. 
 
 69. Canadian Sheperdia (Sheperdia Canadensts.) On the Nio- 
 brara. 
 
 70. Buffalo Berry (S. argentea.) Common in northeastern Ne- 
 braska, in most timber belts, especially on the Missouri bottoms, 
 and on the Platte. Is very abundant on the Republican, and in 
 places almost to the west line of the State. On the Elkhorn and 
 Loups. Abundant on the Niobrara. Deserves cultivation for 
 its beauty, hardihood and fruit. Grows sometimes into a small 
 tree. 
 
 71. Dwarf Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinoides.) On the Missouri 
 bottoms and edge of bluffs. Nemaha, Elkhorn, and on the Niobrara . 
 
 72. Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus rostrata.) Northern and north- 
 eastern Nebraska. 
 
 73. Wild Hazelnut ( C. Americana.) Abundant and widely dis- 
 tributed. Along almost the whole length of the Niobrara, on the 
 Elkhorn, Missouri bluffs, Platte, Loups and Republican. 
 
 74. Sweet Gale (Myrica gale.) In Dakota, Dixon and Cedar 
 counties, and on the lower Niobrara. 
 
 75. Sweet Fern (Comptonia asplenifolia.) Found occasionally 
 on the sides of bluffs over eastern Nebraska. 
 
96 PHYSICAL, GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 76. Low Birch (Betula pumtlla.) Found rather frequently in 
 most of the timber belts on the Missouri, Nemaha and Niobrara. 
 
 77. Western Birch (13. ocddentallis^) Have found it only on the 
 Niobrara. 
 
 78. Green Alder (Alnus vtridts.) Have found it only on the 
 Niobrara. 
 
 79. Speckled Alder (A. in f ana.) Sparingly in Northeastern Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 80. Smooth Alder (A. serrulata.) Rare in eastern Nebraska. 
 Have only found half a dozen specimens along the counties on the 
 Missouri. 
 
 Si. Hoary Willow (Satix Candida.) Common in low situations 
 over the greater part of Nebraska. 
 
 82. Dwarf Gray Willow (S. fristis.) In eastern Nebraska; most 
 abundant north of the Platte, and especially on the Niobrara. 
 Rarely on the Republican. 
 
 83. Bush Willow (S. humilisl) Missouri bottoms, Niobrara. 
 Loups, Elkhorn, Logan, Platte and Republican. 
 
 84. Glaucous Willow (S. discolor?) Sometimes a small tree. 
 Republican River, Willow Creek, Loups, Elkhorn, and Missouri 
 bottoms. 
 
 85. Heart-leaved Willow (S. cordata.) Lower Niobrara,. 
 Platte, Nemaha, Republican, and occasionally on the Missouri bot- 
 toms. 
 
 86. Narrow-leaved Willow (S. attgustata.) Common over the 
 State. Have observed it on the west line of the State on the Re- 
 publican and Niobrara. On Loups, Elkhorn, etc. 
 
 87. Long Beaked Willow (S. rostrata.) Habital same as the 
 preceding. Often a small tree. 
 
 88. Shining Willow (S. lucida.) Low bottoms in eastern and 
 northern Nebraska, and on some of the tributaries of the Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 89. Long Silver-leaved Willow (S. longifolia, var. argophylla.} 
 Mostly a shrub, but sometimes becomes a tree. Loup Rivers, Ni- 
 obrara, Republican and Missouri. 
 
 90. Stalk-fruited Willow (S. pedtcellaris.) On the Niobrara. 
 
 91. Common Juniper (Juniperus communts.) Missouri River,, 
 counties north of the Platte, and the Niobrara. 
 
WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 97 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 
 THE WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 PLUMS. Prunus Americana. Its appearance, habits, abundance, and 
 qualities. P. Chicasa. Hybrids. A late variety. Cultivation. Stock for 
 grafting peaches, plums, and apricots. Hardiness. The Curculio. P.Pumila, 
 or sand-hill cherry. P. Pennsylvanic. P. Virginica. STRAWBERRIES. Fra- 
 garia vesca. Delicious and abundant. F. Virginiana RASPBERRIES. Ru- 
 bus Occidentalis. R. Triflorus. R. Strigosus. R. Villosus. HAWTHORNS. 
 Crataegus tomentosa. C. Malis. JUNE BERRIES. Araalanchier Canadensis. 
 A. Alinifolia. WILD CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES. Ribes Hirtellum. 
 R. Rotundifolium. R. Lacustre. R. Cynosbati. R. Floridum. GRAPES. 
 Vitis sestivalis. V. Cordifolia. Re-classification and hybrids. Wine. THE 
 MULBERRY. THE BUFFALO BERRY. Shepherdia Argentia. THE EL- 
 DERBERRY. THE PAP AW. Asimina triloba. NUTS. Juglans nigra. 
 Carya Alba. Corylus Americanus. 
 
 WILD fruits are a prominent feature of Nebraska. They lux- 
 uriate in its rich soil and almost semi-tropical summers. 
 Among the wild fruits of this State the plum family is a remarka- 
 ble example of how nature herself sometimes ameliorates and im- 
 proves her original productions. 
 
 There are three type species of plums in the State, namely, Pru- 
 nus Americana, P. chicasa, and P.pumila. Of these there is an al- 
 most endless number of varieties. In a plum thicket in Dakota 
 County, covering only a few acres, I counted, while in fruit, nine- 
 teen varieties of Prunus Americana and P. chtcasa, varying in size 
 from a fourth to an inch and a quarter in diameter, and in color 
 from almost white and salmon, to many shades of yellow, tinged 
 with green and red, and from a light, dark, and scarlet red, to pur- 
 ple tinged with different shades of yellow. Such instances are fre- 
 quent over most portions of the State, the plums being common in 
 almost every county, especially along the water courses, and border- 
 ing the belts of timber. These plum groves in spring time present 
 a vast sea of flowers, whose fragrance is wafted for miles, and 
 whose beauty attracts every eye. The varieties of the Prunus 
 7 
 
98 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Americana have oval or obovate leaves (broader at the tip than 
 where the stem is attached), with saw-toothed or doubly saw-toothed 
 edges and very full of veins. The fruit is globular or oval, and 
 ranges from a half-inch to an inch and a quarter in diameter, the 
 latter being an exceptionally large size. The color is all shades of 
 yellow, with some red and crimson. Its juice is pleasant, but its 
 skin is tough and acerb; and its stone is sharp edged or margined. 
 The shrub varies in height from six to twenty-five feet. The fruit 
 ripens in August and the first half of September. These are the 
 prevailing characters, but they vary greatly, some of the varieties 
 producing fruit which is a great improvement in size and taste on 
 the type species, while others again have deteriorated. Nearly all 
 the varieties part readily from the stone. 
 
 Still more subject to change is the Prunus chicasa, which grows 
 from four to twelve feet in height, sometimes thorny, and always 
 with long, narrow, almost lance-shaped, acute leaves, whose edges 
 are set with very fine teeth. The fruit is globular, of all shades of 
 red, and from half an inch to an inch or more in diameter, of pleas- 
 ant (some varieties, of delicious) flavor, thin-skinned, and contain- 
 ing an almost round and entirely marginless stone. Most of 
 the varieties of this plum do not part readily from the stone. The 
 fruit ripens the latter part of July and in August. 
 
 I have found many forms that cannot be readily classed with eith- 
 er of these species, but seem to be a cross between the two. In 
 fact these plums often hybridize. This is not strange where both 
 species often grew together in such compact thickets that it is difficult 
 to penetrate them. When the pollen of the one is carried to the pis- 
 tils of the other species the young plants that come from the seeds 
 must exhibit some characters which are common to both. 
 
 One variety of the Prunus Americana, that grows from six to ten 
 feet in height, and has greenish white fruit, occasionally tinged with 
 yellow, rarely ripens its fruit. I have seen its fruit hard and green 
 towards the end of October; but when plucked, even then, and 
 stowed away in an empty room, it readily ripens, like pears when 
 similarly treated. Occasionally a tree is found producing a little 
 round red plum, slightly larger than a morella cherry, which bears 
 double fruit. 
 
 Delicious as some of these wild plums are, their size and flavor 
 are much improved by cultivation and pruning. It is easy to pro- 
 
WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 99 
 
 duce an early and fruitful grove of these plums from the seed. A 
 tree grown in my former grounds in Dakota City yielded thirty- 
 nine blossoms the second year from the seed, and seven hundred 
 and ninety the third year. It is also found that these wild plums 
 are magnificent stock on which to graft the peach, other varieties of 
 plums, and the apricot. Their great hardiness, and the readiness 
 with which they unite with the old cultivated plums, makes them 
 invaluable to those who raise such fruit. 
 
 Alas! there is one drawback to this picture. The everlasting 
 enemy of the plum, the curculio,* is also present. The young fruit 
 sets each year by the million, but some of the finest groves are 
 sometimes for years in succession prevented by this cause from 
 bearing much fruit. Yet so great is the vitality of the plum fami- 
 ly in this State that some varieties will succeed even in despite of 
 the curculio. One such grove I found years ago along the bluffs 
 southwest of Dakota City. The trees were laden with fruit even 
 when all the other groves in the neighborhood were almost entire- 
 ly shorn of their treasures. The foliage indicated a hybrid between 
 the two species under consideration, at least it possessed some char- 
 acteristics that belonged to these two separately, along with others 
 of its own. The fruit was large for wild plums, the skin tough, 
 though comparatively thin, and could readily be pared. The flesh 
 was hard and acid until it was fully ripe, when it became juicy and 
 melting. I have no doubt varieties of this kind could be selected 
 from these ample stores of nature which would be of incalculable 
 value to the horticulturist. 
 
 The dwarf or sand-hill cherry, so famous on our western plains, 
 is really botanically a dwarf plum, (Prunus pumild) and therefore 
 we speak of it last. The stem is smooth, depressed, trailing or 
 semi-erect, from eight to twenty-four inches high. The leaves are 
 obovate lanceolate, tapering to the base, sometimes a little toothed 
 towards the apex, and pale underneath; the flowers numerous, two 
 to four in a cluster. The fruit varies greatly, but is generally 
 about half an inch long and three-eighths broad, ovoid, dark pur- 
 ple, brown purple, brown, reddish, or nearly black, generally sweet, 
 sometimes delicious and occasionally almost insipid. It is enor- 
 mously productive. The shrub has a spreading habit, form- 
 ing dense masses, sometimes covering from thirty to sixty 
 
 * Conotrachelus nenuphar, commonly spoken of as the "plum weevil." 
 
100 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 square feet of ground, but usually the tufts are not more than 
 fifteen to twenty-five feet in area. It suckers abundantly from the 
 roots, and propagates in this way as well as by seeds. It is found 
 over the greater part of the western half of the State, and while 
 it is not excluded from the richest soil if dry, it seems to be partial 
 to sandy localities, rich in alkaline earths. As this plum is nearly 
 related to some of our cultivated varieties of cherries, and the sta- 
 mens and pistils of the flowers are large in both, it will require no 
 great skill to produce a cross between them. And as Fuller has 
 remarked ("Small Fruit Culturist"), a cross between the dwarf 
 plum and a Bigarreau or Morella variety, retaining the dwarf hab- 
 it, vigor, and productiveness of the former, with the flavor of the 
 latter, would be an acquisition of incalculable value, and would com- 
 pletely revolutionize cherry culture. However this may be, the 
 best varieties of the dwarf cherry are valuable as they come from 
 the hand of nature. Many an explorer and traveler in the unset- 
 tled regions has been refreshed by them, and the day is not distant 
 when this fruit will, as it deserves to, have a place in the gardens of 
 all the people. 
 
 Three species of wild cherries grow in various parts of the State. 
 The wild red cherry, (Prunus Pennsylvania], grows sometimes to 
 the dimensions of a small tree. Its leaves are oblong, lanceolate,, 
 pointed, margins finely saw-toothed, green on both sides, flowers 
 on long stems, and the fruit of a light red color, sour, very small 
 and of little merit. The wild black cherry, {Prunus scritina), is val- 
 uable only for its wood, which is close grained, reddish or brown- 
 ish, and highly esteemed by the cabinet maker for the high polish 
 of which it is capable. The lance oblong, smooth leaves are taper 
 pointed, glandular and saw-toothed. The flowers are produced in 
 long clusters (racemes); its fruit is reddish or purplish black, ripen- 
 ing in autumn. Though the fruit is not sought after by human be- 
 ings, it is eagerly devoured by birds. The bark is a remarkable 
 tonic. I have only noticed the tree in the southeastern part of the 
 State. 
 
 The choke cherry (Prunus Virginica), is a tall shrub with greyish 
 bark, oval, oblong, or obovate and abruptly pointed thin leaves, 
 very slender, sharp saw-toothed, and from two to three inches 
 long. The flowers are in a short close cluster. The fruit ripens 
 in summer, and is of a dark red color, and very astringent to the 
 taste, but rather agreeable. 
 
WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 101 
 
 STRAWBERRIES. 
 
 Two species and one variety of strawberries, with endless modi- 
 fications, are common all over Eastern Nebraska. They flourish on 
 the sides of the bluffs, and at the edge of timber belts, from which 
 they creep far out on the prairies. Perhaps the commonest straw- 
 berry is Fragaria vesca, which has produced the Alpine, Wood, 
 Perpetual, and many other varieties. Here it is mostly slender, 
 with thin dull leaves, strongly marked by the veins, calyx open or 
 reflexed after flowering; and fruit inclined to be conical or elongat- 
 ed, much like the so-called lady finger, and fully as large and high 
 scented. The runners often creep several feet. This strawberry 
 varies so much that I have often been unable to distinguish it from 
 the Fragaria Virginiana except by one character, its seeds (akenes], 
 which are always superficial, and seem to stick out of the berry. So 
 abundant is this fruit in some seasons that the ground in its favorite 
 retreats seems absolutely red with it. Once when making a survey 
 of some timber lands in Dakota County, on a sultry July day, and 
 almost exhausted by the heat and from thirst, I unexpectedly came 
 to a patch of these berries in an opening of the woods. Never be- 
 fore was I so grateful for fruit, and fruit that was delicious enough 
 to adorn the finest tables in Christendom. As already intimated, 
 this species is the most variable of all the strawberries. It is found 
 all over Europe and in all the high and on many of the low lands of 
 Ndrth America. Its tendency to become everbearing, so strikingly 
 exemplified elsewhere, is also characteristic of it in many places in 
 Nebraska. I have noticed localities where it produced a succession 
 of ripe berries for two months. 
 
 The other species common to this State is Fragaria Virginiana. 
 It is the original of the American scarlet and innumerable other va- 
 rieties. It can be distinguished from the former by the seeds (akenes) 
 being sunk in the flesh of the berry. Its runners are seldom over a 
 foot long. Its flowers however are staminate, that is, its male and 
 female organs arc on different plants. There is an insensible gra- 
 dation between this species and the variety Illinoiensis of Gray, 
 which is coarser and larger, and the hairs which are scattered over 
 it, especially on the flower stock, are rougher. The strawberries of 
 Nebraska need to be thoroughly examined. Certainly where there 
 is such a tendency shown to varieties and improvement, some of the 
 most promising, under the skillful treatment of the gardener, would 
 become permanent additions to our list of desirable small fruits. 
 
102 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 RASPBERRIES 
 
 are represented in Nebraska by three species. A black raspberry, 
 a variety of Rubus occidentalism is common in every county. It is a 
 profuse bearer, and the fruit is nearly a third larger than the Amer- 
 ican blackcap. It is most abundant along streams and in woodlands 
 and their borders. Where it is cultivated the canes make a much 
 stronger growth than in their native wilds, though even there some 
 varieties seem equal to any produced in gardens. A dwarf rasp- 
 berry, (Rubus triflorus^ and the wild red, (Rubus strigosus^) were 
 sent to me in flower during the past season from the western part of 
 the State, previous to which I was not aware that they existed with- 
 in our borders. They have not yet been found in the eastern part 
 of the State. 
 
 BLACKBERRIES. 
 
 Of these only one species has yet been found in the State. This 
 is the high blackberry, (Rubus villosus). It is rather abundant along 
 some of the streams and timber belts in the southeastern part of the 
 State. Wherever this wild variety is transplanted into gardens and 
 cultivated, it bears large quantities of delicious fruit. 
 
 HAWTHORNS. 
 
 Though unimportant as fruits the hawthorns should not be over- 
 looked by the amateur horticulturist. The blackthorn (Crat&gus 
 torn entosd], and its variety malis, are most abundant. It is a shrub 
 or small tree from six to twenty-five feet in height. The leaves are 
 oval, abrupt at the base, margins sharply saw-toothed or cut into 
 many small lobes, and downy beneath, especially when young. 
 The flowers are compacted into clusters (corymbs) of from six to 
 thirty flowerlets in a bunch. The fruit is scarlet or orange, from 
 two-thirds to three-fourths of an inch long and rather pleasant to 
 the taste. The fruit of the variety mails is dull red and more insip- 
 id. Though not esteemed by man, the fruit is eagerly sought after 
 by prairie chickens and quail. I have seen hundreds of these wild 
 fowl atone time feasting on this fruit, which they seemed to prefer 
 in its season to all other food. 
 
 THE JUNE BERRY. 
 
 This fruit is abundant in some portions of Nebraska. It is a small 
 tree or shrub, from ten to thirty-five feet in height. There are ap- 
 parently three or four species, but they run so much into each other, 
 
WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 103 
 
 that botanists as yet treat them as one species with many varieties. 
 It is known as Amelanchier Canadensis. The variety most common 
 here is Alinifolia, with roundish, blunt leaves, which are toothed 
 towards the summit. The flowers, which are white, are produced 
 in long loose clusters (racemes). Berry purplish, sweet, and gener- 
 ally deliciously-flavored. This berry has always been a favorite 
 with the Indians. They dry and mix it with pemican (preserved 
 meats), to which it gives a delicious flavor. Nothing is supposed to 
 give more daintiness to an Indian feast than June berries boiled in 
 the broth of fat meat. Children of every age equal the Indians in 
 their admiratioji and enjoyment of June berries. It would " pay" 
 to cultivate them for "the litttle ones" alone. 
 
 WILD CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES. 
 
 There are four species of gooseberries growing wild in the 
 State. One of these, a " Smooth Wild Gooseberry" (Ribes hirtel- 
 luni), has smooth stems, short thorns, or none, and smooth, small, 
 purple, and sweet berries. It is not very abundant. Another 
 " Smooth Wild Gooseberry" (R. rotundifoliuni), in its many varieties, 
 is met with constantly, especially in the timber and along our 
 streams, and is a most abundant bearer. The leaves are nearly 
 smooth, roundish, three tofivelobed and truncate at the base ; stems 
 slender and from one to three flowered. It grows from two to four 
 feet high, the stems having whitish bark. One variety of this spe- 
 cies bears a berry, long, large, and green. Another variety, which 
 grows from three to four feet high, sets its canes thickly, and they 
 are covered with slim thorns of a brownish, purplish color. The 
 fruit is as large as a Houghton, sometimes larger, somewhat veined, 
 and of a clear, glossy, transparent color, oval or round, and some- 
 timely slightly flattened at the ends, and with a rich vinous flavor. 
 I have found a few specimens three-fourths of an inch in diameter 
 when ripe, and never observed them to be affected with mildew. 
 So abundant are they that the Indians often pick many bushels per 
 day for weeks in succession and carry them to the various markets. 
 They bear transportation well. Many citizens are now well sup- 
 plied with these berries from stocks transplanted from the woods 
 into their own grounds. I have myself planted the Houghton in a 
 row alongside of this wild variety, and the latter proved superior 
 in productiveness and hardiness to the former. The Swamp Goose- 
 berry (R. lacustre), whose young stems are clothed with bristly 
 
104 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 prickles, and small weak thorns, and whose leaves are heart-shaped, 
 and from three to five parted, and the lobes cut, and whose fruit is 
 bristly, small, and disagreeable, is unimportant. Even birds gener- 
 ally give it a wide berth. The "Wild Gooseberry" (R. Cynosbati), 
 with pubescent leaves, slender peduncles and spines, and a large 
 berry armed with long bur-like prickles, is no better than the last- 
 In a few localities it is quite abundant. 
 
 Two species of wild currants abound. The " Wild Black Cur- 
 rant" {R. floriduni) is remarkable for its large flowers. The leaves 
 are from five to seven-lobed, doubly saw-toothed, and generally 
 sprinkled with resinous dots, slightly heart-shaped, and the racemes 
 are downy, drooping; the fruit is round-ovoid, black and smooth, 
 and in smell and flavor much like the black currant of the garden 
 The Buffalo or Missouri currant also abounds in many localities. It 
 is remarkable for the spicy fragrance of its yellow blossoms, and is 
 often cultivated for ornament. Its fruit is of little or no value. 
 
 BLACK HAWS. 
 
 Recently the Black Haws (Viburnum Prunifolium) have turned 
 up in Nebraska. They escaped my notice until my attention was 
 directed to them by J. Gillman Esq., of Otoe County. The leaves and 
 fruit have since been sent to me. They are found in some of the tim- 
 ber belts of Otoe, Cass, and Nemaha counties. Though not specially 
 sought after for its fruit except by birds, its broadly oval leaves, its 
 beautiful form and flowers make it a desirable tree to give variety 
 to cultivated grounds. 
 
 GRAPES. 
 
 Two species of grapes, with a great number of hybrids and va- 
 rieties, abound in Nebraska. It is hard to realize without seeing it, 
 with what luxuriance the vine grows in this State. Some of the 
 timber belts are almost impassible from the number and length of 
 the vines, which form a network from tree to tree. Straggling 
 vines are sometimes found far out on the prairies. Where deprived 
 of any other support they creep along the ground and over weeds 
 and grass. The Summer Grape (Vitis cestiva/ts) can generally be 
 recognized by the downy character of its young leaves, which are 
 smooth when old. They are simple, rounded, heart-shaped, and 
 often variously lobed. The panicles are compound, long, and slen- 
 der. The berries are small, from one-third to one-fourth of an inch in 
 diameter; color black with a bloom, ripe in September and October. 
 
WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 105 
 
 The Frost Grape (V. cot dif olid] has thin leaves, heart-shaped, 
 sharp-pointed, sharply and coarsely toothed, and sometimes ob- 
 scurely three-lobed. The bunch is compound, large, and loose. 
 The berries are small, about one-fourth of an inch broad, and blue 
 or black with a bloom, very acerb, and ripening after frost. Very 
 late in autumn, when dead ripe, these grapes become comparatively 
 sweet. As already intimated there are many forms that cannot 
 well be classified with either of these species. Some appear to be 
 hybrids, and some approach one or the other more closely, but va- 
 rying much from them. In the opinion of some of our best bota- 
 nists a thorough re-examination and a new classification of these 
 wild grapes is needed. There is as much difference in flavor and 
 quality as there is in form. Future investigation and culture will 
 no doubt produce from these wild grapes varieties that will be em- 
 inently worthy of cultivation. Their superior hardiness, the ease 
 with which they can be grown, their early bearing, and the compar- 
 atively fine flavor of many of them, entitle them to more attention 
 than they have yet received. 
 
 A great deal of wine has been manufactured from these grapes in 
 some portions of the State. The wine has a fine body, is rather 
 dark, and in a year or two is much like the Oporto in flavor and 
 color. It is sometimes shipped to other States to mix with wines 
 manufactured from cultivated grapes to give them body and color. 
 
 THE MULBERRY. 
 Alonp- the bluffs of the Missouri and some of its tributaries the 
 
 o 
 
 Red Mulberry (Jbforus rubrd} abounds. Sometimes it is a mere 
 shrub, and sometimes it reaches the dimensions of a small tree. 
 Though called the reel mulberry, its fruit in Nebraska is as often of 
 a blackish color, as reel or brown. Its sweetish blackberry-like 
 fruit is eagerly sought after by many of the settlers, and seems to 
 be one of the special delights of prairie chickens, quail, \vild tur- 
 keys, and other birds. At least I have often found them feasting 
 on this fruit. This tree or shrub is easily cultivated, and is often 
 transplanted for ornament and for its fruit into cultivated grounds. 
 
 THE BUFFALO BERRY. 
 
 The Buffalo Berry (Shcpkerdia argent ea] is found on the banks 
 of the Missouri, the Niobrara, the Platte, the 'Republican rivers, 
 and many of their tributaries. Though not yet seen in cultivation 
 it deserves a place in every fruit garden. It varies from the habit 
 
106 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 of a shrub to that of a small tree. The leaves are oblong, silvery 
 white, the branches rusty white, and sometimes quite thorny, with 
 numerous thorn-like limbs. The flowers are small, yellow, dioecious, 
 the sterile ones with a four-parted calyx, and eight stamens. The 
 fertile flowers have a calyx, shaped like an urn, which en- 
 closes the ovary that becomes the berry-like fruit. The 
 fruit is roundish, varying in color from a dull red to a 
 scarlet, slightly, but only slightly, acid, and until quite ripe, 
 somewhat astringent, though agreeable. It is an enormous 
 bearer, the fruit being produced in very compact masses in the axils 
 of the branches. The fruit ripens in early autumn, and if left un- 
 disturbed hangs until winter. The plant is very hardy, and can be 
 grown in any good soil. The only drawback to the cultivation of this 
 fruit is that it is dioecious, and one of each sex must be planted to 
 obtain fruit, though if many be planted in a row or cluster, one 
 staminate or male tree will be enough to fertilize seven or eight 
 pistillate plants. It is one of the easiest of all fruits to propagate. 
 After the berries are gathered and the seeds removed from the pulp, 
 they can be planted at once or kept in sand until spring. They 
 ought to be sowed in drills and covered about two inches deep. At 
 one year old they should be transplanted into ordinary nursery 
 rows, about four feet apart. In three years from the seed they will 
 bloom, when they can be examined, and labels attached to the stam- 
 inate plants, after which, for convenience sake, each kind had bet- 
 ter be placed in a row by itself. 
 
 Wherever this berry becomes known it is at once a favorite, and 
 being so hardy and easily propagated it soon could supply the set- 
 tler with an abundance of delicious berries. Among the purposes 
 for which it is used is' the manufacture of jelly, of which it produces 
 an article that for richness of flavor is surpassed by no other fruit. 
 
 Sheperdia Canadensis, which is found on the Niobrara is scarcely 
 less beautiful than the Buffalo Berry. Its fruit is less insipid than 
 represented, and is even esteemed by many. The berry is yellow- 
 ish red. 
 
 THE ELDERBERRY. 
 
 Many of the emigrants from the eastern States are glad to find 
 an old favorite, the Elderberry, Sambucus Canadensis, among the 
 wild fruits of Nebraska. Though the shrub which produces this 
 berry has a rather rank smell, especially when bruised, and its fruit 
 is seldom eaten in a raw state, yet the berries are really so delicious, 
 
WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 107 
 
 when prepared with skill, that wherever they abound they are eag- 
 erly gathered, and dried for future use, or manufactured at once in- 
 to various kinds of jellies or sauce. A good article of wine is fre- 
 quently made from them. The stems are half woody, from five to 
 ten feet high; leaves pinnate; leaflets from seven to eleven, ob- 
 long, the lower often three parted; the flowers are small and white, 
 in compound clusters or cymes; fruit, black purple. It grows 
 abundantly all over eastern Nebraska. 
 
 THE PAPAW. 
 
 The Papaw, Asimina triloba, is one of the four North American 
 representatives of a large tropical family, which is generally aro- 
 matic. Over three hundred species grow in the two tropical hemi- 
 spheres. Its yellow fruit is from two to three inches long, is pulpy ^ 
 with many flat seeds, fragrant, and ripe in October. The tree is 
 from ten to twenty feet high. The leaves are thin, obovate, lance- 
 olate, and pointed. The flowers are dull purple; the petals are 
 veiny, round-ovate, and the outer ones from three to four times as 
 long as the calyx. The flowers appear with the leaves and some- 
 times precede them. It is only found in the southeastern part of 
 the State, and though of no practical value, botanically it is of much 
 
 interest. 
 
 NUTS. 
 
 Though nuts are not always classed with fruits it seems proper 
 in this place to mention the few that abound in Nebraska. First in 
 the list is the nut of the noble Black Walnut (Juglans nigra). A 
 few years ago this tree was abundant over eastern Nebraska. So 
 valuable, however, is the wood, and so high the price it brings in 
 market, that in many places where great numbers formerly existed 
 it is becoming quite rare. Fortunately, this tree is so hardy and is 
 so easily grown from the seed, that great numbers are started in 
 the artificial groves that are planted all over the settled portions of 
 the State. The nuts are almost as much of a favorite with adults 
 as with children ; and wherever the trees remain they should be 
 carefully preserved to supply the means for future groves, and for 
 the intrinsic value of their fruit. 
 
 In a few places along the Missouri the Shell-bark Hickory (Car- 
 ya alba) abounds. Though not in sufficient quantities to supply the 
 markets with hickory nuts, it is worthy of cultivation for its timber, 
 which is valuable for many purposes besides fuel. When once 
 
108 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 grown, groves of hickory will also supply an almost unfailing har- 
 vest of nuts. 
 
 The Hazel Nut ( Corylus Americanus), is widely distributed over 
 the State. It grows here from four to seven feet high. The nuts 
 have been as much of a favorite with the Indians as they are now 
 with the children of the white settlers. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 WILD GRASSES.* 
 
 The Most Valuable ones of Nebraska, with Notes on Their Perpetua- 
 tion, and the Disappearance of the Buffalo Grass. Origin of our Flora. 
 
 VTEBRASKA is remarkable, among other things, for its wild 
 1M grasses. They constitute everywhere the covering of the 
 prairies. Even where old breaking is left untilled, the grasses vie 
 with the weeds for possession, and often in a few years are victori- 
 ous. Every close observer, passing through the State, in summer, 
 must notice the great number of species, and their vigorous growth. 
 I have in my collection 149 species of grasses that are 'native to the 
 State. Of the sedges so closely related to them, there are also at 
 least 150 species. Of course there is a great difference in the value 
 of these grasses. Some of them are seldom or never touched by 
 cattle, while others are sought out by them at all seasons. The fol- 
 lowing, so far as I have observed, are the most valuable: 
 
 Sorgum nutans, Bouteloua hirsuta, 
 
 Andropogon furcatus, Bouteloua curtipenclula, 
 
 Andropogon scoparius, Bouteloua oligostaclmi, 
 
 Andropogon Virginicus, Festuca ovina, 
 
 Buchloe Dactyloides, Poa serotina, 
 
 Sporobolus heterolepis, Stipa viridula. 
 
 It is impossible to give a correct estimate of the proportions in 
 which these grasses are found in Nebraska, as they vary a great 
 
 * First published in the New York Tribune, with the following note: " We take pleasure 
 in introducing to the readers of the Tribune Prof. Samuel Auyhey, of the University of Ne- 
 braska, an earnest, enthusiastic and thoughtful student, who is most esteemed where best 
 known. In this, his initial article, he does not write from compilation or hearsay. He has 
 been over nearly every square mile of the territory in question, some portions of it many 
 . \Ed. Tribune.'" 
 
WILD GRASSES. 
 
 109 
 
 deal from year to year in different parts of the State. In the eastern 
 half Andtopogon furcatus, A. scoparius, Bouteloua curtipendula, B. 
 hirsuta, Sorgum nutans and Sporobolus heterolepis supply perhaps 
 about two-thirds or three-fourths of the grazing and hay lands. 
 For the purpose of ascertaining the value of these grasses, com- 
 pared with cultivated ones, I have made an analysis of Sorgum nutans 
 and Andropogon furcatus. The analysis of red clover, white clover 
 and lucerne is that of EinhofF and Cronie. For convenience, they 
 are placed in parallel columns : 
 
 Sorgum Anclropogon Red 
 
 White. 
 
 Water 74.0 
 
 Starch 1.9 
 
 Woody fibre 14.0 
 
 Sugar 3.5 
 
 Albumen 21 
 
 Extractive matter and gum. ... 2.9 
 
 Fatty matter 0.0 
 
 Phosphate of Lime 1 .0 
 
 100.0 
 
 furcatus. Clover. Clover. Lucerne. 
 
 76.0 
 
 76.0 
 
 80.0 
 
 75.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 1.4 
 
 1.0 
 
 2.2 
 
 14.0 
 
 13.9 
 
 11.5 
 
 14.3 
 
 1.8 
 
 2.1 
 
 1.5 
 
 0.8 
 
 1.6 
 
 2.0 
 
 1.5 
 
 1.9 
 
 3.7 
 
 3.5 
 
 3.4 
 
 4.4 
 
 0.3 
 
 0.1 
 
 0.2 
 
 0.6 
 
 0.8 
 
 1.0 
 
 0.9 
 
 0.& 
 
 100.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 The substances which produce fat, such as sugar, starch, and 
 gum, contain the three elements of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. 
 Those that produce muscle, blood and nerves, like albumen, contain 
 in addition to the preceding, nitrogen. Now, an examination of the 
 above analysis shows that all the essential qualities for the best food 
 for cattle are contained by these wild grasses. They are at least 
 equal, if not superior in these particulars, to the best cultivated 
 forage and hay crops. It will also be noticed that in phosphate of 
 lime, so essential for the growth of bones ( u and brain food?") these 
 grasses are equally well supplied. The buffalo grass also contains 
 three and six- tenths per cent of saccharine matter. I have not had 
 time to carry out this analysis any further. First in the list of Ne- 
 braska grasses is Sorgum nutans, Gray. The only popular name 
 that I have heard is one that I proposed myself, namely, sorgum 
 grass. When growing in the early part of the season, it is not 
 easy to distinguish it from blue joint. As soon, however, as its 
 tawny, russet-like spikelets in a dense panicle, make their appear- 
 pearance, it is known at a glance among any number of other 
 species. Toward the end of the season, the panicle nods. Spike- 
 lets are generally in pairs or threes, and are ciliate with a ring of 
 
110 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 bristles at the base. The lower paleae are tipped with a contorted 
 awn. It grows from three to six feet high. I have seen it remarked 
 that some seasons it does not produce seed. If that is the case in 
 this State, I have failed to observe it. This grass has been increas- 
 ing rapidly in Nebraska. It competes successfully with all its rivals 
 for the possession of the soil. The amount now growing is treble 
 what it was ten years ago. This season it monopolized the ground 
 where, in former years, only stray stalks were seen. It produces 
 the best hay if cut just before frost. For hay and for pastures it is 
 one of the noblest of the grasses. I often noticed, when camped 
 on the plains, that it was the first choice of horses after the buffalo 
 grass that was within reach was all consumed. Whether it can be 
 domesticated, remains to be seen. Three years ago an attempt was 
 made to grow it on the Agricultural Farm, but the locusts ate it 
 as fast as it came up. It did not survive the third time it was eaten 
 off. 
 
 Andropogon furcatus, Muhl. This is also a valuable grass in 
 this State. It is sometimes called blue joint in the West. It is 
 often confounded wite Andropogon scoparius, and even with Sorgum 
 nutans. It is distinguished by having from three to five straight 
 and rather rigid hairy spikes, from three to five inches long, to- 
 gether at the naked summit (Gray), and of a purple color. Occa- 
 sionally there are lateral spikes. The stem is from four to six 
 feet high. Some years it does not fruit, but the cause is not clear 
 to me, as this occurs in wet and dry seasons. 
 
 Andropogon scoparius, Mich. This grass is in some places even 
 more abundant than the former, but generally it does not seem to 
 be able to compete with it in the struggle for existence. I am not 
 sure which of these two is the most valuable for feed. It is dis- 
 tinguished from the former by not being more than half as tall and 
 by having a paniculate stem, one side of which is furrowed. The 
 spikes are simple, lateral, and growing from the end on rather long 
 peduncles, two or three being found on each sheath, and of a purple 
 color. It is generally slightly silky and hairy. It is generally dif- 
 ficult to distinguish these two grasses until they begin to flower. 
 
 Andropogon Virginicus, L. In a few localities in Southern Ne- 
 braska this grass is common. Though elsewhere it is of little re- 
 pute; here I have often seen cattle grazing on it, and apparently 
 enjoying it. No complaints have been made about it when used for 
 hay. The stem is flat below, and somewhat downy with scattered 
 
WILD GRASSES 111 
 
 hairs. The leaves are long, narrow and carinate. Two or three 
 spikes are together in different appressed clusters. It grows from 
 three to four feet high. 
 
 Bouteloua oligostachya, Torr. Until within a few years, this grass 
 was only occasionally met with in eastern Nebraska, though com- 
 mon in the middle and western portions of the State, where it has 
 often been classed with the gramma grasses. This common name, 
 however, is indiscriminately applied to several other species in as 
 many different genera. It is rapidly moving eastward. This year 
 it was so abundant in Lancaster County that it in many places mon- 
 opolized the soil, as could be seen on the wagon road between Lin- 
 coln and Milford. It is distinguished by spikelets of flowers hang- 
 ing from one side of the axis or inflorescence. From three to five 
 spikes are supported on each stalk. The color ranges from purple 
 to indigo blue. Its height varies from ten to sixteen inches. It is 
 exceptionally smooth and hairless, and is a perennial. For grazing, 
 this grass is exceedingly valuable, and where it grows thick and 
 strong, as it is beginning to do in many of the eastern counties, it 
 makes most excellent hay. 
 
 Bouteloua curtipendula, Gray. This grass is abundant in many 
 places. It grows from one to three feet high, but the leaves are 
 scanty, and it is not much sought after by stock. It is, however, a 
 grass of great beauty. It can always be easily recognized by its 
 racemes, which are from eight to fifteen inches long, and contain 
 from fifteen to sixty small spikelets of a purple or scarlet color. 
 For its beauty it deserves a place in the garden, if not in the field. 
 
 Bouteloua hirsuta, Lagasca. This species is frequently confounded 
 with B. oligostachya. The whole stalk is somewhat hairy. When 
 ripening, the spikes are curved, short, and somewhat bristly, be- 
 cause of the great number of stiff hairs that grow from the dark 
 colored glands of the glumes. In sterile situations in the western 
 part of the State, it is short, but further east, where it is increasing 
 rapidly, it is from ten to sixteen inches high. Though perhaps not 
 so valuable as the preceding for forage and hay, yet here herds of 
 cattle are often seen grazing on and apparently enjoying and fatten- 
 ing on it. 
 
 Sporobolu s heterolepis, Gray. This grass is abundant in some por- 
 tions of the State. It makes good hay, for which it is often used. 
 It grows from twenty-five to thirty inches high. Its leaves, which 
 grow from the base of the plant, are thread-like and remarkable 
 
112 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 for being as long as the stalk, and bending over gracefully until 
 the tips touch the ground. It has a great tendency to produce 
 stools. The stalk is naked above, bearing a small loose panicle 
 whose sharp-pointed spikelets bear round seeds. The seeds, when 
 bruised, give out a strong odor, which is offensive to some olfactories. 
 It does not fruit in some dry seasons. 
 
 Spartina cynosuroides, Wild. This grass is abundant in some 
 places, but unfortunately, it is worthless. It is known as cord, and 
 fresh water grass. It makes a poor article of hay, but its very 
 abundance tempts many to use it for this purpose. Only extreme 
 hunger will induce animals to eat it. It can be recognized by its- 
 slender stem, which grows from two to six feet high, and its narrow 
 leaves, which are sometimes three and four feet long, and half slen- 
 der points. The entire leaf, except the margins, is smooth. The 
 straw-colored spikes are from two to three inches long, and from 
 five to fourteen in number. They are scattered and spreading. A 
 wide berth should be given to it. 
 
 Triticum It sometimes happens that grasses which are compar- 
 atively worthless in one regard are valuable in another. This may 
 come from the improved quality that soil, climate and situation give. 
 Several species of Triticum which are everywhere regarded as 
 almost worthless, in Central and Western Nebraska afford, in the 
 early part of the season, good pasturage. It can be recognized by the 
 character of the glumes, among which are the single spikelets at each 
 joint, and placed with the side against the axis of inflorescence. 
 Several species of Festuca abound in portions of the State, and 
 make valuable forage. 
 
 Festuca ovina, L., is the most valuable. The culms and leaves 
 are hard and wire-like, but exceedingly nutritious. The panicle is 
 small and narrow, and the spikelets flat, numerous, and from two 
 to six flowered. This grass has a tendency to grow in dense tufts, 
 and is sometimes of a purple color. The stalks grow from ten to 
 twenty-four inches high. 
 
 Bromus kalmii, Gray. This grass is only abundant in the west- 
 ern part of the State, although it is occasionally met as far east as 
 the Missouri. It is a perennial, producing a simple panicle, with 
 spikelets drooping from simple capillary stems, and densely covered 
 with silky hairs. These are sometimes flat and sometimes round, 
 w T hen matured. It grows from one to three feet high, and affords 
 good forage. Some species of Poa abound in Nebraska. They 
 
WILD GRASSES. ] ! 3 
 
 are very nutritious, and wherever found afford rich food for stock. 
 Poa serotina, Ehrh, is perhaps the most important. It may be 
 recognized by its open panicle, which branches in fives, the spike- 
 lets being pediciled, acute, a little flattened, and from two to four 
 flowered. The flowers are acute, green, and occasionally tinged 
 with purple. It grows from two to three feet high. 
 
 Poa Pratensis, L., is not native to the State, but has spread from 
 old Fort Calhoun, north of Omaha, where it was probably intro- 
 duced many years ago by the hay which the Government sent to 
 the troops at this point. It has spread from this place over twenty- 
 five miles of territory. 
 
 Ihichloe dactyloides, Engl. This is the famous buffalo grass which 
 once grew over the whole region from the Missouri to the moun- 
 tains. It is so well known that it scarcely needs any description. 
 It rarely exceeds two or three inches in height, except the male 
 flower stalk, which may reach five or six inches. The male flow r ers 
 are in flat spikes on the top of the stock. The seed-producing 
 flowers are almost covered by the leaves close to the earth. Both 
 kinds of flowers are borne by the same plant, though the contrary 
 was once believed. It forms dense tufts, spreading by stolens, form- 
 ing broad mats. Engleman first detected the true botanical rela- 
 tions of this plant. This grass has always been a favorite with all 
 kinds of stock. Often when camped on the plains, my lariated 
 horses and mules would touch no other grasses until all the buffalo 
 grass within their reach was consumed. This always occurred, no 
 matter what other kinds of grass were present. This grass, before 
 the advent of the white man, was the chief food of the buffaloes, 
 which, in countless numbers, occupied the plains. It will be found 
 that wherever the buffalo grass is not highly valued, it is confounded 
 with Munroa squarrosa, Torr., which is an almost worthless species. 
 It bears some resemblance to buffalo grass, and is often mistaken 
 for it. But it is an annual with many branches from the base, 
 creeping, and with the leaves clustered together. Of the disap- 
 pearance of the buffalo grass, and my theory as to the cause, I will 
 have something to say presently. 
 
 A word in conclusion as to the way to perpetuate prairie pastures* 
 A complaint often heard in Nebraska is that in a short time the 
 best of prairie grasses, such as sorgum nutans, Andropogon furcattis, 
 etc., will, under severe pasturing and mowing, soon be exterminated, 
 and their place be occupied by weeds. Where no chance is given 
 8 
 
114 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 to the prairie grasses to recuperate, this is undoubtedly the case. 
 It is found, however, that where fields of the best wild grasses are 
 inclosed, and only mowed when mature, they will remain good 
 meadows for many years. It soon kills these grasses to mow them 
 early in the season, when or before they are in flower. I have fre- 
 quently seen tracts of land inclosed where weeds had already gained 
 partial possession, and by leaving them lie untouched for a number of 
 years, the ground would again become thickly matted over with 
 these rich grasses. With a little care, the new settler in Nebraska 
 can get his supply of hay and pasture of the best quality from the 
 prairies for a great number of years. He can be supplied, at least, 
 until his own industry and advancement will prompt him to raise the 
 cultivated grasses. Many of these wild grasses deserve to be experi- 
 mented with. They have done so much to enrich the West already, 
 that their cultivation, if possible, would be a great agricultural gain. 
 
 DISAPPEARANCE OF BUFFALO GRASS. 
 
 Buffalo grass {Buchlce dacty hides] was once common all over 
 Nebraska. Other species were present, but this grass was more 
 abundant than all the others put together. It has now almost en- 
 tirely disappeared from the eastern half of the State. Here it is 
 now found only in isolated spots, which sometimes are slight de- 
 pressions in the surface, some times elevations, and sometimes on 
 a level with the plain. In examining the last retreats of this grass 
 to ascertain the cause of its pertinacious life in such places, I inva- 
 riably found that they were spots where the excess of alkali had 
 entered into slight chemical union with the other ingredients of 
 the soil, and more or less hardened it. This seems to indicate that 
 such soils w r ould be favorable to the cultivation of this grass ; but 
 whether this is the case, and whether, supposing this was possible, 
 it is worthy of cultivation, remains to be determined by actual ex- 
 periment. The manner and the cause of the disappearance of this 
 grass is exceedingly curious. It cannot be caused by the ingress 
 of domestic cattle. I have known whole counties from which the 
 buffalo grass disappeared long before any domestic cattle or culti- 
 vation had interrupted the work of nature. For example, I vis- 
 ited Wayne County, Nebraska, for the first time in 1865, when as 
 yet there was not a single w r hite man or any domestic cattle within 
 its bounds. And yet the buffalo grass w r as even then rapidly disap- 
 pearing, and in a few years more was almost entirely gone. Many 
 other instances of the same kind could be given. 
 
WILD GRASSES. 115 
 
 Some old frontiersmen claim that the perpetuation of this grass 
 depends on its seeds being scattered by the buffaloes, and that 
 when they ceased to visit their old haunts it would necessarily have to 
 die out. But it is difficult to understand why the foraging of domestic 
 cattle would not have the same effect. It cannot be ascribed to the 
 buffaloes' manner of cropping this grass. These animals some- 
 times pastured this grass more closely and constantly than domestic 
 cattle. I have sometimes followed a herd of a few thousand buf- 
 falo and they seemed to eat the short, sparse grass in places almost 
 out of the ground, leaving almost bare soil behind them. Causes 
 with which neither the buffaloes nor domestic cattle have anything 
 to do, evidently produce its extermination. The rate of its disap- 
 pearance varies somewhat. In northern Nebraska it retreated west- 
 ward at the rate of about twenty miles a year, until it reached its 
 present eastern boundary. Along the Republican Valley, during 
 some years, it has retreated at the rate of thirty miles a year, and 
 other grasses, alreadv mentioned in this chapter, took its place. In 
 other years it has retreated more slowly. In favored localities it 
 lingers behind several years longer, but even the alkali spots finally 
 give it up. It is remarkable that the grasses that take its place are 
 such as are indigenous to comparatively moist regions. I suggest, 
 therefore, that change of climate, especially increase of rainfall, has 
 most to do with this phenomenon. In Chapter IV was shown the 
 constantly increasing rainfall in the Stitc. It is the only fact com- 
 petent to explain all the phenomena accompanying the disappear- 
 ance of this grass on which the millions of buffalo, elk, deer and 
 antelope had previously fed for ages. 
 
 ORIGIN OF OUR FLORA. 
 
 One of the questions that most frequently occurs to the thinking 
 mind is when and how did our Flora originate? Did it originate 
 here, or did it come by migration from some other region: 
 
 The earliest memorials of our present Flora are found engraven 
 on the rocks of the lowest member of the cretaceous rocks of the 
 west, known as the Dakota group*. In the chapter on the cre- 
 taceous deposits, the geological features of these rocks are given. 
 Here are found impressions of the first oaks, cottonwoods, willows, 
 maples, gums, hickories, walnuts, plums, cedars, pines, grapes, etc. 
 The formation in which these early memorials are found, stretches 
 
 *See Lisquereux, Report on Cretaceous Flora. 
 
116 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 through Kansas, Nebraska, Northwestern Iowa, Minnesota, Can- 
 ada, and is found to appear in Greenland. 
 
 At the opening of the next, or Tertiary Age, in its lowest mem- 
 ber, the Eocene, it makes its appearance in the far north in Green- 
 land. Many of the species are identical with those now common 
 in Nebraska. It is true that Heer pronounces these to be Miocene, 
 but Dawson has shown them to be of Eocene age. (Report on 
 Geological Survey of Canada.) By the time thai the Miocene 
 age commenced, they were still among the conspicuous forms in 
 high northern latitudes. They emigrated southward with the 
 gradually advancing cold of the Pliocene Age, and when the Gla- 
 cial Age spread its mantle of ice over the north, they found a re- 
 treat in the southern United States and Mexico. At the final re- 
 treat of the glaciers, this Flora advanced northward, and found a 
 home in central North America. The nearest allies, therefore, of 
 our present Flora are the vegetable forms preserved in the rocks of 
 the Tertiary Ages, in high northern latitudes. All life, vegetable 
 and animal, probably commenced far north, and moved southward. 
 The old idea, that it must have originated in tropical regions, has 
 been eliminated from scientific belief by the advance of knowledge. 
 This view also accords best with what is known of the history of 
 the globe. The first known dry land was in high northern regions, 
 Arctic lands first became cool enough to sustain vegetable and ani- 
 mal life. (Heer.)* 
 
 *See on this subject Gray's Forest Geography and Archaeology, Heer's Flora Fossilis Arc- 
 tica; Dawson's Reports on Canadian Geology; Saparta, "Ancienne Vegetation Polairr*": 
 Hooker's Presidential Address to the Royal Society. 
 
FAUNA OF NEBRASKA. 117 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 FAUNA OF NEBRASKA. VERTEBRATES. 
 
 BUFFALO. DEER FAMILY. CARNIVEROUS ANIMALS. INSECT EATING 
 ANIMALS. BIRDS. The Leading Varieties REPTILES. List of our Reptiles. 
 FISH CULTURE. List of Known Nebraska Fishes. 
 
 BEFORE the advent of the white man, Nebraska was a par- 
 adise for wild animals. Game of many kinds was amazingly 
 abundant. Even the Indian could not keep it within clue limits; it 
 took immense numbers of the carniverous animals to do this. 
 
 MAMMALS. 
 
 Here was the empire of the buffalo, (Bos Ameriiamts?)* The 
 early settlers and the old freighters across the plains tell wonderful 
 stories of the immense herds of buffalo which they so often en- 
 countered. Had I not myself, years ago, found large herds in places 
 where there are now flourishing villages, these stories would appear 
 like exaggerations. It is to be feared that the days of the buffalo 
 are numbered. What the Indian alone could not accomplish, has 
 been done by the remorseless war made on the buffalo by the white 
 man. Now he is rarely found within the State. If he is perpetu- 
 ated it will be done by domesticating him. Already some domesti- 
 cated buffalo are found among the cattle herds in western Nebraska. 
 Whether this experiment will be successful cannot yet be deter- 
 mined. No animal deserves to be perpetuated more than the 
 buffalo. Buffalo robes are among the most important of commer- 
 cial articles. Who has not been made comfortable bv one? The 
 buffalo is as readily tamed as the ox, and can be reared with as 
 little difficulty. He is exceedingly hardy. He might be profitably 
 reared for the pecuniary value of his hide. His flesh, which is con- 
 sidered coarse, would no doubt be refined by civilized environment. 
 Even the buffalo's milk is a fair substitute for that of the domestic 
 cow.f 
 
 . "It will be understood tliat 1 only follow popular usage in calling this ai-imal a buffalo. It i 
 * bison. No true buffalo has a hump on his back. 
 
 |See an exhaustive treatise on the buffalo, in Hay den's Report for 1875. 
 
118 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Next to the buffalo, the elk (Cervus Canadensis)wa&the largest 
 and finest native animal. It was formerly exceedingly abundant 
 and is still often found in the northern and western portions of the 
 State. Never shall I forget the magnificent herds of elk that 
 crossed my path on the Niobrara and Elkhorn in 1866 and 1867. 
 Their bulky bodies, huge antlers, and numbers, made them a pic- 
 ture never to be forgotten. 
 
 Four species of deer were formerly found here, and two of them 
 very abundantly. These were the common deer (Cervus Virgin- 
 ianus), the white tailed deer (C. leucrus), the mule deer (C. macro- 
 //j), and the blacktailed deer (C. columblanus). The first and the 
 last of this list were the most abundant, at least those are the species 
 that I have most frequently seen myself roaming the prairies, and 
 whose skins most frequently found their way to the traders. The 
 special habitat of the black tailed deer was north Nebraska, and 
 especially the Niobrara region. 
 
 Next to the buffalo in numbers comes the Pronghorn Antelope 
 (Antilocapra Americana], It was formerly common to meet these 
 on the prairie in herds of from twenty to five hundred. Only a 
 few years ago it was yet common to meet herds of hundreds of 
 these beautiful and graceful animals in central and western Ne- 
 braska. They are now mostly confined to the northern and west- 
 ern portions of the State. The antelope remains abundant after the 
 buffalo and elk are gone, and when but few deer remain, and yet 
 the last of them disappear before the deer is entirely exter- 
 minated from a district. The antelope is more disposed to go in 
 herds than the deer; it frequently brings forth two at a birth, and 
 while buffalo, elk and deer last they are often passed by, by fron- 
 tiersmen. Their natural curiosity makes them an easy prey. It is 
 well known that they will go close to a white covered wagon, or 
 to a rag stuck on a ramrod in the ground, to ascertain what it is, 
 The hunter, concealed in the grass, or behind or on one side 6f his 
 wagon, easily secures one. 
 
 Bears have probably always been rare in the State. I have met 
 but one in all mv explorations in the unsettled portions. That one 
 was on the Niobrara, and a black one {Ursus Americanus}. I have 
 also been reliably informed by old settlers that one was killed in 
 the early history of Otoe County, on the Missouri bottom. I have 
 been told by Indians that the cinnamon bear was formerly occasion- 
 ally found on the Niobrara, but I regard this as doubtful. 
 
FAUNA OF NEBRASKA. 119 
 
 Two raccoons are common. in Nebraska, namely, the common 
 raccoon (Procyon loter), and the black-footed raccoon (P. ffernan- 
 dezzii]. The former is the most abundant. 
 
 The Carnivora are well represented. The Panther (Felts con- 
 color}, is the largest, or at least the most powerful. I have only 
 seen it a few times on the Niobrara and the Loup. 
 
 The Wildcat (Lynx rufus), is comparatively common in the wooded 
 sections of the State. At rare intervals specimens of the Red 
 Wildcat (L.fasciatus] are taken in north Nebraska. The common 
 Canada Lynx (Lynx Canadensis], is widely distributed over the 
 State, but few of them have been captured. 
 
 Several varieties of the timber wolf formerly were common in 
 the State, but are now rarely heard of. The varieties were Canus 
 occidentalls^ Var. nubilus and the White Wolf (C. occidentalism 
 Var. griseo-albus}. I have several times found this latter species 
 lingering on the flanks of herds of buffalo, apparently on the look- 
 out for any old animal that could not keep up with the herd, or was 
 unable to defend itself. 
 
 The Coyote, or Prairie Wolf (Canis latrans^) was formerly 
 exceedingly abundant. When on exploring expeditions in unsettled 
 sections, trie cooking of supper would invariably bring them 
 around us through the night. They never venture to make an at- 
 tack under such circumstances. I doubt whether a man is ever in 
 danger from them. Settlers have destroyed so many by poison 
 that they are now rare in the oldest portions of the State. A few, 
 however, linger on even here. 
 
 Foxes have here disappeared more completely than the wolves. 
 Formerly the Prairie Fox (Vulpes macrourus) was comparatively 
 abundant, but is now rarely seen. The Swift (V. velox), however, 
 yet holds his own in central and western Nebraska. The Gray 
 P^ox ( V. Virginianus), was never abundant. The only specimens that 
 I saw were in Pierce County, in 1869. 
 
 A few specimens of the American Sable (Mustela Americana] 
 have been taken in northwestern Nebraska, but their presence within 
 our borders is rare. The weasels, however, are abundant, there 
 being at least seven species within the State. The most abundant 
 are the Common Weasel (Putorius noveboracensis), the Long Tailed 
 Weasel (P. longicauda) and the common Mink (P. visori). Those 
 less frequently seen are the Least Weasel (P. pusillus}, the Small 
 Brown Weasel (P. cigognanii), the Little Black Mink (P. nigrescent), 
 and the Black Footed Ferret (P. nignpas.} 
 
120 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 The Wolverine (Guleo luscus) is yet found in central and western 
 Nebraska, but it has never been abundant. The American Otter 
 (Lufra Canadensis) is found more or less abundantly in all the rivers 
 of Nebraska. 
 
 As would be expected, the Skunks are also here. Two species 
 are common, namely, Mephitis mephitica and M. occidentalis. The 
 American Badger ( Taxidea Americana] was formerly common all 
 over the State. The advance of settlements has almost exterminated 
 it from the eastern part of the State. 
 
 Rodents are common here as elsewhere, but I am less confident 
 as to the accuracy of my list. Many more must remain to be added 
 to it when the State is once thoroughly examined with reference to 
 this point. 
 
 Among the Rodents (gnawers), the squirrel family (sciuridae] are 
 well represented by at least ten species. Among these are the 
 Western Fox Squirrel (Sciurus ludovicianus^ the Gray and Black 
 Squirrel (S. Carolinensis) and occasionally, in northern Nebraska, 
 the Pine Squirrel (S. Hudsonicusl) Even the Flying Squirrel 
 (Pttromys volucella] is sometimes found on the timbered bottoms of 
 the Missouri. The Chipmuck (Tamias striatus) is rare, but the 
 Missouri Striped Squirrel (T. quadrivittatus] is common/>ver a large 
 part of the State. Say's Squirrel (Spermaphilus laterahs) is abun- 
 dant in some localities, and the Striped Prairie Squirrel (S. triaeccm- 
 Uneatus, is abundant all over the State. The Gray Gopher (S. Frank- 
 lint]^ which is classed in this section, is common ontheprairies. 
 
 Two species of Prairie Dogs formerly disputed between them 
 the territory of western Nebraska. One of them (Cynomys lu- 
 dovicianus) formerly lived in villages over the whole length of 
 the State, from the Missouri to its western limits. It is now mostly 
 confined to central and western Nebraska. Many thousands collect 
 together in these villages. The other species (C. Gunnisonii). 
 sometimes called Short Tailed Prairie Dog, is now only met in 
 western Nebraska. 
 
 Two species of Woodchuck were formerly rather common in 
 Nebraska. The common Woodchuck (Arctomys monax), is found 
 at long intervals. The Yellow Footed Marmot (A. jlaviventer). 
 probably only found on the Niobrara. I never saw it alive, but 
 met trappers who had skins of it obtained in that locality. 
 
 The Beaver (Castor Canadensis), was until recently common 
 on all the streams of Nebraska. Even on the larger streams, like 
 
FAUNA OF NEBRASKA. 121 
 
 the Platte, the Missouri and the Republican, where they could not 
 build -dams, they constructed excavated houses in the banks. 
 Sections of trunks of cottonwood are yet found along these rivers, 
 from eight to fourteen inches in diameter, which were gnawed off 
 by beavers. They are now mostly confined to western and north- 
 ern Nebraska, though a few linger on most of the streams of the 
 State. The value and beauty of its fur causes a constant war to 
 be waged against it by Indian and white man. 
 
 Of the Gophers, the Pouched Gopher (Geomys bursarins), is the 
 most common, being found all over the State. The Short-headed 
 Gopher (G. breviceps], is only rarely found in south Nebraska. 
 
 The Northern Pocket Gopher, (Themomys talpoides), whose 
 habitat is placed far north by Coues and Allen, I found on the 
 north side of the Niobrara in north Nebraska. 
 
 The Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys ordi^ occurs in western and 
 northern Nebraska on the Loup and Niobrara. 
 
 A rodent for which I know no popular name, but related to the 
 above is rather common over western and central Nebraska. It is 
 known among naturalists as Perognathus fasdatus. It is, without 
 the tail, four inches long and mouse like. 
 
 The Yellow Pocket Mouse (Cricetedipus flavus), smaller than the 
 house mouse is also common over central and western Nebraska. 
 
 The Wood Rat (Neotoma Floridana), is a native of Nebraska, 
 but is only met with at long intervals. 
 
 The Bushy Tailed Wood Rat (/V. cinerd], only occurs on the 
 Niobrara. At least that is the only section from which I have 
 obtained or heard of it. 
 
 The White Footed Mouse (Hesperomys leucopus), is frequently 
 found in almost every county in the State. 
 
 Another rodent (H. sonariensis], closely related to the above, is 
 still more abundant. It has a shorter tail and lighter color than 
 the preceding. 
 
 The Michigan Mouse (ff. Michiganensis), found sparingly all 
 over Nebraska. The Missouri Mole Mouse (If. leucogasfer), is 
 quoted as abundant in Nebraska by Coues and Allen, but I have 
 found only one specimen here. 
 
 The Little Harvest Mouse (Ochetodon humilis), is common south 
 of the Platte, but rare north of that river. 
 
 The Common American Meadow Mouse (Avicola riparius), is 
 sparingly represented on the prairies of the State. The Prairie 
 
122 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Meadow Mouse (A. austerus], is rather abundant over the State, 
 both on high bottoms and uplands. Still more abundant every- 
 where is the Western Prairie MeadoAv Mouse (A. curtatus}. The 
 Pine Mouse (A. pinetarutri), occasionally occurs along the Missouri. 
 
 The Jumping Mouse (Zapus H'tdsonius], is found only in the 
 wooded portions of Nebraska. At least I have never met it any- 
 where on the prairies. 
 
 The Musk Rat is found in almost every stream of the State, 
 and though much reduced in numbers by trapping still holds its own. 
 
 The Porcupine is present in the State in small numbers. It is 
 the Yellow Haired Variety {Erethizon epixanthus}. 
 
 The Hares are well represented in Nebraska. The Prairie Hare 
 (Lepus campestris), is found in central and western Nebraska. The 
 Varying Hare (L. Americanus), in some of its varieties, is common 
 in the State. The Gray Rabbit (L. sylvaticus), is still more abundant 
 than the former. The Jackass Hare (Z. caltotis}^ is abundant in 
 western and central Nebraska, and more sparingly as for east as 
 the Missouri. I have captured specimens within a mile of the Mis- 
 souri bottom. Cones and Allen give its habitat here only as west- 
 ern Nebraska.* 
 
 The Insectivara are represented by only a few species. Five of 
 these are shrews, belonging to one genus, namely, Sorex pachvurus, 
 S. richa, S. Cooperi, S. Haydeni and S. Hoyi. I have not ascertained 
 their relative abundance. Another genus of shrews (Blarina) is 
 represented by three species, namely, B. talpoides, B. brevicauda and 
 B. exilipes. B. brevicauda is the most common and abundant, being 
 found almost everywhere in the State. 
 
 The Moles are more abundant in individuals. One of them 
 (Scallops Argentatus) is abundant everywhere. Two others are 
 rare, namely, Condylura cristata and Uratrichus gibbsii. 
 
 One Marsupial is rather common in the wooded portion of the 
 State. It is the common Possum {Didelphis Virginiana^] 
 
 From the foregoing it is seen that at least eighty-two species of 
 mammals are native to Nebraska. 
 
 BIRDS. 
 
 The bird Fauna of Nebraska is remarkably developed. It is 
 particularly rich in genera, of which there are at least one hundred 
 and fifty-six in the State. The species amount to at least two hun- 
 
 *For an exhaustive discussion of the Rodents, see " Cones' aud Allen's Monographs of North 
 American Rodentia." 
 
FAUNA OF NEBRASKA. 123 
 
 dred and forty-nine.* At least, that is the number whose eating- 
 habits I have studied and described in a former publication. Since 
 the publication of that work, nearly a dozen additional species have 
 come to light within our territory. The fullest order is that of the 
 Perchers (Passeres), of which there are eighty genera and one hun- 
 dred and forty-seven species. Among these, the Singing Birds 
 (Oscines) are represented by sixty-nine genera and one hundred and 
 thirty-three species. The next division of this order, the Clama- 
 tores, are not so abundant, there being only eleven genera and four- 
 teen species. 
 
 At the head of the Singing birds stands, of course, the glorious 
 Robin, \vhich is becoming more abundant each year. Four addi- 
 tional species of Thrush are here. The Mocking Bird is sparingly 
 represented in south Nebraska, and the Cat Bird generally along 
 the timber belts of water courses all over the State. In places the 
 Sandy Mocking Bird is abundant. The common Blue Bird is in 
 every community. The Western Blue Bird, formerly rare, is in- 
 creasing in many places. Eight species of Wren, led off by the 
 House Wren, abound. The Blue-eyed Warbler is common in all 
 sections, but the Cserulean Warbler only along the wooded bottoms. 
 This genus (Dendraecd) of warblers is represented by fourteen 
 species, some of which are only here during their migrations. One 
 of them (D. disco/or) is very abundant, and breeds here. Of the 
 Thrushes, the Golden-Crowned is the most abundant, #nd breeds 
 within the State. One of the commonest birds is the Maryland 
 Yellow Throat, and is on the increase in all parts of the State. 
 Over the greater part of the State the Yellow Brested Chat is 
 found. Six species of Swallow make their summer residence here. 
 The most abundant is the Cliff Swallow. Its special home is in 
 northeastern Nebraska. On one chalk cliff, east of the town of 
 Niobrara, I counted twenty-one hundred nests which were made by 
 this bird. There were other points near by where there were 
 almost as many. The purple Martin is also common, and breeds 
 here. 
 
 The vireos are represented by seven species, the most abundant 
 of which is the Red-eyed Vireo, which can always be found in 
 summer in the timber belts along the Missouri and other rivers. 
 The Butcher Bird (Collurio borealis], which was formerly rare, is 
 
 *See the writer's fannal list and Natural Food of Birds, published in Report of U. S. En- 
 tomological Commissions for 1878. 
 
124 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 now becoming; abundant. Its old habit of impaling insects and 
 small reptiles on thorns, is perpetuated here. The American Gold 
 Finch, or Yellow Bird (C. cristatus], is a regular summer visitant. 
 The buntings make things lively in winter. Five species come to 
 Nebraska during this season. Among these, the Snow Bunting 
 (Ptectrophanes nivalis] is the most common. The Chestnut-collared 
 Bunting is scarcely less common, and breeds here. Ten species, at 
 least, of sparrows come to Nebraska, some of which are only 
 present during their migrations. One of the most abundant is the 
 Yellow-winged Sparrow. Great numbers of Lincoln's Sparrows 
 pass through Nebraska on their migrations. The Long Sparrow 
 is becoming more abundant each year, but the Tree Sparrow is only 
 present in winter. The Chipping, Clay-colored and White- 
 throated Sparrow are all rather common. 
 
 The Cardinal Grosbeak (Cardlnalis Virginianus}, is common 
 in southern Nebraska. This beautiful bird so much admired as a 
 caged pet, is rapidly on the increase. One owned by Mrs. Chap- 
 man in Plattsmouth, often wants to share half its worm or insect 
 with its mistress. 
 
 The American Starlings are represented by many species. Among 
 the most common are the Bobolink, Cow-Blackbird, Red-winged 
 Blackbird, and Yellow-headed Blackbird. All these are very 
 abundant. 
 
 One of the most abundant as well as most popular of Nebraska 
 birds is the Meadow Lark. Its magnificent song in spring can be 
 heard in all parts of the State and cheers every heart. 
 
 The orioles are becoming more abundant each year. The Balti- 
 more and Orchard Oriole are especially becoming common. The 
 Grackles are also here in large numbers, particularly Brewers and 
 the Crow-Blackbird. The crow family is most largely represented, 
 as elsewhere, by the Common Crow, though the Magpie is found 
 in northern and western Nebraska. The Blue Jay is unfortunately 
 found in places in large numbers. It is well known that it is 
 destructive to the eggs and young of other birds, and should there- 
 fore be kept reduced in numbers by being made a target for 
 sportsmen. 
 
 The Fly Catchers are well represented by eleven species. The 
 King Bird is one of the most common. The Arkansas Fly Catcher 
 is common only along wooded streams. The Least Fly Catcher 
 is the most abundant, being found in almost every part of the State. 
 
FAUNA OF NEBRASKA. 125 
 
 The Plccarlan Birds are represented by eleven genera and 
 fifteen species. Among these are the common Whippoorwill, in 
 the eastern part of the State, and Nuttall's Whippoorwill in central 
 and western Nebraska. The Night-Hawk (Chordciles Virgini- 
 anus} is common and breeds here. The Chimney Swallow is 
 abundant in the older settlements of the State. The Humming 
 Birds are represented by two species. The Belted King- Fisher 
 is most frequently seen in the eastern part of the State. Seven 
 woodpeckers are at home in the State. The Hairy, Yellow-bellied 
 and Red-headed Woodpeckers are the most abundant. The latter 
 is rapidly on the increase. 
 
 Birds of Prey are here in large numbers, though only a few 
 that live exclusively on other birds. Among these is the Barn 
 Owl which lives on insects. The Snowy Owl is here in winter. 
 The Burrowing Owl so abundant in western and central Nebraska 
 is a very large destroyer of insects, mice, and small reptiles. The 
 Swallow-tailed Hawk, the most beautiful air sailer in America^ 
 feeds almost exclusively on insects. It is sparingly represented all 
 over the State. The Pigeon Hawk and Coopers Hawk are unfor- 
 tunately abundant all over the State. The American Merlin and 
 Sparrow Haw T k and Hen Hawk are common. Smainson's Buzzard 
 is onlv abundant along timbered streams of water. The Golden 
 and Bald Eagle are both occasionally seen in Nebraska, especially 
 the latter, which has been known to breed here. 
 
 The Pigeons are very sparsely represented here, there-being but 
 two genera and two species. The wild Pigeons are abundant 
 during some years. The common dove is very abundant all over 
 the State. 
 
 Gallinaceous Birds are represented by only six genera and as 
 many species. The Wild Turkey was formerly exceedingly abun- 
 dant in all the woodlands of the State but is now much reduced in 
 numbers. The Sharp-tailed Grouse has been reduced to a small 
 number. The Prarie Chicken was once very abundant in Nebraska. 
 Hunting them with dogs now keeps their numbers very much 
 reduced. Quails are very abundant during some years. They are 
 common over the greater part of the State. 
 
 The Wading Birds are represented here by twenty-six genera 
 and thirty-seven species. Among these, the King Plover is abun- 
 dant during its spring and fall migrations. The Piping and Moun- 
 tain Plover are also common. Wilson's Phalerope is only common 
 
126 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 
 
 in eastern Nebraska. Wilson's and the Gray Snipe are abundant 
 during the migrating seasons. The Least and Baird's Sandpiper 
 are also common during their migrations. The great Marbled 
 Godwit breeds in the State. The greater and lesser Tattler abound 
 here along rivers and creeks. The Wood Tattler occasionally 
 breeds here. The most abundant of the tattlers is the Barlraniian 
 or Upland Plover. It is very abundant during its migrations and 
 many remain to breed. The Long-billed Curlew was formerly 
 very abundant and still is in the new sections of the State. Gun- 
 ners easily frighten it away and the following season it rarely returns. 
 
 The Great Blue Heron comes occasionally to our rivers. The 
 White Heron, Snowy Heron and American Bittern are rare in the 
 State. 
 
 The Whooping and Sand Hill Crane are "both in Nebraska, and 
 the latter quite abundantly. The three species of rail in the State 
 occur at long intervals. The American Coot, or Mud Hen, is often 
 met in the State, and is remarkable for feeding on insects and mol- 
 lusks. 
 
 The Anserine Birds, to which the swans, geese and ducks belong, 
 are fully represented in the State. Ten genera and at least twelve 
 species have been noted in my previous publications, and since then 
 several more species have come to light. The Trumpeter Swan is 
 here, but very rare. The White Brant is very abundant during its 
 migrations. The common Wild Goose is equally common at these 
 seasons. 
 
 The Mallard was formerly exceedingly common in the State 
 during its migrations, but is now much less so, owing no doubt to 
 the manner in which it is hunted down. Many formerly brought 
 forth their young in northern Nebraska. The Green-winged Teal 
 is also abundant during its migrations. The Blue-winged Teal 
 and Shoveller are rarer than the preceding. The Wood Duck is 
 common in some years, and breeds in north Nebraska. The Butter 
 Ball and Ruddy Duck are common along the Missouri and on its 
 tributaries for a short distance. 
 
 Of the Totipalmate Birds, only two species of Pelican visit the 
 State. 
 
 Of the Long-winded Swimmers, there are four genera and ten 
 species, one of which I found since my previous list was published. 
 Of the Gulls, the Ring-billed and Franklin's Rosy Gull are the 
 most common during the migrating season. Of the Terns, the 
 
FAUNA OP NEBRASKA. 127 
 
 Least Tern and Black Tern are the most abundant. They breed 
 in Nebraska. 
 
 The Diving Birds are represented in the State by only one 
 species, namely, the American-eared Grebe. It is particularly abun- 
 dant on the Platte and the Missouri. 
 
 This brief sketch will, I trust, give some idea of the affluence of 
 bird life in Nebraska. I have in another work, already alluded to,* 
 shown how highly insectiverous the most of our birds are, and 
 what vast millions of insects they destroy. Bird life is the poetry 
 of animal life. Every sentiment of admiration for exquisite beauty, 
 for the charm of song, for utility, and abhorrence for the infliction 
 of needless suffering, calls on cultivated and refined natures to 
 protest against the needless destruction of birds. 
 
 REPTILES. 
 
 Owing to the large amount of time devoted to the other depart- 
 ments of our natural history, I have been unable to do much with 
 our reptiles and fishes. The following is therefore only a partial 
 list of such as I have found in the State : 
 
 Soft Shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox). Missouri. 
 
 Snapping Turtle (Chelonoura serpentina). In most of our rivers. 
 
 Painted Tortoise (Emys pi eta]. Missouri and Platte rivers. 
 
 Painted Tortoise (Emys guttata). Widely dispersed. 
 
 Wood Terrapin (Emys insculpta). Widely dispersed. 
 
 Geographic Tortoise (Emys geographicd). Common. 
 
 Pseudo graphic Tortoise (Emys pseudo graphicd). Rare. 
 
 Mud Tortoise (Kinosternon Pennsylvanicwri). Rare. 
 
 Musk Tortoise (Sternothacrus odoratus). Have seen but one in 
 the State. 
 
 Common Box Tortoise (Cistuda Carolina). Common. 
 
 Blanding's Box Tortoise (Gistuda Blandingii}. Rare. 
 
 SAURIANS. 
 
 Blue Tailed Skink (Suncus fasciatus). Rare. 
 Fine-lined Lizard (Lygosoma quinquelineatus}. Rare. 
 Horned Toad (Phrynosoma carnutd). West Nebraska. 
 Brown Swift (Tropidolopis undulatus}. Niobrara region. 
 Chiroter lumbricoides. Southeast Nebraska. 
 Glass Snake (Opiosaurus ventralis]. South Nebraska. 
 
 *Ntural Food of Birds. 
 
128 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 SNAKES. 
 
 Black Snake {Coluber constrictor.} Common. 
 
 Pilot Blacksnake Racer {Coluber Allegheniensis]. Rare. 
 
 Milk Snake. House Snake {Coluber eximius). Seen occasion- 
 ally. 
 
 Ring Snake {Coluber punctatu*s}. Seen at long intervals. 
 
 Grass Snake Coluber vernalis}. Rare. 
 
 Coluber testaceus. West Nebraska. 
 
 Water Snake {Trophidonotus sipeciori). Seen at long intervals. 
 
 Striped Snake. Garter Snake {Trophidonotus taenia}. Rare. 
 
 Yellow Bellied Snake {Ttopkidonotus leberis]. South Nebraska^ 
 
 Small Brown Snake {Tropkidonotus DeKayi}. Some seasons 
 rather abundant. 
 
 Little Garter Snake. Ribbon Snake {Leptophis saurita]. Rare. 
 Only in timber. 
 
 Bull Snake {Pituophis melanoleucas\ Common. 
 
 Northern Rattlesnake. Yellow Rattlesnake {Crotalus durissus)~ 
 Sparingly. Most abundant in North Nebraska. 
 
 Michigan Rattlesnake {Crotalophorus miliarius). Rare. 
 
 Western Rattlesnake {Crotalophorus tergeminus). Rare. 
 
 Massasaugua. Prairie Rattlesnake {Crotalophorus Kirtlandt]. 
 Now supposed to be the same as the preceding. Formerly abun- 
 dant.* 
 
 Harlequin Snake {Elaps fulvius). Rare. 
 
 AMPHIBIANS. 
 
 Bullfrog {Rana pipiens). Common. 
 
 Northern Bullfrog {Rana hariconensis]. Rare. 
 
 Spring Frog- {Rana fontinalis). Rather numerous in favorite 
 localities. 
 
 Marsh Frog. Leopard Frog {Rana palustris). Common and 
 abundant. 
 
 Shad Frog. Lopard Frog {Rana kalecina). Common. 
 
 Wood Frog {Rana sylvaticd}. Common in timber along the 
 Missouri. 
 
 Common Toad {Bufo Americanus). Common. 
 
 Missouri Toad {Bufo cognathus]. Occasional. 
 
 Northern Tree Toad {Hyla versicolor). Along the Missouri. 
 
 *For the use of the rattles of the Rattlesnake, see the writer's paper, published in the 
 'American Naturalist," Feb. ,1872. 
 
FAUNA OF NEBRASKA. 129 
 
 TAILED BATRACHIANS. 
 
 Yellow-bellied Salamander (Salamandra fymmetrtca). Occa- 
 sional. 
 
 Violet-colored Salamander {Salamandra subviolaced]. Rather 
 common. 
 
 Blotched Salamander (Salamandra fasciata). Common. 
 
 Long-tailed Salamander (Salamandra longicaudd]. On the Ni- 
 obrara. 
 
 Striped-back Salamander (Salamandra bilineata). Rare. 
 
 Red Salamander (Salamandra rubrd). South Nebraska. Rare. 
 
 Blue-spotted Salamander (Salamandra glutinosa}. Rare. 
 
 Banded Proteus (Menobranchus latter alls]. Rare. 
 
 Allegheny Hell-bender (Manapoma Allcghcniensis}. Occa- 
 sional. 
 
 FISHES. 
 
 The following list of our fishes includes only the few that I have 
 identified. For reasons already stated, I could not devote myself 
 to a special investigation of our fish fauna. One-half of our species 
 are not included in this list. 
 
 The waters of Nebraska are eminently adapted. to the artificial 
 propagation of fish. Even the trout can be successfully reared in 
 many of our streams, especially in some like the Bows, in north 
 Nebraski. These Bow Rivers are largely made up of the most 
 delicious springs along the greater length of their course, and where 
 these are most abundant never freeze over in winter. The Bazile 
 is equally well adapted to this industry. There are also many kinds 
 that will flourish in the Elkhorn and its tributaries, the Nemahas 
 and their tributaries, and the Blues and Loups and their tributaries. 
 There are other rivers and their tributaries that could be stocked 
 equally well with choice fish. 
 
 BONY FISHES. 
 
 Many-lined Bass (Labrax multilinealns}. Missouri River. 
 
 Pike Perch (Leuciaperea griscd). Occasionally found in the 
 Missouri. 
 
 The Growler (Grystes salmoides}. Rare. Missouri and Ne- 
 maha. 
 
 Black Bass (Centrarchus fasciatus). Elkhorn, Logan, etc. 
 
 Centrarchus pent acanthus. Nemaha. Rare. 
 
 Pond Fish (Pomotis vulgaris). Common in most of our streams. 
 
 9 
 
130 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Three additional species of Pond Fish (Pomotis) not identified. 
 
 Lake Catfish (Pimeloidus nigricarts}. Missouri, Platte. 
 
 Common Catfish (Pimeloidus cattis}. Common. 
 
 Forked Tail Catfish (Pimeloidus furcatus). Missouri. 
 
 Brazen Catfish Pimeloidus deneus). Platte and Elkhorn. 
 
 Blue Catfish (Pimeloidus celurescens.) Missouri, Republican, Ne- 
 maha, Elkhorn. 
 
 Yellow Catfish (Pimeloidus cupreus}. Probably same as Brazen 
 Catfish above. 
 
 Channel Catfish {Pimeloidus -pallidus). Missouri, Platte, Blue, 
 Elkhorn, etc. 
 
 Mud Catfish {Pimeloidus nebufasus). Common. 
 
 Black Bullhead (Pimeloidus xanthocephalus}. Missouri and Nio- 
 brara. 
 
 Four additional species of catfish I failed to identify. 
 
 Chubsucker {Labeo ). Only occasionally seen. 
 
 Sucker {Catastmus ). Missouri. 
 
 Black Buffalo Fish (Catastomus elongatd]. Common. 
 
 Shiner (Stilbe chrysoleucas). Platte, Missouri. 
 
 Black- nosed Dace (Lends cus abronascus). Same as above. 
 
 Vermillion-eyed Dace (Lenciscus bigutlatus). Platte, Bow, Blue, 
 Elkhorn, etc. 
 
 Chubb Big Head (Lencisctis cephalus). Bow Rivers. 
 
 Minnow (Hydrargira ). Common. 
 
 Muskallonge (Esox ester]. Missouri. Rare. 
 
 Common Pickerel (Esox reticulatus]. In most of our streams. 
 
 Missouri Trout (Salmo Lewisi). I caught one in the Bow and 
 one in the Iowa Creek, in Dixon County. Probably wandered 
 down from the upper Missouri. 
 
 Gar Pike (Lepidosteus ). Common. 
 
 Western Mud Fish (Amia occidentalism. Rare. 
 
 Common Eel (Anguilia tenuirosttis). Elkhorn River. Rare. 
 CARTILAGINOUS FISHES. 
 
 Sturgeon (Aeiphensex maculosus). Missouri. Rare. 
 
 Lamprey (Pteromyzon ). Elkhorn. Rare. 
 
INSECT LIFE. 131 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 INSECT LIFE. 
 
 Number of Species. Predatory species. Chinch Bug. Army Worm. 
 Hessian Fly. Potato Beetle. Insects that prey on orchards and groves. 
 
 IN articulate animal life, the most important class is that of in- 
 sects. As in temperate latitudes generally, they are more nu- 
 merously developed in genera, species and individuals than any 
 other section of the animal kingdom. In fact, they dispute with 
 man the empire of the world. During spring and summer they 
 are omnipresent ; when the naked eye does not recognize them the 
 microscope brings them to light. In Nebraska the number of 
 species is very great, approximating to eight or nine thousand. 
 About one-fourth of these are predatory and non-injurious species, 
 leaving not less than six thousand, or two and a half injurious 
 species to every species of plant in the State. This calculation is 
 based on the original constitution of the State, and not on the con- 
 dition into which it has been brought by civilization. The great 
 body of injurious species are so few in number that they rarely do 
 any damage that is noticeable. Here, as elsewhere, only excep- 
 tional conditions, as a rule, develope injurious species to a tempor- 
 ary and damaging multitude. Judging from observation for fif- 
 teen years, the insects which we have most to dread are the chinch 
 bug, army worm, Hessian fly, potato beetle, the insects which prey 
 on our orchards and groves, and the locusts. 
 
 THE CHINCH BUG 
 
 is the dread of the agriculturists of the Mississippi Valley. It some- 
 times occurs in Kansas in enormous numbers, and the probabilities 
 are that it is more to be dreaded on the plains of Nebraska than 
 even the locust. I fear it is on the increase. At least, during the 
 lae,t season more have been sent to me for examination than ever 
 before. And although most persons are familiar with its gen- 
 eral life-history, I will repeat it, because I believe that here 
 it has slightly changed its habits; at least, some individuals 
 
132 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 have done so. The reports say that about June the eggs are 
 laid on the ground or among the roots of plants, and that 
 this process of egg-laying lasts fifteen or twenty days, and that they 
 number about 500 for each female. In fifteen days the eggs hatch 
 out. The bright red larvae remain under ground, sucking at the 
 roots of plants. The full grown insect is one-twelfth of an inch 
 long, of a black color, with white wings, and appears from the 
 middle of July to August. A second brood hatches out still later 
 in the summer, and further south a third brood. Evidently some of 
 the perfect insects survive the winter, harboring under rails, boards, 
 leaves and grass. I found them frozen solid, apparently, during the 
 last winter, when hunting for locust eggs, but they soon revived 
 when brought into a warm room. Now here I have found the 
 chinch bug vary from this history in this, that it occasionally de- 
 posits its eggs on the lower part of the plant itself, as I ascertained 
 by bringing such plants home an 1 observing their transformations. 
 As the damage done by this insect sometimes in western States like 
 Illinois reaches as high as $73,000,000 in a season, it is important to 
 note the remedies that have been devised against them. Lady bugs 
 (Coccinellidae) destroy them, as also lace-wing flies. During the last 
 summer I dissected several quail, whose stomachs were filled w r ith 
 these bugs. The protection of quail, therefore, must have a salu- 
 tary influence on restraining their increase. The methods devised 
 against the chinch bugs are various. Among the best are ditching 
 to keep them from traveling from one field to another, and keeping 
 the ground constantly stirred. They appear to dislike ground that 
 is yielding, or that dirties their bodies. By ditching, as many as 
 forty bushels have been destroyed in one day. One plan is to drag 
 a log through the ditch to kill them, and another is to dig pits in 
 the ditches in which they are buried or otherwise destroyed. 
 
 THE ARMY WORM 
 
 (Ltuicania unipucto^) as far as I know, has not yet done any injury 
 to the crops of the State. I was at least three years in the State 
 before I found a single moth of this insect. The first one I found 
 was in the autumn of 1867. No more came across my path till 
 1869. The first autumn (that of 1871) that I spent at the Univer- 
 sity, I found great numbers, and on the whole they have been in- 
 creasing ever since. Here probably two broods are raised in a year. 
 The eggs are laid near the roots of the prairie grass in June or July, 
 and lie dormant till the next spring. 
 
INSECT LIFE. 133 
 
 Remedies. Hence a successful method of warring against them 
 has been the burning of plots of grass where they abound. Mr. 
 Walsh, the former eminent entomologist of Illinois, after a long 
 study of this insect, became confident that this is an infallible rem- 
 edy. And of course, where the larvae or worm makes its appear- 
 ance, ditching must be resorted to as in other cases with marching 
 destructive insects. And I have no doubt that our immunity thus 
 far from occasional depredations from this enemy has been the 
 yearly burning of large tracts of the prairies of this State. And 
 just in proportion as this practice is abandoned for other reasons 
 will the dangers from this source multiply. I have received a few 
 letters from different portions of the State complaining about the 
 appearance of 
 
 THE HESSIAN FLY. 
 
 This is no indication that it will become troublesome, and yet, to be 
 forewarned is often to be forearmed. I have had no experience to 
 amount to anything with this insect. 
 
 Habits. But it is said to deposit its eggs in the long slits of wheat, 
 grass, barley and rye blades, etc., both in spring and fall. In from 
 live to twenty days the eggs hatch. The larvae crawl down be- 
 tween the leaf and the stock until they reach a joint, where they 
 rest and suck the sap. They mature in from four to five weeks. 
 The pupa has a striking resemblance to a flax seed, and is found at 
 the same place where the larvae was sucking the sap. In April, 
 May or the first of June, the winged insect appears, and commences 
 egg-laying. 
 
 Remedies. It is also said that large numbers of the pupae are de- 
 stroyed by cleaning off all the stubble by deep plowing, but especi- 
 ally by burning over the fields. Quicklime scattered over the fields 
 after harvest has also been relied on in some places in the east as a 
 remedial agent. Strewing the fields in April and May with wood 
 ashes has also been found efficacious. 
 
 The larvae of the wheat midge \Diplasis destructor] has also been 
 sent to me this season, but to what extent it prevails in the State I 
 am unable to say. 
 
 FRUIT DESTROYERS. 
 
 I have observed no indications of any special increase in the 
 species that prey on orchards and groves, except in the case 
 of plant-lice, which have been abundant for several years 
 past. It is well known that the species are exceedingly abundant, ; 
 
134 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 and that they increase with marvelous rapidity, a single pair being 
 capable by the end of the season of producing millions. The con- 
 ditions of their great increase during some seasons and their de- 
 crease during others are not well understood. During this season 
 they were abundant not only on the milkweeds, amorphas, and 
 some few sun flowers, but were specially abundant on oak trees, on 
 the willows, elms and cottonwoods, though I am not advised as to 
 any particular damage that they have done. It is claimed by many 
 that a moderate increase of plant-lice is an advantage where apiaries 
 are kept, because of the heavy honey dew that some species produce. 
 This is questionable, but it is one of those compensations of which 
 nature is so full. Something at least is gained, if when the vigor 
 of vegetation is impaired by the sucking of wood-lice, the bees pro- 
 duce double their ordinary stores. For a few years, in many por- 
 tions of the State, there has been an alarming increase of the 
 
 COTTONWOOD LEAF BEETLE, 
 
 or, as it is known to science, the Plogiodera scripta. Nowhere has 
 it done more injury than in Lancaster County, though it has been 
 sent to me to identify from many other places. Some of the groves 
 beyond the Antelope, and many of the cottonwoods on the State 
 Agricultural Farm, were despoiled of their leaves by this insect. 
 It prevailed as far north as Dakota and Dixon counties. I saw 
 trees stripped of their foliage by it in Burt and Washington coun- 
 ties. It has done more or less damage in at least tw r enty counties 
 of the State. During this season, however, it has greatly declined 
 in numbers, and in the damage it has been doing for several past 
 years. What has caused all this decrease I am unable to say, but 
 one element of the process has been the work of predatory insects. 
 I have found ichneumons and chalcis flies at work on them. Rainy 
 seasons also seem to be injurious to them. This, however, has been 
 denied. The fears, however, that many began to entertain that this 
 insect was going to place an embargo on the cultivation of the cot- 
 tonwood, is proved to be not well founded. Prof. Culbertson I 
 think has somewhere given an account of its life history, and the 
 best methods of counteracting its work, and that, therefore, I need 
 not here repeat. 
 
 During this season, also, the various species of borers have not, so 
 far as I am advised, made any special inroads on the trees of th e 
 State. I have no doubt the increase of our insectiverous birds has had 
 much to do with lessening the number of many of our insect enemies . 
 
INSECT LIFE. 135 
 
 Since the first settlement of the State, 
 THE MATERIAL CONDITIONS IN RELATION TO INSECTS 
 
 have greatly changed, and are still in process of change, and more 
 rapidly than ever. Forests have been removed in some places, and 
 planted in hundreds of others. Whole counties have been rapidly 
 transformed from raw prairies to cultivated fields. The old balance 
 between insects and plants has been disturbed. The natural food 
 of the insects has been removed, but the insects themselves pro- 
 bably remained. No alternative then remains but for the in- 
 sects, in accordance with natural law, to adapt themselves to the 
 changed condition. If man takes away their natural fond, they will 
 naturally confiscate, or try to, some of his. For the loss of the 
 -spontaneous vegetable productions of the State, they find compen- 
 sation in corn fields, vineyards, orchards, gardens, wheat fields and 
 clover and timothy and clover fields. If the new vegetable forms 
 introduced into the State had only native foes to fight, the struggle 
 for existence would not be so severe. But in addition, other foes, 
 old enemies from their native climes, follow them. The apple tree 
 and the vine, the peach and the pear, in their westward march, have 
 gathered the foes of all climes and all lands, until their numbers are 
 legion. 
 
 Friends and Enemies. Still with the enemies that have accumu- 
 lated, came some friends, often in disguise. Vast numbers of insect 
 parasites often make their appearance to re-establish again the broken 
 harmony of nature. Thus ever changing man keeps nature in tur- 
 moil in her efforts to adapt herself to the newly imposed conditions. 
 Insect enemies sometimes make their appearance and increase with 
 such amazing rapidity as to threaten the entire destruction of some 
 horticultural or agricultural industry. Finally an enemy stealthily 
 makes its appearance, sometimes from the native region of the 
 plant, and sometimes from other lands. The abundance of food 
 favors its rapid increase, until in a few years it has almost wholly 
 destroyed the source of its food, when both fall back to the narrow 
 dimensions, and the obscurity from which they had emerged. This 
 continued disturbance and readjustment of the relations between in- 
 sect life, horticulture and agriculture must, in the nature of things, 
 continue for a generation. This involves the continued need of 
 watchfulness and special labor in the entomological field. We need 
 for our State 
 
136 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 A MANUAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY, 
 
 such a one as Harris prepared for Massachusetts that is, one 
 similar in plan, but very different in specific detail. For one-half of 
 the insects that are troublesome in Massachusetts do not give us 
 any concern here, while the great body of our injurious species 
 were unknown in Harris' day. But while there is a great need for 
 such a work, it cannot yet be prepared, because many of our in- 
 jurious species are as yet neither known nor studied. But every 
 friend of horticulture can aid in the preparation of such a work, by 
 keeping a careful record and close notes of the habits and life-history 
 of such species as come within his observations. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE LOCUSTS* MOLLUSKS. 
 
 Nativity. Spring History and Migration. Numbers that Light Down. 
 Egg Laying. Manner of Egg Laying. Hatching. Departure of Locusts. 
 Destructiveness of Locusts. How to Combat and Destroy the Locusts. 
 Nature's Methods of Destroying Locusts. Invertebrate Enemies. Ver- 
 tebrate Enemies. Extent of Locust Invasions. Probable Future of Locust 
 Depredations Mollusks. 
 
 NOTHING in the natural history of Nebraska has excited such 
 general interest as the locust question. Where then, do they 
 .breed, how frequently do their visitations occur, and what is the 
 amount of damage which they do? 
 
 The migrating locust, ( Caloptenu s spretus^) is native to the high 
 and dry regions of the Rocky Mountains. Its permanent habitat 
 is the region between latitude 43 and 53 north, and 103 and 
 114 west of Greenwich. Even some portions of this section are 
 sometimes deserted for a few years for other grounds, but always 
 somewhere within this territory they will be found to exist. In a 
 majority of years some locusts will also be found to breed south of 
 the above line, along the region west of longitude 105 30'. The 
 
 *The reader is referred for a detailed account of the Locust question to the Report of the 
 IT S. Entemolojrical Commission for 1877, which includes the writer's investigations and con- 
 clusions on this subject at greater length and fulness. 
 
THE LOCUSTS. 137 
 
 great interior region between the Wasatch and the Sierras over 
 much of its territory will be found to harbor a few during most 
 years. W henever, therefore, over these regions the conditions are 
 favorable they increase to astonishing numbers. These favoring 
 conditions are exceptional dryness and warmth. If two such 
 seasons follow each other in the native habitat of the locust they 
 are sure to migrate. 
 
 Their Spring History and Migration. After they hatch out in the 
 spring it takes about seven weeks before they reach their full 
 growth. During this time they moult five different times, and 
 each time change slightly in color. Only at the last moult are full 
 wings acquired, the thorax flattened and the insect ceases to grow. 
 Where now they cover the ground in their native haunts from their 
 abundance the scanty vegetation is soon exhausted. It is now that 
 they manifest their peculiar instincts. They take short flights for 
 several weeks, apparently to test and strengthen their newly ac- 
 quired wings. The warm pleasant days with gentle winds are the 
 favorable peiiods for flight. When all is in readiness they rise 
 from eight to ten o'clock in the forenoon and move ofF with a 
 rapidity dependent on the wind, varying from three to fifteen miles 
 an hour. They do not move in broad sheets, but in columns like 
 fleecy clouds from one to five thousand feet thick. They some- 
 times continue their flight through clear, warm, moonlight nights, 
 but more generally come down between three and five o'clock to 
 feed. On the following day they continue their flight if the weather 
 is favorable. A change of wind or fall of temperature brings them 
 to the ground at any time. From their native habitat they move 
 mainly in an easterly, southeasterly, and southern direction. 
 Moving in this direction those that commence migrating from 
 Montana by the middle of July reach Nebraska and Kansas some 
 time in August or September. They do not always deposit their 
 eggs where they first light down. Frequently they remain from 
 one day to three weeks and then move farther on before egg laying- 
 is commenced. 
 
 The Numhers that Light Down is often enormous. In 1866 in 
 Cedar County, during Julv, they appeared in such numbers that 
 the sun was darkened. The limbs of trees bent down and broke 
 under their weight. It was exceedingly difficult for one to move 
 through the living mass. Others have had, and reported similar 
 experiences. It is true that such cases are extreme and exceptional, 
 
138 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 and occur at long intervals over limited areas. It has been no un- 
 common thing, however, for them to be so abundant as to entirely 
 cover the ground. 
 
 Egg Laying. The time for the commencement of egg laying 
 varies somewhat in different years and localities. Generally it 
 commences about the middle of August and continues to severe 
 frost, and lasts therefore from six to eight weeks. In 1876 the 
 locusts were laying eggs far into October. The female generally 
 lays three times, at intervals of from three days to three weeks. 
 Each egg mass contains from twenty to thirty-five eggs. 
 
 Place and Method of Egg Laying The places for egg laying are 
 not uniformly the same. They seem to prefer ground that is high 
 and dry, and somewhat compact. Low lands, however, that are 
 dry are much used for this purpose. Road sides are frequently 
 honeycombed with holes, but comparatively few egg 'masses are 
 found there. New breaking is generally fuller of eggs than any 
 other kind of ground. The number laid is often simply enormous. 
 I have often found sections of land where the eggs averaged from 
 ten to fourteen thousand, and in rare instances to upwards of twenty- 
 one thousand to the square foot. These enormous numbers are only 
 reached during years when the locust swarms are exceptionally 
 dense. 
 
 Manner of Egg Laying. When the female is about to lay her 
 eggs she selects a spot and " forces a hole in the ground by means 
 of the two pairs of horny valves, which open and shut, at the tip 
 of her abdomen, and which from their peculiar structure are ad- 
 mirably fitted for the purpose. With the valves closed she pushes 
 the tips into the ground, and by a series of muscular efforts, and 
 the continued opening and shutting of the valves, she drills a hole 
 until in a few moments (the time varying with the nature of the 
 soil) the whole abdomen is buried. The abdomen stretches to its 
 utmost for this purpose, especially at the middle, and the hole is 
 generally a little curved and more or less oblique. Now with hind 
 legs hoisted straight above the back and the shanks hugging more 
 or less closely the thighs she commences ovipositing." (Riley.) 
 Before the eggs come out there exudes from the end of the body 
 a mucous matter \vhich fills the bottom of the hole and bathes the 
 valves. The eggs separately, by convulsive throbs, are placed in 
 order in the hole. The mucous matter binds all the eggs together. 
 When the locust is through with this process, she fills the upper 
 
THE LOCUSTS. 139 
 
 end of the mass with the same mucous matter, and then shuts up 
 the hole carefully. This mucous after hardening is only pervious 
 to water under frequent changes of temperature and during long 
 wet seasons. 
 
 When severe frost comes the old die off rapidly and at the ap- 
 pearance of permanent cold weather they have all disappeared. 
 
 Hatching* It often happens that during the long dry autumns 
 of Nebraska, great numbers of the earlier laid eggs hatch out and 
 soon perish with the cold of winter. Many eggs also become 
 segmented in autumn and whether they survive till spring in a 
 healthy condition is still with many a disputed question. My own 
 opinion, derived from the closest observation, is that all such come 
 out in the spring, if they come out at all, in a sickly condition and 
 soon perish. Sometimes, too, as happened in 1877, there is much 
 warm weather in January and February, during which great num- 
 bers hatch out that invariably perish by the subsequent cold weather. 
 During spring the great hatching months are March and April. 
 In these months cold always interrupts the process. This occurred 
 in the Spring of 1877? when there were many cold days and chilly 
 winds, and as a consequence hatching was not over till early June. 
 
 Departure of Locusts. As already stated, a few days after the 
 last moult on favorable days they are disposed to migrate. No ex- 
 ception to this rule is known in the region of the plains. It is pos- 
 sible that where they are few in number in their native habitat they 
 do not always migrate, but even that is uncertain. In Nebraska, 
 Iowa, Dakota, Kansas and Missouri they are disposed to return to 
 their native regions. They therefore move mainly northward and 
 westward. Their instincts seem to force them to dryer and higher 
 regions, where they originated. Such was specially the case when 
 countless millions left the Stale in 1876. During 1877, ^ e s P rm g 
 of which was rainy, cold and chilly, the greater part of those that 
 hatched out soon perished, and the few that survived seemed sickly 
 and demoralized. These survivors first mainly moved northward, 
 and then moved southward, and finally were seen to move in all 
 directions; often two columns, one above the other, moving in op- 
 posite directions. The greater part of this season's product of lo- 
 custs evidently ran out, and perished by too long a stay in a region 
 un adapted to them. 
 
 Destructiveness of Locusts. When the migrating locusts make 
 their appearance in Nebraska, the cereal grains are already har- 
 
140 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 vested. Wheat, oats and barley are safe. Corn and the gardens are 
 the victims, if they come before the former are sufficiently ripened 
 to resist their attacks, which is not always the case. A swarm of 
 locusts in July or August can ruin a field of corn in a few days, and 
 sometimes in a few hours. Often the fields are only partially de- 
 stroyed. Sometimes the silk and foliage is partially eaten off, and 
 the ends of the ears bared, so that the crops cannot mature. If 
 they leave at this stage of their proceedings, all is well, and if not, 
 their eggs are deposited and the wheat crop endangered during the 
 coming spring. The countless numbers that are hatched out, if the 
 spring is favorable to them, become exceedingly voracious. As 
 they soon commence to move by jumping in one direction, when 
 abundant, they are apt to devour everything in their path. This 
 continues until they are old enough to fly, when they depart for 
 other regions. Generally some corn can be saved in spring, and 
 late planting may entirely escape. Often the third planting of 
 corn during locust years yielded a fair crop. The cereal grains, 
 however, have in some places, and during some years, been largely 
 destroyed during the time between the hatching out and flight of 
 the locusts. 
 
 How to Combat and Destroy the Locusts. No successful method has 
 yet been devised to destroy the locusts on their first appearance in 
 migrating swarms from the northwest. The injury, as already 
 stated, which they now do is to the corn crops and the gardens, and 
 sometimes to young growing fruit and forest trees. The eggs* 
 however, which are laid in autumn, have been frequently destroyed 
 by repeatedly harrowing the ground, breaking up the nests, and ex- 
 posing them to the action of rain and cold and birds. Hon. R. W. 
 Furnas, of Brownville, who first to my knowledge devised this 
 method, found it to be very successful. Plowing them under very 
 deep, also destroys great numbers. When they hatch out in spring 
 in destructive numbers, the most vigorous methods need to be em- 
 ployed. One of the most successful ways of destroying them is 
 the digging of ditches around fields across the path on which they 
 are moving. If the trenches are made from twelve to fourteen 
 inches deep, and still deeper holes dug every few rods in the trenches, 
 the young locusts first get into the trenches, then into the holes, 
 where, unable to get out, they can be destroyed by piling ground 
 on them. I have known many farmers to save their entire crops 
 in this way in the very midst of the most infected districts. 
 
THE LOCUSTS. Ill 
 
 Still others have saved their crops by a system very generally in 
 use in the spring of 1877. P ans made of sheet iron, from five to 
 ten feet long, low in front and high behind and at the sides, with 
 cross partitions from front to rear, is the general plan of the ap- 
 paratus used. A little coal oil is placed in these pans, and 
 dragged over the fields by hand or horse power. The young 
 locusts jump into or over the pans, and even the fume's are fatal to 
 them. In this way I have known fourteen bushels to be captured 
 in one day by one man. The combination of these two plans 
 ditching and coal oil pans will save any farm in the spring from 
 the ravages of the brood hatched in that locality, if commenced in 
 time. Unfortunately, farmers too often simply look on until their 
 crops are partly destroyed, before anything is done to protect them- 
 selves. It requires energy and decision to do this, but when it is 
 properly commenced and persevered in, it is successful. 
 
 Nature's Method of Destroying Locusts. Nature has placed limits 
 to the increase of the individuals of a species. When there is an 
 undue increase from exceptional favoring conditions, either natural 
 enemies soon proportionally increase or the need of food compels 
 migration, which often forces to unhealthy regions. This is the 
 case with the migrating locust. Its native habitat is a high, dry 
 region, where the rainfall is from ten to twenty inches a year. It 
 cannot long endure a combination of low altitudes and moisture, 
 combined with extreme and sudden changes of temperature. 
 Hence, the locust can never become localized in Nebraska. The 
 memorable spring of 1877 is a notable illustration of this fact. In 
 March and April immense numbers hatched out, and then followed 
 cold rains, with sudden alternations of extremes of temperature. 
 Countless millions of young locusts died. Many spots where the 
 ground seemed to be covered with them, none could be found in a 
 few days. Nothing often convinced me that death was the cause ot 
 their disappearance, until, getting down on my hands and knees 
 and examining the ground;with a huge magnifying glass, I found 
 their dead carcasses. 'The young brood just hatched out disap- 
 peared as if by magic from whole counties. The localities where 
 much damage was done were exceedingly few. In fact, the brood 
 was so impaired constitutionally that it fell an easy victim to the 
 extremes of a moist climate in a comparatively low altitude. I also 
 noticed, in previous locust years, that moisture accompanied by an 
 extremely hot or cold day was always fatal to many of them. 
 
142 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 
 
 Invertebrate Enemies. It is a law of nature that the undue devel- 
 opment of any animal is checked sooner or later by a like increase 
 of its natural enemies. Were it not for that law, the slowest breed- 
 ing species would soon overrun, to the exclusion of all other ani- 
 mals, its own special habitat. 
 
 Among locust egg destroyers, no insect equals in efficacy the An- 
 thomyia egg-parasite (Anthomyia angustifrous}. A few were noticed 
 in 1874, and by 1876 it destroyed about ten per cent of the eggs in 
 Nebraska, and Prof. Thomas reports an equal destruction in Kansas,, 
 Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota. He also remarks that " we never 
 dug for five minutes among the locust eggs, anywhere in our 
 travels during May, without finding this parasite, in various stages 
 of development." It is a small white magot, and is found in the 
 locust egg pod extracting the juices and leaving nothing but dry 
 dissolved shells. From this magot is developed a small gray two- 
 winged fly, about one-fourth of an inch long. The common flesh 
 fly, many species of Ground, Blister, Soldier and Dick beetles, also 
 prey on locust eggs. 
 
 After the locusts emerge from the eggs, their greatest insect enemy 
 is the Locust Mite (Trombidium locustarium}. It also preys on the 
 eggs. The parent mite lays from three to four hundred eggs, and 
 therefore increases at a prodigious rate. The young mite manages 
 to fasten itself on the locust, especially during and after rains, and 
 mostly lodges under the base of the wings. Such numbers are often 
 found lodged on single locusts as necessarily to produce death. 
 During locust flights, I have frequently seen hundreds fall to the 
 ground, which, on examination, proved to be partially destroyed by 
 these mites. Ground beetles, Asilus flies, Flesh flies, Digger 
 Wasps and Tachina flies, especially the latter, also feed on locusts 
 and destroy great numbers. Hair worms, Spiders, Soldier-bugs 
 and Dragon flies also prey on the locust. 
 
 Vertebrate Enemies. Among vertebrates, no animals equal the 
 birds as destroyers of insects, and especially of locusts. The num- 
 bers of locusts which birds consume is simply incalculable. Many 
 species in locust years live entirely on them, and most do so par- 
 tially. Often each bird of a species captures several hundred during 
 each day. In fact, after many years' study of this subject, and after 
 dissecting more or less of several hundred species, I have been 
 forced to the conviction that even the gramnivorous birds cannot 
 be excluded from the list of locust enemies. The reader will find 
 
THE LOCUSTS. 14S 
 
 the record of each case of dissection of over 200 species of our 
 birds, which I made during many years, in the report of the U. S. 
 Entomological Commission for 1877. It is clear to my mind that 
 few as yet appreciate the great and commanding importance of 
 protecting our birds. If this was properly done, few species of in- 
 sects would ever increase to destructive numbers. Unfortunately,, 
 the savage is still dominant in man, and many calling themselves 
 cultivated regard it sport to maim and kill innocent birds. Such a 
 course destroys the harmony of nature, and one of the consequences 
 is the devastations of insects. 
 
 Extent of Locust Invasions. Unfortunately, the human mind 
 has a tendency to exaggeration. Owing to this, during every lo- 
 cust invasion, the damage done has been over-estimated. In 1874^ 
 1876 and 1877, they did much damage, but by no means as much as 
 was reported. The drouth, and human indolence and carelessness, 
 did much more. I knew men during these years that never touched 
 their corn after it was planted, and of course, got none, as they did 
 not deserve any, who yet charged the locusts with destroying 
 their crops, though none had come within five miles of their home- 
 steads. 
 
 Sometimes there are many years between locust invasions. It 
 rarely occurs that the whole State suffers at once. While the 
 small visitations have been frequent, the destructive ones occurred 
 at long intervals and over comparatively small areas. 
 
 Future Locust Depredations. One reason for the destructiveness 
 of locusts heretofore has been the small area in the thickest settle- 
 ments under cultivation. The locusts seemed to select the corn- 
 fields and gardens for their feeding grounds. When the area under 
 cultivation is trebled, the amount of damage which they can do 
 will be more than one-half less. Another more potent agency 
 against their increase and destructiveness is the increasing rainfall of 
 the State. We have already seen how the wet season of 1877 de- 
 stroyed the greater part of those that appeared that spring. Dur- 
 ing each coming decade the number of similar seasons will increase* 
 The instincts of the locust will also prompt it to remain away from 
 a region so hostile to its existence. 
 
 While, therefore, the presence of the locust in the trans-Missouri 
 region is extremely undesirable, it is by no means the pest that it 
 sometimes has been represented to be. Human energy and skill 
 can in a large measure counteract their injurious effects. 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
144 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 MOLLUSKS.* 
 
 Though not directly connected with the main question of this 
 chapter, yet, for convenience, the following brief enumeration of 
 our moluscan fauna is given. There being no sea-coast, only land 
 and fresh water forms are native to the State. Of these, the air- 
 breathers are well represented. The Vitrianas, a subfamily closely 
 allied to the snails, are represented by seventeen species. Of the 
 snails proper (Helicince), there are thirty species, the most abundant 
 of which is the Spotted Snail (Helix alternata]. There have been 
 classified of the Pupinae twelve species, of Succiniae eight species, 
 of Zonitinse seven species, these last being distantly allied to the 
 preceding group. The fresh water shells are even more abundant than 
 the preceding land shells. Thus far, there have been found of these 
 thirteen species of Limnaea, eight species of Physa, two of Bullimus, 
 twelve of Planorbis, one of Segmentina, four of Ancyclus, two of 
 Valvata, three of Vinipera, three of Melantho, two of Amnicola, 
 two of Pomatiopsis and five Melanians. These fresh water shells 
 having but one valve in a spiral are often .all popularly designated 
 as water snails. But the most abundant of all our fresh water 
 shells are the so-called clams (Unios and Anadontas]. Of the Unios 
 there are at least sixty-seven species, of the Margaritanas two, and 
 of the thin-shelled, muddy-bottom loving Anadontas there have 
 been fourteen species found in the State. These are the numbers 
 that I have identified, but as I have examined only comparatively 
 small sections of our rivers, it cannot be possible that all the species 
 came in my way. Many more species must, therefore, be added to 
 our list. In fact, I have often waded in our rivers for miles with- 
 out finding a single shell, and then, coming upon a hard or solid 
 bottom of limestone, the bed appeared lined with Unios of many 
 species. Before we know what our rivers contain of our molluscan 
 fauna, they must be closely examined along their whole length, a 
 task too severe for any one investigator. 
 
 *For a specific list of our Land and Fresh Water Shells, the reader is referred to the 
 writer's Catalogue of the Land and Fresh Water Shells of Nebraska, published in Bulletin 
 3, Vol. III. of U. S. Geological Survey. 
 
HEALTH FULNESS. 145 
 
 CHAPTliR XIV. 
 
 Healthfulness. Reserve Forces, and Probable Future of the Race in 
 Nebraska. 
 
 IS Nebraska a healthy region? That is a question which is more 
 frequently asked than any other by many classes contemplating 
 removal to Nebraska. Among the special questions asked are: 
 Do fever and ague, dyspepsia, consumption, etc., exist here? No 
 spot on the globe is absolutely free from disease, but this State is 
 singularly exempt from its severe forms. Fever and ague are 
 rarely met with. The fact is that less malarial diseases exist here 
 than in any other western State. When they do occur it is ow T ing 
 to limited local causes, or extraordinary exposure, and they are 
 generally successfully treated by the simplest remedies. The bad 
 cases that have been met were invariably contracted elsewhere, 
 and came here in the hope of having the disease cured by our 
 climate. They never were disappointed if they here gave nature 
 a chance to exert its full health-making power on their bodies. 
 Every effect must have a cause, and the cause of this general 
 exemption from this class of diseases is probably found in the 
 peculiar climate and surface conditions of the State. The general 
 drainage of the State, as we have seen, is the best possible. Its 
 general slope is east and south, the southeastern corner being the 
 lowest. The rivers with the smaller streams that flow into them 
 have high banks, on top of which the flood plains begin, and extend 
 to a greater or less distance back to the bluffs where there is another 
 rise to the general plain above. The rivers themselves are gener- 
 ally comparatively rapid, and their flood plains are rarely a dead 
 level, but descend gradually in the direction of the main streams. 
 And although often the flood plain is slightly higher next to the 
 river than it is next to the bluffs, the water that tends to accumulate 
 there is carried off by the lateral tributaries that join the main 
 stream. As these smaller tributaries are met with every few miles, 
 and often on an average every mile, the drainage of even the 
 great majority of the bottom lands is complete. 
 10 
 
146 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Besides these favoring conditions the soil is principally Loess and 
 Modified Drift and contains from sixty to eighty per cent, of sili- 
 cious matter, very finely comminuted, which readily permits all 
 \vater from rains and snows to percolate through it. Beneath the 
 Loess unmodified Drift occurs, and this being made up of sand, 
 pebbles and boulders, all the conditions for complete drainage are 
 completely supplied. Even the black, rich surface soil, so wonder- 
 ful for its fertility, contains silicious material in sufficient quantities 
 to produce good drainage. The consequence of such inclination of 
 the land and character of the soil and subsoil is that over large 
 areas in the State standing water is unknown. Indeed, many 
 citizens of the State, who have not traveled much, fancy that there 
 is no standing water within its boundaries. There are, however, a 
 few limited localities where swamps and bogs exist, such as a por- 
 tion of the Missouri bottom in Dixon and Burt counties, and on 
 small portions of the level prairies, in Clay, Webster, Fillmore and 
 Saline counties. Even here the general elevation of these counties, 
 and the constant movement of the winds seems to counteract 
 the conditions of the surface that favor malarial diseases. Not 
 only does the atmosphere seem to be constantly in motion, but is 
 also comparatively dry. In summer and autumn the prevailing- 
 winds are south and southwest. In winter the prevailing winds 
 are from the north and northwest. In spring the winds, as else- 
 where, are exceedingly variable, and seem to be nearly equally 
 divided, between north and northwest, and south and southwest. 
 Often in the spring the prevailing winds are from the northeast. 
 The air is always remarkably pure and generally clear. All these 
 are conditions that are unfavorable to- the production and propaga- 
 tion of miasmatic poisons. 
 
 An additional reason for the healthfulness of Nebraska might be 
 the presence of an unusual quantity of ozone in the atmosphere. 
 I merely suggest this as a partial explanation of this fact, as no 
 single cause, but many combined, produce the healthfulness of a 
 region. In the section on the Atmosplierc of Nebraska, I have 
 shown that the atmosphere of Nebraska is exceptionally full 
 of ozone, caused probably by its highly electric condition, and the 
 constant movement of electricity through dry air. As is well 
 known, ozone is found in the east in perceptible quantities only 
 after thunder storms, by which many suppose it to be produced. 
 As here during much of the time, before as well as after thundci 
 
HEALTHFULNESS. 147. 
 
 showers, there is a perceptible quantity of ozone in the atmos- 
 phere, sufficient at least to respond to the Shcenbein test papers, it 
 must have some effect on health. That its effects are salutary, 
 especially in the destruction of malarial poisons, is the conviction 
 of the best medical authorities. 
 
 The bane of some otherwise favored localities in America, is 
 consumption. In Massachusetts, for instance, the vital statistics of 
 the United States show this to be one of the commonest causes of 
 death. Now, whatever maybe the cause, Nebraska has a singular 
 immunity from this and kindred diseases. During a residence of 
 nearly fifteen years in the State I have not known .of a single case 
 of consumption to be contracted in Nebraska. There may have 
 been such cases, but I have not been able to find any after diligent 
 inquiry, or even to hear of such.* Many indeed have died of this 
 disease in the State, but so far as I have learned the particulars of 
 their cases, they all came into the State in an advanced stage of the 
 disease, and sometimes here succumbed to it, only because o'f a want 
 of proper care and remedies. On the other hand, hundreds come 
 here with the disease who are cured by the climate alone. I know, 
 for example, one young lady who was sent here from Philadelphia, 
 apparently far gone with consumption, and reduced almost to skin 
 and bone, and too weak to walk. She immediately commenced to 
 improve, and in a year weighed one hundred and forty pounds. I 
 admit that this was an extreme case and that she had the best atten- 
 tion and care, but it shows at least the possibilities in this direction 
 of this climate with such adjuncts. This same lady was struck by 
 cupid, got married, and is now the mother of three healthy, rosy 
 children. Many more instances of a similar kind could be given. 
 
 I have known a great number of asthmatic subjects to come here, 
 and soon all symptoms of the disease disappeared. Some years ago 
 a young lady, a relative of my family, came to visit us from Penn- 
 sylvania. She had not been able, from difficulty of breathing, to 
 lie down in her old home for six months before she came here. The 
 first night in Nebraska she was able to lie down and sleep comfortably 
 till morning. In a few months she seemed perfectly restored, which 
 proved to be permanent for years after her return home. It is also 
 curious that horses with the heaves lose all traces of this disease when 
 
 *Since writing the above, I have learner! from Or. Livingston of Plattsmouth, an eminent 
 physician, that one ciixe of consumption contracted in .Nebraska came to his professional 
 knowledge. This, however., is exceptional. 
 
148 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 brought to Nebraska. Bronchitis also here readily yields to the influ- 
 ence of the climate. Inflammation of the lungs seldom occurs, and 
 when contracted, readily yields to treatment. A volume could easily 
 be filled with cures wrought by this climate on this class of patients. 
 Of course the climate cannot perform miracles. No one should ex- 
 pect to be cured here who is in the third stage of pulmonary disease. 
 Sick ones who come for health should be sure to go where they can 
 get rest and be provided with home cemforts. When scarlet 
 fever and measles appear they are generally in their mild forms. 
 They rarely appear as epidemics. As to typhus and cerebro-spinal 
 fevers they are comparatively rare. Physicians of eminence assure 
 me that the mortality from these diseases in other States is compar- 
 atively much greater than here. 
 
 The chief complaint that I have heard from citizens of Nebraska 
 concerning its healthfulness is that it tends to produce rheumatism 
 and nervous disorders. On diligent inquiry, however, I have al- 
 most invariably found that the great body of those complaining in 
 this direction are such as have been insufficiently clothed during the 
 colds of winter, or have exposed themselves to an extent or indulged 
 in practices that would have produced these diseases in any climate. 
 The tendency always is, in a new State, among the first energetic 
 settlers, to great exposure. Many start for the West with barely 
 enough to reach their destination. Often little is produced the first 
 year on the homestead, and the old clothes are made to do duty the 
 second year. Until the new homestead is fairly under cultivation 
 (which sometimes takes several years), the new immigrant is often 
 put to great straits for groceries and clothing. Of course, when the 
 immigrant brings along money or stock to carry him over the first 
 year, it need not be so, but thus far the majority have not been of 
 this class. The circumstances, too, of a new country, stimulate to 
 great risks and enterprises. Men will often start off on long 
 journeys, through sparsely settled districts, ford streams, and in 
 many other ways subject themselves unnecessarily to flood and 
 storm. The consequence is that the principal diseases in some sec- 
 tions and seasons, have been rheumatism and neuralgia. I was once 
 laid up with rheumatism, but it was after working in the Elkhorn 
 River, with the water above my middle, when the thermometer 
 was fifteen degrees below zero, trying to extricate my team which 
 had broken through the ice. For this I could not blame the climate. 
 Turkish baths soon took the rheumatism out of me. And yet with 
 
HEALTHFULNE8S. 149 
 
 all these circumstances favorable to contracting rheumatism, statis- 
 tics show that most of the States have more deaths from this cause 
 than Nebraska. Even California has double the number of deaths 
 from this cause. 
 
 It has sometimes been objected that the extremes of temperature 
 and of other conditions in Nebraska, must be unfavorable to health. 
 There is, however, a great difference between an extreme and a de- 
 structive climate. That Nebraska has no destructive climate, is at 
 once apparent, from the great variety of its vegetable forms and 
 the exuberance of its natural animal life. Extremes of climate up 
 to a certain point, while they may be injurious, and even destruc- 
 tive to the weak individuals of a species, rather benefit the normally 
 healthy and strong. There is a greater variety of vegetable and 
 animal life in the extreme climate of Nebraska than in the more 
 moderate and equatable climate of England. It even favors those 
 gradual changes of specific characters that advance the grade of 
 vegetable and animal life. Compare, for example, the extremes of 
 climate in Massachusetts and Nebraska. In the former, a warm, 
 mild day is frequently changed to a cold one by a moisture-laden 
 wind suddenly blowing from the northeast. These winds blowing 
 there from the cold currents of the Atlantic, that come from the 
 Labrador coast, chill the body to an extreme degree, and too often 
 sow the seeds of consumption and other diseases which are the bane 
 of that region. The character, therefore, of the northeast winds 
 renders the climate there a partially destructive one. The north- 
 east wind, on the other hand, in Nebraska, is dry in autumn and 
 winter, and even in spring and summer, until the June rains come. 
 And then they become laden with the moisture of the already 
 warmed up waters of the Missouri and the Platte. Our moist 
 winds here come from the Mexican Gulf, and are south and south- 
 west, rather than north, east and northeast, as in Massachusetts. 
 Our climate is therefore extreme, without being destructive. Its 
 health conditions are the reverse of those in the Eastern States. 
 Our extremes can be comparable to the Turkish bath, which stimu- 
 lates into activity the functions of the body. 
 
 Nearly everyone who comes into the State feels a general quick- 
 ening and elasticity of spirits. The appetite and digestion improve 
 wonderfully. Mind and body are lifted up. All this occurs even 
 with the execrably prepared food eaten in the most of the rural dis- 
 tricts. For in most of the rural districts, hot biscuit, green with 
 
150 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 soda, is still the form of bread usually eaten. Now this improve- 
 ment in physical and mental condition cannot arise simply from 
 change of locality. It must originate from our peculiarities of 
 climate. I have myself felt in this State as I have never felt it 
 elsewhere, especially when camping out, faraway from settlements, 
 and alcne with nature and God, how luxurious existence was, and 
 how pleasant life was intended to be. One needs but to go through 
 the fever and ague stricken districts of other States, and then pass 
 through the rural districts of Nebraska, to notice the contrasts be- 
 tween the sallow complexions found in the former region, and the 
 hue of health and glow of spirits found here. 
 
 Owing to these facts, Nebraska must sooner or later become a 
 health resort. In addition to the health producing properties of 
 the climate, there are in various sections of the State mineral 
 \vaters of high medicinal value. One of these is the artesian well 
 on the Government square in Lincoln. It throws up a strong 
 column of water from a depth of a thousand feet. It is used in 
 two bathing establishments in the city. In the one at the Com- 
 mercial Hotel, besides many others, over twelve hundred Turkish 
 baths were given during the last (the first after opening) year. 
 Some remarkable cures have already been performed here, es- 
 pecially on rheumatic and neuralgic patients: This water is also 
 believe<J to be specific in many cases of dyspepsia, constipation, 
 incipient scrofula, skin and kidney diseases. The water is strongly 
 aperient. 
 
 The following substances I have obtained in making qualitative 
 tests of the water. As the examination has not been completed, 
 the results are only proximate: 
 
 Chloride of sodium (common salt), oxide and peroxide of iron, 
 iron stilphuret, magnesia sulphate, bicarbonate of magnesia, bicar- 
 bonate of lime, sulphate of lime, sulphate of soda, sulphate of pot- 
 ash, oxide of manganese, etc. 
 
 There are other springs in the State containing various forms of 
 sulphur, iron, magnesia, soda and lime. There is one, remarkable 
 for its size and purity, near Curlew, in Dixon County. Unfortun- 
 ately, our medicinal springs have not yet been systematically ex- 
 plored and examined, and until that is done, we cannot even approx- 
 imate to their number and general quality, except in the case of the 
 artesian well in Lincoln. 
 
HEALTHFULXESS. 151 
 
 RESERVE AND Now WASTED FORCES IN NEBRASKA. 
 
 Owing to the almost constant movements of the atmosphere it 
 can be much more extensively employed as a motive power than 
 has yet been attempted. Wind mills are in general use now for 
 pumping water and for motive power where little force is required. 
 That it has capacity to do much more than this is evident when we 
 formulate its force. A wind, for example, of three miles an hour 
 moves 4.40 feet per second, and produces a pressure of about thirty- 
 eight pounds for every square foot directly exposed to it. But 
 winds that constitute a stiff breeze, traveling at the rate of twenty- 
 five miles an hour, are not uncommon in Nebraska. This rate of 
 motion equals 39.67 feet per second and produces a pressure of 
 about 2,641 pounds for every square foot exposed to its action- 
 Between these two velocities lie the movements of winds that could 
 be depended on to propel machinery. Now, remembering that the 
 movement of the winds is almost constant, and is felt in all situa- 
 tions, the amount of its wasted force is seen to be prodigious. Its 
 use already, all over the west on farms and railroad stations for 
 pumping water is a prophecy of its far more extensive employment 
 as a propelling agent in the near future. Mechanical ingenuity 
 will contrive a method by which the effect of the irregularity of the 
 winds can be better overcome. The wind mills now used are al- 
 ready immeasurably better than those contrived only a few years 
 ago. This improvement no doubt will continue until, like water in 
 a mill dam, the wind itself can be stored up for future use. The' 
 mechanical engineer is already familiar with similar contrivances. 
 Its intermittant character cannot always be an obstacle to its exten- 
 sive use for driving machinery. It has one prime recommendation. 
 It is cheap. Each year will therefore see a great multiplication of 
 them. 
 
 A still greater source of force and energy and the the fountain of 
 all the complicated'movements on the earth is the sun. All the ex- 
 hibitions of force, organic and inorganic, chemical or physical, the 
 production of winds, currents, rainfall, the intricate causes that 
 operate to produce varieties of climate all these are dependent on 
 solar radiation. Potiillet calculated that the earth received every 
 minute from the sun 2,247 billion units of heat, which quantity, if 
 transformed into mechanical force, "would raise 2,247 billions x 774 
 pounds to the height of ore foot." 
 
152 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 On the ocean alone " the sun raises during every minute an aver- 
 age of not less than 2,000,000,000 tons of water to a height of three 
 and a half miles the mean altitude of the clouds." In other 
 words, to raise this quantity of water to the height of three and a 
 half miles per minute, would require the continued exercise of the 
 force of 2,757,000,000,000 horses per minute. 
 
 Here then is a power enormous beyond conception. Now such 
 engineers as Ericson, have announced the opinion that an engine 
 run by solar heat is practicable. He has even constructed an engine 
 that gives uniformly a speed of 240 revolutions per minute, and at 
 this rate uses up only a part of the steam produced by his solar 
 generator. His machine includes a concentrating apparatus by 
 means of which the feeble intensity of the sun's rays is increased to 
 the degree that will answer to produce steam at a working pressure. 
 He has also shown that such " a concentrating apparatus will 
 abstract in all latitudes between 45 North and 45 South at least 
 three and a half heat units for every square foot presented vertically 
 to the sun's rays." " With one hundred square feet of surface, 
 eight and two-tenths horse power would be developed during nine 
 hours between the above latitudes." In the latitude of Nebraska it 
 could be used for at least ten hours on each day of sunshine. 
 
 Monchat has advanced even farther than Ericson, and exhibited 
 a solar engine at the Paris exhibition that attracted the attention of 
 engineers from all lands. It received one of the medals of the ex- 
 hibition. 
 
 " The time will come," says Ericson, "when Europe must stop 
 her mills and factories for want of coal. Upper Egypt, then, with 
 her never-ceasing sun-power, will invite the European manufacturer 
 to remove his machinery and erect his mills on the firm ground 
 along the sides of the alluvial plain of the Nile, where sufficient 
 power can be obtained to enable him to run more spindles than a 
 hundred Manchesters." Now it is true that the coal fields of the 
 United States will not be exhausted for many thousand years, 
 but the transportation of coal is costly, and there is no reason, if solar 
 engines are possible, why the sections that are adapted to them 
 should not use them, especially if their cost is much less than those 
 run with coal. 
 
 Now then, in Nebraska, as if it was a region specially reserved 
 for the exhibition of the adaptability of the solar engine to the uses 
 of civilization, there is a remarkable amount of .sunshine. As we 
 
HEALTHFULNESS. 153 
 
 have seen, even most of the rainfall occurs at night. Only during 
 portions of June and July, and occasionally the last weeks in May, 
 are there any continuous rainy or cloudy days. During the re- 
 mainder of the year, the sky is remarkably clear. All the stupen- 
 dous sun force that is here exhibited is now wasted, except the 
 minute portion that is used for the processes of organic life and the 
 production of the winds and rains. These wasted energies must, 
 in the nature of things, hereafter be utilized. Some time in the fu- 
 ture, the manufacturing establishments of the East can be run here 
 without coal or water power. Probably the East, because of its 
 murky skies, can never change its motive power. Coal and water 
 power will always be in demand there. Here the now wasted en- 
 ergies of the sun will be utilized to produce the motive power need- 
 ful to manufacture the cotton, woolen and other fabrics which a 
 population of many millions will consume. 
 
 PROBABLE FUTURE OF THE RACE IN NEBRASKA. 
 
 This question often suggests itself in a newly settled country; 
 what kind of an abode is this for humanity ? Will the race here 
 go into decay, remain stationary, or advance? It is taken for 
 granted that that people is the most advanced where there is the 
 greatest happiness of the greatest number. When the causes that 
 produce a great people are sought, we invariably find that they are 
 complex. Among them, however, we always find some of the fol- 
 lowing: Good government, good climate, fertile soil and a good 
 geographical position. Nebraska possesses all of these, as we have 
 seen by the preceding discussions, in an eminent degree. That 
 environment helps greatly to make character is now universally 
 admitted. The Englishman of New England, the Dutchman of 
 New York, and the German of Pennsylvania are all exceedingly 
 different from their ancestors of two centuries ago, and from their 
 distant kinsmen in Europe at the present day. The new world 
 with its new conditions has made a new order of men. Wherever 
 there is freedom character is multiform. In the older States the 
 families that live on the ridges, on naturally barren soil, are inferior 
 in culture and social life to those that live in the fertile valleys. 
 The latter occupy lands that yield them a better return, more 
 wealth, and as a consequence there is more time for study, more 
 means for travel, and for the cultivation of the amenities of life. 
 It requires more than mere physical labor to better the conditions 
 
154 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 of a people it takes money, leisure, incentives to study, and good 
 climatic conditions. The mass of those communities that have been 
 most distinguished for a high civilization, and for leading the 
 thought of the world, have occupied regions highly favored by 
 nature. Witness for example, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt, 
 Hindoostan, Greece, Italy, etc. As already observed Nebraska is 
 the peer in many particulars of the best of these regions. It has 
 no sea coast, but its soil is one of the best, easiest worked and most 
 lasting in the world. It has no lofty mountains, but it has a variety 
 of landscape which for quiet beauty is unequaled. Its atmosphere 
 is exceptionally clear and pure, and the extremes of temperature 
 are only such as are most promotive of good health and energy of 
 character. While there are no great lakes, there is a superabun- 
 dance of fresh water in creeks, river, springs, and rills. Its health 
 conditions never lead to stolidity, but to intellectual activity. 
 
 There has not yet been time for this climate to exercise its full 
 influence on the people. That it will, in a marked and happy way, 
 affect the people in the course of time, is as certain as any other 
 fact in nature. The true Nebraskian does not yet exist, because 
 even if born here he is yet too much affected by entailed peculiari- 
 ties. And the great body of those that are living here were born 
 and married in the east. Our skies, rivers, soils, surroundings are 
 all moulding the people, but they have not had time to perfect the 
 work. Look for example at the type of people that the States 
 bordering on the upper Mississippi have produced. The true type 
 of American character is no longer the east, but the west. And 
 this is true because while in the east there is more wealth and 
 outside polish, in the west there is more originality, more inde- 
 pendence in manners and opinions, more freedom from restraint 
 and more sincerity. The west has already so affected the life of 
 the people that a young man coming here from the east 
 will be more ambitious, more active, more successful, more 
 courageous, and more of a man than if he had remained in 
 his native State. Absence from the sea-board does not lessen 
 but rather increases western energy. The railroad cultivates 
 the mind, requires as high an order of character, to say the 
 least, as the sea. As high an order of ability is needed to work 
 a railroad train as to manage a ship. A brakesman in character is 
 more than the peer of the sailor. The west is checkered with 
 railroads which make the people sociable, as well as carry their 
 
HEALTHFULNESS. 155 
 
 products to distant regions. And if, as some claim, there is less 
 devotion to hard physical labor, there is, on the whole, more 
 reading, more thinking, more intelligence. 
 
 But the Missouri Valley is greatly different from the Mississippi. 
 In its upper portions at least, there are still clearer skies, a dryer 
 atmosphere, more freedom from malaria, and is more elevated. 
 Here the American character is subject'ed to new influences and 
 will be still farther specialized, and will necessarily reach a still 
 higher stage. 
 
 What then may we legitimately expect of the people in Nebraska 
 in the future? We have a right to expect that our school system 
 will reach the highest possible stage of advancement that the 
 great mass of the people will become remarkable for their intellec- 
 tual brightness and quickness. Along with this mental develop- 
 ment and synchronizing with it, there will be developed a healthy 
 vigorous and beautiful race of men and women. Art culture will 
 then receive the attention which it deserves. Music, painting, and 
 sculpture will be cherished and cultivated for their own sake. The 
 marvelous richness of our soils will give a true and lasting basis for 
 prosperity and wealth. For be it remembered that agriculture in 
 all its branches, endures the tests of time better than any other 
 industry. It is also the best school of virtue for a nation. Happy 
 the children that are trained to industry on a farm. More men and 
 women of high character and endowments come from the farm, 
 than from any other station. It is nearest to the heart of nature and 
 nature's God. Though yet in its infancy, all these agencies for the 
 prosperity and well-being of Nebraska are steadily at work, and in 
 the fullness of time will blossom into fullfilment of its early promise. 
 
PART SECOND. GEOLOGY. 
 
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PART SECOND. GEOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CARBONIFEROUS AGE IN NEBRASKA. 
 
 Preceding Conditions. Carboniferous Age Proper. Age of the Nebraska 
 Rocks. 4 Different Opinion. Section at Nebraska City. Coal Features of 
 the Carboniferous Age in Nebraska. Vegetation of the Coal Age. Animal 
 Life of the Coal Age. Climate of the Coal Age. Permian Age. Its Tran- 
 sition Character. Character of the Permian Rocks. 
 
 PRECEDING CONDITIONS. 
 
 IT does not enter into the plan of this work to treat of the 
 early condition of the globe, or even to discuss the earlier 
 periods of Palaeozoic times. Suffice it to say that our globe 
 was once companion star to the sun, and that after it had cooled 
 down sufficiently, the oceans were at first probably universal. 
 Then came a nameless period when lofty uplands were formed 
 towards the far north that supplied the materials for the old sea 
 bottoms that were afterwards uplifted . and became known as the 
 Archaeon highlands of Canada and the United States. The two- 
 well marked divisions of these old deposits are known as Lau- 
 rentian and Huronian rocks. As the rocks of these ages still left 
 in Canada are forty thousand feet thick, and at least as extensive in 
 the Rocky Mountains and the Sierras, and still greater in Bohemia 
 and Bavaria, after being subjected to numberless ages of erosion, 
 the time represented by their deposition was greater, probably, than 
 the whole of geological history since their close. So far as we now 
 know, during all this immense age there was no dry land in Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 Then followed what the geologists call Palaeozoic times, because 
 
 of the antique or old life form of all the animals and plants in the 
 
 old world. The earlier portions are known as the Silurian ages, 
 
 during which invertebrate life was dominant, and the continent was 
 
 ii 
 
162 GEOLOGY. 
 
 growing and extending southward from its Archaeon nucleus. The 
 next age, called often the age of fishes, and also known as the De- 
 vonian, followed, but neither in this or in the preceding Silurian 
 was any dry land in Nebraska. By the close of this age, however, 
 the continent in its southern extension had reached the south line 
 of what is now New York, and many islands also existed still 
 farther south, and in some places west. The Appalachian region 
 seemed to have been rich in low islands, covered with a colossal 
 vegetation. The sub carboniferoos period, which had such a re- 
 markable development in some sections of Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa 
 and Missouri, and which was the stage preparatory to the carbon- 
 iferous period proper, is not represented by any known deposits in 
 Nebraska.* Even the millstone grit so common in the East, under 
 the coal, has not here been found. Whether it exists at all in this 
 region can only be ascertained when borings or shafts reach its 
 geological equivalent. We come now to 
 
 The Carboniferous Age Ptoper. This is a geological age of the 
 most absorbing interest, because of the general character of the 
 time, and because during its progress the first dry land appeared in 
 Nebraska. The carboniferous age was one of the most wonderful 
 in all the history of the globe, for during its progress the thickest, 
 most extensive and most valuable of all the coal beds were formed. 
 It has excited the most profound interest alike of the political econ- 
 omist, the statesman, the chemist and the geologist. 
 
 To understand the probable history of geological events in Ne- 
 braska during this period, let us look at the oldest coal beds that 
 are nearest to us. These are the beds along the Des Moines River 
 and some of its tributaries extending westward within from seventy- 
 five to one hundred miles of the Missouri. The coal here, which 
 Dr. White regards as of Lower Carboniferous age, is from one to 
 seven feet in thickness. Worthen first, and then Dr. White to a 
 much greater extent, investigated these beds. Meek also carefully 
 re-examined them. Subsequently I passed over the same region, 
 attempting as Meek and White had done before me, to estimate the 
 thickness of the rocks that lapped over the coal bearing strata as 
 far west as the farther or Nebraska shore of the Missouri. Meek's 
 objective point was Nebraska City, and mine was Plattsmouth. I 
 shall therefore use Meek's observations to supplement my own. 
 
 *The opinion of Marcou and Geinitz (Bulleton Geological Society of France, XXL, etc., 
 New Series), that some of our Nebraska rocks are sub-carboniferous, was shown long ago, by 
 Meek, to be a mistake. 
 
CARBONIFEROUS AGE. 163 
 
 At and near Des Moines there is no millstone grit such as is 
 found at this horizon farther east, and therefore the lower coal beds 
 rest, as White and Meek have observed, on the sub-carboniferous 
 rocks. West of the Des Moines River, as also shown by these ge- 
 ologists, the coal measures belong to a higher geological horizon, 
 and most probably to the middle series, though there is no serious 
 palasontological or physical break between these and the lower 
 rocks of this age. On going southwestward from the Des Moines, 
 in the deep valley of Middle River, which lies about two hundred 
 and fifty feet below the plain, the rocks here dipping slightly to- 
 wards the southwest. Here the increasing thickness of the upper 
 coal measure beds can be distinctly seen. The upper bed of the 
 middle series is last seen at Winterset, at the very bottom of the 
 valley, and all the beds above for two hundred and fifty feet belong 
 to the still higher series, consisting largely of heavy beds of light 
 yellow limestone, sandy micaceous shale, black laminated shale, 
 blue, drab and reddish clays, and occasionally a few inches of im- 
 pure coal. In these upper beds are found almost identically the 
 same fossils as on the Nebraska side of the Missouri. Amon<r 
 
 o 
 
 these is the curious fossil {Fusilina cylindrical), which is so often 
 mistaken for fossil rice or w T heat. Twenty-three additional fossils 
 are characteristic of these two sections. On leaving this valley, no 
 more exposures of the middle series are visible, the inclination of 
 the strata towards the southwest taking these beds below the deepest 
 eroded valleys. At various points, however, between this place and 
 the Missouri, opposite Plattsmouth, the upper beds are exposed, and 
 can be readily identified by their contained fossils. Dr. White, also, 
 who made a critical examination of the whole region, is confident 
 that he can identify the upper members of the Winterset exposures 
 in the Missouri bluffs on the Iowa side between Nebraska City and 
 Plattsmouth. However that may be, there is no doubt, judging 
 from the evidence of fossils, and the physical character of the rocks, 
 that the series on both sides of the Missouri, between the south line 
 of the State and Omaha, belongs to the upper series of the coal 
 measures. According to Dr. White, the nearest visible series of the 
 middle coal measures to the Missouri is at a point in Iowa nearly 
 due east from Blair, at a distance of about sixtv miles. Having 
 
 */ o 
 
 also myself gone over and carefully examined these exposures, the 
 conviction was forced on me that White and Meek are proximately 
 correct in their determinations of the horizons of these rocks. It is 
 therefore definitely established that on the Nebraska side, as far as 
 
164 
 
 GEOLOGY. 
 
 the coal measures extend from above Omaha, near old Fort Cal- 
 houn, to the southeast corner of the State, the rocks are of Upper 
 Carboniferous Age. 
 
 A Different Opinion. In 1866 Prof. Geinitz, of Dresden, made a 
 report on carboniferous fossils which were collected in Nebraska 
 mainly by Prof. Marcou, in which he expressed the conviction that 
 the rocks along the Missouri belong in part to the Lower Car- 
 boniferous and in part to the Permian. He evidently made this- 
 mistake, as Meek has shown, by examining an imperfect series- 
 of fossils, and by a lack of acquaintance with the range of species 
 in the Palasozoic of this country.* In order to exhibit the facts on 
 which he bases these references the following section is given as- 
 taken at Nebraska City. 
 
 Section Exposed at Nebraska City Landing. 
 
 NATURE OF STRATA. 
 
 Thickness. 
 
 Loess deposit, Grayish yellow 00 feet. 
 
 D. Yellowish-gray micaceous, soft sandstone, laminated, j 
 sometimes ripple-marked, except about 14 inches of .-Dint- 
 times hard and compact stone at bottom, with fragments 
 of plants 10 feet. 
 
 , __ 
 
 C. Drab, ash, and lead-colored, and brownish clays and 
 near the middle a ten inch, hard bluish-gray, clayey, 
 limey layer, becoming rusty on exposure. Fossils nu- 
 merous ; 30 feet. 
 
 1 
 
 B. Several beds of hard light grayish, and yellowish lime j 
 stone in layers of from five to twenty inches thick, with ' 
 soft, marly clay seams and partings. Fossils numerous 
 especially fusilina, etc 13 feet. 
 
 A. () Lead grayish and greenish clay, four feet. 
 
 (A) Reddish brown ferruginous, slightly gritty, indu- 
 rated clay, four feet expo>ed above high water j 8 feet. 
 
 : : 2 J _ 
 
 Total below drift 70 feet. 
 
 LJ 
 
 * See Meek's report iu " Hayden's Final Report on Geological Survey of Nebraska," p. S3. 
 t This section i* slightly different from that of Meek aud Marcou. because taken a little 
 below theirt*. 
 
CARBONIFEROUS AGE. 165 
 
 Now the thirty fossils in bed 3, and the sixty-six in bed B, of this 
 section are all of them in the Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri coal 
 fields characteristic of the Upper Carboniferous and not of the 
 Permian, though some of the genera are known to pass into it. 
 They cannot therefore be Permian, as Marco u and Geinitz supposed. 
 The beds, on the other hand, at Bellevue and Omaha which they re- 
 ferred to the Sub-carboniferous, contained the characteristic organic 
 forms that characterize the true Upper Carboniferous everywhere 
 else in this country. These distinguished foreign geologists at- 
 .tempted to generalize on American rocks by the principles that 
 interpret aright European geology, and hence they were led into a 
 blunder. Here, almost universally the vertical range of species is 
 much greater than in Europe. American geology must be studied 
 independently of European systems, or at least cannot be interpreted 
 by them. 
 
 Coal. Thus far no thick workable beds of Coal have been found 
 in our carboniferous measures. The question rises whether there 
 is any probability of any valuable beds being found anywhere in 
 the State. Truth compels the admission that such a result is un- 
 certain and even doubtful. 
 
 Mr. Broadhead, one of the State Geologists of Missouri, has long 
 since reached that conclusion with reference to the Upper Carbon- 
 iferous measures of that State, where, owing to changes of level and 
 numerous natural exposures a great thickness of these beds had 
 early and easily been examined by him. He gives sections through 
 these rocks extending to a depth of nearly two thousand feet before 
 reaching coal two and a half feet thick, all above being only from 
 a few inches to two feet in thickness. Dr. White's numerous sec- 
 tions observed in many places west of Winterset to the Missouri 
 show clearly that the upper series thicken westward and south- 
 westward, and not by the super-position of newer beds, but simply 
 by the thickening of those seen at that place. At a few places a 
 considerable thickness of these upper beds have also been examined 
 in Nebraska along the Missouri, and with the same result as in 
 Missouri and Iowa. Mr. Croxton, as early as 1865, made an arte- 
 sian boring near Nebraska City, to the depth of three hundred and 
 forty-four feet. Shales, limestones, micaceous sandstones and cal- 
 careous sandstones constituted the materials passed through, but no 
 indications of coal were met until at the depth of one hundred and 
 eighty-nine feet, a bed fifteen inches thick was struck. None was 
 
166 GEOLOGY. 
 
 struck after that. An artesian boring has also recently been made 
 near the west end of the Union Pacific Railroad bridge at Omaha, 
 to a depth of seven hundred and fifty feet. This point, which is the 
 lowest yet reached along the river in Nebraska, by borings, was- 
 struck without encountering any beds of coal. For this depth 
 therefore these upper measures, at least at this place are barren. 
 At Lincoln, on the public square, the artesian boring was put down 
 to the depth of a trifle over a thousand feet. A little before this 
 point was reached the contractor, Mr. Eaton, reported going 
 through a thirty inch bed of coal. As Lincoln is at least one hun- 
 dred and eight feet above the level of Omaha, it is clear that the 
 boring of the Union Pacific well at that place did not reach the 
 horizon of the coal bed reported by Mr. Eaton. This bed of coal 
 is probably in the lower coal measures and is the geological equi- 
 valent of the Des Moines beds. These Des Moines coal beds or 
 their equivalent would therefore be struck at Plattsmouth some- 
 where between eight hundred and one thousand feet below the 
 surface. According to my own calculations made in traversing the 
 space between Des Moines and the Missouri, it would be about 
 nine hundred feet. Prof. Meek believed that Omaha, where the 
 upper coal measures are exposed at a lower horizon, borings would 
 strike the geological equivalent of the Des Moines beds under one 
 thousand feet, and at still greater depth further down the river.. 
 Owing to the facts developed by the artesian boring at Lincoln, it 
 is probable that all these estimates were too high and that these 
 Des Moines coal beds or their equivalents would be reached 
 between Plattsmouth and Omaha at a depth of between eight and 
 nine hundred feet. 
 
 The question then returns whether there are or can be no good 
 workable beds of coal anywhere in these Upper Measures. The 
 old Nuckolls coal bed, worked near Rulo, in Pawnee County, in 
 Otoe County, and at several places in Cass and Johnson counties,, 
 ranges from eight to eighteen inches in thickness, and in places is a 
 fair article of coal. The bed at Aspinwall, which is from twenty- 
 two to twenty-four inches thick, is not certainly its geological equiv- 
 alent. The same remark applies to a comparatively pure bed of 
 light coal, from eighteen inches to two feet in thickness, on the In- 
 dian Reservation south of Rulo, near the State line. But no beds 
 thicker than these have yet been found in these Upper coal measures, 
 and as we have seen, the probabilities are against their existence. 
 
CARBONIFEROUS AGE. 167 
 
 If extensive basins of coal existed in them they probably would 
 have been observed in Missouri, where they have been more thor- 
 oughly explored. With the Lower Coal Measures the case stands 
 different. These are the coal bearing measures in Iowa and Mis- 
 souri, and at least in one place (Lincoln), where they have been 
 penetrated, a respectable coal bed was reported. All the chances 
 then are in favor of finding large workable beds at this horizon. 
 This is a question that should speedily be settled at public expense. 
 If there are workable beds, the State should have the benefit of it as- 
 soon as possible. An artesian boring within six miles of the Platte 
 River, near its mouth, to a depth of one thousand feet; another near 
 Nebraska City and one near Rulo, would settle this question*. 
 
 Features of the Carboniferous Age in Nebraska. All the 
 students of geology admit that the Carboniferous age was a very 
 long one an age whose length could not be measured by thous- 
 ands, but by millions of years. During the greater part of this 
 great age, Nebraska was occupied by an arm of the ocean. Some- 
 times for long periods this sea was turbulent, as is indicated by the 
 rocks, which so generally change their character within a few 
 miles. A sand rock often, when followed for a few miles, changes 
 to a shale, then to indurated variously colored clays, and then a con- 
 glomerate. Owing to this feature, the exact equivalent of the rocks 
 at widely different stations is hard to distinguish, except -along river 
 bluffs, where the strata are exposed for long distances. The lime- 
 stones having been formed in deep water, are more constant in 
 character over extensive areas, but even these sometimes exhibit 
 sudden transition characters. They present various forms and col- 
 ors, such as silicates of lime and magnesia, nearly pure limestone, 
 yellow, gray and white limestone, and shaly, rotten limestone. 
 Many of the shales and conglomerates exhibit the character of off- 
 shore deposits. If future borings brings to light beds of coal in the 
 lower coal measures, it will be proof of the existence at that time 
 of dry land near by, and of a boggy, swampy condition on the sites 
 where they are now found. As one foot of bituminous coal rep- 
 resents from nine to eleven feet of original peat, and many centuries 
 are required for the formation of such an amount of vegetable 
 matter, and as these beds represent only an infinitesimal amount of 
 the time during which the events of this age were in progress, it is 
 
 *See on the subject of this section, Meek's Report in the Hayden Surveys. 
 
168 GEOLOGY. 
 
 additional proof that its length was beyond all calculation. But 
 during its progress, deep seas and shallow seas, quiet seas and tur- 
 bulent seas, and vast bogs and swamps near to slightly elevated 
 land masses, in turn predominated. 
 
 Vegetation. The vegetation of the Carboniferous age was re- 
 markable for its luxuriance and its antique form. In organization 
 it was below the high modern types, but many of its forms were 
 exquisitely beautiful, synthetic and complex. 
 
 The conifers that then existed, and which were the most advanced 
 in type of all the vegetable forms, flourished mainly on the uplands. 
 The most of them were closely related to Araucarian pines, which 
 still flourish in low latitudes and mainly south of the equator. The 
 fern family, of which a few diminutive representatives still linger 
 among us, culminated in that age, many species growing to the 
 dimensions of trees, and with a gracefulness and beauty unsur- 
 passed by any vegetable form at the present day. Many hundreds 
 of species flourished over the -forming coal fields of the west. In 
 fact, one-half of the coal plants were probably ferns. The calamites 
 of that day, which grew to tree size, were also abundant. The 
 scouring rushes (Equtsetae), which seldom reach over one or two 
 feet in height, are their modern representatives. Two great orders,, 
 more abundant in the number of individuals than any others, the 
 Lepidodendrids and Sigillaria are no longer in existence. They, 
 along with the calamites, formed a large part of the material of the 
 coal. The Lepidodendrids had a dense bark, underneath which 
 was a dense mass of loose tissue, through the centre of which ran 
 a small cylinder with a distinct pith. Such a structure unfitted it 
 For anything like bearing timber, but adapted it most admirably, 
 when flattened down, for flakes of coal. The sigillarids, with 
 " trunks fluted like Corinthian columns," and ornamented with seal- 
 like impressions in vertical ranks, and " with few large branches 
 and long needle-like, tapering leaves," were unfitted for anything 
 except to minister to the beautiful and to make coal. It is remark- 
 able that in that distant past, long ages before man appeared, the 
 jungles and forests of the globe were as remarkable for beautiful 
 forms as the woodlands of to-day. The Deity, however, was there 
 to enjoy it. 
 
 Animal Life. Animal life during this age was abundant, though, 
 as in the vegetable kingdom, the forms were mostly antiquated. 
 One of the most abundant of all in individuals was the curious little 
 
CARBONIFEROUS AGE. 169 
 
 animal, already referred to, and which is frequently called fossil 
 wheat or rice. It is, however, a lowly animal, classed with the 
 protozoans, and known a&Fusilina cylindrica. The shell is small, 
 half cylindrical and bluntly pointed at the end, and averaging about 
 the .size of a grain of rice. Its shell is composed of seven or eight 
 closely coiled whorls. Unlike its condition in Europe, it here 
 ranges all through the coal measures. It is questionable whether 
 it is anywhere in America as abundant as it is here in Nebraska. 
 In Johnson County in many places around Tecumseh, it constitutes 
 almost the entire fabric of many rocks, often from four to ten feet 
 in thickness. It is often present in enormous numbers in shale, 
 and where it is decomposed, hundreds can be picked up, already by 
 the decomposition of the matrix lying loose and cleansed ready to 
 be placed in a cabinet. All along the carboniferous exposures in 
 Nebraska, it is abundant, in limestone, sand sto-ne and shale. The 
 massive compact limestone from Stout's quarry, on the north side 
 of the Platte, at South Bend, contains immense numbers of these 
 -Fusilina, which gives the rock great beauty when polished. 
 
 Corals, which are now confined to low latitudes, were abundant 
 in Nebraska during Carboniferous times. Five species have thus 
 far been identified here. The most characteristic grew into a 
 curious form remotely resembling a short ram's horn. It is known 
 by the name of Campophyllum torquium. A loose bed of shale in 
 the bluffs at Rock Bluffs contains an immense number of them. 
 
 The Crinoids were represented by seven species at least, and 
 some of them existed in great numbers. While the heads of these 
 sea lilies, as they are sometimes called, are only occasionally found, 
 owing no doubt to their original fragile character, their screw-like 
 stems are abundant in all the rocks. 
 
 As elsewhere during Carboniferous times molluscan life flourished 
 here. The Polyzoa were represented by eight, and the Branchi- 
 opods by twenty six species, of which eight were Producti.* 
 Among these one known as Productus Semireti(ulatus is quite large 
 and was one of the most abundant animals in the^e old Carbon- 
 iferous seas. Those known as P. longispinus, P. prattenianus, and 
 P. Nebraskensis are also abundant. Two species of thin flat shells 
 called chonetes granulifera and C. glabra, make up the almost entire 
 mass of some limestone rock at Plattsmouth and other places along 
 the Missouri. No shell is perhaps so widely dispersed as the one 
 
 *The Producti are now mostly classed with the Articulata. 
 
1 70 GEOLOGY. 
 
 called Athyrus subtilita. It occurs in almost every layer of the 
 Carboniferous rocks and of many sizes. Among the Spirifers 
 the most abundant and beautiful is 6". cameratus. Lamellibranchs 
 (two valved shells with gills in laminae on the sides) were repre- 
 sented in Nebraska during this age by at least forty species. The 
 Gasteropods (one valved, like snails. Belly creepers) were 
 abundant in individuals and species, not less than eighteen forms 
 having thus far been identified. Of chambered shells there was 
 one strait species {Orthoceras cribrosum) and two coiled ones, 
 {Nautilus occidentals and N. ponderosd). 
 
 Of the five species of Crustaceans found fossil in these rocks 
 three are trilobites of the genus Phillipsia. 
 
 Vertebrate life so far as is now known was represented here in 
 Carboniferous times principally by fishes, of which eight species 
 have been described by Orestes St. John. Many more have been 
 found which have not yet been identified. 
 
 Climate. The vegetable and animal life of the Carboniferous 
 Age indicates that its climate was not subject to extremes, at least 
 during the epochs when the rocks were deposited, whatever it may 
 have been during the transition intervals. It was neither intensely 
 hot nor cold. It was just such a climate as a constantly murky, 
 cloudy atmosphere, over semi-continental levels and flats would 
 naturally produce.* Tyndall has shown that a slight addition to 
 our atmosphere of carbonic dioxide would raise its mean tempera- 
 ture many degrees. If our atmosphere then, at that time, as many 
 geologists believe, contained the greater part of the coal deposits 
 of the globe in the form of carbonic dioxide gas, it would have 
 made it a huge hot house. This would account for the uniformly 
 warm temperature that then existed far into the arctic regions. 
 
 CLOSE OF THE CARBONIFKROUS AGE. 
 
 In the eastern portion of the continent the Carboniferous Age 
 was evidently closed by the Appalachian revolution. This great 
 uplift was evidently continental in character, the level of the land 
 on each side being raised along with it. This was no sudden con- 
 vulsion. The Appalachians commenced to rise long before the 
 close of the age and during its progress a point was reached when 
 the old conditions were passed and new ones inaugurated. Vege- 
 
 *The theory that the Coal Age was produced by a period of high eccentricity of the earth'* 
 orbit, during times similar to the subsequent glacial ages is best discussed in CrolPs work o 
 " Climate and Time." 
 
CARBONIFEROUS AGE. 171 
 
 table and animal life partook of the change and the whole move- 
 ment inaugurated or constituted 
 
 THE PERMIAN AGE. 
 
 This age was the last volume in the history of Palaeozoic life. 
 The great Appalachian revolution was only partially completed, 
 for the upward movement still continued. The peculiarities of the 
 coal age had ceased, but its impress was left on Permian times. 
 While the upward movement was advancing towards completion, 
 at many places, especially in Europe and Asia, around the borders 
 of the old coal fields, depressions still exi.-ted for extensive seas 
 which received the sediments that entombed and preserved the or- 
 ganic remains of the age. Hence we have records of the earlier 
 part of the age, but none of its latter portion, because the conti- 
 nents reached such an elevation that all the seas were drained, and 
 no place was left to stow away the debris and worn out life of the 
 period. The process of uplifting, therefore, was continued until 
 the continent was raised far above its present level, during which 
 none of its memorials could be preserved. The whole latter por- 
 tion, therefore, of the Permian, a portion of time incalculably long, 
 is a lost interval in geological history. For the first time in geo- 
 logical history the conditions were favorable for the complete 
 drainage of the continent. Lofty mountains produced great rivers 
 and steep inclinations towards the sea. Clear skies, took the place of 
 murky ones in the previous age. The seasons gradually became 
 more changeable and varied. The old vegetable and animal life 
 was not adapted to these conditions and hence it had. to change or 
 perish. As a matter of fact during this last interval occurred those 
 mighty changes in the fauna and flora of the globe which trans- 
 formed the Palaeozoic life into the middle or Mesozoic world. 
 
 In the United States the Permian deposits occur mainly in Kan- 
 sas and Nebraska. Here the western boundary of the Permian 
 passes a little west of south, a few miles east of Lincoln, extending 
 to Beatrice, and thence into Kansas. Opposite Lincoln it is only a 
 few miles broad, but widens going southwest and through Kansas. 
 Towards the west at Lincoln and Beatrice it passes under the 
 Dakota group of the cretaceous. It is, however, as already inti- 
 mated, only the lower Permian that is here represented. In the 
 earlier Permian this portion of the continent was not raised above 
 the old carboniferous seas, and of course it received the sediments 
 brought down by the rivers and creeks from lands sloping towards 
 
172 GEOLOGY. 
 
 the west on the east, north and northeast. These lands were partial- 
 ly the upraised carboniferous sea bottoms. As elsewhere, the pro- 
 gress of elevation left the latter Permian here without any memorials 
 "of its existence. 
 
 It is possible that in some section of the old world, not yet geo- 
 logically explored, remnants of this as yet lost interval will be re- 
 covered, or discovered. If so, we will no longer be compelled as 
 now to people this age with the changing life that then must have 
 existed. The old notion of cataclysmic changes of sufficient force 
 to destroy all life, and subsequently entirely new creations has long 
 since been abandoned. "Nature rarely turns a sharp corner." 
 Life has not ceased on the globe since it began. In obedience to 
 new conditions it has ever been changing into new forms. And in 
 no period of world history have the transformations been so great 
 as during the Permian Age. 
 
 Character of the Permian Rocks. Near and around Beatrice 
 there are many exposures of yellowish, occasionally bluish magne- 
 sian limestone, full of geode cavities lined w r ith cale spar.* This 
 rock is arranged in layers from four inches to two feet thick; and 
 the whole series of strata are from twelve to twenty feet thick. 
 Below this there is a bed of yellow compact limestone from eighteen 
 inches to three feet thick. Next below, there is a thickness of from 
 eight to twelve feet of a dark grayish clayey limestone, also full of 
 geode cavities, lined with crystals of cale spar, and sometimes of 
 silica or silicate of lime. This stratum often becomes light colored 
 on exposure to the air. Occasionally it becomes massive cream 
 colored limestone. Wherever, therefore, such beds as thus de- 
 scribed are found in Nebraska, bordering the Upper Carboniferous 
 rocks, they invariably indicate our Permian deposits. Towards the 
 east, in Pawnee County, they runout, as the carboniferous then be- 
 comes the surface rock, which, on the contrary, in a westward 
 direction, run under the Permian. Above the first of these Per- 
 mian rocks there is a bed of variegated clay, and sometimes of pot- 
 ter's clay, whose geological age is uncertain, but which probably 
 belongs to the Dakota Group of Cretaceous rocks, w^hich comes in 
 next above. This Dakota Group, itself, can be recognized by its 
 dark gray, brownish and red sandstones, which around and west- 
 ward from Beatrice overlies the Permian. 
 
 *These geode cavities are now generally believed to be formed by cavities left in the 
 original eediinents by covered up sponges, that subsequently decayed. 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZO1C TIMES. 173 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MEDIEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES IN NEBRASKA. 
 
 Absence of Deposits of the Triassic and Jurassic Periods. Cause of this 
 Absence. Length of these Periods in Nebraska. Cretaceous Period. How 
 it Originated. Divisions of the Cretaceous. Dakota Group. Its Character, 
 Extent and Remarkable Flora Origin of this Flora. Climate of the Dakota 
 Group Epoch. Fort Benton Group. Its General Character. Length of this 
 Epoch, and its Vegetable and Animal Life. Niobrara Group Epoch. Extent 
 of its Deposits, and General Character. Vegetable Remains. Animal life 
 of this Epoch. Rhizopods, Mollusks and Fishes. Reptiles, their Great 
 Abundance and Peculiar Character. Final Disappearance of this Reptile 
 Fauna. 
 
 TRIASSIC AND JURASSIC PERIODS. 
 
 ''INHERE are no known deposits of the Triassic and Jurassic 
 .L periods in Nebraska. The deposits of the next or Cretaceous 
 period rest directly on the Permian. Two explanations of this fact 
 are possible. First, the Triassic and Jurassic deposits may once 
 have been here, and were removed before the Cretaceous was laid 
 down by denudation. Or, second, this region may have been a land 
 surface during these periods. This latter view seems to be the most 
 probable, and best explains all the facts of this portion of our geo- 
 logical history. 
 
 We have already seen that the Carboniferous Age was brought 
 to a close by an upward movement of the continent, and that this 
 movement continued through the Permian, until much of the pre- 
 vious water surface was drained, and made it impossible to preserve 
 the memorials of its latter history. The same events that prevented 
 the preservation of the memorials of the Permian, would, if con- 
 tinued, prevent the deposition of Triassic and Jurassic rocks. With 
 a large degree, therefore, of certainty, we may rest assured that 
 during these periods Nebraska was an extended land surface, and 
 if so, there must have flourished here for countless centuries the 
 peculiar vegetable and animal life of those times. 
 
 Length of the Trio-Juro Periods. The length of the Trio-Juro 
 periods can be ascertained only relatively. Not even an approxi- 
 mate estimate can be -made, but all geologists admit that they were 
 
174 GEOLOGY. 
 
 very long periods. In the Rocky Mountains the Triassic deposits 
 lie in unconformable masses, directly on or against the Archaean 
 islands that form the back-bone of the continent.* Here the Tri- 
 assic forms a series of sandstones from three hundred to one thous- 
 and feet thick, whiph are loose, friable sediments wherever there is 
 an approach to a horizontal position. "On approaching the Arch- 
 aean, the Trias always is composed, or largely made up of con- 
 glomerates, the materials of which were derived, from the shores 
 against which they abut." Clarence King. Towards the eastern 
 part of the Uintas the Trias thicken still more, reaching finally a 
 depth of from two thousand to twenty-five hundred feet.. Still 
 farther westward the Trias diminishes in thickness and increases in 
 compactness and the quantity of conglomerates. From these facts 
 Clarence King concludes that there was a land mass towards the 
 west, during this period from which the materials that enter into its 
 deposits were derived. 
 
 Overlying the upper beds of Triassic rocks, which are intercal- 
 latecl with gypsum and dolomitic limestone, are the Jurassic beds, 
 which are first met in the eastern flank of the Colorado range. 
 Here they are only two hundred and fifty to two hundred and sev- 
 enty-five feet in thickness, and increase westward, until, on the 
 Wasatch, they are eighteen hundred feet thick. The Jurassic is 
 almost entirely made up of soft clays, clayey calcareous marls, and 
 intercalations of fine lithographic limestone. These rocks are 
 therefore a lime and clay deposit. Clarence King. The maximum 
 development of the Triassic and Jurassic, east of the Wasatch, is 
 not less than thirty-eight hundred feet. 
 
 Immediately above the Jurassic, on the eastern foothills, lies a 
 " heavy bed of conglomerate, which is the base member of the 
 Dakota Cretaceous. * * "The upper clay and sandstone beds 
 directly under the bottom of the Dakota conglomerate have been 
 called by Marsh the Atlantasaurus beds." Clarence King. Hay- 
 den and Meek have shown that it is probable that the Jurassic 
 beds extend eastward beneath the Cretaceous. As the Cretaceous 
 extends in turn beneath the Tertiary, it is possible that there may 
 be Jurassic beds in western Nebraska that cannot be observed, ow- 
 ing to the thickness of the overlying deposits of later geological 
 periods. This is the more probable, since during Jurassic times 
 there was a deepening of what had been the old Triassic seas, and a 
 
 *King's Report ou the Fortieth Parallel. 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 175 
 
 deposition, as we have seen, of clay and calcareous marls and fine 
 limestones, where previously sand and other shallow water de- 
 posits were taking place. At least in the Jurassic, water communi- 
 cation existed directly with the ocean, as is indicated by the abun- 
 dant marine life that is preserved in these deposits. 
 
 Now, the length of these periods must have been exceedingly 
 great, during which 3,800 feet of sediment was deposited, especially 
 as a large part of them were of a character that never, so far as is 
 now known, accumulate rapidly. The Jurassic beds at least, which 
 are made up almost exclusively of soft clays, clayey calcareous 
 marls and intercalated beds of thin lithographic limestone, must 
 have been deposited with extreme slowness. Some authorities esti- 
 mate the increase of sediment at a foot to the century, and others 
 at only a few inches. Even at the larger figures, a foot to the cen- 
 tury, the time involved would be 180,000 years for the Jurassic alone. 
 Elsewhere, especially in Europe, the deposits of the Jurassic are 
 thicker even than this, and therefore the probabilities are that this 
 estimate is far too low. The preceding Triassic period was only 
 one-fourth shorter than the Jurassic. This would give for the two 
 periods combined 31^,000 years. (See Dana's Manual, page 491.) 
 During all these long centuries, therefore, and far into the Cre- 
 taceous, as we shall presently see, the greater part, and perhaps the 
 whole of Nebraska existed as an extended land surface. The events 
 that occurred here during these periods can never be certainly 
 known. The imagination alone can, with the few data from the 
 vegetable and animal life of the time, fill out imperfectly this lost 
 page in our geological history. 
 
 Vegetable Life. Nebraska during these periods, owing to its 
 position, and because bounded on the west and southwest by seas of 
 great extent, had a warm, temperate and moist climate. The pecu- 
 liar vegetable forms of the Mediaeval world must then have flour- 
 ished here. Among these, in the Triassic period, were huge tree 
 ferns, cycads and conifers, these last being principally araucarians, 
 a family which is now mainly confined to South America and Aus- 
 tralia. In the succeeding Jurassic, the vegetation was similar, and 
 the conditions on the whole still more favorable for a gigantic 
 growth. In this period were re-introduced the conditions favorable 
 to the production and preservation of a vegetation for the formation 
 of coal. To this period belong some of the coal fields of Scotland 
 and England, of India and China. Either to this or the preceding 
 
176 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Triassic belong, also, the coal fields of Eastern Virginia and North 
 Carolina. It is probable that while the conditions under which coal 
 was accumulated in all geological times were.similar, the plants dif- 
 fered exceedingly. The higher cryptogams obtained in carbonifer- 
 ous times, but in the Triassic Ferns, and especially conifers and 
 cycads, were the common forms. (Le Conte). The Jurassic was 
 eminently the age of naked seeded trees (gymnosperms), especially 
 of the Cycads, which at that time culminated m the number of 
 species and individuals. In fact, three- fourths of all the fossil Zamiae 
 and one-half the cycads known from all the geological formations, 
 are from the Jurassic. No one can look at a cycad, with its long, 
 fern-like leaves, without admiring its beauty. These vegetable 
 forms are now confined to low, moist latitudes, but for immense 
 periods of geological time they were the dominant type on what 
 are now the plains of Nebraska. Here, in those times, along 
 with tree ferns and araucarians, they made immense thickets and 
 forests. 
 
 Animal Life. The Mesozoic was eminently a Reptilian Age. 
 All kinds of vertebrate life took on more or less of this type. Ne- 
 braska, being then a land surface throughout the Triassic and Ju- 
 rassic periods, we will omit the consideration of the animal life pe- 
 culiar to the seas. The land, however, with the peculiar vegetation 
 referred to in the preceding section, and with its warm, temperate 
 climate, was eminently adapted to the support of a land reptile 
 fauna. What this fauna was, we can only imagine from the reptilian 
 remains preserved in the deposits of these periods nearest to us. 
 Many are found in western Kansas and eastern Colorado. The 
 foothills are of Jurassic age, and are composed of clay and sand- 
 stone beds, overlaid directly by a heavy bed of the peculiar con- 
 glomerate of the Cretaceous Dakota Group. These beds, as al- 
 ready remarked, have been called Atlantosaurus beds by Marsh, 
 from the prevalence in them of huge remains of Dinosaurs. No 
 land animals of such gigantic size have ever been discovered else- 
 where in deposits of any geological age. The most important lo- 
 cality for these remains is at Morrison and Canyon City, where the 
 Atlantosaurus immanis (monstrous sized lizard) was found. Its 
 femur was eight feet four inches long, which would indicate, on the 
 principles of comparative anatomy, an animal walking on all fours 
 of over one hundred feet in length and over thirty feet in height. 
 It approximated closely in size to the limits beyond which locomo- 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 177 
 
 tion would be impossible, owing- to the specific gravity becoming 
 too great to be moved by muscular power. Apparently, to over- 
 come this 'obstacle, its bones were made partially hollow, similar to 
 those of birds. Atlantosaurus montanus was almost as large as the 
 preceding. Eleven additional reptile forms were found in these lo- 
 calities, some of which were also of gigantic mould. One of them, 
 however, Creosaurus airax, was a small carniverous Dinosaur. It 
 is also curious that among these gigantic forms there were two of 
 the smallest Dinosaurs yet discovered. One of them was not larger 
 than a cat. Another reptile found here is the type of a new group, 
 and is named by Marsh Stagosaurzis armatus. A crocodile found 
 here had biconcave vertebras like a fish. A small animal, structured 
 like a possum (marsupial), was also found among these remains. 
 
 As observed already, some of these remains are the most gigantic 
 land animals yet discovered. No land vertebrates approaching 
 them in size have ever been discovered anywhere else. Thev 
 probably represent but a tithe of the fauna of that period. As the 
 general slope of the continent at that time was westward, and many 
 great rivers must have flowed from the direction of Nebraska into the 
 old Jurassic sea, it is almost absolutely certain that these gigantic 
 land animals were carried there from the east, and that they repre- 
 sent the fauna of this territory during the Jurassic period. If, there- 
 fore, we picture to ourselves the climate of that time, its curious 
 forests of tree ferns, conifers, zamias and cycads, full of all sizes of 
 reptilian life, and especially of the gigantic forms, along with a few 
 lonely mamalian species, and some reptilian birds, it will give a 
 faint idea of what Nebraska and much of the adjoining State of 
 Kansas was during the Triassic and Jurassic periods. 
 
 Close of the Jurassic Period. The Jurassic period was brought 
 to a close by a further contraction of the cooling globe. One of 
 the results of this contraction was, according to Whitney, the up- 
 rising of the Sierras. The rocks of the next period (Cretaceous) 
 lie unconformably on or against its side. At the same time, the 
 Wasatch, almost parallel with the Sierras, and the Uintas, almost 
 at right angles with the last, also came up from the bottom of the 
 old Jurassic sea. This probably raised the whole of this portion of 
 the continent to so high a level as to drain the whole of what had 
 been the Jurassic sea, and constituted it a land surface until the 
 middle Cretaceous period. 
 12 
 
178 GEOLOGY. 
 
 THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD. 
 
 As is well known, the name Cretaceous is taken from the Latin 
 Creta, meaning chalk, which is exceedingly abundant in deposits 
 of this age in Europe. This, the closing period of the Mesozoic 
 or Reptilian Age, is well represented in the rocks of Nebraska. It 
 is somewhat remarkable, however, that no equivalent of the Euro- 
 pean lower Cretaceous has yet been found in the West. The equiv- 
 alent of the lower green sand of the English Cretaceous is there- 
 fore not present here. It is even questionable whether the upper 
 green sand, or middle Cretaceous, is here represented. The follow- 
 ing is probably the explanation of this fact. As has already been 
 stated, the Sierras, Wasatch and Uinta uplifts probably raised with 
 them the adjoining territories that had been covered by the old Ju- 
 rassic seas. During the whole of the period represented by the 
 lower green sand of the European Cretaceous, the entire Rocky 
 Mountain region was dry land. Whether its utmost height was 
 reached at the close of the Jurassic, or whether it continued rising 
 far into the Cretaceous, is only a matter for conjecture. The weight 
 of evidence is, however, at present in favor of the former view. In 
 Europe the lower and middle Cretaceous were periods of subsidence, 
 and therefore it is probable that this was the case here. This sink- 
 ing extended over a large part of the Rocky Mountain region, and 
 embraced the plains of Nebraska as far east at least as Fort Calhoun, 
 on the Missouri, and north of that point to a considerable distance 
 beyond it. From Fort Calhoun, the eastern line of subsidence ex- 
 tended in the opposite direction first southward and then southwest- 
 ward, entering Kansas a little west of the Otoe reservation. At 
 least this far east the lower member of our Cretaceous system is 
 found. It may once have covered the whole of the State, as there 
 are indications that it has been removed from the Carboniferous and 
 Permian by denudation. What adds greatly to the probability of 
 this view is the fact that small areas of Cretaceous rocks are marked 
 by Prof. White, in his geological map of Iowa, in the latitude of 
 41 30' as far east as the southeast corner of Guthrie County. If 
 that view is the correct one, then this Cretaceous subsidence extended 
 much farther eastward. 
 
 Divisions of the Cretaceous. Nowhere in this country is the 
 Cretaceous so well represented as in the far west, and on the upper 
 Missouri. The following is the detailed section prepared by Meek 
 and Hayden. Having gone over much of this ground myself, 
 
MEDIEVAL OR MESOZO1C TIMES. 
 
 179 
 
 their divisions on the whole appear to me the best possible. I have 
 changed the descriptions of Meek and Hayden slightly to make 
 them correspond more particularly with the geology of Nebraska. 
 
 DIVISIONS. 
 
 LOCALITIES. 
 
 
 
 
 Gray ferruginous and yellowish sand- 
 
 Fox Hills, near Long 
 
 
 w ^ 
 
 stone and arenaceous clays containing 
 
 Lake above Ft. Pierre 
 
 
 r 5 
 
 massive molluscan, and reptilian fossils. 
 
 and along Big Horn 
 
 
 25 
 
 Maximum thickness, 500 feet. 
 
 Mountains. Not in. 
 
 
 
 
 Nebraska. 
 
 
 ^ O 
 
 
 
 02 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 g 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dark grey and bluish plastic clays, also 
 
 Sage Creek. Chey- 
 
 C/3 
 
 &H 
 
 containing massive fossils near the upper 
 
 enne and White River 
 
 PS 
 
 O ^* 
 
 part, also reptilian remains. Maximum 
 
 above the Bad Lands. 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 thickness, 700 feet. 
 
 Not in Nebraska. 
 
 Pn 
 
 ^^ P^ 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 W fc 
 
 s 8 
 
 Middle nearly barren of fossils. Lower 
 
 Fort Pierre out to 
 
 
 2 2 
 
 r_j -H 
 
 Zone contains many massive chambered 
 
 Bad Lands, down the 
 
 
 &3 vj 
 
 * . 
 
 shells. Dark bed of fine unctuous clay, 
 
 Missouri to Gr'tBend. 
 
 
 rH J?5 
 
 H 
 
 containing carbonaceous matter, with 
 
 Knox County on Ni. 
 
 
 ^T 
 
 veins and seams of gypsum, masses of 
 
 obrara and on upper 
 
 
 P 
 
 sulphuret of iron, small scales, fishes, 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 
 local, filling depressions in the bed below. 
 
 
180 
 
 GEOLOGY. 
 
 DIVISIONS. 
 
 LOCALITIES. 
 
 
 
 Lead gray calcareous marl, weathering 
 
 Bluffs along the Mis- 
 
 . 
 
 d 
 
 g 
 
 to a yellowish or whitish chalky appear- 
 
 souri below the Great 
 
 
 M 
 
 ance, containing man} r large scales of fish- 
 
 Bend, greatly devel- 
 
 
 g 
 
 es and many ostrea congesta attached to 
 
 oped below the mouth 
 
 
 .** cci 
 
 fragments of Inoceramus. Passing down 
 
 of the Niobrara, and 
 
 
 OH J 
 D O 
 
 into yellowish and whitish limestone con- 
 
 on to Dakota County 
 
 
 i* 
 
 taining many Inoceramus problematicus, 
 
 along the Missouri. 
 
 
 o 
 
 ostrea congesta, etc. 
 
 West of this line ex- 
 
 
 o 
 -i 2 
 
 
 tends an underlying 
 
 
 . H 
 
 
 rock to Kansas. Most 
 
 
 < 
 
 H 
 
 
 extensive group of 
 
 
 PQ 
 
 O 
 
 
 cretaceous rocks in 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nebraska. Maximum 
 
 DQ 
 
 
 
 thickness 200 feet. 
 
 W 
 
 s 
 
 ^ 
 
 Dark gray laminated clays, sometimes 
 
 Fort Benton on the 
 
 H 
 
 02 
 
 D -<i 
 
 alternating near the upper part with seams 
 
 upper Missouri, and 
 
 *U0 
 
 2 
 
 and layers of soft gray and light colored 
 
 along the latter from 
 
 P3 
 
 w 
 
 5 ! 
 
 limestone. Many chambered shells and 
 
 ten-miles above James 
 
 
 & x 
 
 other marine molluscan forjns. 
 
 River to the Big 
 
 
 
 gl 
 
 
 Sioux, Black Hills. 
 
 (^ 
 
 H 
 
 
 Found in Nebraska 
 
 
 W < 
 
 S 
 
 
 beneath the Niobrara 
 
 
 H g 
 
 
 Group, but rarely the 
 
 
 Is 
 
 
 surface rock. Maxi- 
 
 
 
 
 
 mum thickness, 800 
 
 
 
 
 feet. 
 
 
 '- 
 
 Yellowish, reddish, and occasionally 
 
 Back of Dakota and 
 
 
 o 6 
 
 white sandstone with occasional alterna- 
 
 in surrounding coun- 
 
 
 gfc 
 
 tions of various colored clays and beds and 
 
 try. Thence south- 
 
 
 * 
 
 seams of impure lignite. Also, silicified 
 
 westward into Kan- 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 wood and casts of marine mollusks. Many 
 
 sas and beyond. Max- 
 
 
 O p* 
 
 
 remains of the higher types of dicotyledo- 
 
 imum thickness, 400 
 
 
 Q* 
 
 nous leaves from tree forms. 
 
 feet. 
 
 These groups are readily separated and distinguished on the up- 
 per Missouri and through Nebraska, except along the Republican 
 River. Had I first studied the Cretaceous on the Republican, 
 Meek and Hayden v s divisions would have appeared inapplicable as 
 these groups there shade into each other. The geologist, however, 
 who first studies the rocks of this period on the Missouri cannot 
 well deny the validity of this grouping. Since the rocks of this 
 period have been studied in the mountains by the United States 
 Surveys, two of the chiefs, Clarence King and Dr. Hay den, have 
 agreed on a slightly different division. They retain No I, or the 
 Dakota Group as the basal member of the series. The next three ? 
 however, namely, the Fort Benton, Niobrara, and Fort Pierre 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 181 
 
 Groups they now call the Colorado.* The. Fox Hills Group, Dr. 
 Hayden's No. 5 becomes then, with this division, No. 3. 
 
 THE DAKOTA GROUP. 
 
 This was so named by Hayden because of its great development 
 southwest from Dakota City in Dakota County. Beginning from 
 below, it consists in the main of a whitish clay frcm a few inches 
 to four feet in thickness, then various thicknesses of conglomerate 
 and concretionary sandstone averaging from one to ten feet; next 
 yellowish coarse sandstone from fifteen feet and upwards; and next 
 a red hard ferruginous sandstone containing impressions of plants, 
 leaves, wood, etc., from thirty to seventy feet in thickness. 
 
 Extent of the Dakota Group Deposits. The Dakota Group 
 towards the west extends under the Fort Benton and Niobrara 
 Groups and therefore its real breadth cannot be ascertained. I 
 have traced it, however, from east to west over a breadth of from 
 sixty to ninety miles. In the States of Iowa and Kansas Lesque- 
 rcux estimates its breadth as slightly greater. Its eastern boundary 
 is that of the Cretaceous and can be seen in the accompanying geo- 
 logical map of the State. It is mainly found in the following coun- 
 ties: Dakota, Wayne, Winnebago and Omaha reservation, Burt, 
 Washington, Cuming, Stanton, Colfax, Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy, 
 Saunders, Butler, Seward, Lancaster, Cass, Gage, Jefferson, 
 Saline, and occasionally in the counties bordering on these. South- 
 westerly it has been traced to Texas. It crops out in numerous 
 places as the basal member of the cretaceous series in the mountains. 
 It covers a large part of northwestern Iowa, and extends towards 
 the northern limits of Minnesota. There are evidences of its 
 presence in British America. Prof. Heer has also described fossil 
 leaves from Greenland, some of whose genera and species are ident- 
 ical with those from the Dakota Group, and therefore it is probable 
 that it has been continuous, as Lesquereux remarks, from the Gulf 
 of Mexico to Greenland and other Arctic lands, or over thirty-five 
 decrees of latitude. 
 
 o 
 
 Origin of the Dakota Group. We have already seen that during, 
 at least the lower Cretaceous, Nebraska, with a large part of the 
 Rocky Mountain region was an extended land surface in process of 
 slow subsidence. By the time the middle Cretaceous began, this 
 subsidence had reached so low a level as to admit the Gulf of 
 
 *Havden considers the Fort Pierre Group from its organic rf mains moit closely allied to 
 the Fox Hills. 
 
182 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Mexico, which' spread over the area where the sediments of the 
 Dakota Group are now found. There can be no question about 
 the Dakota Group being a shallow sea and beach deposit. Just 
 such materials are now being deposited in existing shallow seas. 
 Examples can be seen along the North Sea, on the Belgian coast, 
 and along the shores of Holland where there are extensive muddy 
 flats composed of substances which if compacted would be similar 
 in constitution to the Dakota sandstone. Small grains of sand are 
 rolled up by the sea which are mingled with the mud deposits 
 brought down by the rivers. The rivers bring down iron held in 
 solution which is deposited in the presence of organic matter on the 
 bottoms, often giving the grains of sand a coating, which subse- 
 quently became loosely compacted sand rock with a rusty, red, or 
 brown color. " Marine animals, especially shells, are rare in deposits 
 of this kind." "It is shunned by every kind of land animals, and it 
 has therefore no other remains imbedded into its compound but 
 saurians and rarely fishes. It has no remains of marine plants be- 
 cause these do not grow on the soft ground." (Lesquereux.) 
 
 Prof. Marcou and Capellini regarded the Dakota Group as a 
 fresh water deposit. If the considerations already adduced are cor- 
 rect it cannot possibly have such an origin. It can also be added 
 that at Sioux City, and in the bluffs in Dakota County are found 
 mingled with dicotyledonous leaves peculiar -to this deposit such 
 marine shells as Pharella Dakotensis, Axinea Siouxensis, and Cy- 
 prina arenacea. Prof. Meek has also identified not less than twelve 
 additional marine species from this group in Kansas where the leaf 
 impressions are characteristically abundant. Its very extent con- 
 tradicts such an opinion. It is from sixty to one hundred miles 
 broad and adjoining and overlapping the Carboniferous and Per- 
 mian, it extends from Texas through Minnesota to, and probably 
 through British America to Greenland. It is not conceivable that 
 there should be a fresh water deposit of such extent. The homo- 
 genous character of its materials also contradicts this view. No 
 American geologist, however, ever entertained this opinion. 
 
 Discussions tn Regard to the Character and Age of the Dakota 
 Group. No group of remains have ever excited more, and few as 
 much interest as that of the Dakota. When first studied in Kan- 
 sas, it was regarded by Prof. Hawn and Swallow as of Triassic 
 age. Afterwards it was pronounced Jurassic by Prof. Marcou. 
 "In the mean time Dr. Hayden sent some sketches of the leaf im- 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 183 
 
 pressions to Prof. O. Heer, of Switzerland, who complicated the 
 discussion still more by pronouncing them to he of Tertiary age." 
 Hayden himself had reported on the peculiar character of this group 
 as early as 1853. In 1856 and 1857, assisted now by Meek, he re- 
 sumed the study of this deposit in Kansas as they had previously 
 done in Nebraska, and both reaffirmed the conviction which Hayden 
 had previously expressed, that these rocks were of Cretaceous age. 
 Dr. Newberry expressed the same conviction when their whole 
 collection of leaves was submitted to him. This reference of these 
 leaves to the Cretaceous, first by Hayden, and then by Meek and 
 Newberry, produced a difference of opinion and much discussion 
 among some European and American geologists. Dr. Newberrv 
 has given the details of this discussion in his "Extinct Floras." To 
 settle the question of the geological age of the Dakota Group, 
 Professors Capellini, of Paris, and Marcou, of Dresden, visited Ne- 
 braska and examined the stratiography of this group and collected 
 the fossil leaf impressions which it contain*, all of which were af- 
 terwards submitted to Prof. O. Heer for examination. In his 
 report Phyilites ttu Nebraska seventeen new species were de- 
 scribed with illustrations. In this report Prof. Heer admitted the 
 accuracy of Hayden's original reference of this deposit to the Cre- 
 taceous. Capeliini and Marcou also on stratiographical evidence 
 came to the same conclusion, and admitted that they w r ere much 
 less successful than the American geologist, as they, unlike him 
 were unable to discover the line of junction with the next group 
 above. It therefore became settled in the minds of the eminent 
 European and American geologists, who had especially investigated 
 the matter, that the Dakota Group was the basal member of the 
 Cretaceous in this region, and was the equivalent of the middle or 
 lower part of the upper of the European Cretaceous. 1 have given 
 this outline because, even yet, in the minds of some geologists who 
 have not studied the history of these investigations there is a doubt 
 about the cretaceous reference of this group.* It should also he 
 remembered to the credit of Dr. Hayden that he was the first to 
 outline, to name, and to ascertain the true position of this group. 
 
 Fossil Leaves of the Dakota Group. As early as 1853 Dr. 
 Hayden had obtained impressions of dicotyledonous leaves from the 
 rocks, which he subsequently named the Dakota Group. They 
 were remarkable for their modern aspect, as most of the genera 
 
 *See on this subject Lesquereux's Dakota Group Cretaceoua Flora. 
 
184 GEOLOGY. 
 
 to which they belonged are still represented in our existing flora. 
 The collection of these leaves has steadily gone on until the pres- 
 ent time, some of the most important being made by Meek and 
 Hayden in 1856 and 1857, and again in 1865. Prof. Newberry 
 also engaged in this work in another field. Prof. Marcou and 
 Capellini also added to the number, as well as Prof. James Hall, 
 Lesquereux and Prof. Mudge. One of the first published reports, 
 with drawings of the leaves, was that of Prof. O. Heer, of Swit- 
 zerland. In 1874 the Hayden surveys published Lesquereux' Da- 
 kota Group, Cretaceous Flora, which combined all the previously 
 published descriptions, with a great deal of original matter, and 
 gave a full description of all these^leaf impressions that had been 
 discovered up to that time. According to this report there have 
 been found thus far in this group 132 species, distributed among 
 seventy-two genera. Of these there were of non-flowering plants 
 seven species, and six of these were ferns. Of naked seeded 
 plants (Gymnosperms] there were seven species, one of which was- 
 a zamisk and six conifers. Two of these belonged to the giant 
 cedar family (Sequoia], and one a glyptostrobus, similar to the one 
 still growing in China and Japan. There were three moncoty- 
 ledons, one of which was a palm. The dicotyledonous trees, called 
 also exogens (outside growers], to which division all our common 
 trees belong, were the most fully represented, all the remaining 
 forms belonging to these classes. Among these there were five 
 species of populus, the genus to which our cottonwood belongs. 
 Closely allied to the last were four species of populites. Of the 
 willows (Salix], there were six species. The oaks (Quercus], were 
 represented by eight species, and the beeches (Fagus], by two. 
 There were six species of buttonwood (Platanus], and one fig 
 tree. There were two species of spicewood (Laurus], seven of 
 sassafras and two of cinnamonum. The magnolias were abundant, 
 as the presence of fine species attest. The tulip trees (Lirioden- 
 drori), which are among the most magnificent of all modern trees, 
 were represented by three species. One buckthorn (Rhamnus) y 
 one walnut (Juglans), and one sumac (Rhus], have left their re- 
 mains in this group. Even an apple (Pyrus), and a plum {Prunus]^ 
 flourished in those times. 
 
 No one, however, can get a clear idea of the character of this 
 rich modern flora without studying its remains, or the remarkable 
 and beautiful report of Lesquereux on " The Fossil Flora of the Da- 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 185 
 
 kota Cretaceous Group." I have also added these fossils to the cabi- 
 net of the State University, where they can be seen. 
 
 Origin of the Flora of the Dakota Group. No geological ques- 
 tion is more involved in doubt than the source or origin of the 
 
 O 
 
 flora of the Dakota Group. So far as known it is entirely discon- 
 nected from all antecedent types. "The remarkable disproportion 
 between the number of genera compared to species in the Dakota 
 Group seems at first to corroborate the system so generally admitted 
 now of a successive development of vegetable forms, according to 
 a supposed rule of progression of more complex forms constantly 
 originating by the multiplication or subdivision of simple organs of 
 inferior types." (Lesquereux). According to this view, as we go 
 back in time there should be few species and more genera, and 
 what species there are should differ only slightly from the characters 
 assigned to the genera. There are, however, some genera in this 
 group represented by from six to eight species, and it is equally 
 probable that the others, if all the forms had been preserved, would 
 liave been fully as abundant. 
 
 It is, however, not scientific to depend on suppositions on either 
 side. The facts, alone should be considered. And the facts, so far 
 as is now know^n, as already remarked, totally disconnect this flora 
 from all that went before it. 
 
 We have already seen that the Dakota Group rests directly on 
 the Upper Carboniferous or Lower Permian. The Upper Per- 
 mian, the Triassic, Jurassic, and Lower Cretaceous are all wanting. 
 The uppermost vegetable remains in the Permian, a calamite in the 
 Rocky JMountains, is yet palaeozoic in type. Even if we look at the 
 vegetable remains in the Triassic of South Carolina and Virginia, 
 nothing is found but forms representing ferns, equisetacese, cycads 
 and conifers. Even in Europe the Triassic and Jurassic floras 
 belong to the same types. No dicotyledonous leaf has been found 
 anywhere before the Cretaceous. Now the slightest examination 
 of the flora of the Dakota Group shows the "prodigious difference 
 which separates this flora from that of any former epoch, even 
 considering the antecedent vegetation of the Jurassic, known as it 
 is from European specimens and publications." It differs equally 
 from anything yet found in the Jurassic in America. "The ferns, 
 conifers and cycads with a few equisetae, which constitute the 
 whole known flora of that epoch are all of peculiar types, without 
 relations to any of the species of the same families recognized as 
 yet in the flora of the American Cretaceous." (Lesquereux). 
 
186 GEOLOGY. 
 
 There are only two ways in which we can account for the sudden 
 appearance of this Dakota Group flora. One is, that it appeared 
 without any connection with antecedent types. It involves the 
 theory that by some fiat of Nature's God it was spontaneously and 
 suddenly produced. Few naturalists now accept this view. They 
 regard the vegetable world as a connected chain. They are there- 
 fore in this case driven to .use the "scientific imagination" and sug- 
 gest the following explanation the second explanation already 
 referred to. 
 
 We have already seen that throughout the unnumbered centuries 
 of the latter Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, and Lower Cretaceous 
 Nebraska was an extended land surface, and covered by a colossal 
 vegetation of which no memorials have been preserved. The pecu- 
 liar animal life of the time flourished here as elsewhere. Now, it 
 is conceivable that during these long periods, whose length is 
 simply incalculable, vegetable life underwent many changes, be- 
 cause the conditions of climate and environment changed many 
 times. The transformation therefore from primitive types was 
 gradual, all the intermediate links of which have been lost, and 
 the last factor, the flora of the Dakota Group alone preserved. 
 
 Climate of the Dakota Group Epoch. Many of the genera of 
 plants of the Dakota Group period are still flourishing in Nebraska, 
 Kansas, and even in Minnesota. Professor Heer has also pub- 
 lished a memoir on a group of Cretaceous plants from Greenland, 
 whose facies resembles that of the Dakota Group. If the Green- 
 land fossil Cretaceous flora is cotemporaneous with that of the 
 Dakota Group, which seems probable, then a similar climate pre- 
 vailed from southern Kansas to near the Arctic circle. However 
 that may be, little difference can be detected between the fossil 
 vegetable forms in Kansas and Minnesota, and therefore a tem- 
 perate climate must have prevailed over this entire region, during 
 Dakota group times, not greatly different from the one that now 
 exists in Nebraska. The similarity of the vegetable forms that 
 then existed, to those that now obtain here, proves that the climate 
 of that epoch was much like ours to day. It was, judging from 
 the presence of some species, only slightly warmer than our pres- 
 ent climate. It was colder, however, than the preceding Triassic 
 and Jurassic, and also colder than the climate that subsequently 
 prevailed in the Niobrara Cretaceous, and during Eoeene and Mio- 
 cene times. 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 187 
 
 THE FORT BENTON GROUP. 
 
 The preceding period was closed by the changed conditions 
 brought on by a further subsidence of the region where its deposit 
 are found. Where shallow seas and extended sea beaches and flats 
 full of low islands had obtained, now rolled deeper waters and 
 quieter seas. The deposits formed during these times have been 
 called by Hayden the Fort Benton Group. They are dark gray 
 laminated clays, sometimes alternating near the upper part with 
 seams and layers of soft gray and light colored limestone, filled in 
 many places with marine shells. Occasionally in Nebraska this 
 group contains seams of impure lignite and other carbonaceous 
 matter. It lies conformably on the Dakota Group below. It is so 
 friable and easily eroded and disintegrated, that wherever it is left 
 exposed, so far as I have observed, it has disappeared. In many 
 places, however, where deep sections have been made by canyons 
 and railroad cuts through theNiobrara Group, which lies above, its 
 deposits are almost invariable present, and often in notable thick- 
 ness. One of the finest of these exposures is seen below the 
 mouth of Iowa Creek, in Dixon County, along the Missouri bluffs. 
 Here for a long distance the line of demarkation between the Da- 
 kota, Fort Benton and Niobrara groups are distinctly seen and clear- 
 ly outlined. Below Milford, on the banks of the Blue, and at other 
 points in Seward County, in deep sections, it is also observed. 
 
 That this period was a long one is evident from the fact, as ob- 
 served by Hayden, that its deposits are in some places 800 feet 
 thick. The materials, too, are of a kind that are slowly deposited. 
 It is probable that the numerous low islands that had existed in 
 Nebraska during the previous epoch, had now mostly disappeared 
 beneath the constantly deepening seas. Some land surfaces still 
 existed in southeastern Nebraska, but no such memorials of its con- 
 dition have come down to us as marked the preceding epoch. 
 Marine life, however, was abundant. Meek alone has described 
 from this group five species of Inoceramus, a mollusk distantly re- 
 lated to the oyster, and nine species of chambered shells, some of 
 which were of great size and beauty. He has also given eleven 
 additional marine molluscan forms*. The seas swarmed with fishes. 
 Reptilian life was abundant, but this feature will be presented in 
 the discussions of the next epoch. 
 
 *See Meek's "Cretaceous Invertebrate Fossils " 
 
188 GEOLOGY. 
 
 THE NIOBRARA GROUP EPOCH. 
 
 A still further subsidence of the continent, especially towards the 
 north and west, inaugurated the Niobrara Group Epoch. Hayden 
 gave it this name because of the great development of its deposits 
 below the mouth of the Niobrara in northeastern Nebraska. Here 
 its deposits consist of an impure chalk rock, varying from a gray- 
 ish white to a pink bluish and yellow hue. Below the mouth of 
 the Niobrara many of the chalk bluffs are several hundred feet 
 high, with a perpendicular face often excavated beneath by atmos- 
 pheric agencies. These chalk rocks are seen through Knox, Cedar, 
 in many places in Dixon County, and in places on the lower Re- 
 publican. Elsewhere the deposits, especially those beneath the 
 stratum of chalk, are mostly of an impure limestone, which often 
 shade imperceptibly into a silicate of lime. This stratum is often 
 called the Inoceramus bed, from the immense numbers of this mol- 
 lusk which frequently compose it. Under the Inoceramus bed 
 there is in many places toward the southwest, a stratum varying 
 from a few inches to fifteen feet in thickness, of an impure, yellow- 
 ish, silicious limestone. According to Prof. Mudge, it is the char- 
 acteristic feature of this group in Kansas. It can be observed at 
 Milford, in Seward County, in places in Harlan County, and at 
 many other . points between these stations. Lately a chalk bed of 
 this deposit was found near Red Cloud, in the Republican Valley. 
 It is pure white, soft, easily worked, and contains little besides car- 
 bonate of lime and a small amount of iron carbonate, but not 
 sufficient to color it. Judging from microscopic and chemical tests, 
 it is as pure as the best European chalks. 
 
 The Niobrara is the most widely extended of all the Cretaceous 
 groups in Nebraska. In southern Nebraska, from the western line 
 of the Dakota Group to Harlan County where it is overlaid by 
 the Pliocene, it is over 100 miles wide. In north Nebraska, from 
 Dakota County where it begfns to overlie the Dakota Group, it 
 extends westward for over 150 miles. In general, the area on the 
 geological map marked Cretaceous is all Niobrara Group, except a 
 border from sixty to one hundred miles wide on the eastern rim, 
 from the Omaha Reservation southward, which mainly belongs to the 
 Dakota Group. As before intimated, it was mostly a period when 
 deep seas overspread a large part of the area now covered by its 
 deposits. Southeastern Nebraska was also a land surface during 
 
MEDIJEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 189 
 
 this epoch. The eastern border, at least, of the Cretaceous area, 
 was the eastern shore line of th6 interior sea of the time. 
 
 Vegetable Life of the Niobrara Group Epoch. The diatoms and 
 
 desrj^ds which abounded in some strata in the European chalk, * 
 were sparingly represented in the Niobrara Group seas. I have \ 
 only in a single instance found a*few diatoms under the microscope 
 in some chalk obtained below the mouth of the Niobrara River. 
 The specimen was overlaid by a portion of the skeleton of a fish 
 which seems to have protected the silicious matter which had ac- 
 cumulated and which contained the diatoms. 
 
 The peculiar impressions of geologically modern leaves (dicotyle- 
 donous] which characterize the Dakota Group, are wanting in the 
 Niobrara. Different seas now prevailed, and as is evident from the 
 fossil animals, to be noticed hereafter, a warmer climate. Only one 
 leaf impression, to my knowledge, has been obtained from this 
 group in Nebraska. It was found in the Inoceramus bed in Dakota 
 County, by Hon. Jesse Warner, and presented to me for the cabinet 
 of the State University. Owing to the absence of nerve marks, it 
 could not be certainly identified, but its external form was that of a 
 laurus. 
 
 Fossil wood, however, is abundant, both petrified and agatised. 
 Of this material I have made microscopic sections of seventy-nine 
 specimens, which under the microscope showed the structure of the J 
 original wood. Of these seventy-nine specimens, forty-seven be-s 
 longed to the conifers of araucarian type, and the balance were ) 
 cycads and zamias. Judging only from these few remains, the di-^ 
 cotyledonous vegetation that characterized this region in Dakota 
 Group times, had retreated, where to is not certainly known, but ^ 
 probably northward or northeastward. A southern flora, or one 
 that had reached its culmination in Jurassic times, returned again 
 to this region by migration. At the same time a few species from 
 the Dakota Group era lingered among these mediaeval vegetable 
 forms. 
 
 Animal Life of the Niobrara Group Epoch. The chalk of Europe 
 was largely made up of remains of rhizopods which were so abun- 
 dant that a cubic inch, according to Ehrenberg, contained millions 
 of these low organisms. In our own chalk seas they were probably 
 little less abundant, though not so well preserved. Some specimens 
 of chalk that I obtained below the mouth of the Niobrara, and in 
 Cedar County, afforded them, under the compound microscope, in 
 
190 GEOLOGY. 
 
 immense numbers. Often, however, no trace of these organisms is 
 left. I found them where they had apparently been preserved from 
 crushing first beneath the huge scale of a fish, and then in the hol- 
 lows of reptilian vertebra. As in the European chalk, the spicula 
 of sponges are occasionally found in this group. 
 
 This era was evidently well adapted to the support of molluscan 
 life, though the number of species is less than from the preceding and 
 the next two following. The number of individuals, however, is 
 enormous. One of the last tasks that the lamented Meek performed, 
 was the completion of his great work on the Invertebrate Palaeon- 
 tology of the Cretaceous, in which he described four species of 
 mollusks from this group. One of these was a species of oyster 
 (Ostrea congesta), which must have been very abundant, as remains 
 of it are found in every stratum of this group. An anomia is 
 found principally in Knox County. An oyster-like shell (Inocer- 
 amus problemalicus], and a variety of the same, are the most abun- 
 dant, some whole strata being almost entirely composed of it. The 
 Inoceramus bed is so named from the abundance of this shell. Re- 
 lated to these is a genus represented by two species which were re- 
 markable for their size. They were described by Conrad, and 
 named Haploscapha grandis and H. eccentrica. The former is of gi- 
 ; gantic size, being twenty-seven inches in diameter, and the latter 
 (nine inches. They are found in this group on the Republican, 
 Solomon and the Smoky Hill. In the stratum of yellowish impure 
 limestone beneath the Inoceramus bed there are many impressions 
 of ammonites and nautilus and other chambered shells. They are,, 
 however, so poorly preserved that it is impossible to identify them 
 with any certainty. One impression of an ammonite from the chalk 
 in the cabinet of the University is eighteen inches across. 
 
 The seas of this era swarmed with fishes. In the chalk in Knox 
 and Cedar counties, for over a hundred feet through it vertically, 
 almost every spadeful of rock contains fish scales or teeth or both. 
 Many of the species were of reptilian type, or at least were pre- 
 daceous and allied to the modern saury or salmon. Cope has de- 
 scribed forty-eight species, most of which were from the Niobrara 
 Group in Kansas. Many of these I have identified from the same 
 group in Nebraska. One of the most abundant of these fishes, and 
 also one of the most rapacious that ever existed, is known as Por- 
 theus molossus. Cope. Its bones are sometimes found to project 
 from the sides of the limestone bluffs in the Republican Valley. 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 191 
 
 " The head was a few inches longer than that of a grizzly bear, 
 and the jaws even deeper in proportion to the length. The muzzle 
 was shorter and deeper than that of a bull-dog. The teeth were 
 long cylindrical fangs, smooth, glistening, and of irregular size. 
 At certain points in each jaw they projected three inches above the 1 ] 
 gum, and were sunk one inch into deep pits, being thus as long as 
 the fangs of a tiger, but much more slender. Two pairs of such 
 fangs crossed each other on each side of the end of the snout." Six 
 species of these rapacious fishes have left their remains in these 
 rock, and probably more will be found with the progress of dis- 
 covery. 
 
 In this group in Nebraska, the remains of sharks are quite abun- 
 dant. Many fine specimens of their teeth have been obtained in 
 the Inoceramus bed at Pleasant Hill in Saline County, from near 
 Seward, Milford, and in Dakota County. Some of these teeth 
 represent the pavement teeth kind {Cestraciont Pycodus Mortoni), 
 and others the common modern shark family. 
 
 Reptiles. Many reptilian forms from the west have been de- 
 scribed by Leidy, Marsh and Cope. The latter, from the Niobrara 
 Group of Kansas, alone, has described thirty-seven species of rep- 
 tiles. Many of these I have identified from the same group in 
 Nebraska, and as this group is continuous through these two States, 
 it is almost absolutely certain that they all, or their equivalents, 
 swarmed here during those times. What adds to this probability 
 is the certainty that there were deeper se^s towards the northern QuJ 
 boundary of the Niobrara Group waters. u In the deep seas of 
 this era could have been seen an animal lying on the water, with a 
 body of elephantine size. Its neck was twenty-two feet long, 
 snake-like, and with an arrow-shaped head. One minute it would 
 run this long neck in the water, and then, raising it up, would peer 
 for victims over the deep. Its tail was also of serpent pattern, and 
 served to balance it behind, or propel it through the water, though 
 it also had two pairs of paddle-like limbs, resembling those of the 
 Plesiosaurus, from which it differed mainly in the arrangement of 
 the bones of the breast. This is the Elasmosaurus platyurus, (Cope), 
 a carniverous sea reptile adapted to deep water. Its total length 
 was fifty feet. It was structured to swim below or on the surface, 
 and while lying still would explore the depth forty feet below with- 
 out changing the posture of its body. That it fed on fishes, is evi- 
 dent from the scales and teeth found in the posibon of its stomach." 
 
192 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Cope. A few years ago a magnificent specimen of what I take 
 to be this reptile, judging from a photograph submitted to me, was 
 found in Dixon County, at the edge of the Missouri bluffs. Un- 
 fortunately, it fell into the hands of men who cared more for money 
 than for science. They attempted to make money by exhibiting 
 it, and after this proved a failure, gave it away partly by piece 
 meal. 
 
 A species similar to the last, and also described: by Cope, was the 
 polycotylus latipinnis. It was extraordinary for the length of its 
 neck and attenuated head, though its tail was short and massive, 
 doubtless to balance its long neck while moving through the water 
 and capturing its prey. It was a powerful swimmer, as is evident 
 from its two pairs of paddles, four feet long, with a lateral expanse 
 of from eleven to twelve feet. The bones of a reptile found near 
 
 / Sheridan, Kansas, has been referred to the genus Plesiosaurus, of 
 .. -s which there have been found and described the remains of many 
 
 7 species in the European chalk. The two preceding and this last 
 (Plesiosaurus gulo) are the only ones in this large family of Saurop- 
 tergia that have yet been found in the Cretaceous in the West. This 
 is evidently, as Cope has remarked, because of the presence of an- 
 other order, almost entirely absent in Europe, but the real rulers of 
 our Cretaceous seas the Pythonomorphs or Mososaurs of Leidy- 
 These reptiles had characters that related them to the lizards and 
 serpents, and in the absence of a sternum, to tortoises and plesio- 
 saurs. They pre-eminently characterized the cretaceous seas oT 
 America, being found in the deposits of this age in Alabama, New 
 Jersey, and especially in Kansas and Nebraska. One-half of all 
 ir the reptiles found here belong to this order, but only four species 
 V have yet been found in Europe. 
 
 It was Cope who first made known the wonderful forms of these 
 reptiles, especially the mouth parts. Their form was very much 
 elongated, especially the tail. The head was long, conical and flat, 
 with the eyes directed upward and forward. As in snakes, the roof 
 of their mouth was furnished with four rows of conical large teeth, 
 which were not structured for masticating, but for seizing their prey. 
 The structure of their jaws was unique among animals. Though 
 they swallowed their prey whole, like snakes, they were without 
 their expansability of throat, which is due to an arrangement of 
 muscular levers "supporting the lower jaw." They were, how- 
 ever, furnished with an additional joint in each side of this organ, 
 
MEDIEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES, 193 
 
 nearly midway between the base and the anterior end.- This joint 
 was of the ball and socket type, which enabled it to make an angle 
 outward, and thus greatly to widen the space between the two* 
 halves. This arrangement, in fact, seems to have anticipated that 
 of the arms, which can be made to imitate it by placing the hands 
 close together, extended forward and with the elbows bowed out.- 
 The ends of the bones, like in the serpents, were only bound to- 
 gether by flexible ligaments. This posture of the arms gives a 
 diamond shaped space, and represents the expansion practiced in 
 these reptiles to enable the passage of a large fish or other victim. 
 The arms only represent the size of the jaws of the smaller species, 
 the larger ones being much more extended. The basal half of 
 the jaw, like in all other reptiles, is attached by a column-like 
 bone (quadrate bone), whose shape and form varies a great 
 deal in the different species, being dependent on the degree of 
 twist to be allowed or needed. In consequence of this peculiar 
 structure, the mouth of the gullet must have been prolonged for- 
 ward, and the throat must also have been loose and baggy like that 
 of a pelican. Such a structure would also necessitate the throwing 
 forward the opening of the wind pipe or glottis, as this is always 
 in front of the gullet. The tongue must also have been far for- 
 ward, long and forked. The only noise that could have been made 
 by such an animal would be a hiss like in the serpents, but a hiss 
 which for loudness would resemble distant thunder. They were 
 furnished with two pairs of huge paddles "which were attached to 
 the body by short peduncles." Their tails were flattened, but their 
 strokes, aided by the paddles, must have sent them through the 
 water with great velocity. 
 
 The most gigantic of these reptiles (Liodon proriger, Cope), at- 
 tained a length of not less than seventy-five feet, and probably 
 much greater. This species was very abundant. It had a long, 
 projecting muzzle, remotely resembling that of the Atlantic blunt- 
 nosed sturgeon, but the ends of the lower jaw were much more 
 blunt and massive. Such an arrangement must have made it a 
 terrible ram, and no doubt it often stunned its victims by a butt 
 before swallowing them. Liodon dyspelar, Cope, was perhaps 
 equally as large as the preceding, but by no means so abundant. 
 Two somewhat smaller species of Liodon occupied the same seas. 
 
 A genus closely related to the last, and whose remains are 
 specially abundant in Nebraska, is Clidastes. The species of this 
 
 '3 
 

 194 GEOLOGY. 
 
 genii's were more flexible, and much more elegant inform than the 
 Liodons, and also less in size. " Perhaps to prevent their distor- 
 tions from dislocating the vertebral column, they had an additional 
 pair of articulations at each end." (Cope.) One of these species 
 Clidastes tortor, (Cope), was only thirty feet long, but its narrow 
 pointed head had a length of thirty inches. Its teeth had cutting 
 edges lengthwise of the animal, and in the lower jaw were eighteen 
 in number. " The palate was armed with eleven teeth." The 
 light and slender bones and elongated vertebrae indicated that this 
 reptile was of exceptionally slender proportions. The largest species 
 {Clidastes cineriaruni), was about forty feet in length. Another 
 species, remarkable for its elegance and lance-shaped head, was de- 
 scribed by Marsh, and named by him Clidastes pumilus. It was 
 only about twelve feet in length. Altogether, Marsh has described 
 from the Niobrara Cretaceous five species, Cope three, and Leidy 
 one species. 
 
 Closely related to the preceding genus is that of Platecarpus. 
 Of the species assigned to this genus, seven were described by Cope 
 and four by Marsh. These reptiles were almost equally abundant 
 with those in the preceding genera in the old Niobrara Cretaceous 
 seas. 
 
 Tortoises have long been known from the Cretaceous of the At- 
 lantic coast, but have only lately been described from the Niobrara 
 group. Three genera and as many species are now known. The 
 largest (Protostega gigas, Cope), had a spread -of expanded flippers 
 of over fifteen feet. The ribs in this species did not entirely coal- 
 esce, and in its entire structure it was like an ordinary turtle just 
 hatched. 
 
 European writers describe an immense number of flying reptiles 
 (Pterosaurs], from the chalk. Prof. Owen and Von Meyer first 
 made known their true structure, since which time they have ex- 
 cited much interest among geologists. All sizes, from minute 
 forms to those with an expanse of twenty-five feet of wing, have 
 been found in the European chalk. Those that I found in Ne- 
 braska were so fragile that they fell to pieces in excavating them. 
 Prof. Marsh has described one from the Niobrara of Kansas, with 
 a spread of wing of eighteen feet, and one (Pterodactylus ingens), 
 with a spread of twenty-three to twenty-five feet. The one that 
 Cope has described, from the same region, (P. umbrosus), was still 
 larger, having, as he claims, a spread of twenty-five feet. Marsh 
 
MEDIEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 195 
 
 has shown that the American pterosaurs were toothless, differing 
 in that respect from the European, and for this reason erects them 
 into a new order, called Pteronodontia, which means winged tooth- 
 less. One of these flying saurians,' "(P. ingens), has toothless 
 jaws four feet long." Unquestionably there were many more species, 
 some gigantic, and some, as in Europe, small. They roamed through 
 the air, often plunging down to seize fish or reptile, they would fly 
 away to some rock on a neighboring coast or island and there con- 
 sume their victims at leisure. 
 
 No crocodiles have yet been described from the Niobrara group, 
 but they were undoubtedly present in that old sea, as they existed 
 in the preceding and subsequent eras. One {Hyposaurus Webbii^ 
 Cope), obtained in the Fort Benton group of lead colored shales, 
 was about ten feet long, and belonged to the division that had sub- 
 biconcave vertebra, and with a long subcylindric snout. 
 
 Only one species of Dinosaurs has been found in the Niobrara 
 group. They were no doubt abundant in this era, but the condi- 
 tions for their preservation were not favorable. Many have been 
 found in the geological equivalent of the Niobrara in New Jersey. 
 They were present in considerable numbers during subsequent Cre- 
 taceous eras, and no doubt on the land surfaces of the time they 
 were the rulers. 
 
 Birds. Nothing is more remarkable about this marvelous age 
 than the peculiarities of its bird life. Like all other vertebrate 
 forms, it was almost entirely of reptilian type. Thus far eleven 
 species have^ been described from the Niobrara group deposits. 
 The New Jersey green sand has yielded five more. The Saururae 
 were the most remarkable, as they combined fish, reptile and bird 
 characters. They are embraced in two genera, Ichthyornis and 
 A-patornis. They had no horny beak, like modern birds, but in lieu 
 of it they had slender, thin and long jaws, filled with sharp conical 
 teeth in sockets, numbering at least twenty on each side below, and 
 Marsh thinks as many above, though that could not be ascertained 
 from the specimens. " Their vertebras were amphicoelous or bicon- 
 cave, as in fishes and many extinct reptiles, but in no modern bird-" 
 Marsh. Of the former there were two species, namely, Ichthyor- 
 nu dispar and /. celer. The generic name {Ichthyornis}, means fish- 
 bird, referring to the fish-like structure of its vertebrae. They had 
 a keel on the breast, like modern birds, for the attachment of the 
 muscles of flight. Marsh supposes that the tail, which was not 
 
196 GEOLOGY. 
 
 found, was vertebrated like the old Jurassic birds, but probably 
 shorter and less reptilian. In size they were not larger than pigeons,, 
 but were capable of flight. 
 
 Three others resembled the last in the possession of teeth, which, 
 however, were placed in grooves in place of sockets. They had 
 no keel, but on the other hand had ordinary bird vertebrae. Two 
 of these, namely, Hesperornis regalis and Lestornis crassipes, were of 
 gigantic size, the former being five and a half feet high, and the 
 latter six feet. This combination of fish, reptile and bird characters 
 is so unique that Marsh has erected out of them two new orders 
 OdontotormiE (socket-toothed), and Odontolcce (teeth in grooves), and 
 a new subclass Oddntornithes. (toothed birds). It is remarkable 
 that the presence of these toothed birds in the Niobrara group era 
 birds that had not yet been entirely separated from the fish and 
 reptile classes is exactly what the doctrine of evolution demands. 
 Modern birds are the most specialized of all animals, but these old 
 Cretaceous forms raise the dbubt whether they are most reptile or 
 most bird. They are a transition form between the two classes. 
 
 From these brief outlines, it is evident that there was a most vig- 
 orous life during the Niobrara group times. The oceans swarmed 
 with many kinds of fishes, a large proportion of which were ra- 
 pacious. Gigantic reptiles flourished on sea and land. Flying- 
 saurians navigated the air; many of them of huge size. Reptilian 
 birds abounded, of all sizes, from diminutive forms to gigantic di- 
 mensions. During the earlier and middle portion of this era, the 
 Niobrara ocean was connected on the west with the Pacific. Later r 
 the sea bottoms were raised up along the Rocky Mountain chain, 
 giving access and egress alone from the Gulf on the south, and the 
 Arctic Ocean on the northwest. A slow process of elevation con- 
 tinued on the east as well as on the west, contracting this ocean to 
 ever narrower limits. A reverse movement was now going on 
 from what was taking place early in its history. Then it was in 
 process of subsidence, now it was in process of slow elevation. 
 When sand bars eventually were thrown across the channels of 
 moving waters, much of its life was imprisoned and gradually de- 
 stroyed. The most vigorous species and individuals would last the 
 longest, but all eventually had to submit to the inexorable fate of 
 final extinction. 
 
MEDIEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 197 
 
 GHAPTBR III. 
 
 MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES IN NEBRASKA, 
 
 CONTINUED. 
 
 Fort Pierre Group Cretaceous. Its Position and Extent. Thickness. 
 Life of this Epoch. The Fox Hills Group. Its Exposures, Character and 
 Extent. Its Vegetable and Animal Life. Laramie Group. Where Exposed, 
 and Probable Presence in Nebraska. Conformability to the Preceding 
 Groups. Whence its Materials were Derived. Its General < haracter and 
 Thickness. By Whom Explored. Its Great Extent. Its Characteristic 
 Feature. Character of its Flora, and the Great Number and Modern Char- 
 acter of its Species. Animal Life, made up of Marine, Brackish and Fresh 
 Water Species. Reptilian Remains. Transition Character of this Group. 
 Probable Existence of Coal in the Cretaceous Groups in Nebraska. -How 
 this can be Ascertained. Close of the Cretaceous and Transition Period. 
 
 FORT PIERRE GROUP 
 
 THE preceding (Niobrara Group) era came to a close by a con- 
 tinuation of that process of elevation that eventually drained 
 the region where its deposits now constitute the surface rocks. 
 Here and there the deeper portions of the old sea beds were still 
 filled with water It is doubtful, however, whether these Fort 
 Pierre seas in Nebraska were at this time connected with the Ocean. 
 However that may be, the filling up of these seas gave us the pe- 
 culiar deposits of this era. It is possible that the elevation going 
 on at the close of the preceding era continued until the whole State 
 was a land surface. The great inequalities of the Niobrara group, 
 on which this group was laid down, suggests this explanation. It 
 is hard to conceive a sea bottom so uneven and irregular. If, how- 
 ever, it was first elevated into dry land, and exposed to sub-aerial 
 action, which produces inequalities of surface, its broken character 
 is accounted for. 
 
 Two regions of Nebraska contain these deposits. One of them 
 is in northeastern Nebraska, in Knox County, below the mouth of 
 and for a short distance along the Niobrara. The other is on the 
 Upper Republican, towards the west line of the State. 
 
 The m iterials of the Fort Pierre group, in Nebraska, are made 
 up largely on the Upper Republican, of occasionally thin beds of 
 
198 GEOLOGY. 
 
 brownish sandstone, underlaid by dark gray plastic clay, calcareous 
 shales, sometimes containing sulphuret of iron, and more rarely 
 carbonaceous matter. A large amount of gypsum is present, which 
 often has the form of selenite. The star-like shapes which it fre- 
 quently assumes, makes it desirable for cabinets. The masses of 
 selenite scattered over these deposits, on the Missouri" bluffs, beyond 
 the Niobrara, has given them the name of shining hills. From the 
 occasional presence of scales of fishes, and still more rarely of am- 
 monites and other chambered shells, I conclude that only the lower 
 member of this group is present in Nebraska. 
 
 On the Upper Republican this group in many places lies beneath 
 the Tertiary, and can only be seen in cuts and canyons, and the 
 sides of bluffs and ravines. It almost certainly extends from near 
 the mouth of the Niobrara in a southwesterly direction across the 
 State. Passing beneath the Tertiary, it is not seen again until the 
 western Republican region is reached in Hitchcock and Dundy 
 counties. It runs, therefore, proximately parallel to the Niobrara 
 group, and on its northwestern side. 
 
 Clarence King unites this group with the preceding Niobrara 
 and Fort Benton group, to constitute the Colorado group. Hayden 
 and White, on the other hand, attach it to the next above, or Fox. 
 Hills group. King's reason for this reference is lithological. That 
 is, in the character of its rocks and other deposits it is much like 
 the preceding groups. Hayden and White refer it to the Fox Hills 
 groups or palasontological grounds, its animal life being more nearly 
 like that of the next era. 
 
 The Fort Pierre sea that extended diagonally across the State 
 from the mouth of the Niobrara and beyond represents a depression 
 left or made after the elevation of the Niobrara group area above 
 the old oceans. As already intimated, it is questionable whether 
 this interior sea of Nebraska was connected with the ocean, except 
 for a very brief period. The rarity of organic remains in this ter- 
 ritory in this group is indicative of that unfitness for life which 
 characterizes a sea that is losing more water by evaporation than it 
 gains. Gypsum, which is so abundant in this deposit, is also formed 
 under the same circumstances. Hence the vegetable and animal life 
 that it here at first possessed gradually but surely was exterminated. 
 
 Elsewhere, however, it was very different. While this region 
 was steadily rising, further northward and westward it was for a 
 time slowly sinking, and had direct communication with the ocean. 
 
MEDIEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. . 199 
 
 At Fort Pierre, on the Upper Missouri, this group constitutes the 
 hrlls along the Missouri, and extends to the Bad Lands. From 
 Fort Pierre it also extends northward to the Cheyenne and Moreau 
 Rivers, where it dips beneath the Fox Hills group. It also occurs 
 on the Yellowstone. (Meek and Hayden.) , As already observed, it 
 extends from Fort Pierre to the Great Bend, below which, to be- 
 low the mouth of the Niobrara, it rests on the uneven surface of 
 the Niobrara group. This group is met with again on the eastern 
 base of the Rocky Mountains and northward to and beyond the 
 Black Hills. It is seen westward, along the line of the Union 
 Pacific Railroad, on and beyond the Laramie Plains. Where the 
 grayish black carbonaceous shales and marls, and the nearly black 
 arenaceous clays prevail, and no superficial deposits cover them, 
 they give a barren, bleak appearance to the country. (Meek.) 
 
 The thickness of this group on the Upper Missouri is not less 
 than 700 feet. There are a few localities where it is even greater. 
 It was therefore a very long era; so long, indeed, that the ages of 
 human history are as nothing compared with it. During all this 
 time a large portion, and after the middle of the era the greater por- 
 tion of what is now Nebraska was again an extended land surface. 
 
 Life of the Fort Pierre Group Epoch. From the few vegetable 
 remains in the form of petrified and agatized wood that has been 
 preserved, it is evident that the vegetable kingdom was represented 
 mainly by the forms that characterized the preceding era. These, 
 it will be remembered, were mainly cycads, zamias, araucarian con- 
 ifers and tree ferns. 
 
 The animal life of the seas was probably richer than in the pre- 
 ceding era in molluscan forms, and poorer in reptilian life. The 
 Cretaceous, the last period of Mesozoic times, was drawing to a 
 close, and with it its characteristic life. 
 
 Meek has described one echinoderm from this group. He has 
 also described two species of oysters and several varieties. Closely 
 related to the oysters were two Gryphaea and eleven species of 
 Inoceramus. Some of these were of great size and beauty. Ino- 
 ceramus sagensis was nearly six inches long. /. vanuxemi was still 
 larger, being ten inches long and nine inches high. The bivalves 
 seemed to have been specially abundant, as besides the preceding, 
 Meek has described thirty-five species. Thirty species of univalves 
 have also been described. There were many beautiful chambered 
 shells. Two baculites were abundant. Among the eighteen ad- 
 
200 GEOLOGY. 
 
 ditional species of chambered shells there were seven of Heteroceras 
 and one Placenticeras; This last was a form of exceptional beauty. 
 P. Placenta was equally fine. The three partially uncoiled scaphites 
 ;show the beginning of a return to the original form of chambered 
 shells. The three species of Nautilus are as perfect as the finest 
 from existing seas. Fish life was abundant. Reptiles were pres- 
 ent, but not in such amazing numbers as in the preceding era. The 
 commonest kind being species of Mosassaurs. 
 
 This era was closed by a further elevation of the country in Ne- 
 braska, on the Upper Missouri and wherever this group now con- 
 stitutes the upper rock of a region. 
 
 THE Fox HILLS GROUP. 
 
 No deposits of this group are exposed in Nebraska, and it is un- 
 certain whether any exist in the State. If they are present, they 
 underlie the Tertiary in the northwestern part of the State. As 
 this group constitutes the surface or upper rock in the Fox Hills, 
 from which it was so named by Hayden, above Moreau River, on 
 the upper Missouri, and near Long Lake, above Fort Pierre, it is 
 possible that it also runs in a southwesterly direction, and underlies 
 the Tertiary in northwestern Nebraska, as stated above. In doing 
 so it would follow the law of the preceding groups in Nebraska, 
 each of the newer following after the preceding on its northwestern 
 side. This group is also found along the base of the Big Horn 
 Mountains, on the North and South Platte Rivers, and at other 
 points in the mountains. Its thickness is about five hundred feet. 
 (Meek and Hayden.) It is largely composed of gray ferruginous 
 and yellowish sandstone and arenaceous clays. During the depo- 
 sition of these deposits, the greater part of Nebraska *was an ex- 
 tended land surface. Nebraska doubtless drained into this Fox 
 Hills sea, but the sediments that filled it up were derived mainly 
 from land surfaces on the west and north, as is indicated by their 
 character. That it was also a long period, is evident from the 
 thickness of the deposits 500 feet in the region of the upper Mis- 
 souri. According to Clarence King, (Systematic Geology, p 349), 
 east of the North Platte and north of the Union Pacific Railroad 
 in Wyoming, its maximum thickness is 4,000 feet. At the most 
 rapid rate of deposition, the time involved in laying down such a 
 mass of sediment is beyond calculation. According to Hayden, 
 Meek and Lesquereux and others, it was the closing portion of 
 
MEDIEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 201 
 
 -Cretaceous and Mesozoic times in the West. Clarence King, Le 
 Comte, Stevenson, Powell, Newberry and Cope, however, regard 
 the next group above (Laramie Group of King and Hayden), as the 
 closing member of the Cretaceous. It will, however, suit my present 
 plan best to consider the Laramie (also called by Hayden Lignitic 
 Group) as the transition group from the Cretaceous to the Tertiary. 
 
 The vegetable remains found in the Fox Hills group still indicate 
 the presence of cycads, zamias, tree ferns and araucarian pines, but 
 in greatly diminishing proportionate numbers. There is already a 
 large admixture of more modern tree forms. 
 
 Animal life was specially rich in molluscan forms, closely related 
 to that of the preceding group, or Fort Pierre fauna. Like the 
 latter, it contains the remains of many chambered shells, such as 
 baculites and scaphites, the latter being specially, abundant and 
 beautiful. No more beautiful shell ever existed than Scaphites Con- 
 radi, which is found in these deposits. Other unrivaled shells and 
 bivalves were also abundant. Vertebrates were represented by nu- 
 merous fishes and some large reptiles, the commonest being in the 
 Fort Pierre group, Mosasaurus Missouriensis. No doubt the plains 
 of Nebraska, during this epoch, was the home of huge Dinosaurs 
 and reptilian birds, but their 'remains, under the geological circum- 
 stances of the times, could not be preserved to us. 
 
 LARAMIE GROUP. 
 
 This is the Lignitic group of Hayden, but changed to Laramie 
 by mutual agi cement between Dr. Hayden and Clarence King. 
 Like the preceding, it is not exposed in Nebraska, but may be 
 present in the northwestern part of the State, underlying the Ter- 
 tiary. A line joining the Laramie on the Missouri and its eastern 
 exposures in Colorado, would pass across northwestern Nebraska. 
 As this grcup is known in numerous places to pass under the Mio- 
 cene, its presence in northwestern Nebraska in the same position 
 is not impossible. However that may be, it represents, even more 
 than the preceding, a very long epoch, and the history of our plains, 
 the greater part of which at least w r as, during its continuance, a 
 land surface, can only be surmised by studying the character of this 
 group, and the events which it represents. 
 
 It is the last of that series of groups, commencing with the Da- 
 kota, that are conformable through their united thickness of not 
 less than 12,000 feet in the Rocky Mountain region. Of these 
 12,000 feet of sediment, four-fifths are of sandy materials, more or 
 
202 GEOLOGY. 
 
 less mixed with calcareous deposits, which were derived mainly 
 from a land mass that was raised up at the close of the Carbonifer- 
 ous, and extended from the Wasatch west of the meridian of 117 
 30' for 200 miles westward, and for an unknown distance north and 
 south. (King.) The materials of this land mass were mainly silic- 
 ious, and fully seven-tenths of the deposits that constitute these 
 cretaceous rocks came from their disintegration and erosion. At 
 the close of each epoch represented by these groups, the shore line 
 of the old interior cretaceous ocean retreated farther to the west and 
 northwest. By the time the Laramie epoch was reached, it was> 
 during much of the time, only a vast marsh or bog, full, no doubt,, 
 of low islands, and subjected often to incursions from the sea, and 
 again constituting an estuary, and occasionally even becoming a 
 fresh water lake. All this is evident from its vegetable and animal 
 remains, which sometimes are marine, sometimes land, and some- 
 times of brackish and fresh water types. From the Triassic to the 
 Cretaceous, and through its groups to the upper boundary of the 
 Fox Hills, only marine forms are found, except in a very few in- 
 stances where a few fresh water species exist underlaid and over- 
 laid by a true cretaceous fauna. 
 
 The materials of this Laramie Group are, like the preceding,, 
 principally sandstones, but varying a great deal more in litho- 
 graphic character in different sections. Intercalated with the sand- 
 stones, at various horizons, are clayey and shaly layers, and a few 
 beds of pure clay, and many strata of carbonaceous shales. The 
 principal colors are buff, pink, red and various shades of yellow* 
 Sometimes the dip is slightly east or west, or even entirely horizon- 
 tal. Its undulations are wave like, and the inclination of the flanks 
 are always under 5 or 6. (Clarence King.) The thickness of this 
 series of beds ranges from 1,500 to 5,000 feet. 
 
 This group can be studied to great advantage at the exposures 
 along the railroad east of Separation station, where colored sand- 
 stones, some clayey beds, and a number of coal seams, leaf impres- 
 sions and carbonized stems are found, and often exposed. No- 
 where, however, is it seen on a grander scale than in the Upper 
 Missouri, where it was first noticed and reported on by Lew r is and 
 Clarke, as early as 1804. From a Mandan village on the Missouri,, 
 they traced these lignitic measures to the Yellowstone, and for a 
 great distance along this river. The length of these measures, as 
 observed by these explorers, was over six hundred miles. After- 
 
MEDIJEVAL. OR ME8OZOIC TIMES. 203 
 
 wards, Audubon and Morris explored the same region, and gave 
 details similar to those of Lewis and Clarke. No one, however, has 
 done so much to make known the character and the great extent of 
 this group as Dr. Hayden. Commencing his explorations in 1854, 
 and continuing them down to the present time, he reduced to order 
 the data which others as well as himself accumulated. Lesquereux > 
 speaking of his work in this field, remarks: " His researches show 
 the constant vigilance and circumspection of a master, attending to 
 the performance of a great work, the building of a monument 
 whose plan has been prepared by serious scientific studies." Hay- 
 den considers that the area of the Lignitic (Laramie) on the Upper j 
 Missouri cannot be less than 100,000 square miles, without taking j 
 into account the great belt that extends far north from the United 
 States into British America.* Altogether, from British America 
 to the Black Hills, the area covered is not less than 125,000 square 
 miles. Between the Black Hills and the Rocky Mountains, there 
 is still another area of 1,700 square miles. The extent of the 
 southern basin, which commences south of Cheyenne and extends 
 to the Colorado plains, east of Denver, and southward to New 
 Mexico, has not yet been estimated. 
 
 The most characteristic feature of this group, as already indicated r 
 is the great number of carbonaceous shales and true coal beds 
 which it contains. Fifteen and twenty coal beds sometimes occur 
 in the course of a thousand feet. (King). Artesian borings at Rock 
 Springs station in 700 feet brought to light seventeen coal seams, 
 the principal bed being eleven feet thick. Some beds are known | 
 and worked that are over thirty feet in thickness. When the great 
 extent of this coal field is considered, it becomes apparent that it is 
 only second in importance to the coal fields of the Carboniferous 
 Age. As is well known, the coal belongs to the series of lignites, 
 and is a superior article. 
 
 Vegetable Life. The vegetable kingdom had now become clearly 
 modern, the Mesozoic features having passed away. The Flora of 
 this group has been carefully studied by Lesquereux, who has de- 
 scribed from this and the Green River Groups 329 species. This is 
 probably only a fragment of the rich flora of that time, but it is 
 enough to show its general character, and the kind of forests that 
 must have obtained also over the land surface of Nebraska. j- In 
 
 *Hayden's Annual Report for 1874, p. 20. 
 
 jSee Lesquereux's Tertiary Flora, Vol. VII. of IT. S. Geological Surveys of the Territories, 
 F. V. Haydeii, Geologist. 
 
204 GEOLOGY. 
 
 his list of Flowerless plants (Crypt ogamice), there are a few fungi, 
 one lichen, eight algae, one moss, four lycopods, twenty ferns, four 
 colamites, etc. 
 
 The Flowering Plants (Phcznogamice), were most fully developed. 
 Among the naked seeded were one zamiae and sixteen cone-bearing 
 trees. These latter first appeared in the Devonian, and apparently 
 culminated in the Tertiary, from which at least 200 species have 
 been described. Among these in the Laramie Group were eight 
 sequoias, the genus to which the giant trees of California belong. 
 Five species of grasses have also been described. The Palms, 
 "those noble children of the sun," were represented by at least 
 three genera and fifteen species. One beech (Fagus), flourished at 
 that time. No family, however, surpassed in the number of indi- 
 viduals the Oaks (Quercus), of which eighteen species have been 
 described from this group. At the present time there are only 
 thirty species known to the-entire United States. Even the Chest- 
 nut (Costanea), was then already present. Four species of Willow 
 (Saltx) must have been, judging from their remains, abundant. 
 Curious enough, the Cottonwood (Populus) was then represented 
 by at least twelve species. The Sycamores (Platinus) have left 
 the remains of five species in this group. Most wonderful of all is 
 it that already twenty-three species of Fig tree ('Ftcus) have been 
 described. Whether their fo62,was equal to the fig of the present 
 time, is uncertain, but if so, the monkeys that appeared in the Green 
 River Eocene had fine living. Ash (Fraximus), Dogwoods (Cor- 
 nus), and the Grape-vine ( Vitis], were all at home in this group. 
 That noble, majestic and beautiful named tree, the Magnolia, which 
 is the pride of the south, flourished during these times, as the re- 
 mains of four species attest. Eight species of the Maple family 
 (Acerinecz), and nineteen of the Buckthorn (Rhamnece}, also abounded. 
 That noble tree, the Black Walnut (Juglans), which had appeared 
 first in the Dakota Group Cretaceous, had now increased to six 
 species. Five species of Sumach (Rhus) were in company with the 
 last. Even an Eucalyptus flourished at this time. Many other 
 forms, to which my limits will not permit me even to allude, illus- 
 trate the wonderfully rich and divergent type of the Flora at that 
 time a Flora that combines many semi-tropical and high temper- 
 ate characters. 
 
 Animal Life. The Animal life of the Laramie Group has been 
 regarded as unique and exceptional. Its marine forms are al- 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 205 
 
 most entirely Cretaceous, while its lacustrine species are most closely 
 allied to the Tertiary. Oysters (Ostrea) are the most abundant in 
 species and individuals of all the marine forms. 
 
 The following marine mollusks of Cretaceous type are reported 
 from this group; the first three being given by King, and the re- 
 mainder by Meek.* 
 
 Avicula Nebrascana. 
 Nucula cancellata. 
 Ammonites lobatus. 
 Ostrea glabra. 
 Ostrea subtrigonalis. 
 
 The following brackish water species are also given from this 
 group, by Meek : 
 
 Cyrena, one species. 
 Carbicula, five species. 
 Carbula, three species. 
 Certhida, one species. 
 Hydrobia, five species. 
 Micropyrgus, one species. 
 
 The following are the fresh water species : 
 
 Unios, four species. 
 Sphaerium, five species. 
 Limnasa, one species. 
 Planorbis, four species. 
 Bullimus, three species. 
 Goniobasis, nine species. 
 Viviparus, eight species. 
 Campeloma, three species. 
 Valvata, three species. 
 
 There are some others inhabiting both brackish and fresh water, 
 A few land shells of the genera, Helix and Hyalina are also found 
 mingled with the above. 
 
 The most remarkable, however, of all the facts connected with 
 the animal remains of this group, is the presence of reptilian re- 
 mains of Cretaceous type. At Black Buttes station, about half-way 
 up the base of the bluff, are laminated light gray shales over a coal 
 
 *See Meek's Invertebrate Palaeontology of the Cretaceous and Tertiary Fossils of the Upper 
 Missouri, Vol. IX. of U. S. Geological Surveys, F. V. Hayden, Geologist. 
 
206 GEOLOGY. 
 
 bed two feet thick. Here are found marine and fresh water shells. 
 About 100 feet from the top, in a dark gray sandstone filled with 
 leaves and stems, Bannister, and afterwards Cope, exhumed the 
 body of a Dinosaur (Agathaumus sylvestre). Four species of Dino- 
 saurs have also been described by Leidy, from the Judith beds 
 (Laramie) in Montana. Still. others, from this same group in Col- 
 orado, have been described by Cope. 
 
 It is therefore a fact that a Cretaceous vertebrate fauna flourished 
 during this Laramie epoch. According to Lesquereux and New- 
 berry, a Tertiary flora existed here at the same time, as we have 
 already seen. Cope, summing up the evidence, remarks: "There 
 is, then, no alternative but to accept the result that a Tertiary Flora 
 was contemporaneous with a cretaceous fauna, establishing an uninter- 
 rupted succession of life across what is generally regarded as one of 
 the greatest breaks in geological times." "The appearance of 
 mammalia, and sudden disappearance of Mesozoic types of reptiles 
 in the immediately next epoch, may be regarded as evidence of mi- 
 gration, and not of creation. Lizards, tortoises and crocodiles, con- 
 tinue from the Mesozoic through the Tertiary to our own time, 
 without great modification of structure. The Dinosauria, how- 
 ever, disappeared from the land, exterminated by the more active 
 and intelligent mammal. Herbivorous reptiles, like Agathaumas 
 and Cienodon, would have little chance in competing with the 
 powerfully armed mammals of Tertiary times. This transition 
 series, therefore, of Hayden, is such in fact as well as in name, and 
 Paleontology demonstrates his conclusion " that there is no real 
 physical break between the well marked Cretaceous and Tertiary 
 Groups." This rich Tertiary flora and Cretaceous fauna flourished 
 then during this epoch also over the plains and in the lakes of Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 COAL IN THE CRETACEOUS. 
 
 No question about the Cretaceous in Nebraska is more frequently 
 asked than this: Is there coal in workable quantity in any of the 
 groups of this period in Nebraska? There is no question about 
 the Cretaceous in the mountains being coal bearing. On this sub- 
 ject, Clarence King observes*: " In the extreme western exposures 
 in the territory of the Wasatch and Uinta ranges, coal beds appear 
 at the very base of the series, immediately upon the capping mem- 
 bers of the Jura; and from that horizon to the summit of the series, 
 
 *Systematic Geology, p. 539. 
 
 * 
 
MEDIAEVAL OR MESOZOIC TIMES. 207 
 
 throughout the whole 12,000 feet, they recur in that region. They 
 increase in frequency after the close of the Fox Hills Group, and 
 are most abundant through the 4,000 or 5,000 feet of the closing or 
 Laramie Group of the series." In illustration of this statement, it 
 is reported by Emmbns that a bed of coal ten feet thick, of excel- 
 lent quality, is located south of the Uinta at Ashley Creek, in the 
 Dakota Group. Of equal excellence is another bed of coal of equal 
 thickness in the Fort Benton Group, higher up in the series, but 
 near the same place. Another thick coal bed, on the south side of 
 the Uintas, is reported by Marsh, in the Niobrara Group. Coal 
 is also reported in workable quantities in the Fort Pierre, and in 
 still larger quantities in the Fox Hills Group. The inference, 
 therefore, is legitimate that there were betimes, during the progress 
 of the Cretaceous Age, extended land surfaces in this region, fol- 
 lowed by subsidences. 
 
 Were there such subsidences and land surfaces in Nebraska dur- 
 ing this period? Thus far none to the same extent have been 
 found. At a few places in the Dakota Group, and also in the Fort 
 Benton, thin beds of lignite have been found. The thickest, thus 
 far, have been observed in Dakota and Dixon counties, where they 
 range from six to sixteen inches, but the lignite coal is of inferior 
 quality. As the strata are almost horizontal, and few canyons cut 
 through them, their study in Nebraska, in the absence of borings, 
 is difficult. It is possible, though hardly probable, that at some 
 points in our extended territory there may be basins of coal of good 
 quality in these deposits. Even in the mountains, the thick beds 
 occupy depressions in the strata, and soon thin out, only to increase 
 again in thickness farther on. To settle this question in Nebraska 
 definitely, will require many borings, over a large area of our ter- 
 ritory. One of the most favorable regions for testing for these 
 lignite coals is in northern and northwestern Nebraska. 
 
 CLOSE OF THE CRETACEOUS AND TRANSITION PERIODS. 
 
 With the close of the Laramie epoch, the whole series of con- . 
 formable strata, which had commenced with the Dakota Groups 
 ceased. When the last sediments of the Laramie Group had been 
 laid down, there occurred one of the great geological revolutions in 
 the history of the globe. Frorn the eastern base of the mountains 
 to the Wasatch, the whole region was thrown into a series of folds, 
 and undulations. The Uinta Range, with its broad, flat anticlinal, 
 
208 GEOLOGY. 
 
 was made at this time. The whole chain of the Rocky Mountain,, 
 was lifted up, so as to leave a broad depression eastward of the 
 Wasatch, and on both sides of the Uintas. (King.) The Laramie 
 Group was turned up at all angles, from a few degrees to a vertical 
 position, as it is now found in many places beneath the superincum- 
 bent Tertiary. This upturning affected also the Cascade Range, 
 which was then first outlined. The whole region of the plains 
 sympathized with this movement, so that they became an extended 
 land surface. Nebraska now certainly, for the first time since the 
 early Cretaceous, over its whole territory became a land surface. 
 The elevation in the mountains became sufficient to give free drain- 
 age to the sea, and exclude the oceanic waters. The great interior 
 sea became so completely exterminated, and the continent so 
 elevated, that it has never since been subjected to the sway of the 
 ocean. Henceforward, fresh water lakes became dominant, down 
 to the borders of our own times. 
 
THE CENOZOIC AGE. 209 
 
 CHAPTER IV, 
 
 THE CENOZOIC AGE IN NEBRASKA. EOCENE 
 TERTIARY EPOCH. 
 
 Causes that Produced the Cenozoic Age. Tertiary Period. How Divided. 
 Eocene and Its Divisions in the West. Eocene Not Represented in Ne- 
 braska. Why Discussed Here. Its Peculiar Modern Vegetable and Animal 
 Life, and its Origin. Vermillion Group of the Eocene. Its Vegetable and 
 Animal Life. Green River Group, and Its Organic Remains. Fort Bridger 
 Group, and Peculiar Scenery. Its Animal Remains. Uintah Group. Close 
 of the Eocene. 
 
 culmination of those physical changes that had been in pro- 
 JL gress during the whole of the latter portion of the Cretaceous 
 period inaugurated the Cenozoic Age. We have already seen that 
 successive portions of ihe old Cretaceous sea bottoms became dry 
 land. After the Dakota and Fort Benton groups, the first extended 
 land surface wrested from the Cretaceous sea was the Niobrara 
 Group. Portions of the Fort Pierre Group were next added. The 
 Fox Hills and Laramie are not exposed in Nebraska, but both may 
 and probably do exist in northwestern Nebraska beneath the super- 
 incumbent Tertiary. In fact, the Cretaceous period came to a close 
 by a very gradual uplift, not of single mountain masses or chains, 
 but by the elevation of the whole western portion or half of the 
 continent, along with mountain folding. Heretofore the highest 
 portion of the continent existed in the east with the Appalachian 
 chain as the central axis; now it came to be the western portion, 
 with the Rocky Mountains as the main axis. 
 
 The emergence of the continent was most complete towards the 
 north. The great American Mediterranean Sea, which from the 
 middle Cretaceous period had extended from the Wasatch to the 
 meridian of eastern Nebraska and middle Kansas, had separated 
 the continent into two elongated bodies of American land. This 
 great sea had now become virtually extinct by the continued conti- 
 nental uprising, thus " giving free drainage to the sea, except along 
 a basin-like depression extending from the Wasatch Range east- 
 
 H 
 
210 GEOLOGY. 
 
 ward to the meridian of 107 30', with a north and south extension 
 not yet definitely known. This depression was immediately occu- 
 pied by an early Eocene lake, whose northern portion corres- 
 ponded with approximate accuracy to the present drainage basin of 
 / Green River. Southward it extended through portions of Utah, 
 Y__ New Mexico, Colorado, and probably Arizona." (Clarence King). 
 Along with this uprising of the western portion of the continent,, 
 there was an epoch of mountain making at the close of the Laramie 
 period, as already stated. The Wasatch and Uinta mountains- 
 were further folded and raised, and the Colorado range was greatly 
 elevated. This folding helped to make the depression towards the 
 Wasatch and on each side of the Uintas, which became the bed 
 of the great Eocene lake, referred to above. This emergence to- 
 wards the north, and on the west of the continent, the greater ele- 
 vation of its mass, and the retreat of the seas necessarily produced 
 great changes of climate. The mean temperature had gradually 
 become lower, and the extremes greater. The climate also became 
 drier. And yet it was warmer and moister than at present, as is- 
 evident from the vegetable and animal life of the time. All the 
 old Cretaceous forms had disappeared, or had been, by changes of 
 environment, transformed into the modern representatives. Thus 
 was inaugurated the Cenozoic Age. 
 
 The Cenozoic Era, or Age of Mammals, comprises two periods^ 
 namely: First, The Tertiary; second, The Quaternary. 
 
 TERTIARY PERIOD. 
 
 Lyell divided the Tertiary into three divisions, which were 
 named from the number of species of fossil shells which they con- 
 tain, and which are living in existing seas. They are the Eocene, 
 Miocene and Pliocene. Other divisions are in use in the east and 
 south, but as Lyell's method is most convenient, and his divisions 
 the most characteristic of the west, they are followed in this work. 
 
 Eocene Epoch. As already stated, there are no deposits of this 
 period in Nebraska. During the whole of it, Nebraska was an 
 extended land surface. The forces that had finally lifted the conti- 
 nent from the embrace of the sea, during the closing centuries of 
 the Cretaceous period, had extended their work to the region of the 
 plains, and made them dry land. During the whole of the Eocene,, 
 therefore, Nebraska was an extended land surface. What really 
 occurred here during this period, can only be inferred from the veg- 
 
THE CENOZOIC AGE. 211 
 
 etable and animal life that is found entombed in the Eocene beds 
 of the mountains. The record there is comparatively full here 
 there is none whatever. At the present day nearly 500 species of 
 Nebraska plants grow in the mountains, and on the foot-hills. 
 The proportion of animals common to the two regions is still 
 greater. In Eocene times the differences in level and climate were 
 probably not near so great as now. It is therefore highly probable 
 that the larger number of vegetable and animal forms, that then 
 flourished around the shores of this old Eocene lake in the moun- 
 tains, also lived in Nebraska. Unfortunately, many species, also, 
 that then existed here did not range so far west, and therefore no * 
 memorials of their presence have been preserved. 
 
 Clarence King has recognized four groups of the Eocene, which 
 he has named as follows: 
 
 1. Vermillion Creek Grotip. This is the Wasatch Group of Hay- 
 den. Lowest Eocene, 5,000 feet thick. 
 
 2. Green River Group. Hayden and King. Middle Eocene, 
 2,000 feet thick. 
 
 3. Fort Bridger Group. Hayden and King. Lower and middle 
 horizon of the upper Eocene, 2,500 feet thick. 
 
 4. Uinta Group. King. Upper Eocene, shading into Miocene, 
 500 feet thick. 
 
 In these groups we have the most complete memorials of the 
 higher land and fresh water life of the Eocene of the continent. 
 The Gulf Alabama Eocene beds are much less complete, as they 
 begin at a much higher horizon than the Vermillion beds. As the 
 Eocene is not present in Nebraska, I will omit the lithological and 
 physical description of these beds, referring only to such particulars 
 as may throw light on Nebraska's geological history during those 
 times. 
 
 The Length of the Eocene Epoch was very great. This is inferred ^ ->. 
 from the 12,000 feet of sediments that were accumulated in the ) / 
 bottom of the Rocky Mountain Eocene lakes. Many of the sedi- 
 ments of the Green River and Fort Bridger groups are of the 
 character that accumulate with extreme slowness. A large part, 
 too, of the upper beds, where they constitute the surface rocks, has ' 
 been removed by erosion. Their original thickness, therefore, 
 must have been much greater than at present. The estimates of 
 time, however, are made from the remnants of these beds. It has 
 been estimated that at the most rapid rate, not more than one-fourth 
 
212 GEOLOGY. 
 
 of an inch of solid sediment, on an average, could accumulate in a 
 year. It was probably far less rapid than that, but even at that 
 rate, over half a million of years were required to accumulate these 
 12,000 feet of sediments that are left from these old lake beds. 
 During the progress of these deposits, there were occasional oscil- 
 lations of level and interruptions in the accumulation of materials. 
 This is indicated by the shifting of the shore lines westward, and 
 the slight unconformability of the Green Riverbeds with the under- 
 lying Vermillion. 
 
 We can best understand the progressive movements, and the ad- 
 vanced position of those times by considering the vegetable and 
 animal life which is found entombed in its various groups. 
 
 It was the great changes in climate resulting from the changes 
 in physical geography, that either exterminated the vegetable and 
 animal life of the preceding Cretaceous period, or by gradual change 
 of environment transforming them into the advanced stages which 
 they exhibited during the opening centuries of the Eocene. 
 
 Life during the Vermillion Creek Period. Wasatch of Hayden. In 
 the sediments of this group (5,000 feet thick), have been found, and 
 described by Lesquereux, forty-six species of plants. Among these 
 are found the following notable forms: One Cypress (Taxodium 
 .dubium), one Giant Cedar (Sequoia Heerii), one Sweet Gum Tree 
 {Liqitidamber gracilis), six species of Cottonwood (Populus), one 
 Alder (Alnus Kefersleinii), one Birch (Betula Stevensoni\ five Oaks 
 , two Hazel-nuts (Corylus), two Beeches (Fagus), five figs 
 , two Sycamores (.Platanus], two Dogwoods (Cornus), one 
 Magnolia, one Papaw (Asimina mioceneca), one Grape-vine, three 
 Walnuts (Juglans), and twenty-one other species. These vegetable 
 forms, according to Lesquereux, are, when compared with Euro- 
 pean fossils, all of Miocene type, though found here in the lower 
 Eocene. In fact, of the fifty-six species, thirty-one are identical 
 with the European Miocene, or the Arctic Miocene Flora. Accord- 
 ing to the same authority, they are indicative of a warm temperate 
 climate. This is specially indicated by the presence of the Magno- 
 lia, Fig Trees, Sequoias and Cypress. 
 
 Animal Life of the Vermillion Group Epoch. The peculiarity 
 that marked the animal life of the earliest Eocene was the sudden 
 appearance of mammals of a high type. Though highly generalized 
 compared with their more modern representatives, the transition 
 forms connecting them with the animals of the preceding Cretace- 
 
THE -CENOZOIC AGE. 213 
 
 cms period are unknown. If the period of transformation was the 
 preceding Laramie period, which is regarded by Hayden as a 
 transition group between the Cretaceous and Tertiary; then the ev- 
 olution of their forms occurred elsewhere, where no records have, 
 been preserved. It probably, however, was near by, and may have 
 been the region of the plains in Kansas and Nebraska; and if so, 
 during the early Eocene they came by migration around the shores 
 of the Vermillion lake, in whose sediments their remains were pre- 
 served. 
 
 The distinguishing peculiarity among the mammals that now 
 appeared in large numbers was the tapiroid features that marked 
 them all. They were mostly odd toed (Perissodactyls}, like birds 
 and dinosaurs. It has been observed by zoologists that as dinosaurs 
 in the character of the sacrum, vertebra, ischium, etc., were related 
 to, or had mammallian characters, so the tapiroid mammals of the 
 Eocene had also dinosaurian features. The dinosaurs were still 
 more closely in their organization related to birds, so that it is un- 
 certain of many of them whether they were most reptile or bird. 
 It is possible, therefore, that at some time along the transition pe- 
 riods of the Mesozoic the dinosaurian branch divided, one part pro- 
 ceeding towards or transforming into birds, and the other into the 
 mammalia. 
 
 Among the lower Eocene Vermillion animals Cope has des- 
 cribed three small species of carniverous animals, having more or 
 less of the then common tapiroid characters. 
 
 The hoofed (Ungulatd] animals are, however, the most interest- 
 ing. Fifteen species of these are from this group. Six of them be- 
 long to the famous Dawn Horse Family (Eohippus), and have 
 been described mainly by Marsh. They w r ere about the size of a 
 fox, and had three toes on the hind foot and five on the front, four 
 of which were serviceable, and one splint (metacarpei) that did not 
 touch the ground, but probably carried a rudimentary thumb toe, 
 " like a dew claw." Unlike the modern horse, " the bones of the 
 leg and forearm were not yet distinct." (Marsh.) 
 
 The Vermillion beds from which these animals were procured 
 have been called \h&Cary,phodonbeds^ from the presence of remains 
 of animals that have received that designation. These peak-toothed 
 animals (Caryphodons^ of which four species have been described, 
 were peculiar in their highly generalized type of foot and tooth 
 structure. They had five hoofed toes, and their general structure 
 
214 GEOLOGY. ' 
 
 connected them with tapirs and such generalized carnivores as 
 bears. Cdryphodon elephantopus was about the size of a small 
 elephant, but some of the species were much smaller than the mod- 
 ern tapir. 
 
 Another group of animals described from these beds by Marsh, 
 were named Tillodontla. Like the preceding, they were highly 
 generalized in structure, and combined the hoofed toes of the Un- 
 gulata with the head of the bears and the incisor teeth of the ro- 
 dents. Thus far four clearly defined species have been described. 
 Among reptiles several species of crocodiles and many turtles have 
 been obtained. 
 
 Green River Group. This group is unconformable to the pre- 
 ceding, indicating some changes of level preceding its deposition. 
 It overlaps the Vermillion group towards the west at least 200 
 miles (King). The sediments that constitute this group are 2,000 
 feet thick, and are exceedingly fine, indicating their deposition in 
 deep waters. In some localities, such as Barrel Springs, south and 
 east of Cathedral Bluff--, the shales of this group are extremely 
 carbonaceous, and are intercalated with fine, sandy members. 
 Many leaf impressions are found in them, and numerous fresh wa- 
 ter shells. 
 
 Vegetable Remains of the Green River Group. Lesquereux has 
 described 82 species of plants from this group, but their general 
 facies is remarkably distinct from that of the preceding deposits. 
 Among these plants are six ferns, two species of Equisetae, eleven 
 conifers and nine grains and grasses (Glumaceoe). The willows 
 (Sallx) were represented by three species, the oaks (Quercus) by 
 five, hollies (Ilex) by four, sumac (Rhus) by two, and walnuts 
 (Juglans] by six species. Fig trees, the Cyprus, the giant cedars, 
 and the ash were still present, but the palms were gone. It con- 
 tains only a remnant of the Flora of the preceding group. Les- 
 quereux, in studying this Flora, came to the conclusion that it rep- 
 resented a vegetation characteristic of " high land, covered with 
 lakes, swamps, and deep forests of conifers with a thick under- 
 growth of ferns and shrubs." In the Tertiary it has its analogue 
 with the Flora of Oeningen in Switzerland, or upper stage of Eu- 
 ropean Miocene. As this vegetation is an upland flora, it is prob- 
 able that it does not so fully represent the vegetable forms that ob- 
 tained on the plains of Nebraska during this period as the preced- 
 ing Vermillion Group epoch. % 
 
THE CENOZOIC AGE. 215 
 
 Animal Lije of the Green River Group. As already stated, fresh 
 water shells were exceedingly abundant. Fish seemed to be enor- 
 mously abundant, at least in individuals, though the number of gen- 
 era represented are comparatively few. One of the commonest of 
 genera is Clupea, of which some half a dozen of species have been 
 clearly distinguished. Our existing, shad and herring belong to 
 this group. Several other genera, each represented by from one 
 to seven species, have been described. Turtles were abundant in 
 this old lake. But with the exception of a crocodile described by 
 Leidy, about the size of the one living in the Nile, the higher rep- 
 tiles of the period were not preserved. In mammallian life it does 
 not compare with the preceding or the next group. 
 
 Fort Bridger Group. The areas of the Bridger beds are sur- 
 rounded by strata of the Green River formation, which pass under 
 them, exhibiting slight nonconformity. (King.) They are 2,500 
 feet thick. " The materials are largely made up of almost uniform 
 buff and gray marls, and clays, interrupted at several horizons by 
 beds of peculiar green earth." " Fine sand and clay predominate, 
 arranged in varying proportions, and occasionally changed by cal- 
 careous admixtures. It is a sand and clay formation, while the 
 preceding Green River group is highly calcareous." The Bridger 
 beds are intricately eroded into all kinds of fantastical architectural 
 forms. At and near Cherokee Ridge a line of bold escarpments 
 extend northeast for fourteen miles. Here the Bridarer beds rise 
 
 o 
 
 300 feet above the level valley, and present many abrupt, nearly ver- 
 tical faces, worn into innumerable architectural forms. Often out- 
 liers stand detached in bold, isolated blocks, which have been sculp- 
 tured by the winds into many singular forms. Sometimes enor- 
 mous masses project from the main wall, the stratification lines be- 
 ing traced by the creamy, gray and green sands and marls, which 
 resemble courses of gigantic masonry. Narrow galleries often pro- 
 ject far into these labyrinths. The whole appearance is like a line 
 of Egyptian structures. Among the most interesting forms are the 
 isolated blocks, often over 100 feet in height, which are the last rel- 
 icts of the b^Js which once covered this region. The plains skirt- 
 ing these " Bad Lands" are quite level, there seldom being any 
 talus at the bottoms or base of the cliffs. The excessive fineness of 
 the materials is leveled by the water agencies that have for so long 
 a period been producing erosion. (King.) 
 
216 GEOLOGY. 
 
 The Briclger beds are most remarkable for the animal remains 
 which they have preserved, and which has made them classic, 
 ground for the geologist. From the above description it is seen 
 that they are eminently adapted for the preservation of animal re- 
 mains. At the foot of almost every cliff can be found some remains 
 of turtles or mammals. 
 
 Animal Life of the Fort Bridge r. Moluscan life was abundant,, 
 but I can only refer to the vertebrate, and espe'cially to the mam- 
 malian life of the time. 
 
 Fishes were represented by numerous forms, among which were 
 species of Phineaster, closely related to the modern catfish, several 
 species of gars and many kinds of mud fish, as Amia. Closely re- 
 lated to the last are numerous species of Pappichthys, some of 
 which are classed by Marsh with Amia. Marsh has also described 
 many species of serpents, one genus of which (JBoanus) was allied 
 to our water snakes. The saurians were represented by many spe- 
 cies, which have been mainly described by Leidy and Marsh. The 
 most abundant of these are the crocodiles, of which at least six spe- 
 cies have been defined. Many others, closely related to the croco- 
 diles, are found in the same localities, among which the Glyplo- 
 saurus and Thinosaurus were also described by Marsh. The tur- 
 tles (Chelonid) were also present in large numbers. Species of the 
 genus Emys were most abundant, though there were also many of 
 the soft shelled kind (Trionyx), and of several other genera. Some 
 of them were small, but many of them were of gigantic size. Some 
 of the land turtles of the genus Hadrianus, described by Cope, were 
 from twenty-five to twenty-nine inches in length, and proportion- 
 ately broad. They were probably the largest of all the extinct 
 land tortoises. 
 
 True, birds seem to have been abundant. One of the first de- 
 scribed from this group was a form allied to an owl, and called by 
 Marsh Bubo leptosteus. One genus of waders {Alletornis}, was 
 represented by five species. The remains of a woodpecker {Uintot- 
 nis Uucaris), have also been described by Marsh. 
 
 The highly generalized Tillodontia, that appeared already in the 
 Vermillron group, were here represented by several genera. Of 
 these, species of Tellotherium were the most abundant. With these 
 fossils are mingled many species of rodents. 
 
 The hoofed odd-toed ( Ungulata] animals were present in great num- 
 bers. One of these genera, of which several species have been de- 
 
THE CENOZOJC AGE. 217 
 
 scribed by Leidy, he has named Paleosyops paludosus. It had 
 forty-four teeth, and formed nearly an unbroken arch. The canines 
 were proportionately as large, and of the same form as in the bears. 
 It was about the size of the existing tapir of South America. In 
 tjie structure of the mouth and teeth it resembled the Paleotherium 
 of the European Eocene. From the structure of its mouth, Leidy 
 concludes that, like the bears, it was omniverous. Another species 
 (P. majo?'}, was as large as the Indian Rhinoceros.. Several other 
 species have been described. A still more curious species, described 
 by Leidy, was the gnawing hog (Trogosus). The two species ot 
 this genus combined the characters of the tapirs with those of the. 
 gnawing animals. The incisor teeth did not .extend so far back as 
 in the rodents, and in this respect approached the hog and pecary. 
 Unlike the rodents, however, the worn slope of the incisors is 
 directed both backwards and forwards. No canines existed ap- 
 proaching in this respect the Hyrax, Mastodon, Elephant and 
 Rhinoceros. 
 
 Another tapir-like genus of animals was the Hyrachyus, of which. 
 six species have been described by Leidy, Marsli and Cope. They 
 differed from the South American tapir only generically, and aver- 
 aged about the same in size. From the great numbers of their re- 
 mains, they must have been exceedingly abundant during this 
 period. Thus one of the animal forms most common in North 
 America in Eocene times still persists in the tropical regions of this 
 continent. Many other genera of tapiroid species have been de- 
 . scribed from this basin to which I cannot even allude. 
 
 The Mountain Horse (Orohippus], similar to the Eohippus of the 
 Vermillion beds, but wanting the fifth toe, is also found in this group. 
 
 Perhaps the most remarkable mammals yet discovered in rocks 
 of any geological age, are the Dinocerata, which received that name 
 from Marsh, who regards them as the type of a distinct and new 
 order. He gave them this name because of the peculiarities of 
 their heads, which were armed, some of them with three and some 
 of them with two pairs of horns. They were " terribly horned." 
 Cope, on the other hand, does not attach the same weight to these 
 characters, and merely considers them to be a sub-family of the ele- 
 phants {Proboscidians}. He claims that they had trunks similar to 
 the elephants. Marsh denies this, on the ground that the naral 
 opening and general structure of the head unfitted it for carrying a 
 large trunk or proboscis, and because their short limbs and longer 
 
-I 
 
 218 GEOLOGY. 
 
 necks enabled them to reach the ground for food without the help 
 of such an appendage. The heads of most of the species were ex- 
 tremely elongated, but the limbs bore a striking resemblance to 
 those of the elephants. One pair of horns, of small size, was 
 placed above the nasal bones, far forward; the second pair, some- 
 what larger, above the canines on the maxillary bones; and a third 
 pair, of large size, on the parietal bones, far back on the head. 
 Large canines from the upper jaw extended in a slight curve down- 
 ward, varying in length, on the different species, from five to ten 
 inches. They had no incisor teeth. 
 
 ' Cope recognizes four genera of these remarkable animals. Leidy 
 first made them known in his description of Uintdtherium, of which 
 three species at' least are now known. Subsequently Marsh and 
 Cope described other genera and species, and no little confusion has 
 been produced by the different names ascribed by different investi- 
 gators to the same species. Cope's type genus, and species is Lox- 
 olophodon cornutus ( Tinoceras grandis, Marsh). This species is 
 perhaps most remarkable for the narrow form of the cranium, 
 which at its middle is only one-fourth its length. The horn 
 cores diverge, "having in their upper portion an outward curvature." 
 * * " Its form and proportion of body was similar to that of an 
 elephant," but its limbs were shorter, and its tail was quite small. 
 The neck was longer than that of the elephants, but shorter than 
 that of the rhinoceros. The hind pair of horns towered far above 
 the others, "extending vertically, with a divergence when the head 
 was at rest." Cope, contrary to Marsh, claims that the muzzle 
 could not have reached the ground by several feet, and that there- 
 fore a proboscis,as in elephants and tapirs, was a necessity. The 
 horns were probably palmate. 
 
 Eobasileus is another genus of the family established by Cope, 
 but which may be included in the preceding. It was about the 
 same height as Loxolophldon, but more slender. The muzzle, too, 
 is shorter and more contracted, as also the horn sheaths. Still an- 
 other genus of this remarkable family, described by Leidy, w r as 
 Megaceratops. It was about the size in bulk of body to a small 
 elephant. 
 
 re-SathnTodontidaB were a group of animals closely allied to the 
 
 OX J 
 
 preceding. Cope has described four species from deposits of this 
 age. The neck was longer and the dentition more complete than 
 in the preceding forms of this order. They stood in even closer re- 
 lation to the odd-toed animals than even the Eobasileus. 
 
THE CENOZOIC AGE. 219 
 
 The Insectivera (animals with molars having short points) were, 
 represented by many, genera and species, indicating a great fullness 
 of insect life during the early Eocene times. 
 
 The Carnivora were already abundant. They were like the 
 preceding orders, of a remarkably comprehensive type. One of 
 the most curious was the Mesonyx abtusidens, described by Cope. 
 It was as large as our timber wolf, but with a more slender body 
 behind. The cheek bones were more prominent than in the wolves 
 and the tail more like that of the dogs. The phalanges of the first 
 series were elongated and curved, as in the cats, but like the dogs 
 it walked on its toes (digitigrade). The foot, moreover, was short, 
 and the claws flat and more adapted to aquatic use than prehensile 
 (grasping). The number of its molars exceeded that of any recent 
 families of carnivora. The teeth, though sectorial, are not so to the 
 same extent as in existing carnivora, the cutting edge being dull and 
 uccupying but half the crown. While, therefore, dog-like, it had 
 many characters relating it to other families. Still more curious 
 was an animal called by Cope Synoplotherium lanius. Its claws 
 approximated in character to the seals. The lower canines pro- 
 jected forwards, and were of large size and came so close together 
 that there was no room in front for the incisors. They, however, 
 rested against the incisors of the upper jaw, and latterly against 
 the upper canines. In other particulars, this animal resembled the 
 bears and the hyagnodons that appeared in the next or Miocene 
 epoch. The peculiar approach and projecting form of the lower 
 canines, was doubtless, as Cope has suggested, a modification of 
 structure for special habits, which was the destruction and devour- 
 ing of turtles, which so wonderfully abounded on land, lake and sea, 
 during early Eocene times. 
 
 Sinopa rapax was an animal that was intermediate in position 
 between the wolves and the dogs, and about the size of the red fox. 
 Canis montanis is described by Marsh as a species of wolf, larger 
 than the grey wolf. 
 
 Patriofelis ulta (Father of the Cats?) described by Leidy, was 
 related to the panther and the dog family, with some characters 
 approaching the weasels and civets. It was considerably larger 
 than the former. 
 
 .The Quadrumana, the order to which the monkeys and man be- 
 longs, were represented during this period by at least eight species, 
 among which the following were characteristic forms. Timotheri- 
 
220 GEOLOGY. 
 
 um had a long thigh, free from the body, a forefoot capable of be- 
 ing set down flat, and a form of lower iaw and teeth, similar to 
 that of the lower modern monkeys. The form of the humerus and 
 its relative length to the femur, resembles that of the lemurs. * * 
 " The greatest difference is that of the increased number of teeth, 
 which related them in this respect to the ancient carnivora and un- 
 gulata," all of which had more teeth than their modern congeners. 
 (Cope). The genus Anaptomorphus represents a' group more nearly 
 related to the existing types of Madagascar and South Africa. 
 None of these quadrumana of the Fort Bridger Group are typical 
 forms, and all are much more generalized than existing families.* 
 
 The above species represent only a very small number of the 
 extinct species found in this group, but they will serve to give some 
 idea of the remarkable life that flourished during those times 
 times " when the existing orders of the mammalia were yet in pro- 
 cess of differentiation, and were scarcely distinctly defined." 
 
 UINTA GROUP. 
 
 South of the Uinta Mountains there is a small group of Ter- 
 tiaries, about five hundred feet thick, which constitute the closing 
 deposits of this period. They have been called the Uinta Group 
 by King. The materials at the bottom are gritty, rough conglom- 
 erates, shading upward into finer grained sandstone, and at certain 
 points into beds of creamy, impure limestone. "The strata seem 
 to form an unbroken line from the region of the Wasatch east- 
 ward through the length of Uinta Valley, across Green River, 
 into the valley of tha White River. The animal remains which 
 are. found in this group, especially in White River Valley, belong 
 to a more advanced Eocene period than the Bridger series. They 
 contain sonTfc forms approximating to the lowest Miocene types." 
 (King.) It is not improbable that these beds represent the transition 
 period between the Eocene and Miocene. Among the important 
 vertebrates of this series are the following: 
 
 Hyopsodus gracilis was a small animal, related in many of its 
 characters to the hog family. It was of small size, and retained 
 some tapiroid elements. Epihippus Uintensis and E. gracilis were 
 small, horse-like animals of this period, closely related to the oro- 
 hippus of the Bridger beds, but showing a structure approximat- 
 ing to the Mesohippus of the next or lowest Miocene period: 
 
 *For a full technical description of the extinct mammalian species of the Eocene of the 
 Rocky Mountains, the reader is referred to the reports of Leidy, Marsh and Cope. 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 221 
 
 Agriochcerus was a genus of hog-like ruminants, that flourished 
 during these times. It was related to the Oreodon of the Miocene. 
 It differed from the latter and from all known ruminants in having 
 the orbits open behind. Leidy. 
 
 This group closed the deposits of the Eocene period. This re- 
 gion of lakes had been rising during the latter portion of Eocene 
 times, and their final extinction closed this period. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE TERTIARY PERIOD, CONTINUED. MIOCENE 
 
 EPOCH. 
 
 Inauguration of the Miocene Epoch. Formation of a Lake on the Plains. 
 Boundaries. Where the Miocene is Exposed in Nebraska. Extent. 
 Miocene Lakes farther West. Basin Region. Oregon Region. An Age of 
 Lakes. Name of the Eastern Lake. Kinds of Rock. Whence the Materials 
 were obtained. Why tjhe Miocene Beds are Thin on the Plains. -Length of 
 the Miocene Epoch. Bad Lands. Flora of the Miocene. Animal Life. 
 Insectivora. Rodentia. Horse Family. Titanotheriums Symborodons. 
 Mastodons and Elephants. Rhinoceros'. River Horse. Hog Family. 
 Camel Family. Musk Deer. Oreontidae. Carnivora. Hyaenodons. Dre- 
 panodons. Quadrumanna in the Miocene. Mammals in the Miocene, not 
 Described nor Found. Closing of the Miocene Epoch Its Gradual Char- 
 acters. Lava Floods at the Close. Formation of the Coast Range. Farther 
 
 Depression of the Plains. Effect on life of these Changes. 
 
 \ 
 
 THE Miocene Epoch was gradually inaugurated. During the 
 Eocene Epoch the plains were an extended land surface, 
 made up of the eroded materials of the Cretaceous and the Per- 
 mian and Carboniferous rocks. There was free drainage to the 
 sea, but of the rivers and their tributaries of that time, we know 
 nothing. The upward movement of the plateau regions that event- 
 ually drained the old Eocene lakes was accompanied by a subsi- 
 dence of portions of the adjoining plains. The old mountain lakes 
 were shifted eastward, the depressions in the plains making room 
 for them. While the- mountains went upward, the plains 
 went downward, like the changing waves of the sea. As this 
 movement was slowly in progress for ages before it was consum- 
 
222 GEOLOGY. 
 
 mated, the probabilities are that the great Miocene lake of the plains- 
 commenjed to form before Uinta lake had terminated its history. 
 There probably were no great convulsive throbs of the earth's 
 crust, separating sharply the two epochs. The Eocene shaded into 
 the Miocene epoch. This lake of the plains extended from near 
 the north line of Kansas across Nebraska, a large part of Dakota 
 Territory, west of the Black Hills, and northward to Manitoba. 
 Its exact geographical extent has not been ascertained in Nebraska, 
 owing to the superincumbent Pliocene, which overlaps it, and 
 through which it only projects at intervals. The best exposures in 
 Nebraska commence on the Niobrara River, about 300 miles west 
 of the mouth of the Keya Paha or Turtle Hill River, and extend' 
 to the west line of the State, taking in the White Earth River re- 
 gion and the space between the latter and the north line of the 
 State. It is finely represented on and north of the latter river in 
 Dakota Territory, constituting there a portion of the famous Ma- 
 koo-si-tcha or Mauvais Terre of the French, which has been ren- 
 dered into English by the term Bad Lands, although in the Dakota 
 tongue it means simply a country hard to travel over. On the 
 west the Miocene abuts against the undulating surface of the Lar- 
 amie Group, and therefore did not extend quite to the foot-hills of 
 the Colorado Range. The extent of this great fresh water lake 
 has been variously estimated at from 100,000 to 130,000 and up- 
 wards of square miles. 
 
 The local subsidence of the plains on the east, next to the moun- 
 tains, was accompanied by a somewhat similar depression between 
 the Wasatch and the Sierras, forming also a large Miocene lake in 
 that region. Another great Miocene lake extended from Wash- 
 ington Territory through Oregon to Nevada and Colorado. In 
 eastern Oregon, the deposits of this epoch are enormously thick, 
 the depth reaching 5,000 feet, overlaid, however, by the lava beds, 
 which were poured from fissures at the close of the Miocene. It 
 does not fall within the plan of this work to discuss any of these 
 old Miocene lake beds except the one covering a portion of Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 From the above it is seen that the Miocene was pre-eminently an 
 age of great fresh water lakes. It is questionable whether on this 
 continent any other geological epoch was represented by such a 
 number and such large basins of fresh water. 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 223 
 
 Clarence King has suggested for the Miocene lake that extended 
 .through Nebraska the name of Sioux Lake. Hayden, who first 
 studied these beds in this region, called them the White Earth River 
 Group. 
 
 Kinds of Rock. The materials of these Miocene beds vary a 
 great deal in character. This would naturally be expected in a lake 
 bed which received the drainage, through countless ages, of the 
 rivers that now have their outlet through the Missouri. Varying 
 currents and other conditions would naturally frequently change 
 the character of the sediments deposited on the bottom. The rocks- 
 that supplied the materials that were carried into this Miocene lake 
 evidently came from the Archaean nucleus of the Rocky Mountains- 
 and the Black Hills, the Palaeozoic, the Juro-Trias and the different 
 groups of the Cretaceous. The eroded materials going seaward 
 were stopped in these old lake beds. Erosion, however, through 
 the Miocene, was by no means as rapid as at present. The height 
 of the plateau . region was much less than at present; the atmos- 
 phere was moister, the rainfall much gentler and more constant, 
 and a warm, temperate climate obtained. The extreme cold of 
 winter, which is such a mighty agent in the disintegration of rock, 
 and which now characterizes these regions, did not then exist. Hill, 
 valley, plain, mountain and plateau, were also covered by dense 
 growths, in places, of grasses, and in places of mighty forests, 
 which protected the land from the denuding agencies which are 
 now constantly at work. As already stated, the extreme thickness 
 of the Miocene in the West reaches its maximum in Oregon, where 
 beds 5,000 feet in vertical thickness are found. Owing to the causes 
 alluded to above, on the plains the Miocene beds are comparatively 
 thin. Meek estimates their thickness at from 530 to 600 feet. 
 Where I measured them, on the Upper Niobrara, they rarely ex- 
 ceeded 400 feet. 
 
 If we calculate the length of Miocene times on the same principle 
 as Eocene, this epoch was probably a quarter of a million years 
 long. It should be remembered, however, that there is no certainty 
 about the length of geological periods. k 
 
 In Nebraska, on and north of the White Earth, and on the Upper 
 Niobrara, the rocks of the Miocene have the following character: 
 Indurated grit, of a reddish brown color, with occasional layers of 
 concretions of silicate of lime, often shading into, first, a coarse and 
 then a fine green sandstone. Above this occur, sometimes, an- 
 
224 GEOLOGY. 
 
 mense masses of conglomerate, with occasional layers of tabular 
 limestone. Then come coarse-grained sandstone, often loose and 
 friable, and sometimes compact and heavy bedded. A limestone 
 layer, followed several miles, often changes into a silicate of lime, 
 then sandstone, and then conglomerate, and the opposite. The 
 sections published by Meek, Hayden and Leidy correspond, in the 
 main, to the above.* 
 
 BAD LANDS. 
 
 A portion of this old Miocene lake bed, on and north of the 
 White Earth River, as already stated, now constitutes the Bad 
 Lands. This is one of the most wonderful regions on the globe. 
 Here, at present, there is very little, and in some places formerly 
 there was no vegetation. Water fit to drink is exceedingly rare. 
 This region is worn into labyrinthine canyons that wind around in 
 in every conceivable direction. Occasionally only isolated, some- 
 times almost perpendicular, portions of the original beds remain, 
 producing the appearance of abandoned human habitations, or old. 
 desolated, forsaken oriental cities. Climbing some of the heights, 
 far as the eye can reach, there seems to be an interminable array of 
 towers, spires, cathedrils, obelisks, pyramids and monuments. "Not 
 urifrequently the rising or setting sun will light up these grand old 
 ruins with a wild, strange beauty, reminding one of a city illum- 
 inated in the night, when seen from some high point." The harder 
 layers project from the sides of the canyons, or mimicked architect- 
 ural forms, with such regularity that they appear like seats, one abve 
 the other, of some vast weird amphitheater. It is here among these 
 strange, grotesque ruins, that the remains of the unique animals, 
 described farther on, are found." (Hayden). To the geologist, no 
 region is so inspiring, though in summer time he will often find 
 the heat almost insupportable, as the sun heats up these bare walls 
 like an oven. I have been among these ruins when the thermome- 
 ter ranged from 108 to 115. So great, however, is the interest 
 that is inspired by this page in the earth's history, that the natur- 
 alist gladly braves the hardships of travel among these desola- 
 tions. 
 
 As can be inferred from the preceding, during the Miocene epoch 
 the greater part of the eastern portion of Nebraska was a land sur- 
 face. 
 
 *See Leidy 'a Extinct Fauna of Dakota and Nebraska, page 16. 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 225 
 
 Life of the Miocene. The fossil remains which are found in this 
 old Miocene lake bed indicate the life of those times. I can only 
 point out by a few examples some of its salient points. 
 
 Not the least remarkable was the flora of the Miocene. In my 
 excursions to northwestern Nebraska, I found traces and impres- 
 sions of many land plants, but unfortunately they were too fragile 
 to remove them from the containing matrix, and all attempts to ac- 
 complish it resulted in their destruction. Among those identified 
 were cotton woods (Populus), willows (Salix), magnolias, oaks (Quer- 
 ais), sweet gum trees (Liquidamber), sassafras, our southern cypress 
 (Sequoia)^ Glyphtostrobus, which is closely allied to the preceding, 
 palms, fig trees (J?icus), lindens, birches, maples, pines, etc. Other 
 observers in other regions have observed many more species, and 
 have especially noted the vast abundance of the Sequoias and their 
 congeners which abounded in Miocene times, not only in America, 
 but over the whole of northern Europe and Asm, and even in 
 Greenland, Iceland and Spitzenbergen.* The forms, however, 
 that Heer describes from Greenland, Dawson supposes to be of the 
 Eocene Age. However that may be, it is clear that in Nebraska 
 there flourished in Miocene times trees of the same gigantic charac- 
 ter and even of the same genus, and probably of the same species, 
 as now grow in the sequestered vales of California. Some of the 
 United States geologists have, indeed, expressed the conviction 
 that in that age Nebraska was covered by a vast savanna. I take 
 the opposite ground, because of the occurrence in the Nebraska 
 Miocene beds of many species of trees. Besides these giant cedars 
 that here loomed heavenward, there were species of palms and fig 
 trees, as stated above, and these helped to give the vegetation that 
 warm, temperate, or semi-tropical aspect which marked its fades 
 as a whole. 
 
 Animal Life. Along with this warm, temperate flora, there ex- 
 isted in Miocene times a still more wonderful animal life. Perhaps 
 never have the conditions for mammalian life been so favorable as 
 during this epoch. The few that can be noticed in this chapter 
 can simply illustrate its general character and richness. The in- 
 sectivora, which were represented by several genera and species, 
 must be passed over. Among the rodents the rat family was al- 
 ready represented by a species called by Leidy, Eumys elegans. A 
 
 *See on this subject Gray's Address to the American Association, Gray's Forest Geogra- 
 phy, Saparta's Anaenne Vegetation Polaire, Beer's Flora Arctica. 
 
 ?5 
 
226 GEOLOGY. 
 
 beaver (Pal&caster Nebrascensis) , was also abundant at this time. 
 The squirrels of that time were large, as is indicated by the remains 
 of Ischyromys typus, whose' head was larger than that of a musk- 
 rat. The rabbit of the Nebraska Miocene was smaller than the 
 common species of the State at the present time 
 
 The horse family (Solidunguld), which is now represented by one 
 genus (Equus), whose characteristic species are the horse and the 
 ass, was rich in genera and species during the Miocene. We have 
 already seen that the family came into being in the early Eocene, 
 the first known characteristic form being the Eohippus. In the 
 early Miocene we already have the Mesohippus, represented by 
 several species whose distinctive peculiarity was that the fourth toe 
 had become a rudimentary useless splint. Next in the Miocene 
 came the Anchitheriums, which were represented in Nebraska by 
 one species, with three additional forms in Colorado. The peculiar 
 feature of these horses was that they had three toes, all of which 
 touched the ground, the two lateral, Jiowever, being comparative- 
 ly small and weak. Closely allied to these were the Hyperions, 
 several species of which lived during Nebraska Miocene times. 
 They also had three toes, but only the middle one touched the 
 ground, the two lateral swinging not much unlike the two side 
 toes of the hog, being, however, comparatively much smaller. 
 Another genus, Merychippus, was closely related to the preceding. 
 These Miocene horses ranged in size from an animal much smaller 
 than the ass to animals about the size of a small modern horse. It 
 is seen, therefore, that at least four genera of horses existed in Mio- 
 cene times, each genus, however, being represented by from one 
 to several species. They must have been exceedingly numerous, 
 and doubtless roamed over our plains in countless numbers. 
 
 Another peculiar family of odd-toed animals that existed in Mio- 
 cene times were the Titanotheriums. Leidy first described and 
 named them. So abundant are their remains at one horizon in the 
 lower Miocene that it has given it the name of Titanotherium bed. 
 Marsh afterwards described a closely related animal by the name of 
 Brontotherium. Subsequently Cope described another of the same 
 family by the name ofSymborodon. Megaceratops Coloradoensis, 
 of Leidy, belongs to the same group. These animals had the same 
 bulk of body of the elephants, and united the characters of the rhi- 
 noceros and elephants with more distant affinities to the Dinocer- 
 ata of the Eocene. The head was extremely elongated, and be 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 
 
 227 
 
 cause of its depression in the middle, bore some resemblance to a 
 pack-saddle. They probably had a small trunk about as long as 
 that of the tapirs. They had two pairs of horns, one pair being 
 above the nasals and another pair above the eyes, the hind pair be- 
 ing powerful weapons of defense. They probably were the succes- 
 sors of the Dinocerata of the Eocene. Of the Symborodons Cope 
 has described five species. As two species of Brontotherium were 
 also described by Marsh, it is clear that the number of species was 
 great, and judging from the remains, there must have been a very* 
 great number of individuals. 
 
 Along with the Symborodons the elephants and mastodons were 
 already represented by several species. The remains of the one 
 that I found on the White Earth, in Nebraska, were too much de- 
 cayed to identify specifically. It bore the closest resemblance to 
 the Mastodon mirificus that appeared during the next or Pliocene 
 epoch. 
 
 Among the most unexpected of all discoveries in the Nebraska 
 Miocene was the remains of rhinoceros'. One, the Rhinoceros oc- 
 cidentalis,was about three-fourths the size of the Indian rhinoceros. 
 R. Coloradoensis was found in the Miocene of the mountains. 
 
 The curious European genus of river horses {Hyopotamus) was 
 represented during those times by at least one species. It had af- 
 finities relating it to the hog family. 
 
 Genera closely related to the hog family (Suida) were abundant 
 during this epoch. One of these genera (EZoiherium), which was 
 first described from the Miocene of France, was represented by 
 several species during these times in Nebraska and Dakota. Its 
 nearest allies among existing animals are first the hogs, and then 
 the peccary and hippopotamus. One of these (E. Martont] was 
 about the size of a large hog, while another (E. ingens] was at least 
 one-third larger. The peccaries, which are now confined to South 
 America and the southern United States were represented in Ne- 
 braska during the Miocene by several species. Five other genera 
 of the Suiclse occur in these deposits. During this period, there- 
 fore, it is evident that suilline animals existed in great numbers all 
 over the land. 
 
 The most curious fact, perhaps, connected with the animal life of 
 this epoch, was the presence of many species of the camel family. 
 At present it is confined to Asia, Africa and South America. In 
 the former it is represented by the camel proper, and in the latter 
 
228 GEOLOGY. 
 
 by the Auchenia or Llama. In Miocene times, however, they 
 were represented in Nebraska by several genera and many species* 
 One of the first, described by Leidy, was called Paebotherium Wil- 
 soni. It was only about as large as the domestic sheep. Protom- 
 erys Evansi was closely related to the preceding, and about the 
 same size. A musk deer (Septomeryx] Evansi, also occupied this 
 territory at this time. It had many characters, especially in the 
 form of its maxillaries, relating it to the deer. It was about the. 
 ;size of the musk ox of Thibet. 
 
 No family of animals was represented in that epoch by more 
 genera, species and individuals than the Oreontidae. Leidy, who- 
 first described them, called them ruminating hogs. The skull ap- 
 proached more nearly to that of the peccaries, though the upper 
 part had some characters uniting them with the camels. The mo- 
 lars were like those of ruminants, and resembled most nearly those 
 of the deer, but unlike modern ruminants, they had incisors in both 
 jaws. The canines resembled most nearly those of the hog. The 
 teeth, as a whole, formed an almost unbroken arch, a condition 
 found in few animals besides the quadrumanna. Like the hogs,, 
 too, they had four toes on each foot, two being functional, and the 
 two on the sides being too elevated to touch the ground. They 
 were, therefore emphatically what Leidy called them, ruminating 
 hogs. They were, judging from the abundance of their remains,, 
 more numerous than any animals of those times. They were gre- 
 garious, and must have roamed over eastern Nebraska in countless 
 millions. In size they ranged from an animal not larger than a rac- 
 coon to one as large as a small elk. The most abundant was Oreo- 
 don Culbertsonii. It was slightly smaller than the domestic sheep. 
 I have occasionally seen a stratum in the Bad Lands which in 
 places was largely made up of their remains. The largest species- 
 was probably O. superbus, whose skull was fourteen inches long* 
 Besides the many species of Oreodon at least five additional genera 
 of this family are known. The number of species clearly defined 
 of all the genera was not less than twenty-five. These animals 
 were, therefore, among the characteristic features of the Miocene 
 epoch, and during those times could probably have been found ev- 
 erywhere in America. 
 
 The herbivora, however, did not hold undisputed possession of 
 the land. The happiness of these countless herds was interrupted 
 by most sanguinary enemies. The carnivorous mammalia were 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 229 
 
 present in numbers proportionate 'to the herbivorous animals. 
 Among these the most blood-thirsty were the Hycenodkntidce. 
 They were first described from the Miocene of France by Cuvier 
 under another name. Subsequently four additional species were 
 found and described by De Laizer and De Parieu under the above 
 family name. The three distinct species found in the Bad Lands 
 by Evans, Shumard, Meek and Hayden were described by Leidy. 
 <c The genus HyaenJdon combined the characters af the wolf, tiger, 
 hyaena, weasel, raccoon and opossum." (Leidy). It was, therefore, 
 one of the most comprehensive types of carnivorous mammalian ani- 
 mals that ever existed. The largest of the species was M. horridus, 
 and was about the size of the largest of the black bears. The den- 
 tition of this animal was the most formidable conceivable. " In 
 addition to powerful canine teeth, three of its molars were structured 
 after the single sectorial tooth of other carnivorous mammals, 
 though the last alone reached the full development of the corres- 
 ponding tooth of the latter. The last of the series of molars were 
 formed like those of the lion and tiger. These teeth the strongest 
 and broadest combined the mechanism of the wedsre and scissors, 
 
 o 
 
 and were eminently adapted for cutting tissues and bones. Im- 
 mense temporal fossa3 occupied the sides of the skull for the attach- 
 ment of the powerful muscles that operated the levers that moved 
 the lower jaw. The skull was about a foot in length. No animal 
 living contemporaneously with this formidable creature could have 
 resisted its power." (Leidy.) Next in size was M. cruentus, and 
 smallest was M. crucinus. 
 
 Among the carnivora of the Nebraska Miocene the cat family 
 (Felidce] were well represented. Among the most remarkable of 
 the family was a genus of saber-toothed lions (Drepanodori). Its re- 
 mains were first found in Western Europe, afterwards in Greece 
 and Asia, and finally in both Americas. The largest species equaled 
 the lion and tiger in size, and judging from their terrible array of 
 destructive teeth were even of greater ferocity. In comparison 
 with the existing cat family they were characterized by a greater 
 proportionate size and flattened form of the upper canine teeth, 
 which has given these animals the name which they bear. Dre- 
 panidon occidentalis was about the size of the existing panther. 
 D. primaBvus was slightly smaller. Two of the skulls found by 
 Hayden exhibit marks of a conflict with some other carnivorous 
 animal and probably the largest HyaenJdon, as the canines of the 
 
230 GEOLOGY. 
 
 latter fit exactly into the depressions or holes found on opposite 
 sides of the specimen. No doubt these animals had a fight in some 
 of the beautiful valleys that drained into this Miocene lake, and 
 then, after their death, their bodies were carried into it by some 
 flood. Closely allied to the last was the saber-toothed weasel, so- 
 called because the number and disposition of its teeth were the 
 same as that of the weasel. Leidy called it Dinictis. It differed 
 from the Drepanodon principally in the possession of two additional 
 molar teeth to the lower jaw. This animal was slightly smaller 
 than the panther, and about as large as the smaller contemporaneous 
 Drepanodons, whose formidable upper canines it also possessed. Its 
 remains were first found by Hayden in the Bad Lands of Dakota,, 
 but molars of the same I subsequently obtained from the White 
 River, in Nebraska. Cope has obtained additional genera, allied 
 to the above, from Colorado. He has also described from the Mio- 
 cene of Colorado several species of the dog family (Canida), mostly,, 
 however, of small size. I have found a few of their teeth in the 
 Miocene of Nebraska, but from the paucity of the materials, I was- 
 unable to identify them specifically. 
 
 If, as Cope supposes, the Leptochoerus of the Bad Lands was 
 most closely allied to the quadrumanna, then the monkeys were 
 here during the Miocene epoch. He has also described several 
 species from the Colorado Miocene. One of these he has named 
 Menotherium lemurinum, because of its close relationship to the 
 modern lemurs. It was about the size of the common cat. I infer 
 their presence in the Nebraska Miocene from the discovery on the 
 Whits Earth of a molar referable to this species. No doubt, there- 
 fore, that during these times the monkey family -was present and 
 chattered in the woodlands of eastern Nebraska during Miocene 
 times. 
 
 Many additional species of mammals have been unearthed in the 
 Miocene of Colorado which have not yet been found in the plains, 
 but which no doubt flourished here at that time. The preceding 
 animal forms, however, are only a small part of the species that 
 have been found, and all of those found probably are only a small 
 part of those that flourished during Miocene times. During the 
 whole of this epoch, which, as has already been stated, evidently 
 was of long duration, there was a most happy combination of phy- 
 sical geography and climate. Warm, temperate conditions existed 
 almost to the poles. In Nebraska the magnificent savannas and 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 231 
 
 forests that covered the land gave shelter and food to countless 
 numbers of the mammalia that here enjoyed a happy existence. 
 The conditions were most favorable, not only to the perpetuation 
 and development of animal forms, but for the evolution of species 
 that were only to be developed completely during the following 
 epoch. 
 
 Like the preceding epochs, the Miocene was destined to come to 
 a close. The changing conditions evidently were not sudden they 
 were of such a gradual character as slowly to alter the environment 
 of the animal life of the times. With change of climate came 
 change of flora, which in turn changed or destroyed the rich and 
 wonderful Miocene forms of animal life. The final catastrophe 
 came at the close. It was one of the greatest revolutions that oc- 
 curred in the history of the globe. At the end of the Jurassic, " the 
 Sierras, which had been a marginal sea bottom, were crushed to- 
 gether and folded into a mountain range. This transferred the coast 
 farther westward, and the present coast range became the marginal 
 sea bottom, and received an abundance of sediment, until, in turn, 
 at the end of the Miocene, it also yielded to the lateral pressure 
 from the Pacific, and was raised up into the coast range." (Le 
 Conte). Coincident with this movement, great fissures were 
 formed in the Cascade, and great floods of lava poured out, which 
 in north California covered in wide sheets a great extent of coun- 
 try, several hundred feet thick. The lava flood in Oregon, in 
 places, was 3,000 feet thick. It extended from Washington Terri- 
 tory to British Columbia. The area of this great flood of lava cov- 
 ered at least 80,000 square miles, a space much larger than the 
 whole of Nebraska. Richthofen has shown (Natural History of 
 Volcanic Rocks), that this great lava flood could not have proceeded 
 from the dozen extinct craters that cover this region, and that 
 therefore, as stated above, it must have proceeded from earth frac- 
 tures or fissures. At the same time the Plateau region was farther 
 elevated, the Miocene lakes were drained or shifted eastward, and 
 the region of the plains was still more depressed. This sinking of 
 the plains extended far to the south, almost to the gulf, and to the 
 east in its central portion about to where Columbus is located, on 
 the Union Pacific Railroad, and for an unknown distance to the 
 north. On the Niobrara its eastern line was near the mouth of 
 Keya Paha or Turtle Hill River. On the Republican, it was near 
 the center of Harlan County. It thus changed the whole aspect 
 
232 GEOLOGY. 
 
 of the western half of the continent. To the life then on the globe 
 it must have been an event so appalling that the overthrow of 
 Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the great Lisbon earthquake, in 
 comparison with it, w'ould have been an insignificant event. The 
 throes of this event must have shaken the globe and affected all 
 life, vegetable and animal. And as a matter of fact, the entire 
 facies of the animal life of the globe was changed from this time 
 forward, as we shall presently see. Thus was closed the Miocene 
 epoch. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TERTIARY PERIOD, CONTINUED. PLIOCENE 
 
 EPOCH. 
 
 Inauguration of the Pliocene. Extent of the Pliocene Lake of the Plains. 
 Other Pliocene Lakes. Eruptions at the beginning and during the Pliocene. 
 Thickness of the Pliocene Beds. Erosion of the Pliocene Beds. Eleva- 
 tion of the Pliocene Deposits. Eastward Barrier of the Pliocene Lake of 
 the Plains. General Warren's Explanation. Materials of the Pliocene 
 Beds. Sections from the Niobrara, Loup and Driftwood. General Character 
 in the Republican Valley. So-called Tripoli Beds, and their Geyser Origin. 
 Their Chemical Composition. Nebraska Once a Geyser Region. Length 
 of the Pliocene Epoch. Vegetable Life. Animal Life. Rodents. Horse 
 Family. Camel Family. Bisons. Bear Family. Cat Family. Dog Family. 
 Favorable Conditions during the Pliocene. Picture of the Pliocene Epoch. 
 Close of the Pliocene. Convulsive Movements further West. Gradual 
 Character of its Close. General Remarks on the Tertiary Epochs. 
 
 AT THE close of the last chapter it was stated how the Mio- 
 cene epoch came to a close. At the opening of the Pliocene 
 epoch, the great Miocene lake of the plains underwent further sub- 
 sidence, but gently and gradually. There is no trace on the plains 
 of the intervention of a period of dry land, as some have supposed. 
 The Miocene lake here became the Pliocene by subsidence and 
 extension in every direction. It became much deeper than it had 
 been. " On the w r est it now reached the foot-hills of the Colorado 
 Range; on the south it enlarged the borders of the Miocene lake 
 from southern Nebraska, through Kansas, the Indian Territory, 
 far into Texas; on the north it stretched over the whole of the 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 233 
 
 plains into British America." (King). The Pliocene, therefore, 
 in eastern Nebraska, overlies the Cretaceous In south-west Ne- 
 braska it lies on the Fort Pierre Cretaceous. Further west, the 
 disturbance, as already stated, were much greater at the close of 
 the Miocene. There severe crumpling and fissuring of the earth's 
 crust had taken place. The basin region subsided to such an extent 
 that the Pliocene lake that was formed extended from the Wasatch 
 to the Sierras, and northward to the Columbia, while its southward 
 extension has not been ascertained. King believes that the ejection * 
 of trachytes occurred at the close of the Miocene, and that the ' 
 ejection of rhy elites marks the beginning, in this region, of the 
 Pliocene epoch. According to him, the basaltic eruptions occurred 
 wholly, within the Pliocene.* Still another Pliocene lake existed 
 in North Park, (North Park Group of Hayden.) It only comes 
 within the plan of this work to discuss the Pliocene lake deposits 
 of the plains, which cover so large a portion of Nebraska. These 
 deposits constitute the Loup Fork Group of Hayden, and the Nio- 
 brara of Marsh. 
 
 On the plains the Pliocene beds, wherever their point of junction 
 could be observed, are conformable to the underlying Miocene. 
 King, however, remarks that they are in places unconformable, 
 which I have not observed. Often they shade so insensibly into 
 each other that the line of junction could only be ascertained by 
 the fossils which they entombed. 
 
 Thickness of the Pliocene Beds. Along the foot-hills of the Col- 
 orado Range, the Pliocene beds average nearly 2,000 feet in thick- 
 ness. They thin out eastward, probably because the mass of ma- 
 terials was obtained from the mountains, the greater part of which 
 was precipitated along, or near its western shores. In Nebraska, 
 Kansas, and Dakota towards the east, the Pliocene beds become 
 thinner; until they run out entirely. It is certain, however, that 
 originally they were much thicker than at present. Owing to them 
 oeing the upper rocks at the time, they must have been subjected 
 to an enormous amount of erosion during the subsequent Quater- 
 nary age. The monuments of this erosion are still visible in 
 many places. In township 10 North and 26 West of 6th Meridian 
 there is a Pliocene peak, nearly 300 feet high, that represents the 
 original level of these deposits. In 13 North, 51 West, there are 
 limestone cliffs 75 feet high, and similar ones all over this region in 
 
 *See King's Systematic Geology of the 40th Parallel. 
 
234 GEOLOGY. 
 
 far separated, isolated spots. The top of all these rocky cliffs, 
 whose strata are horizontal, represent where the general level of 
 the Pliocene once was. Perhaps the most remarkable monument 
 of the original level of the Pliocene in Nebraska, is at Scott's 
 Bluffs, and at Chimney Rock, on the North Platte. These have 
 long been noted landmarks. The country is here eroded into many 
 forms, exhibiting some of the peculiar natural architecture of the 
 Bad Lands. Chimney Rock is about 150 feet high. The strata 
 here and at Scott's Bluffs are horizontal, and therefore the general 
 level of the country must have been as elevated, at least, as the top 
 of these crags. No doubt much material has also been removed 
 from the top of the highest of these old monuments, as they have 
 been subjected to erosive agencies ever since the commencement of 
 the Glacial Age. From two to four hundred feet, therefore, must 
 have been removed from the general surface of the Pliocene de- 
 posits of the plains. Notwithstanding the immensity of this erosion, 
 a considerable thickness of these deposits still remain. In Ne- 
 braska they range from 10 to 700 feet. King has remarked that 
 at the mountains, where they are lofty and form powerful con- 
 densers of moisture, the resultant streams have carried away in 
 front of them all the Tertiary and exposed the Cretaceous. 
 
 Elevation of the Pliocene. At Chalk Bluffs, the line of separation 
 between the Miocene and Pliocene is 6,000 feet above the sea leveL 
 Near 41 30' the Pliocene reaches an altitude of over 7,000 feet. 
 In the valley of the Loup Fork the contact plane between the Mi- 
 ocene and Pliocene approximates to 3,000 feet. There is, there- 
 fore, a gradual sinking eastward of the contact plane between the 
 Miocene and Pliocene. 
 
 Eastward Barrier of thr Pliocene Lake It has been a question 
 what barriers on the east held in the waters of the Pliocene lake 
 of the plains. Two theories have been suggested. One is that the 
 whole western shore line, with the mountain chain against which 
 it abuts, and the present incline towards the east, was low enough, 
 during Pliocene times, to hold the waters of the lake. This theory, 
 however, is irreconcilable with the known facts concerning the ele- 
 vation of the Rocky Mountain system during the Tertiary epochs*. 
 Evidently this region near the eastern shores of the lake, and on 
 the south, was once elevated into a rim, and it was the sinking of 
 this border, towards the close of the Pliocene, and the transference 
 
 *See Clarence King's Systematic Geology of the 40th., Parallel, Chapter VI. on Stratigraphi- 
 cal Geology. 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 235 
 
 of the geosynclinal of the continent to the Missouri and Mississippi 
 valleys, that helped to bring the Pliocene to a close. It is not at all 
 impossible that future investigation will show that the present divide 
 between the Missouri and the Mississippi was a portion of this rim, 
 and that the Pliocene deposits that once covered eastern Nebraska 
 were removed by erosion during subsequent glacial time. The 
 Pliocene at least was deposited in a broad level lake between the 
 Meridian of 98 and 105, and subsequently this whole area of sub- 
 sidence towards the east, accompanied by slight continued elevation 
 towards the west, was transformed into an incline from the base of 
 the foot-hills eastward. u From the 4<Dth parallel region this dip of 
 the Pliocene at present towards the east is equal to 4,000, and to- 
 wards the south of 7,000 feet." (King). The original discovery of 
 the eastern conditions of the shore line of this old Pliocene lake of 
 the plains was made by Lieutenant (now General) Warren, in the 
 annual report of Captain (now General) Humphreys, for tlie year 
 1858. No clearer statements of this theory, and the reasons for it, 
 have since been made. I announced the same theory in public lec- 
 tures as early as 1872, and had adopted it without being aware that 
 Warren had long anticipated me. Clarence King, also, by inde- 
 pendent study, without knowing of Warren's discovery, had come 
 to the same conclusion. I mention these facts to show that students 
 of geology, in studying the phenomena of this region, will be 
 forced lo make this explanation. One curious feature of this sub- 
 sidence of 4,000 feet eastward over the Pliocene region, is that no 
 faults, breaks or crumplings have yet been detected. As the sedi* 
 ments of this old Pliocene lake are thickest next to the mountains,, 
 and thin out eastward, it is clear that the eastern rim was a low- 
 land, without lofty ridges or mountains. The streams that drained 
 into it from that quarter were of insignificant size. 
 
 Materials of the Pliocene Beds of the Plains. Near the mountains 
 the materials of the Pliocene beds are exceedingly coarse, and 
 where they are in contact with the foot-hills they are composed of 
 conglomerates made up of water- worn pebbles, feldspar and quartz 
 in masses, and some small pieces or chips of all the Archaean rocks 
 which are represented towards the west. The fragments are of all 
 sizes, from a shot to a man's head, and even larger. The coarser 
 conglomerates form the upper beds, beneath which there are often 
 much finer materials. The erosion of the upper strata has in many 
 places cut through the coarse conglomerates and widened the bed 
 below in the finer sediments, producing over-hanging rocks. 
 
236 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Beautiful illustrations of this kind of erosion can be seen along the 
 streams flowing eastward from the Laramie Hills. South of the 
 Union Pacific Railroad., west of Cheyenne, the Pliocene beds form 
 irregular terraces, which often change or are prolonged into curious 
 sharp escarpments. South of Cheyenne, and eastward, the upper 
 beds are often made up of light, creamy limestone, sometimes ex- 
 ceedingly brittle, intercalated with small veins of chalcedony. Still 
 further eastward, north and south of the Union Pacific Railroad, 
 the Pliocene beds become arenaceous, but fine-grained, beds of clay 
 and marl being interlaminated. The Chugwater is bordered for a 
 long distance with abrupt cliffs of Pliocene rocks, often forming 
 escarpments which have been cut out by lateral ravines and small 
 canyons. At Scott's Bluffs, near the western line of Nebraska, 
 there is a fine exposure of the Pliocene rocks, which are here made 
 up of sandstones, marls and whitish and yellowish white clays. 
 Along Lodge Pole Creek, the Pliocene rocks have assumed more 
 the forms of bluffs. Here, and occasionally on the upper Republi- 
 can, the thin, marly members sometimes contain thin masses of 
 jasper-like rocks, which occasionally contain dendritic markings, 
 produced by oxides of the metals. Among these, moss agates are 
 occasionally found. On the Niobrara and Loup rivers there is, in 
 many places, at the top, an immense amount of loose or at least in- 
 coherent sand, or loosely compacted sand. The decomposition of 
 these Pliocene beds in these regions has produced the famous sand 
 hills. Next below, are beds of compacted gravel and sand. Then 
 come calcareous and arenaceous concretions, combined with or en- 
 closed in whitish and yellowish grits. Greenish and greenish gray 
 sand comes next. Arenaceous marl, shading from deep yellow to 
 dull red, lies below the last. At the bottom is observed a grit of 
 yellowish hue, often highly calcareous, and someti'mes containing 
 limestone more or less concretionary, from one to seven inches thick. 
 The following section, beginning at the top, I have taken about 
 75 miles above the mouth of the Key a Paha: 
 
 1. Light brownish sand of undetermined thickness. 
 
 2. Incoherent gravel and sand. . . . . 25 feet. 
 
 3. Yellowish white grit, with calcareous concretions 19 " 
 
 4. Greenish and grayish sand 27 " 
 
 5. Reddish and yellowish sandy marl 35 ** 
 
 6. Yellowish gray calcareous grit, containing layers of concre- 
 
 tionary limestone 42 " 
 
 Tdtal. . . 148 " 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 23 T 
 
 The following is a section from the Loup, beginning at the top r 
 
 1. Light brownish sand, of undetermined thickness. 
 
 1. Loosely compacted sand and pebbles 21 feet. 
 
 3. Greenish and gray marls 13 " 
 
 4. Concretionary limestone 17 " 
 
 5. Sand and sandy marls . . . . , ....... 16 " 
 
 6. Concretionary limestone 11 " 
 
 7. Soft lime and marl 7 ** 
 
 8. Silicious limestone, with concretions of limestone containing 
 
 iron and alumina 16 " 
 
 9. Fine loose sandstone, only eight feet exposed 8 " 
 
 Total . ... 109 " 
 
 South of the Republican Valley, in Nebraska, on the Driftwood 
 there are some fine exposures of the Pliocene. The following sec- 
 tion, which I took in the spring of 1877, is from township I North 
 and 32 West, and on sections 12 and 14. It is numbered from the top: 
 
 1. Loosely compacted sand and pebbles, with ebb and flow struc- 
 ture 10 feet. 
 
 2. Alternations of greenish and gray marls 14 " 
 
 3. Soft concretionary limestone 8 u 
 
 4. Sandy marl 10 " 
 
 5. Soft concretionary limestone 6 " 
 
 6. Soft limestone and marl 4 " 
 
 7. Silicious limestone, with pockets and concretions of pure 
 
 white lime 14 " 
 
 Total 55 " 
 
 The strata in all these sections vary very much, even within a 
 quarter of a mile, and sometimes within a hundred yards. The 
 least variation is observed in the green marl beds. The section on 
 the Driftwood, it will be observed, is quite different from the ones 
 on the Loup and the Niobrara. On the south side of the Republi- 
 can, in Harlan County, the Pliocene rests on the Niobrara Cre- 
 taceous, and so far as I could observe, conformably, Here the ma- 
 terials consist largely of lime mingled with silicious materials; 
 Thick strata of marly silicious beds, and some beds of coarse, .loosely 
 compacted sandstones, intercalated with them alternate below. I 
 regret that my section from this important locality has become 
 illegible, and I only describe it from memory. From Harlan County 
 to the west line of the State, along the Republican Valley, the 
 rocky bluffs of the valley are made up of a silicious limestone, 
 which often shades into a fine and then coarse conglomerate. The 
 
238 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Pliocene thins out towards the upper end of the valley, and near 
 the State line, in places where it overlies the Fort Pierre Cretaceous, 
 is only from twenty-five to sixty feet thick. The means at my dis- 
 posal did not enable me to determine the probable cause of this 
 phenomenon. 
 
 The most silicious strata of the Pliocene in Nebraska contain 
 more or less of calcareous materials. The sandstones vary a great 
 deal in texture, the finest, as elsewhere, being^ generally beneath, 
 increasing in coarseness to the top, where, as already observed, the 
 rocks often assume the character of fine pudding stone conglomer- 
 ate. The pebbles, water-worn and smooth, are made up of all kinds 
 of rock, metamorphic materials being the most abundant. Among 
 these are granites, syenites, greenstones, quartz, sandstone and frag- 
 ments of silicified wood. This conglomerate, when decomposed 
 resembles the drift so closely that at first I mistook it for that for- 
 mation. Above the mouth of the Arickeree, and at other points in 
 southwestern Nebraska, the Pliocene is capped by an intensely 
 hard silicious stratum, from two to ten feet thick. It varies from 
 something akin to quartzite, to flint, hornstone and chalcedony. 
 The color of the latter varies from a creamy white to transparent, 
 and occasionally is coarsely opalized. A few moss agates are some- 
 times found in portions of this stratum. Prof. Mudge reports a 
 similar stratum in the Pliocene near Fort Wallace, Kansas. Ex- 
 cepting this hard layer, much of even the most compact strata is 
 apt to disintegrate on exposure to the elements. Sometimes the 
 most compact portion is so irregular in structure as to interfere with 
 the dressing of the stones for architectural purposes. 
 
 Polishing Powder. Infusorial Earth. Geyser Flocula. One of 
 the most remarkable of all the deposits of this Pliocene lake of the 
 plains, is a peculiar, flour-like material that appears in beds of 
 greater or less thickness and extent, that occurs on the Republican, 
 the Loup, Niobrara, and other sections. When I first examined it 
 under the microscope, eight years ago, a few diatoms were collected, 
 from which circumstance it was regarded as probably of the char- 
 acter of tripoli. Since then, in many specimens that have come un- 
 der my observation, a diatom has rarely been found. In almost 
 every specimen examined, however, great numbers of the forms that 
 Ehrenberg called Phytolitharia were detected. The most conspic- 
 uous of these are triangular in shape, with one edge convex and 
 the other concave, or the opposite. They cover, under a micro- 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 
 
 239 
 
 scope magnifying 90,000 times, or 300 diameters, the space of about 
 one-eighth of an inch, and of incalculable thinness. These speci- 
 mens, under such high powers, are translucent. Many other curi- 
 ous microscopic forms occur. The chemical analysis of this earth, 
 however, is very different from tripoli. It is proved to be a silicate 
 of the alkaline earths, and most generally of soda, potash, magnesia 
 or lime. Sometimes only one, and sometimes several of these alka- 
 lies are present. It ranges in color from light gray to snow white, 
 green and yellowish. All these colors are sometimes found in the same 
 ted, and the chemical composition varies even more than the color. 
 To the touch it feels very much like flour. The best specimens 
 have no grit, and when used as a polishing powder no scratches can 
 be detected, even with the microscope. It is most abundant along 
 the Republican, where it is found in almost every county. The 
 following is a characteristic section, taken at a bed in Furnas 
 County, south of the Republican, and about eight miles southeast 
 of Arapahoe. It is exposed on the East half of Northeast of 8, 
 and on West half of Northwest of 9, Township 3 North, and 21 
 West, of 6th Principal Meridian. One of these exposures here is 
 near a quarter of a mile long. The measurements are from the top 
 
 down : 
 
 SECTION. 
 
 1 . Loess, from three to 6 
 
 2. Drift 3 feet. 
 
 3. Compact silicate of lime and limestone 3 " 
 
 4. Flour-like earth 12 " 
 
 This bed is made up of layers one-fourth of an inch in thickness, 
 of snowy whiteness, and other layers, from nine inches to a foot 
 thick, of a grayish white color. Nine feet from the top there is a 
 layer two inches thick, of a greenish color, which contains potash 
 and iron. 
 
 As already intimated, it polishes as successfully and as finely as 
 the best tripoli. 
 
 Origin of this Flour-like Earth. Near or in many of these beds 
 all over the Pliocene region of the plains are found many extinct 
 geyser tubes, and sometimes old geyser basins. Of these I ob- 
 served at least thirty between Arapahoe and the west line of the 
 State. I have also found them in the Loup region and on the Nk>- 
 brara. As some of these geyser tubes had their exit in the Fort 
 Pierre Group, on the upper Republican, it is probable that they 
 
240 
 
 GEOL.OGY. 
 
 commenced their work in the Cretaceous period, and were in opera- 
 tion all through the long centuries of the Eocene, Miocene and 
 Pliocene epochs, and far into the Quaternary. A similar bed ex- 
 ists on Oak Creek, which was deposited in interglacial times. Ne- 
 braska, and at least northern Kansas, in fact, was a great geyser re- 
 gion all through the Tertiary period. It far exceeded in the num- 
 ber and magnitude of its geysers the upper Yellowstone region and 
 Iceland at the present day. Few memorials of these old extinct 
 geysers are visible at the present time, owing to their being covered 
 up by the superincumbent Quaternary deposits, but enough remain 
 to show that a prodigious number must have existed in at least 
 Pliocene times. It is probable that this flour-like silico alkaline 
 earth owes its origin to these old geysers. It is well known that 
 hot alkaline waters dissolve silica. When, therefore, the geyser 
 streams holding silica and alkalies in solution was poured into this 
 old lake, it was precipitated, on cooling, to the bottom. Indeed,, 
 many of the flakes of this earth, under the microscope, clearly re- 
 semble the dried flocculent flakes of aluminic silicate, which the 
 chemist obtains by pouring soluble sodic silicate into a solution of 
 sodic aluminate. Another fact which tends to establish the proba- 
 bility of this theory is that this Pliocene silico alkaline earth, on 
 analyses, bears a striking resemblance to geyserite, which is ob- 
 tained from the deposits of existing geysers. The following 
 analysis are illustrations of this statement. No. I is an analysis of 
 this earth from the deposit near Arapahoe; No. 2, from the Loup; 
 No. 3, from Iceland, and No. 3, from the Yellowstone. No. I and 
 2 were made by myself; No. 3 was made by Forchhammar, and 
 No. 4 by Dr. F. M. Endlich: 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Loss on ignition 
 
 
 
 
 8 00 
 
 Silica 
 
 67 01 
 
 80 17 
 
 84 43 
 
 76 80 
 
 Water 
 
 8 03 
 
 7 43 
 
 7 88 
 
 5 00 
 
 Alumina 
 
 7 11 
 
 4 71 
 
 3 07 
 
 9 46 
 
 Iron 
 
 2 81 
 
 3 01 
 
 1 91 
 
 trace 
 
 Lime 
 
 2 01 
 
 92 
 
 70 
 
 1 80 
 
 Soda and potassa 
 Magnesia 
 
 7 87 
 4 05 
 
 2 27 
 80 
 
 92 
 1 06 
 
 trace 
 trace 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 98 89 
 
 99 31 
 
 99 98 
 
 101 06 
 
 From these analyses it is evident that the principal difference 
 between this Pliocene earth and geyserite is that the former contains 
 a much larger per cent of alkalies; though the specimen from the 
 Loup is strikingly like the geyserite from Iceland. By reference 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 241 
 
 to Dr. Endlich's report on the composition of the geyserites of the 
 Yellowstone,* it will be seen that they differ very much in the per 
 cent of their constituent elements. In the great number of analyses 
 reported by him from as many different geysers, no two are alike. 
 Often geysers only a few feet apart produce very different qualities 
 of geyserite. The same is true of this peculiar earth under dis- 
 cusion. It not only differs a great deal in different localities, but 
 even in different layers of the same stratum. It differs most in the 
 quantity of the alkalies which it contains. Some specimens contain 
 twenty or more per cent, while others contain only a trace, the 
 latter approximating closely in chemical, though not in physical 
 constitution, to the true geyserite. I submit whether these facts do 
 not indicate a similar origin. It is possible that the peculiar modifi- 
 cation of geyserite into a flour-like alkaline silicate may have re- 
 sulted from geysers that were active in the waters of this old Plio- 
 cene lake. 
 
 The deposits of a similar character in the Quaternary contain, 
 where I have chemically examined them, a larger per cent of iron, 
 and are coarser in texture. 
 
 Length of the Pliocene Epoch. The great amount of erosion to 
 which the Pliocene rocks have been subjected, and the great thick- 
 ness of the beds yet remaining, especially along the base of the 
 mountains on the west, indicates that this epoch was of long dura- 
 tion. It probably endured through as many centuries as the pre- 
 ceding Miocene. 
 
 Life of the Pliocene Epoch. Vegetation. In the lower beds of the 
 Nebraska Pliocene are found, in many places, and especially on the 
 Niobrara, many remains of coniferous trees. Among these are 
 petrified wood, cones and leaves. It is possible that some of the 
 petrified wood may have been derived from older formations. If 
 not, then there flourished during these times at least one araucarian 
 pine. A flake from an agatized specimen which I obtained from, 
 the Niobrara, under the microscope gave distinctly the structure of 
 the araucarians. There is no such doubt about the common pine 
 family, as both cones and leaves of these are preserved. The giant 
 trees (Sequoias] must have been abundant, judging from the number 
 of their remains. One species of cedar, closely related to, if not 
 identical with our common juniper, has also left its remains in the 
 Pliocene of the Republican Valley. Along with the last, a cypress 
 
 *Haydeii's Report for 1872, p. 157. 
 
 16 
 

 242 GEOLOGY. 
 
 occurs. On the Niobrara, in the lower beds of the Pliocene, occur, 
 at rare intervals, palm-like leaf lemains, which probably belonged 
 to some species of sabal, though the remains were too indistinct to 
 identify. At the same horizon remains of fig leaves occur. There 
 occur, also, occasional remains of the Sweet Fern (Comptoma), 
 Sweet Gum, Locust (Robinia), Honey Locust (Glcd,ifechia\ Cassia, 
 Sumach (Rhus), Walnut (Juglans), Tulip tree (Liriodendrori), Staff 
 tree {Gelastrus), Cottonwoods (Populus), and Oaks. A petrified 
 oak log, from the Niobrara Pliocene, in the cabinet of the State 
 University, is remarkable for its beauty and the distinctness with 
 which its structure has been preserved. The cells and medullary 
 rays are as perfect as in a live oak of to-day. In Harlan County, 
 on the south side of the Republican River, occur masses of silicious 
 limestone that are filled with the petrified or semi-petrified seeds of 
 probably some species of Arrow-wood (Viburnatn), which is a mem- 
 ber of our Honeysuckle family, which had its greatest develop- 
 ment in Tertiary times. A flora similar to this characterized 
 Europe during this epoch, but it disappeared at the end of the 
 Tertiary. Here, however, our conspicuous vegetable forms are yet 
 Tertiary in type, and almost in species. If Heer is correct, many 
 of our existing American species abounded already in Greenland, 
 Iceland and Spitzbergen in the middle Tertiary. So far, therefore, 
 as our flora is concerned, America, as has long since been remarked, 
 is the old world. 
 
 Animal Life. The turtle family was probably represented by 
 fewer species during the Pliocene than in the previous epoch. 
 Those that I have observed myself in the Niobrara Pliocene were 
 land tortoises, belonging to the genus Testudo. Their remains 
 were mixed with those of mammals. 
 
 During this epoch the higher forms of vegetable life, and espe- 
 cially the mammalian type, h.ad a remarkable development. They 
 must have been exceedingly abundant around the shores of the 
 great lake of the plains, as is evident from the vast numbers of 
 their remains. 
 
 The birds were represented by an eagle (Aqutla Dananus), and a 
 cormorant (^Grus Haydent), both found on the Loup, and described 
 by Marsh. The existence of the eagle implies the presence of 
 other species. And there can be no question that the happy physi- 
 cal conditions of those times were favorable to a great development 
 
 of bird life. 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 243 
 
 The rodents were represented by several species. Among these 
 was a porcupine (Hystrix venustus), and a beaver (Castor tortus), 
 about half the size of the one now living. 
 
 The horse family (Efuufafjfc were represented by at least four 
 genera and fifteen species. One of the most remarkable of these 
 genera was the Hippari^n, which was already present in the pre- 
 vious Miocene, and was described under that head. The species 
 were comparatively small in size. Hj^^rion occidentalis, whose 
 remains occur at several horizons, and at widely separated localities, 
 was the largest species, but was only about the size of the ass. 
 Three other species, found on the Niobrara, and described by Leidy, 
 were still smaller. Merychippus, another genus, which occurs on 
 the Niobrara, was so named because of its large, broad grinders. 
 The name means ruminating horse, but it refers only to the resem- 
 blance, as it did not partake of the character of ruminants. Mery- 
 chippus mirabilis, the largest of the two species described by Leidy, 
 was a little larger than the ass. Protohippus, which is also repre- 
 sented in the Nebraska Pliocene by at least four species, had even 
 a more complicated structure of the enamel of the teeth than the 
 modern horse. Protohippus supremus, .which in size was about 
 half way between the ass and horse, was the largest species. Pro- 
 tohippus parvulus, which was obtained by Marsh at Antelope Sta- 
 tion, Nebraska, was only about two and a half feet high when 
 mature. Closely related to the preceding was Pliohippus, of which 
 Marsh described two species. It had only one hoof to each foot, 
 but large splint bones still remained. Its principal points of differ- 
 ence from the true horse lay in the shape of the skull, hoof, and in 
 the shorter molars. Another genus of animals from the Niobrara, 
 supposed to belong to the horse family, but which reference is un- 
 certain, owing to the paucity of the materials for determination, 
 Leidy has called Hyohirjpus, and under that name has described 
 two species. The most perfect, at the least the most modern of the 
 Pliocene horses of Nebraska, was Equus excelsus. Dr. Hayden 
 first found its remains on the Loup, then on the Niobrara, and then 
 at other points. It was about the size of a medium-sized modern 
 horse, and differed only in trifling details from the present one I 
 have found its remains in the uppermost Pliocene beds in the Re- 
 publican Valley, and in the Quaternary. It extended over from 
 the Pliocene to interglacial times. This most modern of the Plio- 
 cene horses, seems to have been the culminating form of the family 
 
244 GEOLOGY. 
 
 in this epoch. It will be remembered that the family was first 
 represented in the Eocene of the mountains by the Dawn Horse, 
 or Eohippus, with five toes on the fore feet. The horses abounded 
 all through the Miocene and Pliocene, when in the higher forms 
 in this latter epoch the toes had all, except the middle one, disap- 
 peared, but leaving as a memorial of their former presence the 
 splint bones. It is evident that they must have existed here in 
 Pliocene times in prodigious numbers. In fact, these regions, 
 above any other in any geological age, were dominated by horses^ 
 
 One species of Rhinoceros w T as a contemporary of the Pliocene 
 horses. It was about the size of the Indian Rhinoceros, and its 
 teeth had the same formula. Leidy has named it R. crassus. 
 
 The elephant family (Proboscidians), which first became sharply 
 outlined in the preceding Miocene epoch, was represented in the 
 Nebraska Pliocene by at least two genera and species. Mastodon 
 mirificus (wonderful Mastodon), was first described by Leidy from 
 the Pliocene beds on the Loup. Hayden also found its remains in 
 abundance on the Niobrara. I have also observed them on the 
 Driftwood, and in other localities. The finest molar of this animal 
 that I have seen is in the possession of Captain Palmer, in Platts- 
 mouth, who obtained it from the Republican Valley. It is finely 
 agatized, and is remarkable for its beauty. It is fortunate for us 
 that it fell into the hands of a gentleman who will retain it in the 
 State. This species of Mastodon belongs to Falconer's subgenus 
 Tetralophodon. Leidy was uncertain whether it had tusks. A 
 badly decayed section of a skull which I found on the Driftwood, 
 and which unfortunately fell to pieces in taking it out, had a section of 
 one tusk left. It is my own conviction that it had tusks in both 
 jaws. This species has not yet been found elsewhere outside of 
 Nebraska. 
 
 The remains of a gigantic elephant (Eltyhas imperator) was also 
 found by Hayden on the Niobrara, and described by Leidy. It 
 was either distinct from the elephant that appeared afterwards dur- 
 ing the Quaternary, or else was of larger size. A portion of the 
 femur of what I take to be this species, now in the cabinet of the 
 University, is certainly more robust in form than that of the 
 Quaternary elephants. The remains of other species have been 
 found on the Niobrara and Loup, but have not yet been specifically 
 described. It is evi lent, therefore, that in Pliocene times elephants 
 and mastodons were abundant over the land surface of Ne- 
 braska. 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD, 245 
 
 That old type of mammals, so common in Eocene times, but 
 now confined to South America, the Tapirs were represented in 
 the Pliocene of the plains by one species. Marsh, who describes 
 it, calls it Tapirus rams. 
 
 The hog family (Sutda) had fewer representatives than in the 
 preceding epoch. One species of peccary alone seems to have been 
 abundant. 
 
 Ruminants were abundant during the Pliocene in Nebraska. An 
 antelope, ( Cosoryx furcatus^) described by Leidy, and intermediate 
 in character between the deers and antelopes, has left its remains on 
 the Niobrara. In company with the last was a true deer (Cervus 
 Warrent)', also described by Leidy. It was about the size of the 
 Virginia deer. 
 
 The Oreodons, described under the Miocene, had dwindled in 
 the Pliocene to three species of the genus Merychyus. The rela- 
 tive position, form of the teeth, and their number was the same as 
 in Oreodon. The crowns of the teeth, however, were larger in 
 proportion to their breadth than in Oreodon. Merychyus major 
 was the largest species, and was near the size of the camel. M. 
 medius was intermediate in size between the llama and camel. On 
 the whole, while the number of species was less, the average size 
 was greater in this family than during the Miocene. 
 
 The camel family (Camelida) were even richer in genera, species, 
 and the number of individuals than during the Miocene. The 
 most characteristic genus was Procamelus, which was represented 
 by at least four species, three of which were described by Leidy. 
 Their remains are found on the Niobrara, Loup, and Republican. 
 Procamelus had one more premolar to the upper, and two more to 
 the lower series of teeth than in the modern camel. This indicated 
 a less mature condition, or a condition before they have shed those 
 teeth which reduce them to that observed in their adult form. The 
 lower true molars are also smaller in proportion to the size of the 
 jaw than is the existing camel. The molar series, though composed 
 of smaller teeth than in the camel, occupy, because of their greater 
 number, more space along the border of the jaw. Thus in the 
 camel, while the four molar teeth occupy five and a half inches, in 
 i.n Procamelifc robustus the six molars occupy six and a fourth 
 inches. (Leidy.) Some of the species approximate in some of the 
 characters of the lower jaw to the llamas. Procamelus robustus, 
 the largest species, was about the size of the existing camel. The 
 
246 GEOLOGY. 
 
 remains of P. occidentalis, which, was about two-thirds as large, 
 are the most abundant. P. gracilis, a still smaller species, was about 
 as large as a sheep. I have found the remains of another species 
 most nearly related to P. robustus, and if it proves to be distinct,, 
 will call it P. Nebraskensis. Another species, whose remains Hay- 
 den found on the Niobrara, Leidy has called Homocamelus caninus^ 
 It was remarkable, among other things, for the narrow snout-like 
 prolongation of the fore part of the face. The palate was more 
 deeply vaulted than in the camel. The caniniform incisor, the 
 canine and first premolar were all separated from each other, and 
 from the succeeding continuous row of premolars, and true molars 
 by wide arching intervals. The largest of all the family, whose 
 remains were found, Leidy has named Megalomeryx Niobrarensis r 
 from the locality where its remains were obtained. The molar 
 teeth had affinities to those of the llama and sheep. It was proba- 
 bly about one-fourth larger than the modern camel. A still more 
 curious, comprehensive, camel-like animal, described by Leidy, was- 
 Merycodus necatus. Its molar teeth combined the characters found 
 in the sheep, camel, and deer. It was about as large as the latter 
 animal. 
 
 Bisons already existed in the Pliocene epoch in Nebraska. The 
 progenitors of our buffalo probably then existed in the forms which 
 Marsh has described under the names of Bison ferox and Bison 
 Alleni. 
 
 A species which Leidy has described, under the name of Lep- 
 tarctus primus, was a bear-like animal, closely allied to, and about 
 the size of the existing Coati of South America. 
 
 The cat family (Feiidte) had fewer representatives than in the 
 preceding Miocene. ./Elu rod on- ferox was slightly larger than the 
 largest American wolves. One of its sectorial molars, according 
 to Leidy, was intermediate in character between that of the wolves 
 and the cats. "It approached in size the similar molar of a small 
 Bengal tiger. It had the proportion of the similar molar of the 
 wolves, and in addition the anterior accessory lobe of the cats." 
 (Leidy.) The most characteristic, however, of these cats of the 
 Pliocene, was Pseudselurus intrepidus. The first species was found 
 and described from the Miocene of France by M. Gervais. It was 
 somewhat remarkable that another species should be found in the 
 Pliocene of Nebraska. The jaw of this species was intermediate 
 in character between that of the panther and lynx. The jaws and 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 247 
 
 teeth were much as in the cat family generally, but in minute de- 
 tails they resembled most nearly those of the lynx. 
 
 The dog family (Canidce) was much more fully represented 
 than the last, not less than four species having already been des- 
 cribed by Leidy. Canis Haydeni was a wolf of much larger size 
 and more robust form than any now in existence. Another species 
 was also slightly larger than any now living. Leidy calls it Canis 
 rarus, and considers it a near relative if not actual projenitor of our 
 present wolf (Canis occidentalis}. Cotemporary with these large 
 species, and inhabiting the same localities, were two of small size. 
 One of these, called Canis temerarius, was intermediate in form 
 between our prairie wolf and red fox. A still smaller species, more 
 fox than wolf, was about the size of the swift (Cants velooc). 
 
 From the preceding it is apparent that many forms of mammal- 
 ian life culminated in the number of species and the size of individ- 
 uals during the Pliocene epoch. The conditions during those 
 times must have been exceedingly favorable to the development of 
 mammalian -life. Not the- least remarkable is it that most of those 
 animal forms which are now regarded as most useful to man were 
 the most numerous and best represented during an epoch when, so 
 far as we now certainly know, he had not become an actor on the 
 stage of the world. At least no undoubted monuments of his pres- 
 ence in the world during Pliocene times have been preserved in 
 geological history or tradition. The alleged special servants of 
 man, however, were present during the Pliocene epoch in extraor- 
 dinary numbers. Even the mastodon might have been made as 
 serviceable as the elephant was in historic times. There is no good 
 reason to doubt that the great Niobrara elephant (E. imperator} 
 might have been trained to toil as successfully as the species now 
 living in Asia and Africa. Some of the great number of species of 
 the camel family could certainly have been made as useful as the 
 modern " ship of the desert " Even the horse family culminated 
 during those times in the number of species. The fifteen species 
 already described from the Pliocene, were probably only a small 
 fraction of the kinds that then existed. If the three-toed H^/trion 
 horses were not adapted to the service of man, some of the many 
 species of Protohippus and Equus certainly could have been util- 
 ized. We may, therefore, abandon the idea that the development 
 of animal life was designed by the Supreme Intelligence solely for 
 the gratification and use of man. This may have been one pur- 
 
248 GEOLOGY. 
 
 pose, but, in the nature of the case, it could only "have been one out 
 of many conceivable purposes. 
 
 Let us now, if we can, form some picture of the character and 
 physical condition of the Tertiary ages. Take, for example, the 
 middle Pliocene. Had we been in existence then, and started west- 
 ward on a journey from some point near where the Missouri now 
 flows, much of the peculiar life of the times would have been ob- 
 served. The climate was congenial in an eminent degree. The 
 great Pliocene lake caused a much moisture atmosphere than exists 
 at present. Groves of Sequoias, like the present gigantic trees of 
 California, the glyptostrobus of China and Japan, the cypress, the 
 date and the palm, were interpersed with magnificent savannas. 
 The songs of ten thousand birds, many of them of the most beau- 
 tiful plumage, would have greeted our -ears. At some places, herds 
 of thousands of Oreodons would have been encountered. Bisons, 
 similar in form to our buffaloes, would have been seen cropping 
 the grass. At other points might have been seen herds of elephants 
 and mastodons quietly proceeding towards some streamlet, or lake- 
 let, to indulge in a bath. Vast numbers of many species of camels 
 would have been seen reposing at mid-day on a gentle hill-side 
 under the shade of sequoias or cypress. More curious than all, 
 thousands of H/i^rions, those wonderful three- toed horses, along 
 with many kinds of one-toed horses, of all sizes, would sometimes 
 have made the earth tremble under their tread. When, at last, in 
 such a westward journey, the shores of the great Pliocene lake 
 would be reached, its borders would have been a marvel for the 
 life represented there. A rhinoceros might have been seen wal- 
 lowing in the mud near the shore. Thousands of water-fowl 
 would have been riding the gentle waves. Elephants, camels, ore- 
 dons, and horses might have been seen there slaking their thirst in 
 the streamlets flowing into the lake. Life would have been ob- 
 served everywhere the hum of insects and the song of birds in 
 the air life in the trees, in forest and glade, on land and lake 
 Most of it, too, was happy life. It is true some unfortunate rumin- 
 ants would fall victims to the gigantic wolves and cats of the time, 
 but the carnivora were not the rulers of the land. Grass and leaf, 
 and seed, and fruit-eating animals, were the rulers of the Pliocene 
 world in central North America. It was a physical paradise, for 
 violence, rapine, and murder, were the exception and not the rule 
 -Violence, indeed, has existed in every geological age, but in Plio- 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 249 
 
 cene America, herbivorous life was so dominant that it could suc- 
 cessfully defend itself against the carnivora, and the latter evidently 
 obtained most of their prey by stealth and by picking off the aged 
 and infirm. Animal life is generally happy when it is left alone, 
 and this was specially the case during American Pliocene times. 
 It is a grave reflection on humanity that, not the Creator, but man's 
 injustice and inhumanity, produces most of the misery which we see 
 in the world. This is, however, but a very faint picture of these 
 happy Pliocene times which lasted for untold ages. But every one 
 can, for himself, by "the aid of the scientific imagination," form 
 such pictures of the wonders of that old-time world. 
 
 Close of the Pliocene Epoch. There is evidence that the Pliocene 
 epoch only gradually came to a close. The lake of the plains was 
 probably partially drained, and a large part of its surface became 
 dry land long before the last centuries of the Pliocene had ended. 
 Clarence King describes a series " of coarse semi-stratified gravels 
 and conglomerates " along the eastern base of the Colorado Range, 
 which, " in the benches of the Sybille, distinctly overlie the Nio- 
 brara Pliocene, which abut against the Archaean core of the range," 
 from which these materials were derived. The same formations 
 are found at the head of the Chugwater, the valley of the Big 
 Thompson, and at other points. In places on these streams, these 
 gravels are from 200 to 300 feet thick, and descend in rude terraces. 
 As these formations, according to King, overlie the Niobrara Plio- 
 cene, and antedate the Quarternary, they evidently constitute, the 
 closing deposits of the Pliocene epoch. I have detected the equiv- 
 alents of these deposits nowhere in Nebraska, even where it is least 
 eroded. It is probable, therefore, that the great lake of the plains 
 was drained before these deposits were laid clown. The eastern 
 border of the great Pliocene rim commenced to descend and gradu- 
 ally left out the water until much of this great lake of the plains 
 became dry land. There is also evidence of increasing cold in the 
 deposits of this lake through their upper sections. The southern 
 shores of the lake were probably risin^ *.t the same time, which 
 would help to intensify the growing cold. An ice cap had now 
 formed in polar regions, and conditions of climate similar to the 
 present intervened. A^e after age the increasing cold, accompanied 
 by gradual elevation of land towards the north, continued, until 
 finally the Arctic ice cap crept down to our present temperate lati- 
 tudes. The flora and fauna of the Pliocene migrated southward, 
 
250 GEOLOGY. 
 
 and many species and genera were exterminated. The distinct 
 fauna that made its appearance during the Quaternary originated 
 some time during this transformation of the Pliocene into the gla- 
 cial epoch. 
 
 During the closing centuries of the Pliocene epoch, some convul- 
 sive movements occurred further west. King remarks " that the 
 whole country from about 114 30' was depressed to the west, the 
 western edge of the Pliocene lake settling 2,000 feet." * * * 
 " The same is true from Thousand Spring Valley eastward to Cache 
 Valley, and to the base of the Wasatch, which is a region of recur- 
 rent faults." * * "I consider it proved that the displacement at 
 the eastern base of the Sierras, and the western base of the Wasatch T 
 occurred at the close of the Pliocene, and thus broke the one broad 
 lacustrine basin into two new lake basins one at the foot of the 
 Sierras, the other under the shadow of the Wasatch Range which 
 were to receive the waters of the quaternal age." Thus it appears 
 that as the Miocene closed with the production of fractures and 
 fissures that covered a vast area with lava, so the closing centuries 
 of the Pliocene were characterized by great vertical displacements 
 of mountain chains. 
 
 General Remarks on the Tertiary. Many of the strata of the 
 Miocene deposits were specially favorable for the preservation of 
 animal remains. Some of the strata of the Pliocene, in at least a 
 few localities, were scarcely less adapted to such a purpose. The 
 perfect petrifaction of many of these remains also indicates that this 
 property was possessed by these waters in an eminent degree. The 
 mammalian skeletons must have been carried into the old lakes 
 during flood time from some of the low lands that were subjected 
 to overflow, and once in the quiet, muddy bottom of the lake, were 
 soon covered by sediments that preserved them to our times. The 
 very original sharpness of the outline of these remains have been 
 preserved. Seldom are any marks of erosion detected on any of 
 the specimens. The curious feature about these remains is that few 
 representatives of any sub-kingdom of animals, except the verte- 
 brates, have been preserved, and of these no classes but mammals 
 and birds, except a few species of turtles. No fishes have yet been 
 found, and only a few mollusks, and these, except a land snail, of 
 comparatively low type. Fish and mollusks could not have existed 
 extensively in these lakes, or else their remains would have been 
 preserved. The climate certainly was favorable to amphibious 
 
THE TERTIARY PERIOD. 251 
 
 mammals, but none, except the marsh-loving beaver and rhinoceros 
 have yet been found. Leidy has suggested that the explanation 
 might be found in the probability that these old lakes were occa- 
 sionally flooded by the sea, producing an alternation of salt, brack- 
 sh and fresh water conditions. If that had been the case, it appears 
 to me that some indications of destroyed marine life would have 
 been detected. I suggest that the explanation may be found in the 
 probability that the waters of these lakes were too alkaline to be ^ 
 favorable to life. The deposits from these lakes indicate an exces- 
 sively alkaline condition of the water. They are rarely found free 
 from the alkaline earths, and many of the strata are almost wholly 
 composed of them. Thick beds of almost pure marl abound not 
 marl produced by beds of shells, but by precipitation from water 
 supersaturated at certain times with alkaline matters. Such waters 
 certainly were most unfavorable to animal life, and accounts for the 
 paucity of fresh water remains. 
 
252 GEOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 QUATERNARY AGE. GLACIAL PERIOD TO THE 
 LOESS. SUPERFICIAL DEPOSITS. 
 
 Opening of the Glacial Period. A period of great humidity and cold.^ 
 Glaciation of the Plains. Direction of the Glacial Mass and thickness. Ma- 
 terials. Blue Clay, its extent and character. Eesemblance to the Till and 
 Erie Clays. Analysis. Whitish Clays. Boulder Clay. Drift Materials. 
 Description of a Section. Old Forest Bed. Extent, Character and Sections 
 Its Fossils Second Appearance of Glacial Drift. Karaes. Calcareous and 
 Silicious Materials. Section of them and General Character. Transition 
 Beds Analysis of the Calcareous Materials. Origin of these Beds. Course 
 of events to the beginning of the Loess. 
 
 WE have seen at the close of the last chapter how the Pliocene 
 epoch closed its remarkable history. Its closing centuries 
 were the opening ones of the Quaternary Age. The continent 
 had sunken towards the south and was rising towards the north. 
 Where once had been the floor of a lake of the plains had now su- 
 pervened a very great change of level. The southern end of the 
 once great Pliocene lake was now, at least, at the level of the sea, and 
 the northern end was 7,000 feet higher. The plains were dessi- 
 cated before the Pliocene had entirely passed away. King has 
 given reasons to suppose that this was even the case with the great 
 lake of the basin region that between the Pliocene and Quater- 
 nary this region was dried up. Following this condition of dryness 
 was one of great humidity and a much lower temperature than the 
 present. The snows of winter accumulated too rapidly finally to 
 be removed by the summer warmth. Eventually the plains ot 
 Nebraska became glaciated and were covered by a thick mantle of 
 ice. This was the first, or glacial period of the Quaternary. In 
 this respect Nebraska agrees with the Quaternary in eastern Amer- 
 ica, where Dana divides the age into the Glacial period, the Cham- 
 plain or low level period, and the Terrace or recent period. These 
 divisions are not strictly applicable to Nebraska. Here we have a 
 Glacial, a Boulder Clay, or true Drift, a Forest Bed, a second 
 Drift, Loess and Terrace period. These divisions are more or less 
 clearly outlined in our superficial geology. 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 253 
 
 GLACIAL PERIOD. 
 
 The monuments of this period are undoubted. Along the Mis- 
 souri River, from Fort Calhoun to the Kansas line, wherever the 
 superficial deposits are removed and hard limestones constitute the 
 surface rocks, they are worn as smooth as mirrors, except diamond- 
 like scratches which cross them in a direction averaging about 17 
 degrees east of south. Below Plattsmouth at one point they run 2f 
 degrees east of south. On the Platte, as far west as the limestone 
 extends, the direction east of south averages about 19 degrees. 
 At Stout's former stone quarry, twelve miles southeast of Lincoln, 
 the direction is 13^ degrees east of south. These markings at 
 this quarry seem to cross fainter lines whose direction was a little 
 more easterly. In other places these slightly divergent lines are 
 found, as if the ice in glacial times had moved at first more easterly 
 than it did later. Where the rocks are of a soft, yielding nature, 
 as in the Cretaceous and Tertiary these lines have long since been 
 effaced. That they once existed is more than probable. On the 
 Niobrara at a few points where a hard, silicious layer of Cretaceous 
 rocks but recently was exposed to the surface, faint glacial lines 
 were visible. As such markings are now made by existing gla- 
 ciers, all geologists refer these scratches to a similar origin. 
 
 The materials lying on the country rock over the greater part of 
 the State are additional evidences of the former presence of glaciers 
 on our plains. The following section, taken on Oak Creek, Lan- 
 caster County, shows the character of the materials laid down dur- 
 ing this age. The section begins at the top. 
 
 1. Black surface soil ......................................... ... 4 feet. 
 
 2. Loess ........................................................ 21 " 
 
 3. Calcareous sand .............................................. 7 " 
 
 4. Gravel, sand and drift boulders ............................... 5 " 
 
 6. Black soil, with silicified wood ................................ 2 " 
 
 6. Gravel and boulders .......................................... 4 " 
 
 7. Modified drift-gravel and clay ................................. 9 " 
 
 8. Blue clay .................................................... .JLT " 
 
 Farther up the valley of Oak Creek a bed of blue clay exhibited 
 the following characters. It lies on the deposits of the Dakota Group. 
 
 1. Blue clay ................................................... 5 feet. 
 
 2. Sand ..................................................... 1 " 
 
 3. Blue clay .................................................... 13 " 
 
 4. Fine sand and gravel ........................................ % " 
 
 5. Blue clay .................................................. .11 " 
 
 30^ feet. 
 
254 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Often, though not always, this blue clay has intercalated be- 
 tween its layers these thin strata of sand and pebbles. In Saline 
 County where they occur the clay sometimes shades into sand and 
 emerges from it the same way. This clay is a characteristic feature of 
 the earliest deposits of the Quaternary over the greater part of south- 
 ern Nebraska and over a considerable section of north Nebraska. In 
 south Nebraska it occurs in at least three-fourths of the counties. 
 It is brought to light more frequently in boring for water, but oc- 
 casionally it also crops out in railroad cuts, ravines and small canyons. 
 Its thickness ranges all the way from five to sixty feet. Where 
 free from mechanical admixture of sand, it is exceedingly compact 
 and hard. An augur penetrates it with great difficulty, and in such 
 cases it almost bids defiance to a pick. Occasionally it is full of 
 pebbles, many of which lie lengthwise the direction of the glacial 
 path, and, like the underlying rock, are marked by parallel striaea. 
 At other places, instead of pebbles and small boulders, it is inter- 
 mixed with sand in greater or less quantity. In such places it 
 readily permits of the passage of water, but where pure it is imper- 
 vious. In most of these characters it bears a striking resemblance 
 to the English till.* This till Geike shows was first formed be- 
 neath glacial ice (Moraine Profjnde). A body of ice 3,000 feet 
 thick moving forward a few inches or feet in a day would crush 
 and pulverize everything beneath it. This thickness, at least of 
 the glacial mass, can be inferred from the depth of the ice mass in 
 the east, where valleys 5,000 feet deep were filled, as is known by 
 the scorings that crossed them and were made at that height on the 
 bounding mountains. Boulders are also known to have been car- 
 ried across equally elevated mountains. It was nature's mighty 
 millstone to reduce to powder the stony fragments and organic ma- 
 terials beneath it. On the final retreat of the glaciers this-fine, im- 
 palpable mud in part accumulated at the lower end, and in part was 
 carried away by the rushing streams to be deposited in quiet 
 waters. In some such way it became somewhat irregularly laid 
 down over the land. The Erie clays described on the north side of 
 Lake Erie by Sir W. Logan had, according to Newberry, who 
 studied them so thoroughly in Ohio, a similar origin. All such 
 clays, according to these eminent authorities, owe their character, 
 physical and chemical, directly or indirectly to glacial action. In 
 Ohio Newberry, however, regards the Erie clays as a result of the 
 
 *See ' 'The Great Ice Age," by James Geike. 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 
 
 255 
 
 flooding that followed immediately the first retreat of the glaciers. 
 In Nebraska, however, they must have been formed at first be- 
 neath a glacial mass and then modified only in part by the floods 
 that followed immediately on their retreat. The reason of this 
 opinion is that here I have frequently found the boulders imbedded 
 n the blue clay lying lengthwise of the path of the glacier, and 
 striated like the rock beneath as already stated. If this clay had 
 been deposited from water this peculiar distribution and position of 
 the boulders would have been impossible. 
 
 The following analysis indicates the character of this blue clay. 
 For purposes of comparison, I give also Wormly's analysis of the 
 blue clay of Ohio :* 
 
 
 Nebraska 
 blue clay. 
 
 Ohio 
 blue clay. 
 
 Water 
 
 3 70 
 
 4 00 
 
 Silicic Acid . 
 
 61 80 
 
 59 70 
 
 Alumina 
 
 13 90 
 
 14 80 
 
 Iron SesQuioxide ... 
 
 5 01 
 
 4 60 
 
 Lime Carbonate ... . . 
 
 9 11 
 
 8 90 
 
 
 1 70 
 
 5 14 
 
 Fixed Alkalies 
 
 4 01 
 
 3 40 
 
 Loss in analysis . 
 
 77 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 00 
 
 100 54 
 
 The character, ac, will be observed, of these clays, though so 
 widely separated, closely resemble each other. It should, however, 
 be remembered that other specimens are widely different some 
 having more silicic acid, alkalies, iron or alumina. 
 
 Above the blue clay, in a few places, a whitish clay occurs. I 
 have not ascertained what relation it sustains to the blue clay, or 
 what its chemical composition is. 
 
 Above these clays or till beds of boulder clay occur that occa- 
 sionally exhibit true marks of stratification. Following this is or- 
 dinary drift material, which lies directly on the country rocks, where 
 the blue, white and boulder clays are absent, as often occurs, espe- 
 cially in north Nebraska. This drift material is the most widely dif- 
 fused geological deposit in the State, though in vertical thickness it is 
 much less than others. Sometimes, in a few townships of some coun- 
 ties, it constitutes the surface soil, but generally it is buried beneath 
 later deposits. In rare instances it seems to have been removed 
 from the uplands by denudation, before the Loess was formed. 
 
 l. I. of Xewberry's Geological Survey of Ohio, page 177. 
 
256 - GEOLOGY. 
 
 Sometimes, where it is exposed at the surface, it is so mingled with 
 the Loess, Alluvium, and organic matter as to escape the attention 
 of any one save a practical geologist. It ranges in thickness from 
 a few inches to seventy-five feet. It may be much thicker, but if 
 so I have seen no exposures that indicate it. Nowhere does it come 
 to the surface over wide areas. In the northern part of the State 
 it occasionally constitutes the surface, in the southern part of Dixon 
 County, in the northern part of Wayne, and in portions of Cedar r 
 Knox, Pierce*, Antelope, and Holt counties. In townships 30 and 
 and 31 north, range I and 2 east, in Cedar County, semicircular 
 rows of Drift pebbles and boulders even yet extend across narrow 
 valleys, that lie on the flanks of high bluffs in the form of terminal 
 moraines of glaciers, the marks of which unnumbered centuries 
 have not been able to efface. In this region some of the glacier- 
 marked boulders are of great size, weighing many tons. One of 
 the most remarkable lies near the quarter-section stone, between 
 sections 25 and 36, in township 30 north, range I east. It lies on 
 top of the highest bluff i.n this region, from which there is a mag- 
 nificent view of the whole country around. It is a granitic quartz- 
 ose rock, about four feet square. On the level top-surface there is 
 a beautiful engraving of a child's foot, a half-moon, a grape-vine, 
 and other hieroglyphics. The engraving of the child's foot is cut 
 in its deepest part, three-fourths of an inch into the hardest rock, 
 and for fidelity to nature it would do honor to the work of a Greek 
 artist. Previous to my discovery of this relic of the past (1869), no 
 one in that region had heard of its existence. It may have been 
 the work of the mound-builders, as their peculiar pottery and 
 mounds are found near by, but what implements enabled them to 
 carve these symbols in this hard rock, as well as the purpose of 
 such a monument, at such a place, will probably always remain a 
 mystery. 
 
 South of the Platte the Drift creeps to the surface on some of 
 the hillsides of Lancaster, Saunders, Saline, Butler, Gage, Seward, 
 Johnson, Pawnee, and Jefferson counties. In fact, there are few 
 counties in the eastern part of the State where the Drift is not oc- 
 casionally exposed by denudation. Four miles northwest of Ne- 
 braska City, on the farm of Hon. J. F. Kinney, is a granitic boulder 
 as large as a small house, on whose top smooth holes have been 
 worn by the Indians in grinding or pounding corn. This boulder 
 is imbedded in a Loess deposit, through which it extends from the 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 257 
 
 Drift below. Here, as in most other regions, the Drift varies a 
 great deal in character. As already intimated, it has here been so 
 modified by subsequent lacustrine agencies as generally to be ca- 
 pable of high cultivation. Recently I have made a special exam- 
 ination of the modified Drift in Johnson County. Where the 
 ground was covered with pebbles, the spade showed that the soil 
 beneath was composed largely of Loess materials, mixed with 
 Drift sand and clay, and organic matter. Here it is often in layers, 
 showing that it is genuine modified Drift. This modified Drift 
 soil, during the last season, where it was well cultivated, yielded 
 sixty bushels of corn to the acre. It is only inferior, if inferior at 
 all, to the Loess, which will be considered in the next section. 
 Where this Drift is the purest, it is composed of boulders, some of 
 which are of large size, pebbles, gravel, sand, and a small per cent 
 of alumina. In places the Drift contains considerable lime, which 
 was, no doubt, produced by the disintegration during glacial times 
 of the Niobrara division of Cretaceous rocks. Sometimes frag- 
 ments of these Cretaceous rocks are found in the Drift. Generally 
 the pebbles and boulders are composed of the primary rocks, such 
 as quartz, quartzose, granite, greenstone, syenite, gneiss, porphyry, 
 actinolite, etc. Occasionally the year presence of the Drift is indi- 
 cated by large boulders sticking up through soil composed of very 
 different material. In such cases I have learned by experience to 
 look for the modified Drift, which is so valuable in the agriculture 
 of this State. In the few localities where all the finer matter has 
 been removed by water agency, numbers of the different forms of 
 variegated agates, carnelians, jaspars, sardonyx, onyx, opals and 
 petrified wood, etc., are found. Agates and petrified wood are 
 specially abundant. The latter is found almost in every exposure 
 of the Drift. Some of the agates vie in beauty with those obtained 
 from the most celebrated localities in the mountains. Judging from 
 the remains of the matrix still attached to some of them, they were 
 originally formed in the secondary rocks, from which they were 
 separated by the disintegration to which they were subjected by 
 the wear and tear of the elements in glacial times. 
 
 A brief description of a remarkable section through the Drift on 
 Oak Creek, Lancaster County, will not be out of place. A few 
 miles from Lincoln the terrace on this creek, composed of Loess 
 materials, approaches the creek very closely. In this well the 
 Loess deposit was fifteen feet in thickness, then came two feet of 
 
258 GEOLOGY. 
 
 / 
 
 Drift, then two feet of compact peat, then clay and black soil, and 
 then Drift and blue clay again. The lower Drift here probably 
 represents the period of the first glacial advance. The upper clay, 
 black soil, and peat represent the middle period when the glaciers 
 had retreated and a new forest-bed covered the State. The Drift, 
 immediately on top of this, marks the second advance of the gla- 
 ciers. The Loess on top represents the final retreat of the glaciers, 
 and that era of depression of the surface of the State when the 
 greater part of it constituted a great fresh-water lake into which the 
 Missouri, the Platte and the Republican rivers poured their waters. 
 Old Forest Bed. This is not observed in sections through the 
 Quaternary in all parts of the State. Sometimes it is apparently 
 absent from whole counties, and probably its removal was caused 
 by a second advance of the glaciers, to be considered presently. In 
 some of the canyons of the Loup region I have found the bed of 
 black soil, but without a vestige of silicified wood. In other sec- 
 tions of the same region it was sparingly present. It is possible 
 that this may have been occasioned by a condition slightly resem- 
 bling the present that is, a condition of alternating forests and 
 prairies. Though it is evident that the proportion of forest to prai- 
 rie must have been much greater than at present, as east of the 99th 
 meridian in 30 sections that I have examined through the Old For- 
 est Bed, twenty-three contained silicified wood. West of the 99th 
 meridian only three out of fifteen sections contained any. The fol- 
 lowing is a section in a canyon running into the West Loup, where 
 no wood was visible. I examined the exposure carefully for half a 
 mile, and the most dilligent search failed to bring any to light : 
 
 Surface soil 3 feet. 
 
 Loess 21 
 
 Calcareous sand and gravel 7 " 
 
 Boulders, flint and gravel 4 " 
 
 Carbonaceous, shaly clay 3 " 
 
 Black soil 4 " 
 
 Silicious clay 2 ' 
 
 Gravel and boulders, exposed 3 " 
 
 The black soil of the Old Forest Bed in color and constitution 
 closely resembles the black surface soils of the State at the present 
 time. This is particularly true of the lower half. The upper por- 
 tion has probably been so modified by subsequent glacial and water 
 agencies as no longer to exhibit its original character. As already 
 observed in the eastern part of the State, specially large quantities 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 259 
 
 of silicified wood are found in this Old Forest Bed. Of fifty speci- 
 mens that I examined microscopically at different times, thirty-nine 
 were conifers. A few oaks, a willow, a cottonwood and some 
 other species that I could not determine also occurred among them. 
 If these specimens are any indication of dominant type, then a con- 
 iferous vegetation flourished here during those times. Here are 
 also found the remains of the elephant, mastodon, the Bison lati- 
 frons, a huge elk and deer, and the giant beaver {Castor Ohiaticus}. 
 Curiously enough, I found the molar of a horse in this same bed, 
 but too much injured to identify specifically. An abundant animal 
 life, a life remarkable for its gigantic character, ruled in these old 
 forests. It was probably colder than at present in the same lati- 
 tudes, but with conditions of moisture and temperature eminently 
 adapted to the production of vast and sombre forests, whose soli- 
 tudes were enlivened principally by huge herbivorous and carnivor- 
 ous mammals. That the Forest Bed period was a long one is clear 
 from the thickness of the bed that was formed, from its vast forests 
 and the remains of its abounding animal life. Black soils form 
 with excessive slowness, and as the Forest Bed is known, even in 
 Nebraska, to have a thickness in places of ten feet, the time involved 
 in its production is simply incalculable. 
 
 Second Appearance of Glacial Drift. On top of the Old Forest 
 bed materials, and where these have been removed, on top of the 
 silicious clay floor of the Forest Bed, occur gravel, sands of various 
 degrees of fineness, boulders and boulder clay. In places the 
 boulders of various sizes constitute the principal portion of the over- 
 lying materials. Sometimes these boulders are marked with par- 
 allel striae, and beds and piles of them occur of enormous thickness. 
 One such exists on the banks of Oak Creek, six miles from Lin- 
 coln. Here I measured seventeen feet of vertical thickness of these 
 boulders of all sizes, from a grain of corn to a hundred pounds in 
 weight some rounded and some angular, with sand also intermin- 
 gled. In the upper portion of these beds there are signs, with 
 greater or less distinctness, of stratification. Often it bears in its 
 lower portions a striking resemblance to the drift materials below 
 the Forest Beds. Above the indistinctly stratified materials are 
 various beds in places where the stratification is undoubted. These 
 beds are mostly made up of variously colored gravels and sands, the 
 latter predominating. 
 
 Kames. On the Logan, Elkhorn, on tributaries of the Republi- 
 can and Loup, and in other places occur long rows of sometimes 
 
260 GEOLOGY. 
 
 gravels and sometimes sands, very distinct from the Pliocene sands 
 of the Niobrara. The Loess deposits to be described hereafter 
 abut against them, but often their tops have been blown over the 
 Loess to such an extent that even geologists have been deceived in- 
 to the belief that they are of very recent origin. They, however, 
 antedate the Loess, as is evident from the fact that they extend be- 
 neath the latter. I am not sure whether any of them exhibit any 
 true marks of stratification. They bear some resemblance to the 
 Kames of Scotland and Asars of Scandinavia, and to them they 
 are for the present referred, though doubtfully. Though their up- 
 per portions are composed of sands, they often shade down into- 
 fine and then coarse gravels. This is specially true in southwest 
 Nebraska, where at long intervals canyons are found which par- 
 tially cut through them. 
 
 Calcareous and Silicious Materials. Between the deposits which 
 are doubtfully referred to the Kames, and lying on their flanks, oc- 
 our, in many places, great beds of fine silicious matter, which in 
 places is calcareous to a greater or less degree, and is especially 
 rich in iron, mostly in the form of a sesquioxide. It is often mis- 
 taken for Loess, whose character it often approaches. The best ex- 
 amples of it are seen in the Republican Valley, from Harlan 
 County westward, where the line of junction between it and the 
 overlying Loess is sharply outlined, and is exposed for thirty miles. 
 Its color is a darker reddish brown than Loess. Under the micro- 
 scope, the silicious materials appear coarser than the Loess, with 
 the addition, occasionally, of small water-worn pebbles. It also 
 varies much more in character. The following analysis, only par- 
 tially completed, indicates its chemical character : 
 
 Insoluble (silicious) matter 78 . 10 
 
 Ferric oxide 5.9& 
 
 Alumina 2 . 70 
 
 Lime carbonate 11 . 01 
 
 Lime phosphate, undetermined. 
 Magnesia carbonate, " 
 Potassa, " 
 
 Soda, " 
 
 At other points in Nebraska this reddish brown silicious matter 
 shades insensibly into the overlying Loess. Such examples can be 
 seen along the Missouri River from Plattsmouth to the south line 
 of the State. Along this same route beds of almost pure sand oc- 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 261 
 
 casionally take its place. There are a few such points between La 
 Platte and Omaha. Not unfrequently this deposit is highly cal- 
 careous in its lower and upper portion. When it gradually shades 
 down into gravel and boulder beds, the latter are often covered by 
 incrustrations of calcareous and other alkaline matter. It is possi- 
 ble that the alkaline matter that has been leached out of the over- 
 lying beds was deposited on these underlying pebbles and boulders. 
 I am, however, by no means sure that this explanation is the cor- 
 rect one. The most remarkable, however, of the deposits at this 
 horizon, are the strata of calcareous and other alkaline matters that 
 are found in the upper portion of these silicious beds. The amount 
 of alkaline matter ranges from ten to ninety per cent and the beds 
 vary in thickness from a few inches to fifteen feet. Between Ne- 
 braska City and Brownville, along the Missouri bluffs, are some 
 fine exposures of these alkaline beds, though they are more min- 
 gled with sand and gravel than farther west. The calcareous 
 concretions found here are, however, exceedingly abundant and 
 beautiful. Samples are common which measure from one to five 
 inches in diameter. Inside they are sometimes partially hollow, and 
 portions of the mass being separated and loose, they rattle, on being 
 shaken after drying. In Saline County there is a thin, almost pure 
 snow white layer of this calcareous matter. Further west, in Web- 
 ster, Fillmore, Hamilton, York and some other counties north, as 
 well as south of the Platte, this alkaline material occurs at this hori- 
 zon at various localities. It differs greatly in thickness and extent 
 of beds, and in the proportions of the alkalies present and silicious 
 materials with which it is combined. It has sometimes been used 
 for mortar and plastering, and from the people has received the 
 name of natural morlar. It does not, however, avail for outside 
 work, as the rain softens and gradually removes it. Not unfre- 
 quently layers of this alkaline matter are separated by layers of 
 sand, and even higher up in the series, where it occurs in the 
 Loess, as it sometimes does, it is separated into thin strata by the 
 same materials. The following section, taken about five miles 
 northwest from Fairmount, illustrates the mode of its occurrence : 
 
 1. Black soil 4 feet. 
 
 2. Loess 17 " 
 
 3. Calcareous and other alkaline earths 1 " 
 
 4. Loess 2 " 
 
 5. Calcareous and other alkaline earths 7 " 
 
 <>. Brownish calcareous sand, exposed 3 " 
 
262 GEOLOGY. 
 
 The following analysis of these alkaline deposits show how they 
 vary in character. Both specimens were obtained from Fillmore 
 County: 
 
 INO.I. 
 
 NO. 2. 
 55.11 
 
 .70 
 1.21 
 19.70 
 
 7.13 
 4.01 
 
 Insoluble (silicious) matter 
 
 21 00 
 1.17 
 1.80 
 33.14 
 
 11.33 
 3.80 
 
 Alumina 
 
 Peroxide of iron 
 
 Lime carbonate 
 
 L/irne phosphate, undetermined . . ... 
 
 Magnes'a carbonate, " 
 
 Potassa, ' ' 
 
 Soda, " 
 
 Organic matter, " .... .... 
 
 Moisture .' 
 
 
 These two specimens indicate the presenqe of a large quantity of 
 magnesia and lime. Along the Missouri the alkaline concretions 
 at this horizon are largely composed, in places, of magnesia. They 
 are white in color and vary in size from a pea to from one to three 
 inches in diameter. It is probable that a portion of the calcareous- 
 materials that are present in these deposits came from the chalk 
 rocks of the Niobrara Group that still exists in northeast Nebraska 
 and Dakota Territory. I have sometimes found in the Drift, and 
 also mingled with other alkaline deposits, small chalk rock. At 
 one place below Plattsmouth one of these chips of chalk contained 
 a fish scale characteristic of the Niobrara Group. Among- the 
 eroded calcareous materials that were carried down into this lake 
 the chalk rocks must have constituted a large portion. Evidently 
 the waters became supersaturated with alkaline matter either by 
 excessive activity of the eroding agents ice and torrents or r 
 which is more probable, by partial dessication of the lake. We 
 have an exemplification of this kind of agency in the present and 
 past history of the lakes in the Utah basin. The analysis of its 
 waters give a remarkably small per cent of carbonate of lime. 
 And yet the rivers bring a large amount of it annually into the 
 lake. King, however, has shown in the 4oth parallel survey that 
 lime in the form of tufa or thinolite has been precipitated in im- 
 mense quantities during some portions of its history. When the 
 waters of Salt Lake, (Lake Bonneville formerly, King), receded 
 below the line of outflow, but were kept at a high level for long 
 periods of time, great beds of tufa were deposited, especially along 
 the shore, and to some extent towards its interior. Lake Lahontan 
 (west of Lake Bonneville) is still a more remarkable instance where 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 263 
 
 calcareous tufas were produced. In reference to this, King re- 
 marks : " The occurrence of such a tremendous formation of alka- 
 line carbonates, necessitates a very long period, during which the 
 surface of Lake Lahontan was some distance below its level of 
 outlet. To account for the existing presence of the weak solutions 
 of the residual lakes, it is necessary, after the formation of gay-lus- 
 site and its pseudomorphism into thinolite, to suppose a flood-period 
 during which the lake had free drainage over its outlet, and which 
 continued long enough, practically, to wash out the saline contents 
 of the great lake." Now in a way somewhat similar, it is possible 
 that in immediately pre-Loess times, the great Quaternary lake of 
 Nebraska and western Iowa, may have become so reduced in vol- 
 ume by climatic change as to lose more by evaporation than by 
 overflow, anfl then through the interaction of other chemical 
 agents, precipitated its alkalies to the bottom. That some such 
 agency was here at work for a long time, is evident from the extent 
 and great thickness of these alkaline deposits. When finally this 
 condition of things was drawing to a close, the finer silicious de- 
 posits commenced to form, which shaded into the Loess or next 
 deposit above. As already observed, these transition beds can be 
 seen in the Republican Valley, and with still greater distinctness in 
 some of the small canyons in the region of the Loups, where often 
 it is impossible to tell with exactness where the Loess or next de- 
 posit above begins. 
 
 Resume of Geological History between the Glacial and Loess Pe- 
 riods. -We have seen that the retreating ice sheet of the Glacial 
 Period left in its path huge beds of blue clay and other Drift ma- 
 terials, which in their upper portions were modified by water 
 agency. The land was flooded, and over the great lake or interior 
 sea thus formed icebergs floated and dropped their loads of sand, 
 gravel and boulders on the bottoms, and where they were stranded 
 left this debris in enormous heaps. This period of depression and 
 floods was followed by one of slow elevation, when the waters 
 were drained off and a new forest bed was formed to the shores of 
 the retreating lakes, or to the foot of the glacier mass. As the 
 period of glaciation was a time of great relative humidity, this 
 must also have been the character of the climate all through the 
 flood and Old Forest Bed period. The ice sheet again advanced 
 and destroyed these magnificent forests before it. Newberry, who 
 first directed attention to this Old Forest Bed, found no evidences 
 
264 GEOLOGY. 
 
 of this period of glaciation in Ohio. Here, however, it is clear. 
 It has also been observed in northeastern Iowa by W. J. McGee.* 
 I attribute the absence of this Forest Bed in many sections of Ne- 
 braska to the second advance of the ice sheet in these regions. It 
 probably failed to advance so far south in Ohio and other sections 
 of the Mississippi Valley. When this ice sheet commenced its re- 
 treat, another period of depression came on, whefi the land was 
 again flooded, and a lake of fresh water again occupied the plains. 
 This body of water for ages abutted against the ice sheet on the 
 north, from which it received icebergs that floated over its waters. 
 In these waters the materials left by the retreating glaciers were 
 remodified in their upper portion, and new matter was brought 
 down by torrents and icebergs. When the ice sheet retreated from 
 the shores of this lake or interior sea, finer sediment* began to be 
 laid down. Fine sand took the place of gravels and boulders, and 
 as the waters contracted in volume the calcareous matter held in 
 suspension began to be precipitated. There is no evidence that the 
 lake was entirely dessicated previous to the beginning of the Loess 
 period. It was only reduced to smaller dimensions. W^hen at last 
 central and eastern Iowa became dry land, and the ice sheet had 
 retreated to the upper Missouri and the Yellowstone, the Loess 
 materials began to be laid down on the floor of the old lake bed. 
 So important, however, are these Loess materials in historic and 
 economic geology that they will be discussed in a separate chapter. 
 
 *See American Journal of Science and Arts, Vol. 15, page 339. 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 265 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE QUATERNARY AGE, AND SUPERFICIAL 
 DEPOSITS, CONTINUED. LOESS PERIOD. 
 
 Name. Extent. Thickness. Homogeneous Character. Chemical Char- 
 acter. Analyses. Drainage. Physical Character. Example. Cause of 
 these Peculiarities of the Loess. Fruit on the Loess deposits. Scenery 
 produced by the Loess. Origin of the Loess. Kichthofen's Theory. Recent 
 Advocates of this Theory. Facts bearing out this Theory in the -Nebraska 
 Loess. Objections to this Theory. Root Marks and their depth in the Ne- 
 braska Loess. How Explained on the Subaqueous Theory. Facts learned 
 from Sections in the Republican Valley and South of Plum Creek. Changes 
 of Level Proved, by Fossil Soils in the Loess. Differences in the Present 
 Level of Loess Districts, and its Causes. Land and Fresh Water Shells in 
 the Loess, and How Explained. Stratification of Loess, and its Lessons. 
 True Origin of the Loess. Resume of its History. Missouri Mud, its 
 Analysis and Identity with the Loess. Length of the Loess Period. Re- 
 mains of Man. Climate. List of Shells in the Loess. ^ 
 
 THE LOESS DEPOSITS. 
 
 The Loess deposits first received the name from Lyell, who ob- 
 served it closely along the Mississippi in various places. Hayden 
 frequently calls it the bluff formation, because of the peculiar config- 
 uration that it gives to the uplands which border the flood plains of 
 the rivers. He also frequently calls them marl-beds. This deposit, 
 although not particularly rich in organic remains, is in some re- 
 spects one of the most remarkable in the world. Its value for agri- 
 cultural purposes is not exceeded anywhere. It prevails over at 
 least three-fourths of the surface of Nebraska. It ranges in thick- 
 ness from five to one hundred and fifty feet. Some sections of it 
 in Dakota County measure over two hundred feet. At North 
 Platte, 300 miles west of Omaha, and on the south side of the 
 river, some of the sections that I measured ranged in thickness 
 from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty feet. 
 From Crete, on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, west 
 to Kearney, on the Union Pacific Railroad, its thickness for ninety 
 
266 GEOLOGY. 
 
 miles ranges from forty to ninety feet. South of Kearney, and for 
 a great distance west, along the Union Pacific Railroad as far as to 
 the Republican, there is a great expanse of territory covered by a 
 great thickness of this deposit. I measured many sections in wells 
 over this region, and seldom found it less than forty, and often more 
 than sixty feet in thickness. Along the Republican I traced the 
 formation almost to the western line of the State, its thickness- 
 ranging from thirty to seventy feet. One section north of Kearney, 
 on Wood River, showed a thickness of fifty feet. The same varia- 
 tion in thickness is found along the counties- bordering on the Mis- 
 souri. One peculiarity of this deposit is that it is generally almost 
 perfectly homogeneous throughout, and of almost uniform color, 
 however thick the deposit, or far apart the specimens have been 
 taken. I have compared many specimens taken 300 miles apart, 
 and from the top and bottom of the deposits, and no difference could 
 be detected by the eye or by chemical analysis. 
 
 Over 80 per cent of this deposit is very finely comminuted silica. 
 When washed in water, left standing, and the water poured off, and 
 the coarser materials have settled, the residuum, after evaporation 
 to dryness, is almost entirely composed of fine silicious powder. 
 So fine, indeed, are the particles of silica, that its true character can 
 alone Ire detected by analysis or under a microscope. About ten 
 per cent is composed of the carbonates and phosphates of lime. 
 These materials are so abundant in these deposits, that they spon- 
 taneously crystalize, or form concretions, from the size of a shot to 
 that of a walnut; and these are often hollow or contain some or- 
 ganic matter, or a fossil, around which the crystallization took 
 place. Almost anywhere, when the soil is turned over by the plow 
 or in excavations, these concretions may be found. Often, after a 
 rain has washed newly-thrown-up soil, the ground seems to be lit- 
 erally covered with them. Old gopher hills and weather beaten 
 hill-sides furnish these concretions in unlimited quantities for the 
 geologist and the curiosity hunter. When first exposed, most of 
 these concretions are soft enough to be rubbed fine between the 
 fingers, but they gradually harden by exposure to the atmosphere. 
 This deposit also contains small amounts of alkaline matter, iron, 
 and alumina. For the purpose of showing the homogeneous 
 character and the chemical properties of the Loess deposits, I have 
 made five new analyses of this soil. No. i is from Douglas County, 
 near Omaha; No. 2 from the bluffs near Kearney; No. 3 from the 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 
 
 267 
 
 Lower Loup; No. 4 from Button, and No. 5 from the Republican 
 Valley, near Orleans, in Harlan County : 
 
 
 NO. 1. 
 
 NO. 2. 
 
 NO. 3. 
 
 NO. 4. 
 
 NO. 5. 
 
 Insoluble ("siliciousYmatter 
 
 81 28 
 
 81 32 
 
 81.35 
 
 81.30 
 
 81.32 
 
 Ferric oxide 
 
 3 86 
 
 3.87 
 
 3.83 
 
 3.85 
 
 3.86 
 
 Alumina 
 
 .75 
 
 .75 
 
 .74 
 
 .73 
 
 .74 
 
 Lime carbonate 
 
 6 06 
 
 6 06 
 
 6 03 
 
 6 05 
 
 6 09 
 
 Lime phosphate 
 
 3 59 
 
 3 59 
 
 3 58 
 
 3.57 
 
 3 5D 
 
 Magnesia, carbonate . 
 
 1.28 
 
 1 28 
 
 1 31 
 
 1.31 
 
 1.29 
 
 Potassa . 
 
 .27 
 
 .29 
 
 .35 
 
 .34 
 
 .33 
 
 Soda 
 
 15 
 
 .16 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 1(> 
 
 Organic matter . 
 
 1.0? 
 
 1.06 
 
 1 05 
 
 1.06 
 
 1 06 
 
 Moisture 
 
 1.09 
 
 1.08 
 
 1 09 
 
 1 08 
 
 1.09 
 
 Loss in analysis 
 
 .59 
 
 .54 
 
 .53 
 
 .55 
 
 .4-7 
 
 
 100.00 
 
 TooooT 
 
 1UO.OO 
 
 loo". 06" 
 
 100.00 
 
 After making the above analyses I received from Dr. Hayden 
 his Final Report on the Geology of Nebraska. This report, on 
 page 12, contains two analyses of the Loess deposit from Hannibal, 
 Mo., made by Dr. Litton. According to these analyses, from one 
 hundred parts there were 
 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Silica 
 
 76.98 
 
 77.02 
 
 Alumina and peroxide of iron 
 
 11.54 
 
 12.10 
 
 Lime . 
 
 3.87 
 
 3.25 
 
 Maznesia 
 
 1.68 
 
 1.63 
 
 Carbonic acid 
 
 Not determined 
 
 2.83 
 
 Water . 
 
 2.01 
 
 2.43 
 
 
 
 
 
 96.17 
 
 99.2ft 
 
 According to these analyses the Loess contains more clay in Mis- 
 souri than it does in Nebraska. The analyses that I made of two 
 specimens of Loess from Richardson County also contained slight- 
 ly more alumina than the above. 
 
 For the purpose of comparison, I here reproduce, from Hayden's 
 report, Bischoff's analyses of the Lacustrine or Loess of the Rhine: 
 
 NO. OF ANALYSIS. 
 
 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 3. 
 
 4. 
 
 5. 
 
 Silicic acid 
 
 58.97 
 
 79.53 
 
 78.61 
 
 62.43 
 
 81.04 
 
 Alumina 
 
 9.97 
 
 1345? 
 
 
 7.51 
 
 9.75 
 
 Peroxide of iron .... 
 
 4.25 
 
 481 ) 
 
 15.26 
 
 5.14 
 
 6.6-7 
 
 Lime 
 
 02 
 
 002 
 
 
 
 
 Magnesia 
 
 0.04 
 
 006 
 
 0.09 
 
 0.21 
 
 0.27 
 
 Potash 
 
 0.11 
 
 1 05? 
 
 
 
 
 Soda 
 
 0.84 
 
 1 14) 
 
 3.31 
 
 1.75 
 
 2.27 
 
 Carbonate of lime 
 Carbonate of magnesia 
 Loss by ignition . . . 
 
 20.16 
 4.21 
 1 37 
 
 
 1.89 
 
 11.63 
 3.02 
 2.31 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
268 GEOLOGY. 
 
 It will be seen from the above analyses of BischofF that Nos. 3 
 and 5, in the quantity of silica and other elements that are present, 
 come very near the Loess of Nebraska. The principal difference 
 is the larger quantity of alumina present in the samples analyzed by 
 BischofF, Chemically the deposits of the Rhine Valley, as Hayden 
 remarks, are not essentially different from those of the Loess soils 
 along the Missouri. 
 
 As would be expected, from the elements which chemical analy- 
 sis shows to be present in these deposits, it forms one of the best 
 soils in the world. In fact, it can never be exhausted until every 
 hill and valley of which it is composed is entirely worn away. 
 Its drainage, which is the best possible, is owing to the remarkably 
 finely comminuted silica of which the bulk of the deposit consists. 
 Where the ground is cultivated the most copious rains percolate 
 through the soil, which, in its lowest depths, retains it like a huge 
 sponge. Even the unbroken prairie absorbs much of the heavy 
 rains that fall. When droughts come the moisture comes up from 
 below by capillary attraction. And when it is considered that the 
 depth to the solid rock ranges generally from five to two hundred 
 feet, it is seen how readily the needs of vegetation are supplied in 
 the driest seasons. This is the main reason why over all the re- 
 gion where these deposits prevail the natural vegetation and the 
 well-cultivated crops are rarely dried out or drowned out. I have 
 frequently observed a few showers to fall in April, and then little 
 more rain until June, when, as will be considered farther on, there 
 is generally a rainy season of from three to eight weeks' continuance. 
 After these June rains little more would fall till autumn; and yet, if 
 there was a deep and thorough cultivation, the crops of corn, ce- 
 reals and grass would be most abundant. This condition represents 
 the dry seasons. On the other hand, the extremely wet seasons 
 only damage the crops over the low bottoms, subject to overflow. 
 Owing to the silicious nature of the soils they never bake when 
 plowed in a wet condition, and a day after heavy rains the plow can 
 again be successfully and safely used. 
 
 The physical properties of the Loess deposits are also remarka- 
 ble. In the interior, away from the Missouri, hundreds of miles of 
 these Loess deposits are almost level or gently rolling. Not un- 
 frequently a region will be reached where, for a few miles, the 
 country is bluffy or hilly, and then as much almost entirely level, 
 with intermediate forms. The bluffs that border the flood-plains of 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 269 
 
 the Missouri, the Lower Platte, and some other streams, are some- 
 times exceedingly precipitous, and sometimes gently rounded off. 
 They often assume fantastic forms, as if carved by some curious 
 generations of the past. But now they retain their forms so un- 
 changed from year to year, affected by neither rain nor frost, that 
 they must have been molded into their present outlines under cir- 
 cumstances of climate and level very different from that which now 
 prevails. 
 
 For all purposes of architecture this soil, even for the most mas- 
 sive structures, is perfectly secure. I have never known a founda- 
 tion of a large brick or stone building, if commenced below the 
 winter frost line, to give way. Even when the first layers of brick 
 and stone are laid on top of the ground there is seldom such unev- 
 enness of settling as to produce fractures in the walls. On no other 
 deposits, except the solid rock, are there such excellent roads. 
 From twelve to twenty-four hours after the heaviest rains 
 the roads are perfectly dry, and often appear, sifter being 
 traveled a few days, like a vast floor formed from cement, 
 and by the highest art of man. The drawback to this pic- 
 ture is that sometimes during a drought the air along the highways 
 on windy days is filled with dust. And yet the soil is very easily 
 worked, yielding readily to the spade or plow. Excavation is re- 
 markably easy, and no pick or mattock is thought of for such pur- 
 poses. It might be expected that such a soil readily yielded to at- 
 mospheric influences, but such is not the case. Wells in this de- 
 posit are frequently walled up only to a point above the water line; 
 and on the remainder the spade-marks will be visible for years. In- 
 deed, the traveler over Nebraska will often be surprised to see 
 spade-marks and carved-out names and dates years after they were 
 first made, where ordinary soils would soon have fallen away into 
 a gentle slope. This peculiarity of the soil has often been a God-send 
 to poor emigrants. Such often cut out of the hillsides a shelter for 
 themselves and their stock. Many a time when caught out on the 
 roads in a storm, far away from the towns, have I found shelter in 
 a " dug-out" with an emigrant's family, where, cozy and warm, 
 there was perfect comfort, with little expenditure of fuel on the 
 coldest days. 
 
 In summer such shelters are much cooler than frame or brick 
 houses. I shall never forget one occasion in 1866 when, bewildered 
 by a blinding snow-storm, I came to a "dug-out," and although all 
 
270 GEOLOGY. 
 
 the chambers were carved out of the soil (Loess), they were per- 
 fectly dry. The walls were hidden and ornamented with Harpers' 
 Weekly, with the emanations of Nast's genius made to occupy the 
 conspicuous corners. - My hostess, whose cultivated intellect and 
 kindly nature made even this abode a charming resort, was a grad- 
 uate of an eastern seminary. Her husband, after a failure in busi- 
 ness in New York, came here to commence life anew on a home- 
 stead, by stock raising. To get a start with young stock no money 
 could be spared for a house. Eight years afterward I found the 
 same family financially independent, and living in a beautiful brick 
 mansion, but I doubt whether they had any more substantial hap- 
 piness than when they were looking for better days in the old tem- 
 porary "dug-out." Thousands who are still coming into this land 
 of promise are still doing the same thing. So firmly does the ma- 
 terial of this deposit stand, that after excavations are made in it, 
 underground passages without number could be constructed with- 
 out meeting any obstacles, and without requiring any protection 
 from walls and timber. 
 
 CAUSE OF THESE PECULIARITIES. 
 
 These peculiarities of the Loess deposits are chiefly owing to the 
 fact that the carbonate of lime has entered into slight chemical 
 combination w T ith the finely comminuted silica. There is always more 
 or less carbonic acid in the atmosphere which is brought down by 
 the rains, and this dissolves the carbonate of lime, which then read- 
 ily unites with silica, but only to a slight extent, and not enough to 
 destroy its porosity. Though much of the silica is microscopically 
 minute, and is water-worn or rounded, it still enters into this slight 
 union with the carbonate of lime. Had there been more lime and 
 iron in this deposit, and had it been subjected to a greater and 
 longer pressure from superincumbent waters, instead of a slightly 
 chemically compacted soil, it would have resulted in a sandstone 
 formation, incapable of cultivation. There is not enough of clayey 
 matter present to prevent the water from percolating through it as 
 perfectly as through sand, though a great deal more slowly. This 
 same peculiarity causes ponds and stagnant water to be rare within 
 the limits of this deposit. Where they do exist in slight depres- 
 sions on the level plain, it is found that an exceptionally large 
 quantity of clayey matter has been accumulated in the soil on the 
 bottom. In Clay, Fillmore, York, and a few other counties, there 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 271 
 
 are considerable numbers of ponds, covering from a few acres to 
 half a section of land, grown up around the border with reeds and 
 coarse grasses and sedges, and where the water is deeper, with ar- 
 row-leaves, pond-lillies, and other water-plants. In every instance 
 where I had opportunity to examine them, there was a thin bed of 
 clayey matter mixed with organic materials, from a few inches to 
 a foot or more in thickness, lying on the bottom, and on top of the 
 Loess deposit. This clayey matter was probably deposited there 
 before the waters finally retired from the old lake-bed in which 
 this soil originated. In the stiller portions of the lake, or in eddies, 
 about the time it commenced to be dry land, when portions were 
 already cut off from the main lake except in flood-time, in these 
 isolated pools all the clay in solution would be precipitated to the 
 bottom, before the next annual rise of the waters. This I propose 
 as a provisional explanation of this phenomenon. 
 
 FRUIT ON THE LOESS DEPOSITS. 
 
 In these Loess deposits are found the explanation of the ease 
 with which nature produces the wild fruits in Nebraska. So dense 
 are the thickets of wild grapes and plums along some of the bot- 
 toms and bluffs of the larger streams that it is difficult to penetrate 
 them. Over twenty varieties of wild plums have *been observed, 
 all of them having originated . either from Prunus Americana, P. 
 chickasa, or P. pumillu. Only two species of grapes are clearly 
 outlined, namely, Vitis cesfivalis and V. cardifolia, but these have 
 such interminable variations that the botanist becomes discouraged 
 in attempting to draw the lines between them, and to define the 
 ranee and limit of the varieties. The same remark could be 
 
 O 
 
 made of the strawberries. Raspberries and blackberries abound in 
 many parts of the State. The buffalo-berry (Shepherdia Canadensis] 
 is common on many of the Missouri and Republican River bot- 
 toms. Many other wild fruits abound, and grow with wonderful 
 luxuriance wherever timber protects them and prairie fires are re- 
 pressed. As would be expected, these deposits are also a paradise 
 for the cultivated fruits of the temperate zones. They luxuriate in 
 a soil like this, which has perfect natural drainage, and is composed 
 of such materials. No other.region, except the valleys of the Nile 
 and of the Rhine, can, in these respects, compare with the Loess 
 deposits of Nebraska. The Loess of the Rhine supplies Europe 
 with some of its finest wines and grapes. The success that has al- 
 
272 GEOLOGY. 
 
 ready attended the cultivation of the grape in southeastern Ne- 
 braska, at least, demonstrates that the State may likewise become 
 remarkable in this respect. For the cultivation of the apple, its 
 superiority is demonstrated. Nebraska, although so young in 
 years, has taken the premium over all the other States in the pom- 
 ological fairs at Richmond and Boston. Of course there are ob- 
 stacles here in the way of the pomologist as well as in other fa- 
 vored regions. But what is claimed is, that the soil, as analysis and 
 experience prove, is eminently adapted to grape, and especially to 
 apple tree culture. The chief obstacle is particularly met with in 
 the interior of the State, and results from the climate. In mid- 
 summer occasional hot, dry winds blow from the southwest. 
 These winds, where the trunks of apple trees are exposed, blister 
 and scald the bark on the south side, and frequently kill the trees* 
 It is found, however, that when young trees are caused to throw 
 out limbs near to the ground, they are completely protected, or if 
 that has not been done, a shingle tacked on that side of the tree 
 prevents all damage from that source. Many fruit-growers also 
 claim that cottonwood and box-elder groves on the south side of 
 orchards is all that is necessary to protect them from these storms. 
 I mention this frere to put any new settler, who may read this and 
 who has not learned the experience of fruit-growers in this State, on 
 his guard. 
 
 SCENERY OF THE LOESS DEPOSITS. 
 
 It has been remarked that " no sharp lines of demarcation sepa- 
 rate the kinds of scenery that produce the emotions of the grand 
 and the beautiful." This is eminently true of some of the scenery 
 produced by the Loess formations. Occasionally an elevation is 
 encountered from whose summit there are such magnificent views 
 of river, bottom, forest, and winding bluffs as to produce all the 
 emotions of the sublime. One such elevation is Pilgrim Hill, in 
 Dakota County, on the farm of Hon. J. Warner. From this hill 
 the Missouri bottom, with its marvelous, weird-like river, can be 
 seen for twenty miles. Dakota City and Sioux City, the latter dis- 
 tant sixteen miles, are plainly visible. If it happens to be Indian 
 summer, the tints of the woods vie with the hazy splendor of the 
 sky to give to the far outstretched landscape more than an oriental 
 splendor. I have looked with amazement at some of the wonder- 
 ful canyons of the Rocky Mountains, but nothing there more com- 
 pletely filled me and satisfied the craving for the grand in nature 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 273 
 
 than did this view from Pilgrim Hill. Another view, equally ma- 
 jestic is on the Missouri, back of lona, in Dixon County. My at- 
 tention was directed to it by John HiH, Esq., who took me to a 
 high point for observing the river, which can here be seen for a 
 great distance. The alternations of lofty bluff and bottom, wood- 
 land and prairie, give a picture worthy the pencil of the most gifted 1 
 artist, and of all who love the grand and picturesque in nature. It 
 is true that such scenes are rare, but then there are many landscapes' 
 which, if not grand, are still of wonderful beauty. This is the case 
 along most of the bluffs of the principal rivers. In Northern Ne~ 
 braska these bluffs often reach two hundred or more feet in height,, 
 and this perhaps gives this portion of the State the most varied 
 scenery. At some points these bluffs are rounded off and melt 
 beyond into a gently-rolling plain. But they constantly vary, and 
 following them you come now into a beautiful cove, now to a curi- 
 ous headland, then to terraces, and, however far you travel, you in 
 vain look for a picture like the one just passed. Numerous rounded 
 tips, with strangely precipitous sides, are seen in every hour's 
 travel, and these, as they form bold curves, rampart like, stretch 
 away into the distance and form images of the most impressive 
 beauty. Indeed, the bluffs of the Loess deposits are unique, and 
 Ruskin cannot exhaust the subject of the beautiful until he sees 
 and studies the hills of Nebraska. 
 
 Origin of the Loess Deposits. Richthoferfs Theory. In a paper on 
 " The Superficial Deposits of Nebraska," which was published in 
 the Hay den Reports for 1874, I attributed the formation of the 
 Loess deposits to subaqueous agency. Since then renewed atten- 
 tion has been given to the Loess, which has been stimulated by 
 Baron Von Richthofen's great work on the Loess of northeastern 
 China. He took the ground, as a few American geologists had 
 previously suggested, that the Loess was a subaerial formation.* 
 So cogent is his reasoning that some American geologists, who I 
 am satisfied had never thoroughly studied the American Loess in 
 place, have been converted to his views. An examination, there- 
 fore, of this reference here, is not out of place, especially as this 
 theory, if true, would have the most important application to the 
 climatology of the plains. 
 
 Richthofen's theory is that the Loess of China, and the Loess 
 everywhere, was formed on dessicated regions covered by scanty 
 grasses, by the action through countless centuries of strong winds. 
 18 
 
274 GEOLOGY. 
 
 The exigencies of his theory require that mountain chains should 
 cut off the moisture from a contiguous, elevated, undrained region. 
 The dessication of such a region exposed to dry, cold winds fur- 
 nished the dust-like materials that filled up lower lands and became 
 the Loess of this period. Prof. P^mp^lly, contrary to his former 
 views, now advocates this theory.* Clarence King now also lends to 
 this theory a qualified assent. These eminent men would account 
 for the Loess of Nebraska in the same way. 
 
 I admit that some facts concerning the Loess of Nebraska could 
 be explained by this theory. One of these is the wind structure of 
 some of the Loess hills on the Logan, Elkhorn, Loup and Repub- 
 lican rivers.' This structure is often found there as distinct as 
 among the shifting sands of our sea coast. In every case, however, 
 where I examined this structure in the Loess I found it to be su- 
 perficial. Out of nineteen such hills none of them possessed this 
 structure over ten feet deep, and few of them over five feet, and 
 many of them only from two to three feet deep. In the deep can- 
 yons where the Loess is exposed vertically from fifteen to one 
 hundred feet I have never found this wind structure over ten feet 
 deep. It occurs, therefore, only in the Loess that has been recently 
 modified by the winds, and long after it was first deposited. 
 
 Another fact which the theory of a subaerial origin would ex- 
 plain, is that the terraces in the valley of Oak Creek and Little 
 Salt are formed of Loess, but the high plateau or divides between 
 these streams are Drift. There are other similar cases in the State, 
 where the Loess is comparatively thin. It ,is natural to suppose 
 that if the Loess had been a subaqueous deposit, it would have 
 been laid clown on the uplands as well as in the valleys if formed 
 suba3rially, the valleys would have been filled up first. In other 
 sections, however, the Loess covers with equal thickness uplands 
 and the flanks of the valleys. West of Crete, as far as the Loess 
 extends, it was probably laid down alike on hills and valleys, with 
 only a few unimportant exceptions. In Dakota and Dixon coun- 
 ties, in southern Cedar, and many counties west of these, the Loess 
 frequently is as thick on the high hills as in the terraced valleys. 
 The isolated uplands now devoid of Loess, on the theory of its 
 subaqueous origin, must have been islands in this old Nebraska 
 lake, or else it has been removed by erosion. There are some facts 
 that point to the former theory the island origin of these spots de- 
 
 *See American Journal of Scijnce and Arts for January, 1879. 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 275 
 
 void of Loess as the correct explanation. One of these is that in 
 such sections the Loess that horders on to an exposed Drift region 
 is exceptionally full of the -remains of elephants and mastodons. As 
 if these animals had come down to the water to drink and to wal- 
 low, and had become mired and perished. This is proposed, how- 
 ever, as only a provisional explanation. 
 
 Another observation depended on by Richthofen to substantiate 
 his theory is the depth at which root holes are found in the Loess. 
 He supposes these to occur at such a depth that the grasses that oc- 
 cur at the surface could not possibly have penetrated the Loess to 
 such a depth, and that therefore they must have flourished when 
 this deposit was thinner than at present. Subserial filling up would 
 account for their presence, as they would be growing during the 
 Avhole period of the accumulation of the Loess. To this it may be 
 replied that roots descend from the surface through the Loess to an 
 enormous depth. In 1868 I measured the depth of a root of the 
 Buffalo berry (Shepherdia argophylla), at the edge of the St. John's j 
 timber, in Dakota County, and found it to extend fifty-five feet be- j 
 low the surface in undisturbed Loess. Near the same point, I 
 traced another root from near the bottom of the Loess in a slide for 
 thirty-nine feet to a stock of grass {Andropogon furcatus}. West 
 of old Fort Calhoun the roots of the common blue-grass have pen- 
 etrated the Loess to a depth of from five to fifteen feet. A sumach 
 (Rhits glabrd] near by was found to send down roots to a depth of 
 fifteen feet. South of Plum Creek, in the Loess canyons, roots of 
 the lead plant {Amorpha canescens}, can be traced in the Loess for 
 from ten to twenty feet. Prof. J. E. Todd has also observed in the 
 Iowa Loess the roots of other grasses to descend to depths of from ' 
 six to twenty-five feet.* Moreover, these root marks inosculate in 
 every direction, and become fewer the deeper we descend, with 
 some notable exceptions. There are horizons in the Republican 
 Valley, far below the present surface, where the old root marks oc- 
 cur in exceptional numbers. As these fossil root marks are now 
 more or less completely filled with either lime carbonate or oxides 
 of iron,, they are readily distinguished. To understand the probable 
 reason for these phenomena, on the theory of the subaqueous origin 
 of the Loess, the following sections are given. The first is taken 
 from along the sides of a canyon leading into a tributary of the 
 
 *Procee<lings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vol. '27, St. 
 I.OIUS Meeting, August. 1878. 
 
276 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Republican, in Township 27 West, i and 2 North. It is exposed 
 for many iiJles: 
 
 1 . Loess ..*... 4 feet, 
 
 2. Black soil 2 " 
 
 3. Loess extending down to upper terrace 4 " 
 
 4. Black soil 1>" 
 
 5. Loess 5 " 
 
 6. Black soil : 1)" 
 
 7. Stratified loess , 15 " 
 
 Another section, taken two miles above the Republican Forks in 
 Dundy County, from the sides of a small tributary, showed the 
 following characters : 
 
 1. Black soil 1 foot, 
 
 2. Loess .' . 5 feet. 
 
 3. Black soil 1 foot. 
 
 4. Loess 15 feet. 
 
 The following section was taken near the Arickeree, about six 
 
 miles east of the west line of the State. This section can be dupli- 
 cated in any of the numerous small canyons in this region : 
 
 1 . Black soil 1^ feet, 
 
 2. Loess 15 " 
 
 3. Black soil 2 " 
 
 4. Loess as far as exposed 15 " 
 
 Now, in all these sections the Loess next to the Black soils from 
 below is specially full of root marks the Loess at the bottom of 
 the sections as well as at the top. This indicates that during the 
 progress of the Loess period there were many changes of level,, 
 during some of which these regions became level surfaces, similar 
 to the present, and covered with a rich black soil. These old land 
 * surfaces became covered with grasses, whose roots penetrated far 
 into the underlying Loess. Changes of level, and lake conditions 
 came on again, and deposited more Loess, and these changes, con- 
 tinuing through interminable centuries, have gone on till the present, 
 To show that the Republican region was not exceptionable in this 
 respect, the following section is given, from the canyon region 
 south of Plum Creek, on the road to Arrapahoe. It is near the 
 divide between the Platte and Republican: 
 
 1. Black soil 3 feet. 
 
 2. Loess 40 " 
 
 3. Black soil 2 " 
 
 4. Loess 15 " 
 
 5. Clay with calcareous concretions 4 " 
 
 6. Reddish sandy deposit, with a few calcareous concretions, only 
 
 two feet exposed 2 " 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 277 
 
 Here, as in the Republican Valley, the Loess at the bottom of 
 the section (No. 4) has a great many more root marks than the 
 lower part of the Loess above (or No. 2). The same explanation is 
 applicable here as in the former case, namely, that these fossil black 
 soils represent conditions of land surface like the present, when the 
 vegetation of the time penetrated from them into the underlying 
 Loess. Now it is probable that these black soils may have been 
 removed in some districts by erosion at the beginning of the re- 
 newed lake conditions, and left no sign of their former presence, 
 except the fossil root marks below. However abundant, therefore, 
 at some horizons these root marks may be in the Loess of this 
 country or Asia, its origin can easily be explained on the theory of 
 its sub iqueous origin. Again, it is questionable whether these black 
 soils filled with organic matter are ever formed except in the presence 
 of water. The most probable explanation is that the black soils on 
 top of the Loess have been formed when this lake gradually ap- 
 proached dessication or a drained condition. When it approxi- 
 mated the condition of a peat bog the organic matter was retained 
 (as a large portion is always retained when it decays under water), 
 and mingling with the Loess bottom became a black soil when the 
 drainage was completed. This semi-boggy condition endured for 
 ages long enough at least to form a black soil from three inches 
 to ten feet thick. In accordance with this view the highest knolls 
 where the land is rolling have in general the thinnest covering of 
 black soil. This process is still going on in the bogs of the Mis- 
 souri and many of its tributaries in the Loess region. If the Loess 
 was formed, as I maintain, by subaqueous agency, then it is appar- 
 ent that this old lake became dry land gradually. It surrendered 
 its bottom little by little, until modern conditions prevailed. 
 
 Another fact depended on by Richthofen to substantiate his 
 theory, is the difference in level between various points of con- 
 nected Loess regions. This objection is based on the assumption 
 that the Loess districts lie at the same level now as during the 
 
 O 
 
 deposition of this peculiar sediment. No geologist, however, 
 doubts that during Glacial times the continent towards the north 
 laid relatively far above its present level. It is also conceded that 
 during the Champlain Epoch the level of a large part of North 
 America was below w'hat it is now. It is admitted that, partly 
 owing to this depression, and partly to melting ice sheets, temperate 
 latitudes were flooded. The re-elevation of the land drained it. 
 
278 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Probably the huge terminal morraines helped to confine the water 
 and produce the great lakes of the time. Now it can easily be 
 seen that a certain stage would be reached in the re-elevation of the 
 land when the surface conditions would be precisely such as is 
 claimed for the great lakes of the Loess period. Confirmatory of 
 this induction is the fact that the Loess valleys running proxi- 
 mately east and west through Nebraska have almost universally 
 long gentle slopes on the north side and steeper bluffs on the south. 
 As the continent rose towards the north slowly and gently, the 
 streams retired gradually towards the south side of the valleys and 
 produced this peculiar configuration. It is true that here the Loess- 
 in southeast Nebraska is over 3,000 feet below the highest point on- 
 the west line of the State. At other points the difference of level 
 in the Loess of Nebraska is over 3,500 feet. But this is more 
 than paralleled by the remnants of the old Pliocene lake of the 
 plains, where the present difference of level between its eastern and 
 western shore is over 7,000 feet. No geologist, however, doubts- 
 that in Pliocene times it occupied about the same plane. The 
 change in level, therefore, on the theory that the Loess was formed 
 in a lake, since the close of that period, is only about half as great 
 as that which occurred since the close of Pliocene times. 
 
 The assumed fact that fresh water shells are absent and land 
 shells abundant in the Loess, is also depended on by Richthofen to- 
 prove his theory. However it may be in China, here fresh water 
 shells are quite abundant at some horizons. The species of land 
 and fresh water shells that I have thus far identified from the Loess 
 of Nebraska are appended to the end of this chapter. It will be 
 seen that large numbers of them are fresh water shells. They are 
 not found merely near existing fresh water streams, as has been 
 suggested they are equally abundant on the divides wherever 
 there are well shafts to bring them to light. It is an interesting 
 analogous fact that in the eddies and in the sand bars and silted up 
 hollows of the Missouri, at the present time, about the same rela- 
 tive proportion of land and fresh water shells are found as in the 
 Loess. For example, four miles below Dakota City, on a sand 
 bar, I have on several occasions examined the exposed silt after 
 flood time for shells. In 1871 I here obtained of existing kinds 
 brought down by the river, thirty-five species of land and twenty 
 of fresh water shells. Three years afterwards, at the same point, I 
 obtained five less of the former and six of the latter. The Mis- 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 279 
 
 souri, in its upper portion at least, is not rich in fresh water shells, 
 neither its bottoms nor waters being highly adapted to them. This 
 evidently also was the case with the Loess lake of this region, 
 which was fed, as we shall presently see, by the Missouri and the 
 Platte. I do not adopt the views suggested by Hilgard that the 
 waters of this lake, probably from its alkaline character and the 
 constitution of the Loess itself, destroyed the more fragile shells.* 
 As in the Missouri at the present time, there were comparatively 
 few shells in this old lake. Even a large part of the fresh water shells 
 now found in the Loess were probably carried into this lake from 
 its smaller tributaries. 
 
 Richthofen also claims that the Loess exhibits no marks of strat- 
 ification, and that therefore it could not have been formed by sub- 
 aqueous agencies. In my earlier studies of the Loess it also ap- 
 peared to me to be without stratification. Since my earlier pub- 
 lished papers on this subject, I have found the most convincing evi- 
 dence that the Loess, at least in some sections, is as distinctly strati- 
 fied as the modified Drift beneath it. The following section is 
 given from the new railroad cut at Plattsmouth, to show the hori- 
 zon of stratification. The section is taken from the east end of the 
 cut: 
 
 1. Black soil 2 feet. 
 
 2. Yellow Loess 10 " 
 
 3. Typical Loess, finely laminated 30 " 
 
 4. Reddish brown, impure Loess, mingled with silicious streaks 15 " 
 
 5. Small boulders, gravel and lime concretions. Small boulders, 
 
 sometimes covered with lime. Some clay. Colors, various. 
 Exposed 6 " 
 
 In this section No. 3 is clearly stratified. A similar laminated 
 appearance is seen in some of the Loess at the west or Plattsmouth 
 end of this cut. In the Republican Valley the lower sections of 
 the Loess are now found to be distinctly laminated and occasionally 
 stratified. Here the strata of Loess are sometimes separated by 
 strata of sand, and even, sometimes, on the upper Republican, 
 by layers of sand and gravel. Similar sections can be seen in some 
 of the canyons through the Loess southwest of Plum Creek. At 
 Plattsmouth, and on the Lower Loup, beds of light are often sepa- 
 rated by beds of darker colored Loess. Along the bluffs of the 
 Republican Valley this condition can be observed for many miles 
 in a stretch. Conspicuous examples can be seen going west from 
 
 * American Journal of Science and Arts, for April, 1879. 
 
280 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Orleans. I find, also, that almost any section of our Loess, when 
 saturated with moisture and then frozen and shaved smooth with a 
 knife, will show fine lines of stratification when looked at through 
 a large magnifying glass 
 
 A fact often overlooked is the transition character of some beds 
 of sand, as they shade into the Loess. As beds of Loess and strat- 
 ified sands at the bottom of Loess sections often alternate, und even 
 sometimes with strata of clay, it is not easily conceivable how 
 subaqueous agency should have formed the one and Aeolian agency 
 the other. 
 
 The preceding discussion disposes of the most important objec- 
 tions to the theory of the subaqueous origin of the Loess. The 
 theory of Richthofen is not tenable, in my judgment, for the Ne- 
 braska Loess. I have no doubt that future investigation will show 
 it to be untenable for China. We are now ready to state connect- 
 edly the history of the origin of the Loess. 
 
 True Origin of the Loess Deposits. Geological events have already 
 been traced to the beginning of the Loess period. According to 
 Newberry the whole of the Old Forest Bed area now less than 
 i, 100 feet above the level of Lake Erie was flooded by the changes 
 of level and thawing of retreating glaciers that followed its disap- 
 pearance. In Nebraska during this time icebergs again floated 
 over the waters. The farther retreat of the glaciers and the eleva- 
 tion of eastern Iowa reduced the area of this great lake. What 
 had been a great interior sea of turbulent waters had now become 
 a system of placid lakes that extended from Nebraska and western 
 Iowa at intervals to the Gulf. The Missouri drained through 
 them all along its length. The Missouri, and sometimes the 
 Platte, have been amongst the muddiest streams in the world. If 
 we go up the Missouri to its source, and carefully examine the 
 character of the deposits through which it passes, we cannot be 
 surprised at its character. These deposits being of Tertiary and 
 Cretaceous ages, are exceedingly friable and easy of disintegration. 
 The Tertiary, and especially the Pliocene Tertiary, is largely silic- 
 ious, and the Cretaceous is both silicious and calcareous. In fact, 
 in many places the Missouri and its tributaries flow directly over 
 and through the chalk-beds of the Cretaceous deposits. From 
 these beds the Loess deposits no doubt received their per cent of 
 the phosphates and carbonates of lime. Flowing through such de- 
 posits for more than a thousand miles, the Missouri and its tribu- 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 281 
 
 taries have been gathering for vast ages that peculiar mud which 
 filled up their ancient lakes, and which distinguishes them even yet 
 from most other streams. Being anciently, as now, very 
 rapid streams, as soon as they emptied themselves into these 
 great lakes, and their waters hecame quiet, the sediment held 
 suspended was dropped to the bottom. While this process was 
 going on in the earlier portion of this age, the last of the glaciers 
 had probably not retreated farther than first a little beyond the 
 "boundary of the Loess lake, and then gradually to the headwaters 
 of the Platte, the Missouri and the Yellowstone. The tremendous 
 force of these mighty rivers was, for a while at least, aided by the 
 erosive action of ice, and therefore must have been vastly more 
 rapid at times than anything of the kind with which we are now 
 acquainted. The following analysis of Missouri River sediment 
 taken at high sta^e will show, by comparison with the analyses of 
 the Loess deposits, what a remarkable resemblance there is even 
 yet between the two substances. 
 
 In one hundred parts of Missouri River sediment, there are of 
 
 Insoluble (silicious) matter 82.01 
 
 Ferric oxide 3.10 
 
 Alumina 1 . 70 
 
 Limo, carbonate f> . 50 
 
 Lime, phosphate 3 . 00 
 
 Magnesia, carbonate 1.10 
 
 Potassa 50 
 
 Soda 22 
 
 Organic matter : 1.20 
 
 Loss in analysis 07 
 
 100.00 
 
 Two other analyse? which I mads, the one from sediment at 
 high water and the other at low water, differ somewhat from this, 
 but in essential pirticulars are the same. This identity of chemical 
 combinations also points to the remarkable sameness of conditions 
 that have existed for long periods in the Upper Missouri and Yel- 
 lowstone regions. 
 
 After these great lakes were filled with sediment (Missouri mud), 
 they existed for a longer or shorter time, as already remarked, as 
 marshes or bogs. Isolated portions would first become dry land, 
 and as soon as they appeared above the water they were no doubt, 
 covered with vegetation, which, decaying from year to year, and 
 uniting under water or at the water's edge with the deposits at the 
 
282 GEOLOGY. 
 
 bottom, formed that black soil so characteristic of Nebraska prai- 
 ries. For it is well known that when vegetable matter decays in 
 water or a wet situation its carbon is retained. In dry situations it 
 passes into the atmosphere as carbonic-acid gas. After the first low 
 islands appeared in this old lake, they gradually increased from 
 year to year in size and numbers. 
 
 The ponds and sloughs, some of which could almost be called 
 lakelets, still in existence, are probably the last remains of these 
 great lakes. These ponds, where they do not dry up in midsum- 
 mer,. swarm with a few species of fresh water shells, especially of 
 the Limntzs, Physces, and Pianorbi, which to me is strong proof of 
 this theory of their origin. The rising of the land continuing, the 
 rivers began to cut new channels through the middle of the old 
 lake beds. This drained the marshes and formed the bottom lands, 
 as the river beds of that period covered the whole of the present 
 flood-plains from bluff to bluff. It was then that the bluffs which 
 now bound these flood-plains received those touches from the hand 
 of nature that gave them their peculiar steep and rounded appear- 
 ance. Newer and more plastic, because less compactly bound and 
 cemented together, the rains and floods easily molded them into 
 those peculiar outlines which they have since preserved. 
 
 The Missouri, during the closing centuries of the Loess age, 
 must have been from five to thirty miles in breadth, forming a 
 stream which for size and majesty rivaled the Amazon. The 
 Platte, the Niobrara, and the Republican covered their respective 
 flood-plains in the same way. In the smaller streams of the State, 
 those that originated within or near the Loess deposits, such as the 
 Elkhorn, L-mp, Bow, Blue, and the Nemahas, we see the same 
 general form of flood-plain as on the larger rivers, and no doubt 
 their bottoms were also covered with water during this period. 
 Hayden, in his first reports, his already expressed the same opinion 
 as to the original size of these rivers. Only a few geologists will 
 dissent from this view. The gradually melting glaciers, which had 
 been accumulating for so many ages at the sources of these great 
 rivers, the vast floods of water caused by the necessarily moist 
 climate and heavy rains, the present forms and materials of the 
 river bottoms, are some of the causes which, in my opinion, would 
 operate to produce such vast volumes of water. 
 
 The changes of level were not all upward during this period. 
 The terraces along the Missouri, Platte and Republican indicate 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 283 
 
 that there were long periods when this portion of the continent was 
 stationary. Several times the movement was downward. Along 
 the bluffs in the Republican Valley, at a depth varying from ten to- 
 thirty feet from the top, there is a line or streak of the Loess min- 
 gled with organic matter. It is, in fact, an old bed, where vegeta- 
 tion must have flourished for a long period. It can be traced from 
 Orleans upward in places f$r seventy-five miles. It indicates that 
 after this bed had, as dry land, sustained a growth of vegetation,, 
 an oscillation of level depressed it sufficiently to receive a great ac- 
 cumulation of Loess materials on top of it. Other oscillations of 
 this character occurred previously to and subsequent to this main 
 halt. These have already been discussed. I have also found traces 
 of this movement in many other portions of the State. 
 
 LENGTH OF THE LOESS AGE. 
 
 The bases for speculation concerning the length of the Loess 
 age are of course uncertain, yet an approximate estimate may per- 
 haps be made by comparison with the present deposits of the Mis- 
 souri. The great lakes of the Loess age extended, with a few in- 
 terruptions, almost to the Gulf, and some of them covered an area 
 of at least 75,000 square miles. Now, were all the sediment which 
 is at present brought down the Missouri spread over such a vast 
 area, the thickness of the deposit would be less than one sixteenth 
 of an inch. Probably the yearly accumulations of sediment dur- 
 ing the Loess age amounted to that much, owing to the then 
 greater volume of the Missouri and the aids to erosion from the 
 greater prevalence of ice near its sources. In many places along 
 the Missouri there are small lakes, formed from the old river-bed, 
 where there has been a cut-off. Even where these little lakes re- 
 ceive the overflow of the river each year, it often requires at least 
 a century to fill them up, even when aided by the sands which the 
 winds waft into them. I have attempted to measure the sediment 
 left by the river in these lakes, which are seldom half a mile in 
 breadth, and it rarely amounted to half an inch in a season. The 
 winds are a much more efficient agent for filling up small, narrow 
 lakes, but in Loess times, where there were such immense bodies of 
 fresh water, their effects could only have been appreciable along 
 the sandy shore-lines. The highest bluffs represent the original 
 level of the Loess deposits before the tremendous denuding agen- 
 cies which removed so much of their materials had done their work. 
 
284 / GEOLOGY. 
 
 Now, in places these sediments are even yet 200 or more feet in 
 thickness, so that it would be safe to estimate the average thickness 
 of the original deposits at 100 feet. A yearly increase of one- 
 sixteenth of an inch in thickness, would at this rate have required 
 19,200 years to form these deposits. This I consider a low estimate 
 for the length of the Loess age. 
 
 LIFE OF THE LOESS AGE. 
 
 At the close of this chapter will be found a list of the land and 
 fresh-water shells that I have found and identified in the Loess de- 
 posits. It will be seen that the list of land shells is quite large. 
 These, no doubt, were brought into this old lake during flood- 
 time. I have occasionally found large numbers of these shells 
 where drift-wood had evidently lodged and decayed. The fresh- 
 water and land shells are mainly such as are still to be found in the 
 .same region, the exceptions being the prevalence of a large num- 
 ber of southern forms at one horizon of these deposits. As will be 
 seen, the species belong to quite a large number of genera. 
 
 Occasionally I have found the teeth and a stray bone of fish, but 
 have not been able to identify any species. The remains of rab- 
 bits, gophers, otters, beavers, squirrels, deer, elk, and buffalo are 
 frequently found. Through the entire extent of these deposits are 
 many remains of mastodons and elephants, whose last vigorous life, 
 as Newberry remarks, expired in high northern latitudes. Lan- 
 caster County is specially rich in these proboscidian remains. They 
 are frequently found in this deposit in digging wells. In Lincoln 
 they have been found in at least twenty wells that have been dug 
 in and around the city. This town is near what appears to have 
 been the western shore-line of the Missouri lake of the period. Be- 
 tween it and the Blue River at Crete, there is a high divide 
 covered by Drift materials. These huge animals no doubt often 
 here came down to the shore to drink, and playing in the water be- 
 came mired in the mud. One tusk found in a well on P street, east 
 of Twelfth, must have been at least eleven feet long when entire. 
 It was so far decayed that it fell to pieces on exposure. 
 
 For years I have been closely watching for human remains in 
 the Loess deposits. Eight years ago, three miles east of Sioux 
 City, Iowa, in a railroad cut I found a small arrow-head in these 
 deposits. I was looking for mollusks, and was digging after them 
 with a large knife when I struck something hard, and, laying it 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 285 
 
 bare, to my great surprise and joy found it to be an arrow- bead. 
 So far as I knew, this was the first mark that had yet been dis- 
 covered of the presence of man during this age. From that time on- 
 ward I have seized every opportunity of exploring these deposits for 
 human remains. The same year I found some flint chips in the 
 bluffs back of Jackson, in Dakota County, but it was not absolutely 
 clear that these were of human origin. My next find was about 
 two and a half miles southeast of Omaha, in a railroad cut, where 
 I found a large coarse arrow or spear- head. This last was found 
 in 1874. It was found twenty feet below the top of the Loess, and 
 at least six inches from the edge of the cut, so that it could not have 
 slid into that place. The first found was fifteen feet below the top 
 of the deposit. It appears, then, that some old races lived 
 around the shores of this old l; t ke, and paddled their ca- 
 noes over its waters, and accidentally dropped their arrows 
 in its waters or let them fly at a passing water-fowl. It is possible 
 also that these arrows came into this old lake by drift-wood. I 
 once found an arrow sticking in a log that came down the Mis- 
 souri, and if it had continued on to the Gulf it might have been un- 
 earthed in the far- off future, when that portion of the continent at 
 the mouth of the Mississippi had become dry land. Thirteen 
 inches above the point where the last named arrow was found, and 
 within three inches of being on a line with it, in undisturbed Loess, 
 there was a lumbar vertebra of an elephant (E/ephas Americanus}. 
 Unfortunately this vertebra partially fell to pieces on exposure. It 
 appears clear from this conjunction of a human relic and proboscid- 
 ian remains that man here as well as in Europe was the cotempor- 
 ary of the elephant in at least a portion of the Missouri Valley. 
 
 In 1876 and again in the spring of 1877 I found additional arrow- 
 heads in the Loess of the Republican Valley. One in a section 
 described on a previous page east of the Republican Forks in 
 Dundy County. It was in the Loess below the second bed of black 
 soil, or fourteen feet below the surface. Here, then, primeval man 
 existed anterior to two old land surfaces, between which and after 
 the last, this region again became the bed of a Loess lake. Hon. 
 R. W. Furnas also found a hatchet in the Loess, five feet below the 
 surface, in Brownville, Nebraska. 
 
 The climate probably varied considerably during the progress of 
 this age. What inclines me to that view is the fact that about the 
 middle horizon an unusually large number of southern species of 
 
286 GEOLOGY. 
 
 mollusks are found. This indeed is not conclusive, as this region is 
 at this time remarkable for the presence of southern forms of in- 
 sects and fresh- water mollusks* -Yet it appears to me that an un- 
 usual number of southern forms at this horizon of the Loess must 
 indicate some modification of climate at that period. It may have 
 been only on the eastern shore of this great lake, and caused by the 
 -even temperature which so large a body of fresh water produces on 
 the side toward which the prevailing winds from the lake blow. 
 We have such a phenomenon at the ] resent day on the east 
 shore of Lake Michigan. The Mississippi Valley is by its con- 
 tour eminently favorable to the emigration northward of southern 
 species. 
 
 These Loess deposits, which have done so much to enrich Ne- 
 braska, have received profound attention and study from some of 
 the ablest geologists. But in many of the counties of the State 
 they have not yet been investigated. Much to be discovered must 
 yet remain in them. Though myself long engaged in their inves- 
 tigation, I rarely examine a new section in a well, ravine or railroad 
 cut without finding something new. 
 
 Close of the Loess Period. It was a continuation of the up- 
 ward movement that had again begun during the second de- 
 pression epoch of the Quaternary that brought the Loess 
 period to a final close. As the land rose most towards the west 
 and north, the area of this Loess lake was gradually lessened from 
 these directions, and its remnants were last active on its southeast- 
 ern border. This explains the fact already mentioned in other con- 
 nections, that the long gentle slopes of the bluffs bordering the 
 flood-plains running in an easterly and westerly direction are al- 
 most universally on the north side of the valleys. The closing of 
 the Loess period first clearly outlined the present rivers of Ne- 
 braska, when they covered the whole of the bottoms, from bluff 
 to bluff, and when the mud-flats of the former Loess lake them- 
 selves constituted the flood-plain. So far as known, no convulsive 
 movements to a certainty accompanied the close of this period. 
 Many movements of this kind occurred in the regions of the 
 mountains during the Quaternary, but they have not yet been 
 synchronised with geological events on the plains. 
 
 *Haydeu's Report for 1870, page 467. 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 287 
 
 Moi.LUSKS IN THE LOESS DEPOSITS. 
 
 The following list of land and fresh-water shells comprises all 
 that I have thus far identified, in whole or in part, from the Loess 
 deposits. Nearly all are extremely fragile. The Hyalinas, Pupas, 
 and some of the Helices long eluded my efforts at identifying them. 
 I finally marked the localities where found, until the ground was 
 frozen, when they were cut out with a knife. They were then 
 identified by making thin sections with a sharp knife. Many of 
 these mollusks, after being placed for a while in my cabinet, fell to 
 pieces. For this reason I have no specimens to show of many 
 species here given, and, therefore, only present this as a provisional 
 list. Some well-preserved specimens appear to me to be new to 
 science, but as I have not access to the descriptions of the new 
 species discovered by Hay den, a bare list of which is given in Bin- 
 ney's and Eland's Land and Fresh Water Shells, I will not ven- 
 ture to describe them, as that has probably already been done. The 
 counties are indicated where the specimens were obtained, or where 
 they were the most abundant. 
 
 In addition to my own list of species, which were first published 
 in the Hayden Reports for 1874, Prof. J. E. Todd has given 
 eighteen from the Loess of Iowa. Prof. Sw r allow also reports fifty 
 species from the Loess of Missouri, twenty of which are fresh- 
 water shells: 
 
 Vitrina limpida, Gould, Lancaster and Dixon Counties. 
 
 Hyalina nitida? Mueller, Dixon County. 
 
 Hyalina arborea, Say, Douglas and Dakota Counties. 
 
 Hyalina viridula, Monke, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Hyalina indentata, Say, Otoe and Douglas Counties 
 
 Hyalina limatula, Ward, Douglas County. 
 
 Hyalina minuscula, Binney, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Hyalina b'mneyana? Morse, Dixon and Cedar. Counties. 
 
 Hyalina ferrea? Morse, Dixon County. 
 
 Hyalina exigtia, Stimpson, Dixon and Cedar Counties. 
 
 Hyalina intertexta? Binney, Douglas County. 
 
 Hyalina ligera, Say, Otoe and Nemaha Counties. 
 
 Hyalina demissa? Binney, Nemaha and RicHardson Counties. 
 
 Hyalina fulva, Dreparnaud, Dixon and Cedar Counties. 
 
 Hyalina lasmodon, Phillips, Nemaha and Otoe Counties. 
 
 Hyalina interna, Say, Nemaha and Otoe Counties. 
 
288 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Hyalina significans, Bland, Nemaha and Otoe Counties. 
 Hyalina lineata? Say, Douglas and Otoe Counties. 
 Macrocyclis concava, Say, Douglas and Otoe Counties. 
 Helix solitaria, Say, Otoe an 1 Burt Counties. 
 Helix strigosa, Gould, Otoe and Burt Counties. 
 Helix alternata, Say, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Helix cumberlandiana, Lea, Middle Loess in Nemaha and Otoe 
 Counties. 
 
 Helix cooperi, W. G. B., Douglas and Washington Counties. 
 
 Helix striatella, Anthony, Dixon and Dakota Counties. 
 
 Helix labyrinthica, Say, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Helix hubbardi, Brown, Middle Loess in Nemaha County. 
 
 Helix auriformis, Bland, Middle Loess in Otoe County. 
 
 Helix tholus? G. G. Binney, Middle Loess in Douglas County. 
 
 Helix fastigans, L. W. Say, Middle Loess in Otoe County. 
 
 Helix jacksonii? Bland, Middle Loess in Otoe County. 
 
 Helix hazardi? Bland, Middle Loess in Douglas County. 
 
 Helix dorfeuilliana, Lea, Middle Loess in Cass County. 
 
 Helix pustula? Fer, Middle Loess of Cass County. 
 
 Helix spinosa, Lea, Middle Loess of Harlan County. 
 
 Helix edgariana? Lea, Middle Loess of Richardson County. 
 
 Helix stenotrema, Fer, Otoe and Cass Counties. 
 
 Helix hirsuta, Say, Dixon and Cass Counties. 
 
 Helix monodon, Rackett, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Helix palliata, Say, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Helix abstricta? Say, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Helix appressa? Say, Otoe and Nemaha Counties. 
 
 Helix inflecta, Say, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Helix tridentata? all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Helix fallax, Say, all Eastern Nebraska and Republican Valley, 
 
 Helix albolabris, Say, Eastern Nebraska and RepublicanValley. 
 
 Helix multilineata, Say, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Helix pennsylvanica, Green, Douglas County. 
 
 Helix elevata, Say, Eastern Nebraska and Republican Valley. 
 
 Helix exoleta, Binney, Eastern Nebraska andRepublican Valley. 
 
 Helix roemeri, Pfeifer, Middle Loess of Richardson County. 
 
 Helix thyroides, Eastern Nebraska and Republican Valley. 
 
 Helix clausa, Say, Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Helix jejuna? Say, Richardson County. 
 
 Helix profunda, Say, all Eastern Nebraska and Republican Valley. 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 289 
 
 Helix pulchella, Mull, all Eastern Nebraska and Republican 
 Valley. 
 
 Helix , Republican Valley. 
 
 Helix , Otoe and Nemaha Counties. 
 
 Helix , Otoe and Nemaha Counties. 
 
 Helix , Otoe and Nemaha Counties. 
 
 Helix , Dakota and Dixon Counties. 
 
 Helix , Dakota and Dixon Counties. 
 
 Bulimulus dealbatus, Say, Middle Loess of Nemaha County. 
 
 Cionella subcylindrica, Linn., Southeastern Nebraska. 
 
 Pupa muscorum? Linn., Cedar County. 
 
 Pupa blandi, Morse, Dixorf^ Dakota and Burt Counties. 
 
 Pupa fallax, Say, Dixon, Dakota and Burt Counties. 
 
 Pupa armifera, Say, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Pupa corticaria, Say, all Eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Succinea haydeni? W. G B., Republican Valley. 
 
 Succinea mooresiana, Lea, Republican Valley. 
 
 Succinea avara, Lea, Republican Valley. 
 
 Succinea obliqua, Say, Dixon and Dakota Counties. 
 
 Succinea , Otoe and Nemaha Counties. 
 
 Zonites fuliginosa, Griff, Republican Valley. 
 Zonites lasvigata? Pfeifer, Republican Valley. 
 Zonites inornata, Say, Cass and Otoe Counties. 
 Zonites, gularis, Say, Southeastern Nebraska. 
 Carychium? exiguum? Say, Nemaha County. 
 Limnoea stagnalis? Linn., Washington County. 
 Limncea reflexa, Say, Dakota and Dixon Counties. 
 Limnoea palustris, Mull., along Missouri Bluffs. 
 Physa gyrina, Say, Dakota County. 
 Physa heterostropha, Say, Douglas County. 
 Physa , Douglas County. 
 
 Physa , Douglas County. 
 
 Psulinus , Otoe County. 
 
 Planorbis glabratus, Say, Otoe County. 
 Planorbis campanulatus, Say, Dakota County. 
 Planorbis corpulentus? Say, Dakota County. 
 Planorbis deflectus, Say, Nemaha County. 
 Planorbis albus? Mull., Dixon County. 
 Ancylus , Dakota, Harlan County. 
 Valvata tricar in at a, Say, Dixon County. 
 
290 
 
 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Valvata , Say, Otoe and Burt Counties. 
 
 Vivipara intertexta? Say, Otoe County. 
 
 Vivapara subpurpurea? Say, Otoe and Nemaha Counties. 
 
 Vivapara contectoides, Binney, Nemaha County. 
 
 Melantho ponderosa, Say, Washington County. 
 
 Melantho decisa, Say, Burt County. 
 
 Amnicola perata? Say, Washington County. 
 
 Amnicola lemnosa? Say, Washington County. 
 
 Pomatiopsis lapidaria, Say, Dakota County. 
 
 Helicina orbiculata, Say, Nemaha County. 
 
 Angitrema armigera, Say, Nemaha County. 
 
 Lithasia, obovata, Say, Richardso^ County. 
 
 Pleurocera undulatum? Harlan County. 
 
 Pleurocera canaleculatum, Say, Nemaha County. 
 
 Pleurocera elevatum, Say, Otoe County. 
 
 Pleurocera labiatum? Lea, Richardson County. 
 
 Pleurocera simplex? Lea, Otoe County. 
 
 Goniobasis depygis, Say, Richardson and Otoe Counties. 
 
 Goniobasis livescens? Menke, Richardson County. 
 
 Goniobasis brevispira? Anthony, Otoe County. 
 
 Goniobasis, semicaranata, Say, Otoe County. 
 
 Anculosa costata, Anthony, Richardson County. 
 
 Anculosa praerosa, Say, Richardson County. 
 
 Anculosa? , Richardson County. 
 
 Unio , Cedar, Dakota, and Burt Counties. 
 Unio -, Nemaha County. 
 
 Unio , Otoe and Cass Counties. 
 
 Anadonta , Washington County. 
 
 Anadonta , Republican Valley. 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 291 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 QUATERNARY AGE AND SUPERFICIAL DEPOSITS, 
 CONTINUED. TERRACE EPOCH. ALLUVIUM. 
 SAND HILLS. ALKALI LANDS. TIMBER, AND 
 CAUSE OF CHANGES OF CLIMATE. 
 
 Relationship of the Terrace Epoch to Subsequent Times. Level of the 
 Land. Gradual Formation of Terraces. Highest Elevation Reached, and 
 its Effects in the West. Section Showing Glacial Action. Effect of Ex- 
 treme Elevation on River Channels. Varying Heights of Terraces. Allu- 
 vium. Its importance, and How Gradually Produced. Character of the 
 Bottom Lands, and their Great Extent. Analysis of Alluvium. Sand Hills, 
 and their Extent and Geological Character. Theories about their Origin. 
 Pliocene Origin of Many of Them. Capabilities for Cultivation. Alkali 
 Lands. Extent and Character. Analysis of Alkali Soils. How to Cultivate 
 Them. Hard-pan, or "Gumbo" Soils. Their Character, Extent and Analysis. 
 Bad Lands. Their Superficial Character and Appearance. Organic Re- 
 mains, and Agricultural Character Fuel from the Surface Deposits. Peat. 
 Its Extent and Character. Timber in Modern Geological Times. Causes 
 of Changes of Climate. 
 
 F 
 
 TERRACE EPOCH. 
 
 HROM the preceding, it ic evident that the Terrace Epoch in 
 Nebraska is closely connected with that order of events and 
 with tho<e changes that finally resulted in the present order of 
 things. It commenced here after the close of the Loess period. 
 When the rivers covered the whole of the existing bottoms, and 
 had the old Loess lake bed for a flood -plain, the land still lay far 
 below its present level, and was in the transition stage between the 
 Loess and Terrace periods. When the elevation became a little 
 greater, and the drainage better, and the volume of water less, it 
 cut a new channel amid its old bed, which now constituted its 
 flood-plain. This formed the first terrace, and fully inaugurated 
 this epoch. Here the land and the river must have stood for ages. 
 Again there was an upward movement, the drainage became still 
 better, the volume of water lessened, and another channel formed, 
 and the previous river bed changed to a flood-plain. Thus terrace 
 
292 GEOLOGY. 
 
 after terrace was formed, each representing a stage of quiet in the 
 upward movement of the land. There are some indications that 
 this upward movement continued until this section of the continent 
 stood considerably above its present level. This is known to have 
 been the case in Europe, where even local glaciers were formed at 
 this time, which disappeared only when a movement in the oppo- 
 site direction had once more brought the land to a lower level- 
 The following section indicates some movement of this kind for 
 extreme southwestern Nebraska. It was taken in a canyon leading 
 into the Republican Valley, immediately west of the west line of 
 the State in Colorado. I saw similar sections, however, on the 
 Nebraska side of the State line: 
 
 1. Black soil 1 foot. 
 
 2. Drift 2 feet. 
 
 3. Alluvium 2 " 
 
 4. Black soil 75 " 
 
 5. Alluvium 4 " 
 
 6. Lre-s 4 " 
 
 7. Alluvium 4 " 
 
 8. Black i oil 1 foot. 
 
 9. Loess aud Drift 4 feet. 
 
 10. Black soil 1.25 " 
 
 This section tells its own story a history of frequent changes of 
 level. After the last Loess was laid down, river alluvium was de- 
 posited, on top of which appeared a black soil, which was again 
 flooded and covered with alluvium. On top of the last, Drift ma- 
 terial, which most nearly resembles glacial Drift, was formed, 
 which in turn gave way again to the present black soil of this re- 
 gion. It would not be surprising if further investigation should 
 confirm the explanation suggested above that the upward move- 
 ment of the Terrace Epoch continued until a much higher level 
 than the present was reached. Local glaciers might then readily 
 have been formed in the extreme western sections ot the State, or 
 at least in Colorado, the movements and melting of which pro- 
 duced the drift and gravel beds that are found in so many places 
 overlying the Loess. The rivers might then have been worn 
 down much below their present level, and even, in places, to bed- 
 rock. After the opposite or descending movement commenced, 
 the rivers again silted up their beds. This silting up continued to 
 recent times. At present the indications are that there is a slight 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 293 
 
 upward movement of this portion of the continent, amounting 
 to perhaps one or two feet to the century. 
 
 The terraces made during this epoch occupy various heights 
 above the flood-plains. The one next to the rivers in the interior 
 ranges from three to six feet above the lowest bottom. The next 
 is from twelve to twenty-five feet above the first, and a third at 
 varying heights above the last. Often terraces intermediate be- 
 tween these are detected. They vary so much in height that the 
 system ascertained to exist at one place is no guide for the next 
 river. This variation, no doubt, is partly caused by one or two or 
 more corresponding terraces being removed by subsequent erosion. 
 They are the memorials of the rivers' former stay for an indefinite 
 time at that level. It is possible that this Terrace Epoch was as long 
 as the Loess period, but of this there is no certainty, as it partakes 
 in part of the character of a lost interval of geological history. 
 
 Alluvium. Next to the Loess deposits, in an economical point of 
 view, the Alluvium formations are the most important. The val- 
 leys and flood -plains of the rivers and smaller streams, where these 
 deposits are found, are a prominent feature of the surface geology 
 of the State. All the rivers of the interior, such as the Platte, the 
 Republican, the Niobrara, the Elkhorn, the Blues, the Nemahas, 
 and their tributaries, have broad bottoms in the center or on one side 
 of which the streams have their beds. The width of these bottoms 
 seem to be dependent on the character of the underlying rock-forma- 
 tion. Where this is soft or yielding, the bottoms are broad, but 
 where it is hard and compact they contract. This is, no doubt, one 
 reason why the bottoms on the middle or upper courses of some of 
 the rivers are wider than farther down.* These broad bottoms, as 
 we have already seen, represent the ancient river-beds toward the 
 close of the Loess age. It required many ages to drain the mighty 
 ancient lake-bed; and when the present rivers were first outlined, 
 the greater part of it was yet a vast swamp or bog. But, gradually, 
 as the continent ro^e to a higher level, the rivers cut deeper and 
 deeper, filling the whole flood-plain from bluff to bluff. Not until 
 the drainage of this region was completed and the continent had 
 reached nearly to its present level, was the volume of water so 
 much diminished that the rivers contracted their currents and cut 
 new beds somewhere through the present bottoms. The terraces, 
 which are so numerous along many of the river-bottoms, indicates 
 
 *See on this subject Hayden's Report for 1871. 
 
294 GEOLOGY. 
 
 the slowness with which the land assumed its present form. The 
 upper terraces were dry bottom when all the rest of the valley was 
 yet a river-bed. It is probable that some of these bottoms were ex- 
 cavated during sub-glacial times, and afterward were filled up with 
 debris when the continent had reached the lowest level. The great 
 depth of sand and mud at the bottom of the Missouri, being from 
 forty to one hundred feet below water along the Nebraska line be- 
 fore solid rock is reached, indicates an elevation of this region, when 
 this was accomplished, far greater than it reached at any period 
 during or immediately after Loess times. When this great lake 
 commenced to be drained, the waters naturally took the direction 
 and place of least resistance, which was the original bed of the 
 river. If the Rocky Mountain system continues to rise, as it is be- 
 lieved to be doing, at the rate of a few feet to the century, although 
 degradation may be equal to elevation, a time must come in the dis- 
 tant future when the Missouri will again roll over solid rock at its 
 bottom. 
 
 As typical of the river-bottoms, let us look at the formation of 
 the Platte Valley. The general direction of this great highway 
 from the mountains to the Missouri is from west to east. This val- 
 ley is from three to twenty miles wide in Nebraska, and over five 
 hundred miles long. All the materials that once filled up this 
 trough, from the tops of the highest hills on each side, have been r 
 since the present rivers were outlined, toward the close of the Lo- 
 ess age, transported by the agency of water to the Missouri and the 
 Gulf.* Here, then, are several thousand miles in area of surface en- 
 tirely removed by denudation. Now the Platte comprises only a 
 fraction of the river-bottoms of Nebraska. The Republican, alone,. 
 for two hundred miles has a bottom ranging from three to eight 
 miles in breadth. The combined length of the main bottoms of the 
 Blues, Elkhorns, and the Loups, would be over a thousand miles, 
 and their breadth ranges from one to ten miles. The Nemahas 
 and the Bows, and portions of the Niobrara, also acid a great deal 
 to the area of bottom lands. All these rivers have numerous 
 tributaries, which have valleys in size proportionate to the main 
 rivers, and these more than double the areas of bottom-land. The 
 Missouri has, also, in some counties, like Dakota and Burt, con- 
 tributed large areas of bottom-land to the soil of the State. These 
 Missouri bottoms in Nebraska are exceptionally high, so that few 
 
 *See Hayden's Report for 1870. 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 295 
 
 of them have been overflowed since the settlement of the country. 
 The one element of uncertainty about them is, when located near 
 the river, the danger of being gradually washed away by the un- 
 dermining action of the water. Sometimes during flood-time, when 
 the current sweeps the bank, it is so insiduously undermined that> 
 for several rods in length and many feet in breadth, it tumbles into 
 the river. This cutting of the river is greatest when it com- 
 mences to fall. Where the bank is removed on one side it gener- 
 ally is built up on the other. The old town of Omadi, in Dakota 
 County, is an instance of this kind. So rapidly did the river cut 
 into the bank, that many of the houses could not be removed, and 
 fell victims to the flood. The river cut far enough to the west of 
 the old site to leave it and its own bed, after being blow r n full of 
 sand, to be grown up into a forest of cottonwood. 
 
 When now we bring into our estimate all the river bottoms of 
 Nebraska, and the tributaries of these rivers, and reflect that all 
 these valleys were formed in the same way, within comparatively 
 modern geological times, the forces which water-agencies brought 
 into play almost appal the mind by their very immensity. So well 
 are these bottom-lands distributed that the emigrants can, in most 
 of the counties of the State, choose between them and the uplands 
 for their future home. In some of the new counties, like Fillmore, 
 where bottom-lands are far apart, there are many small, modern 
 dried-up lake beds, whose soil is closely allied to that of the valleys 
 Not unfrequently is the choice made of portions of each, on the 
 supposition that the bottom-lands are best adapted for the growth 
 of large crops of grasses. But all the years of experience in culti- 
 vating uplands and bottoms in Nebraska leave the question of the 
 superiority of the one over the other undecided. Both have their 
 advocates. The seasons as well as the location have much to do 
 with the question. Some bottom-lands are high and dry, while 
 others are lower and contain so much alumina that in wet seasons 
 they are difficult to work. On such lands, too, a wet spring inter- 
 feres somewhat with early planting and sow r ing. All the uplands, 
 too, which have a Loess origin, seem to produce cultivated grass as 
 luxuriantly as the richest bottoms, especially where there is deep 
 cultivation on old breaking. Again, most of the bottom-lands are 
 so mingled with Loess materials, and their drainage is so good that 
 the cereal grains and fruits are as productive on them as on the 
 high lands. The bottom-lands are, however, the richest in organic 
 
296 
 
 GEOLOGY. 
 
 matter. The following analyses of these soils will give a better 
 idea of their physical character. The samples were taken from 
 what are believed to be average soils. The first is from the Elk- 
 iiorn, the second from the Platte, the third from the Republican, 
 and the fourth from the Blue River. The fifth is from an excep- 
 tionally wet and sticky soil, about two miles southeast of Dakota 
 City. 
 
 
 No 1. 
 
 No 2. 
 
 No. 3 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Insoluble (silicious) matter 
 
 63.07 
 2.85 
 8.41 
 7.08 
 .90 
 1.41 
 .50 
 .49 
 .79 
 14.00 
 .50 
 
 63.70 
 2.25 
 7.76 
 7.99 
 .85 
 1.45 
 .54 
 .52 
 .70 
 13.45 
 .79 
 
 63.01 
 2.40 
 8.36 
 8.01 
 .99 
 1.39 
 .61 
 .54 
 .71 
 13.01 
 .97 
 
 62.99 
 2.47 
 8.08 
 7.85 
 .94 
 1.40 
 .67 
 .58 
 .79 
 13.27 
 .96 
 
 61.03 
 2.82 
 10.52 
 7.09 
 .98 
 1.38 
 .60 
 .57 
 .69 
 13.40 
 .92 
 
 Ferric oxide . 
 
 Alumina 
 
 Lime carbonate 
 
 Lime phosphate 
 
 Majrnesia carbonate 
 
 Potash 
 
 Soda . . . 
 
 Sulphuric acid 
 
 Organic matter 
 
 JLoss in analysis . .'.... 
 
 Total 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 
 It is well known that many soils vary a great deal in chemical 
 properties that are taken only a few feet apart, and therefore anal- 
 yses often fail to give a correct idea of their true character. But 
 from the above analyses, taken from widely distant localities, it is 
 at least evident that chemically, alluvium differs from the Loess de- 
 posits principally in having more organic matter than alumina, and 
 less silica. The depth of the alluvium varies greatly. Occasionally 
 sand and drift materials predominate in the river bottoms, especially 
 in the subsoil; sometimes the alluvium is of unknown depth, and 
 again in a few feet the drift pebbles and sand of the subsoil are 
 struck. This is especially the case in some of the western valleys 
 which were worn down to the drift, and were not again subse- 
 qently filled up, though such cases are not often met with. There 
 must have been a period of longer or shorter duration, when the 
 bottoms were in the condition of swamps and bogs; and during this 
 period the greater part of that organic matter, which is a distinguish- 
 ing feature of these lands, accumulated in the surface-soil. It would 
 be easy to select isolated spots, where the soil has forty per cent of 
 organic matter; where, in fact, it is composed of semi-peat. When 
 we reflect that this black soil is often twenty feet thick, it is appar- 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 297 
 
 ent that the period of its formation must have been very long. There 
 -are still some few localities where that formative condition has been 
 perpetuated to the present time as, for example, the bogs that are 
 yet met with at the head-waters of the Elkhorn and the Logan, 
 along the Elk Creek, on the Dakota bottom, and on the Stinking 
 River, one of the tributaries of the Republican. In fact, along these 
 tributaries all the intermediate stages from perfectly dry bottom to 
 a bog can yet be found. But, so much has the volume of water 
 iDeen lessened in all the rivers of Nebraska through the influence of 
 geological causes, that there are few places where now, even in 
 flood-time, they overflow their banks. A curious phenomenon, il- 
 lustrating through what changes of level and other conditions these 
 river bottoms have passed, before reaching their present form, is 
 the occurrence at various depths, of from ten to fifty feet, of great 
 masses of timber in a semi-decayed condition. One such deposit on 
 the Blue River bottom, near the mouth of Turkey Creek, success- 
 fully interrupted the digging of a well. So many thicknesses of logs 
 occurred that it was found best to abandon the work already done for 
 a new place. I have frequently observed trees, with trunks twenty 
 to sixty feet long, sticking out from under the banks of the Mis- 
 souri, where the soil had been freshly removed. It is possible that 
 this timber accumulated in these places during the period when the 
 rivers yet covered their entire bottoms, and when numberless trees 
 must have been carried down during flood-time, and either stranded 
 on the ancient sand bars and mud-banks, or sunk to rise no more in 
 the deeper pools and eddies which were rapidly filled up. The 
 species, so far as I have yet been able to determine, from an exam- 
 ination of the half-decayed wood, are the same as yet grow in this 
 region. They are principally cottonwood, elm, cedar, maple and 
 walnut. 
 
 THE SAND-HILLS. 
 
 The sand-hills are an often-mentioned portion of Nebraska. 
 'They are found in certain sections of the western portion of the 
 State. South of the Platte Valley they run parallel with the river, 
 and are from one-half to six miles in breadth. A few are also 
 found on the tributaries of the Republican. Occasionally slightly 
 sandy districts are found as far east as the Logan, but they rarely 
 approach even a small hill in magnitude. A few sand ridges are 
 also found on the Elkhorn. North of the Platte, from about the 
 mouth of the Calamus on to the Niobrara, they cover much larger 
 
298 GEOLOGY. 
 
 areas. They are also found over a limited area north of the Nio- 
 brara. Hayden (Report for 1870, p. 108) estimates the area of the 
 sand-hills at about 20,000 square milas. From exploring the same 
 region, I should not estimate them as so extensive, unless the fact 
 be kept in mind that they are not continuous over the whole region. 
 They are indeed found all the way for 100 miles west from the 
 mouth of Rapid River, but in many places from eight to twenty 
 miles south of the Niobrara there are spots where the soil seemed 
 to be a mixture of Drift and Loess, and of high fertility, as was in- 
 dicated by ths character and rankness of the vegetation. Some- 
 times these hills are comparatively barren, and then again they are 
 fertile enough to sustain a covering of nutritious grasses; so that 
 this region is by no means the utterly barren waste that it is some- 
 times represented to be. It has been a favorite range for buffalo, 
 and still is for antelope and deer; and, judging from their condition,, 
 the conclusion would be natural that this region could be used for 
 stock-raising. In fact, already large herds of cattle are kept here. 
 A great deal of the vegetation is peculiar to sandy districts. Some 
 of the hills seem to have their loose sands held together by the 
 Ucca angustifolia, which sends its roots down to a great depth. It 
 probably marks a certain stage in their history. After this plant 
 has compacted and given to the sands organic matter, the grasses 
 come in and partially clothe the hills. The materials of these sand- 
 hills are almost entirely sand, pebbles, and gravel, of varying de- 
 grees of fineness. The sand always predominates. Occasionally it 
 is more or less modified by the presence of other materials, such as 
 lime, potash, soda, alumina, and organic matter. These hills are 
 in some places stationary, and so covered by vegetation that their 
 true character is not suspected until closely examined. In other 
 places again, especially in portions of the Loup and Niobrara region y 
 they are so loosely compacted that the wind is ever changing their 
 form, and turning them into all kinds of fantastic shapes. The 
 most common appearance is that of a plain, undulating or hilly re- 
 gion, covered with conical hills of drifting sands. The smaller ele- 
 vations frequently show a striking resemblance to craters. One 
 such curious hill I found south of the Calamus, where the crater- 
 like basin seemed to be compacted at once, and grown over with a 
 species of wire grass. With the increase of rainfall and vegetation,, 
 the remodifying effects of the winds disappear. 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 299 
 
 Some eminent geologists have sought to account for these hills 
 by the theory that the winds in the course of ages have blown the 
 sand from the bars on the rivers until their accumulation caused 
 these peculiar elevations. There are many difficulties in the way 
 of this theory. East of Columbus no sand-hills are found, and it is 
 hard to conceive how they should come to be limited to the west- 
 ern portion of the State if they were formed in this way. In some 
 places at least the hills are partly composed of large pebbles and 
 stones that could not have been moved by the winds. This is espe- 
 cially the case in some of these hills south and east of Kenesaw, in 
 Adams County. I suggest, as a provisional explanation, the prob- 
 ability that, south of the Platte, the lines of sand-hills show the 
 track of a current in the old lake that produced the Loess deposits. 
 It is well known that fine sediment is deposited in still water, but 
 coarse materials, such as sand and pebbles, in the borders and in 
 tracks of currents. As the whole country rises toward the west, 
 the water here may have veen very rapid, and the land in process 
 of drying up when it was yet deep at its lower levels. Both 
 causes, the currents and the winds, may have co-operated to pro- 
 duce these deposits. I am also satisfied that in some localities the 
 sand-hills are nothing more than modified Loess deposits. They 
 are Loess deposits, with all the alumina, organic matter ard finest 
 sand washed out of them. This at least seems to be the origin of 
 some of the sand-hills on the Lower Loup, where they occupy a 
 lower level than the Loess deposits. These two deposits so often 
 shade into each other in the vicinity of the sand-hills, rendering it 
 impossible to tell where the one begins and the other ends, that the 
 theory of their common origin best explains the phenomena of 
 these formations. After the western portion of the Loess deposits 
 first became dry land, water-agencies were yet so powerful espec- 
 ially in flood times that much of it must have been re modified, and 
 the coarser materials left to form sand-hills. And as we have 
 already seen in another chapter, some of,the sand and gravel hills 
 partake largely of the Old \Vorld Kames, and may have been 
 formed in the same way, especially as against these the Loess de- 
 posits abut. The sand-hills on the Upper Loup and the Niobrara 
 probably derived the bulk of their materials directly from the Plio- 
 cene Tertiary deposits, which were mainly loosely compacted 
 sands. This old Pliocene lake was probably perpetuated here 
 down through Loess times to the borders of our own era. Even 
 
300 GEOLOGY. 
 
 yet lakelets are numerous over portions of this region, some of 
 of which are alkaline and others fresh water. The latter can easily 
 be distinguished from the former at sight by the thick vegetation 
 growing around their margins, of which the former have very little, 
 ;and sometimes not a trace. It is at least evident that these fresh- water 
 lakes have had some common origin. Their fauna would prove 
 it. The same species of fish and fresh-water mollusks are found in 
 most of the large ones, even where there is no perceptible present 
 outlet. 
 
 Although opposed to the views of eminent scientists, I have no 
 doubt that many of these hills are capable of cultivation, and some 
 day will be cultivated. In fact already many of them, that ten 
 years ago were barren of vegetation, are now covered by a vig- 
 orous growth of grasses, and some that are favorably located are 
 successfully included among the cultivated fields of adjoining farms. 
 Notable examples of this can be seen south of Lowell. The trans- 
 formation has been caused by the increasing rainfall of the State. 
 Not all of them, indeed, will be utilized until the rich lands that 
 border them are improved. But when better lands become scarce 
 and costly, advances will gradually be made on the sand-hills. 
 Already it has been proved that they produce corn, sweet pota- 
 toes and other root crops equal at least to the New Jersey sands. 
 The rich marl beds in their vicinity will supply an inexhaustible 
 source of fertilizing them. 
 
 Much has been done by geologists in exploring these sand-hills, 
 still much more remains to be accomplished before all the causes 
 that produced them are thoroughly understood. 
 
 ALKALI LANDS. 
 
 Every one in Nebraska will sooner or later hear of the so-called 
 alkali lands. They are not confined to any one geological forma- 
 tion, but are found sometimes on the Drift, Alluvium, or the Loess. 
 They increase in number from the eastern to the western portions 
 of the State. Yet one half ef the counties of the State do not 
 have any such lands, and often there are only a few in a township or 
 county. Where they have been closely examined they are found 
 to vary a great deal in chemical constituents. Generally, however, 
 the alkali is largely composed of soda compounds, with an occa- 
 sional excess of lime and magnesia or potash. The following an- 
 alyses of these soils show how variable they are. The first is taken 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 
 
 301 
 
 from the Platte bottom, south of North Platte; the second from, 
 near old Fort Kearney, and the third two miles west of Lincoln: 
 
 | No 1. I No. 2. No. 3. 
 
 Insoluble (silicious) matter . . .... 
 
 74.00 
 
 73 10 
 
 73 90- 
 
 
 3.80 
 
 3.73 
 
 3.69 
 
 Alumina 
 
 2.08 
 
 2 29 
 
 2 10- 
 
 Lime carbonate. . 
 
 6.01 
 
 4 29 
 
 3.90> 
 
 Lime phosphate 
 
 1.70 
 
 1.40 
 
 1.49- 
 
 Magnesia carbonate . . 
 
 1.89 
 
 1 29 
 
 1 47 
 
 Potash . 
 
 1.68 
 
 1 80 
 
 3.69- 
 
 Soda carbonate and bicarbonate 
 
 5.17 
 
 7.33 
 
 4.91 
 
 Sodium sulphate . 
 
 .70 
 
 89 
 
 89 1 
 
 Moisture 
 
 .99 
 
 98 
 
 .98- 
 
 Organic matter 
 
 1.20 
 
 2.10 
 
 2.10- 
 
 Loss in analysis . ... 
 
 .78 
 
 80 
 
 88- 
 
 Total . . 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 The specimens for analysis were not taken from soils crusted over 
 with alkaline matter, but from spots where the ground was covered 
 with a sparse vegetation. 
 
 Many of the alkali lands seem to have originated from an accu- 
 mulation of water in low places, where there is an excess of alum- 
 ina in the soil or subsoil. The escape of the water by evaporation 
 left the saline matter behind, and, in the case of salt (sodium chlo- 
 ride), which all waters are known to contain in at least minute 
 quantities, the chlorine, by chemical reactions, separated from the 
 sodium; which latter, uniting immediately with oxygen and car- 
 bonic acid, formed the soda compounds. 
 
 These alkali spots are often successfully cultivated. The first 
 steps toward their renovation must be drainage and deep cultiva- 
 tion. The next step is the consumption of the excess of alkali,, 
 which can be effected by crops of the cereal grains in wet seasons. 
 In such seasons these alkali lands, if deeply cultivated, often pro- 
 duce splendid crops of grain. Wheat is especially a great con- 
 sumer of the alkalies; and these being partly removed in this way, 
 and the remaining excess mingled with the deeply cultivated soil, 
 renders it, in many instances, in a few years capable of being used 
 for the other ordinary crops of Nebraska. Treated in this way, 
 these alkali lands often become the most valuable portions of the 
 farm. There are comparatively few alkali lands in the State that 
 cannot be reclaimed in this way. 
 
302 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Hird Pan. Gumbo Soil. One of the peculiar deposits of the 
 State is known among the people as hard pan, and in some places 
 as gumbo soil. It never occurs in this State over extensive areas. 
 In some few counties and townships it occurs in spots sometimes 
 on bottoms and sometimes on level uplands. The areas covered by 
 it range in extent from a few yards to several acres. Sometimes 
 these spots lie slightly below the general level of the land, and in 
 places shade insensibly into what are known as clay and wet lands. 
 There are a few townships in the south part of Cedar, Knox, and 
 the north part of Pierce counties where occasional sections occur 
 that have a spotted appearance which is produced by these " gum- 
 bo soils." They are easily recognized by the paucity of the pecu- 
 liar blue and wire grasses that cover them. More rarely they are 
 covered by from two to six inches of alluvium or ordinary upland 
 soil, and only give indications of their presence when an attempt is 
 made at their cultivation. They " bake " and become exceedingly 
 hard when dried. The most compact of these soils are plowed and 
 cultivated with great difficulty. The following analyses indicate 
 their composition. The first is taken from a specimen on Salt 
 Creek bottom, and the second from the lower Nemaha: 
 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Insoluble (silicious) matter 
 
 27 11 
 
 20 67 
 
 Ferric oxide 
 
 4 32 
 
 2 83 
 
 Alumina, clay 
 
 50 11 
 
 57 30 
 
 Lime carbonate 
 
 8 21 
 
 9 08 
 
 Lime phosphate 
 
 1 OJ) 
 
 88 
 
 Magnesia carbonate 
 
 1 45 
 
 1 70 
 
 Potassa 
 
 1.98 
 
 (57 
 
 Soda 
 
 83 
 
 1 80 
 
 Organic matter 
 
 1 30 
 
 2 01 
 
 Moisture . . ^ 
 
 2 90 
 
 2 09 
 
 Loss in analysis 
 
 70 
 
 87 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 100 00 
 
 100 00 
 
 
 
 
 This analysis shows that these soils contain clay in excess. From 
 many other analyses which I made, only to ascertain the amount 
 of clay that was present, it was found to vary from fifteen to sixty 
 percent. The quantity of all their constituents varies a great deal, 
 but they all in common contain a large amount of clay. A few 
 contained a perceptible quantity of manganese. From these analy- 
 ses it is clear what is needed to redeem them or make them tillable 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 303 
 
 they should he mingled with silicious matter, and often the soil 
 below them will answer for this purpose, as frequently they are 
 only a few inches thick. 
 
 The Bad Lands. These have already been discussed and de- 
 scribed under the Miocene Period. They deserve a reference here 
 because they constitute all that there is of the surface beyond the 
 White Earth River, in the northwest corner of the State. As al- 
 ready stated, this section is made up of Miocene rocks. The sur- 
 face materials here are mostly made up of white and yellowish in- 
 durated clays, sands, marls, and occasional thin beds of lime and 
 sandstone. When going through these Bad Lands I observed these 
 lime and sandstones to appear and disappear in the most unexpected 
 manner, indicating a great variety of conditions under which they 
 were formed. Hayden first made known these wonderful regions. 
 It is hard to realize the grandeur and uniqueness of this region 
 without visiting it this, at least, was the case with myself. 
 Here in the deep canyons, at the foot of the stair-like projections, 
 the earliest of those wonderful fossil treasures was found which 
 have been described by Leidy, and which have done so much to 
 revolutionize our notions of the progress of life and of Tertiary 
 times. 
 
 Agriculture in such a region as this, where comparatively little is 
 now growing, is of course impracticable. The scanty grasses, 
 however, can be, and are beginning to be at least on the borders 
 of this region utilized for pasturing stock. Even here rainfall is 
 increasing, as is indicated by a great increase in the quantity of 
 grass that is spontaneously produced. Whether this region can 
 ever be utilized for the purposes of agriculture, even when once the 
 rainfall is sufficient, is a problem for the future.. Regions as rough 
 have been cultivated by hand. Whenever in the distant future 
 population crowds in this direction, and the rainfall has sufficiently 
 increased, even these Bad Lands can be fertilized, if they need fer- 
 tilization, by the immense quantities of natural fertilizers, such as 
 marl, that here abound. In the mean time it will be utilized for pas- 
 turing stock. Though this region is so unattractive to the utilitar- 
 ian, I doubt whether any other equal area of Nebraska will be of 
 more benefit to mankind, simply because here we have outlined so 
 marvelously the old life of Miocene times, and it must ever be a 
 stimulus to geological studies, and those grand results which scien- 
 tific culture produces. No novel can be as interesting to a thought- 
 
304 GEOLOGY. 
 
 ful mind as Hayden's and Leidy's descriptions of these Bad Lands 
 and their animal remains. 
 
 FUEL FROM THE SURFACE-DEPOSITS. 
 
 It is not yet absolutely settled, as already stated, how much de- 
 pendence can be placed on the coal-supplies of the Carboniferous, 
 Cretaceous, and Tertiary deposits, in each of which thin beds have 
 been found and worked to a limited extent. Hayden and Meek in- 
 cline to the opinion that no beds of coal thick enough and of suffi- 
 ciently good quality to be profitably worked will be found in the 
 State. (Hayden's Report for 1870, p. 134, etc.) This subject has 
 already been discussed in the chapter on Carboniferous Age. 
 There is, however, no question about the great quantity of peat in 
 Nebraska, which subject is discussed in the next chapter. 
 
 Wafer Resources of Nebraska. This subject, which would natu- 
 rally come in here, is omitted in this connection, as it has already- 
 been fully discussed in the chapter on Physical Geography. 
 
 Timber in Modern Geological Times. It is natural to suppose 
 from well-known natural causes that when the Loess age was- 
 drawing to a close, and the lower portions of the area covered by 
 these deposits were yet in a condition of a bog, the climate was much 
 more favorable than the present for the growth of timber. Rain- 
 fall and moisture in the atmosphere must then have been much 
 more abundant. In July, 1868, while walking along the edge of 
 one of the Logan peat-bogs in Cedar County, my Jacob staff struck 
 some hard body in the peat. Examining it more closely I found a 
 log buried in the peat at least sixty feet in length. Following up 
 this discovery with a careful search, I found in this and other bogs 
 a great many buried logs of various length and thickness. Most of 
 them were found where there was no existing timber within twenty 
 miles, and from which they could not have floated in flood- times, 
 I regret that I had no means of extricating some of those logs, and 
 ascertaining the species to which they belonged. That would no 
 doubt have thrown much light on the changes that haye taken 
 place since they were buried in the bog. But they evidently grew 
 on the shores or banks, and after falling into the bog they were 
 protected from decay by the well-known antiseptic properties of 
 peaty waters. Another fact that shows the greater prevalence of 
 timber within geologically recent times is the remnants of old pine 
 forests yet buried in the ground. In the summer of 1868, when 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 305 
 
 traveling along and near the Niobrara, roots of pine trees were 
 often found sticking in the ground, more than fifty miles south and 
 east of the present forests of this timber. Often did these old roots 
 furnish me with the materials of a camp fire. At no very remote 
 period pine forests must have flourished down to the mouth of the 
 Niobrara. Many other facts, of a similar character, seem to leave 
 no room to doubt that in geologically recent times far more exten- 
 sive forests prevailed all over Nebraska than those which now oc- 
 cupy the ground. What caused their disappearance can, perhaps, 
 not be certainly determined. Some geologists hold that the in- 
 creasing dryness of the climate caused the disappearance of any old 
 forests that might have existed. But might not the converse of this 
 also have been true here, as well as elsewhere, namely, that the de- 
 struction of forests inaugurated the dry climate that prevailed when 
 thU territory was first explored? It is at least conceivable that the 
 primitive forest received its death-blow in a dry summer by fire, 
 through the vandal acts of Indians in pursuit of game or for pur- 
 poses of war. What suggested this theory as a possible explanation 
 of the disappearance of forests on this territory, was the finding of 
 pine roots before referred to, and often, when partially, buried, 
 showing marks of fire from carbonized ends, and in localities so 
 sandy, and where vegetation was so scant, that an ordinary prai- 
 rie fire was out of the question. An old tradition that I once heard 
 from the Omaha Indians points to the same conclusion. 
 
 It is wonderful how nature here responds to the efforts of men 
 for reclothing this territory with timber. Man thus becomes am 
 efficient agent for the production of geological changes. As prai- 
 rie fires are repressed and trees are planted by the million, the cli- 
 mate must be still further ameliorated. When once there are- 
 groves of timber on every section or quarter- section of land in the 
 State, an approach will be made to some of the best physical con- 
 ditions of Tertiary times. The people of this new State have a- 
 wonderful inheritance of wealth, beauty and power in their fine 
 climate and their rich lands, and as they become conscious of this 
 they will more and more lend a helping hand to the processes of 
 nature for the development and utilization of the material wealth of 
 Nebraska. 
 
 Causes of Changes of Climatic Conditions During the Quaternary 
 Age. Every geologist has noted the fact that there have been very- 
 many changes of climate during the progress of the worl<JV history,. 
 
 20 
 
306 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Even in Arctic regions there are many evidences of the prevalence 
 at different times in the past of temperate and even semi-tropical 
 climates. In Grinnell Land Dr. Hayes obtained corals and cham- 
 bered shells, which indicate that warm oceans once obtained there. 
 The adjoining lands at the same time nourished a most luxuriant 
 vegetation. We have seen that in our own State there have been, 
 even in Cenozoic times, semi-tropical conditions, which very grad- 
 ually disappeared and gave place to Arctic and again to warm, 
 temperate climates. It is a fact, therefore, that climates rotate 
 throughout the geologic ages. The old idea that the earlier warm 
 climates were produced mainly by the then higher temperature of 
 the interior of the globe, and that the colder modern conditions 
 have been brought about principally by gradual cooling of its mass, 
 is now almost universally abandoned. The earth still radiates heat, 
 as it always has done, but its effects are not now and it is doubtful 
 whether, during recorded geological time, it has been perceptible. 
 In all times climates have varied in proportion to the heat which 
 the globe received, directly or indirectly, from the sun. Even in 
 the Silurian the climates were probably as well marked as now. 
 The question then eventually rises, what is it that causes the varia- 
 tions in the climates of the globe? My limits only permit me to 
 refer to those explanations that have received the most attention, 
 and which, in my judgment, are the most probable. 
 
 The theory accounting for climatic changes which has been sanc- 
 tioned by the greatest number of geologists during this generation 
 :was proposed and defended by that prince among naturalists, Lyell. 
 He referred to the admitted fact that through the geological ages sea 
 .and land have many times changed places that it is hard to find a 
 place where the billows of the ocean did not formerly roll that all 
 the strata formed since the opening Laurentian are only so many 
 fossil sea bottoms. Even now some coast lines are sinking and 
 others are rising, and a continuation of these changes will engulf 
 some existing lands and raise some sea bottoms above the water. 
 Even the relative levels of closely-joining land masses slowly change 
 in this way. When, therefore, we are required by Lyell's theory 
 to believe that the relative distribution, of land and water was form- 
 erly very different from what it is now, no one questions the facts 
 on which this theory is based. If now such changes were brought 
 about that the principal land masses should be placed in equatorial 
 regions, the mean temperature of such high northern lands as were 
 
QUATERNARY AGE. 307 
 
 left would be raised sufficiently to produce the cypress, sequoia, fig 
 tree, and even the palm. Such a vegetation under these circum- 
 stances might flourish within the Arctic circle. A heated equator 
 would send warm currents of air and water to heat up the polar re- 
 gions. Some such conditions Lyell thought existed, for example, 
 during the Miocene, or earlier still during the Carboniferous, when 
 tree ferns grew on islands in Arctic regions. Lyell considered the 
 atmosphere to be the chief instrument for the distribution of heat. 
 On the other hand the prevalence of polar continents and an oceanic 
 equator produced arctic conditions in all high latitudes. The pro- 
 gress of discovery, however, has brought to light many facts which 
 cannot well be reconciled with this theory. Among these facts are 
 intercallated beds representing mild conditions of climate in the 
 midst of and during glacial times. The most conspicuous example 
 of this is the Old Forest Bed already spoken of. Even in Arctic 
 regions tree trunks have been found in the midst of glacial debris* 
 It is also questionable whether the atmosphere flowing northward 
 from tropical land masses would heat up the poles. Its heat would 
 be dissipated long before reaching the extreme north. At the pres- 
 ent day western America receives its high temperature, not from 
 the tropical winds, but from the breezes that blow over the Japan 
 current, as western Europe is warmed by the Gulf Stream. East- 
 ern Europe and Asia receive no benefit from these warm winds 
 they are cooled long before they reach the great interior. It is also 
 extremely questionable whether there ever was exactly, or even ap- 
 proximately, such a distribution of land and water as this theory 
 calls for. Many other objections are urged against Lyell's theory. 
 Geologists, therefore, now look for the causes which produce 
 changes of climate to cosmical rather than to terrestrial influences. 
 The cosmical theory that would explain the phenomena of cli- 
 mate that is now receiving most attention was proposed by and is 
 still ably defended by James Croll, and is also maintained by James 
 Geike, both connected with the Geological Survey of Scotland. 
 According to this theory, two causes are chiefly operative the 
 changing eccentricity of the earth's orbit and the precession of the 
 equinoxes. Leverier's calculations make "the superior limit of the 
 earth's eccentricity 0-07775-" At the present time it is lessening, 
 and will continue to do so for 23,900 years, when its value will be 
 -.0031 4; after which it will again increase. These changes of ecccn- 
 
 *See James Geike's Groat Ice Age, page 462. 
 
308 GEOLOGY. 
 
 tricity may affect climate in two ways. " It may increase or dimin- 
 ish the difference between the summer and winter tempera- 
 ture." Take for example the second case. When the eccen- 
 tricity is greatest the distance of the earth from the sun, when 
 in aphelion, or farthest away, is 98,506,350 miles; and when 
 in perihelion, or nearest to the sun, it is only 84,293,650 miles. The 
 earth is, therefore, during such times, 14,212,700 miles further from 
 the sun in aphelion than when in perihelion. This is a greater dif- 
 ference by many millions of miles than now obtains. During such 
 a period of high eccentricity when winter occurs in aphelion, 
 it is also longer by 36 days than the summer. At the present 
 time the difference between the length of winter and summer 
 (from the 22d of September to the 2oth of March, and from the 
 latter date to the 22d of September) is only seven or eight days. 
 Given, therefore, a winter 36 days longer than the present, with 
 the sun from 8,000,000 to 14,000,000 of miles further away from the 
 earth than now, and the mean temperature of the globe would not, 
 indeed, be greatly lowered, but the conditions of its reception would 
 be vastly different. One-fifth less heat would be received in winter 
 and one-fifth more in summer, which latter would be exceedingly 
 short. A long, cold winter and a short, hot summer would be the 
 result (Croll). What snows fell during autumn, winter and spring, 
 would not be dissipated by the short, hot summer. Snow would 
 accumulate and gradually form glaciers of immense thickness. Art 
 indirect result affecting climate greatly would be a change of the 
 oceans' circulation. The warm currents that now lave northern 
 zones would be largely excluded from the glaciated hemisphere. 
 While, however, one hemisphere would be glaciated, the other 
 would have its winter in perihelion and its summer in aphelion. 
 This condition, according to Croll and Herschel, would " annihilate 
 the difference between winter and summer in temperate latitudes." 
 * Owing to the precession of the equinoxes," these conditions would 
 change from north to south of the equator every 10,500 years, or 
 thereabouts. Such periods of high eccentricity occurred three 
 times during the last 3,000,000 years the last one commencing 
 240,000 years ago and ending 80,000 years ago, embracing a period 
 of 160,000 years. The cold and glaciation was most intense be- 
 tween 30,000 and 40,000 years after it commenced.' (Geike.) 
 
 As the earth's orbit will continue to grow less eccentric for 
 23,900 years, during that time, at least, if this theory for the pro 
 
ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY. 309 
 
 duction of varying climates is correct, the extremes of temperature 
 \vill also gradually become less, and continually milder conditions 
 will prevail. All the changes that may occur hereafter, therefore, 
 for a k>ng period will be favorable, and the globe as a whole be? 
 come more and more fitted for a theatre for the development of 
 mind and morals. 
 
 Even if this explanation of the causes of climatic changes is not 
 the correct one, there can be little doubt that some cosmical influ- 
 ences will in the end be found to furnish the key to unlock the 
 mysteries of these changing phenomena. 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY. 
 
 Coal, Bituminous and Lignite. Peat, its Quantity, Quality, and Where 
 and How Formed. Building Stone, Where and How Found; their Charac- 
 ter at South Bend. Building Stone in the Cretaceous and Tertiary. Lime 
 and Hydraulic Cement. Its Manufacture at Beatrice. Brick Clay. Fire 
 Clay. Potters' Clay; Sections and Character of at Louisville Kaolin. 
 Oypsum, Where Found and How it Occurs. Silica, its Great Extent and 
 Character. Iron Ores. Zinc and Lead. Gold. Marl Beds. Salt, Where 
 and How it Occurs. Artesian Well in Lincoln and its Medicinal Character. 
 Artesian Wells over the State; their Future Value and Importance. 
 
 Coal. Bituminous coal has already been discussed in the chap- 
 ter on the Carboniferous measures; and lignite coal in the chapter 
 on the Cretaceous deposits. 
 
 Peat. There is no question about the great quantity of peat in 
 Nebraska. Hayden mentions many localities where it is found. 
 (Report for 1867, 1868, and 1869.) It is also found on the tributar- 
 ies and head-waters of the Logan, the Elkhorn, the Blue, and on 
 Stinking River, and other tributaries of the Republican. Great 
 quantities are also found in Boone County, on the Loups, and on 
 their tributaries. In fact, there is hardly a township in some sec- 
 tions of the State that does not contain some peat-bogs. When 
 people once learn its value, and more attention is directed to it, it 
 will be found where now it is not expected. One peat-bog on the 
 
310 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Logan (township 28 north, i and 2 east) is five or six miles in lengths 
 and of variable breadth. I could find no bottom to this bog with a 
 fifteen-foot pole. This peat I personally tested and found to be of 
 excellent quality. In fact, nearly all the peat that I have tested in 
 this State is fully up to the average in quality. A singularly good 
 article is found at Pittsburgh, on the Blue River, where the deposit 
 is also quite extensive. Among the animal remains submitted to- 
 me for examination from this bed was the molar tooth of the gi- 
 gantic beaver (Castor ohioensis), proving that this animal existed in 
 Nebraska in times geologically recent. The most of the peat beds 
 that I have examined seem to have been formed in lakelets that 
 gradually became bogs by an accumulation of vegetable matter de- 
 rived from coarse grasses, sedges, rushes, polygonums, duck- weeds,, 
 pond-weeds, arrow- weed, etc., lilies, etc. Sphagnum which seems 
 to form the mass of organic matter in peat-bogs of granitic and sili- 
 cious districts, only occurs in Nebraska in a bog near Curlew, in Ce- 
 dar County, and one or two other places in the same region. At least 
 I found it nowhere else. Many of these peat-bogs are now so far- 
 advanced as to be dry enough to be wagoned over in midsummer,, 
 but through the middle of which a stream of water is still flowing.. 
 Others have no visible outlet, but retain the water poured into 
 them, when the spring and June rains fall, during the remainder of 
 the year, and thus supply the conditions necessary for the peculiar 
 vegetation of such formations. Sometimes, too, depressions in the 
 surface where peat is forming are supplied with moisture from ever- 
 flowing springs. The beginnings of many of these peat-beds date 
 back at least to the close of the Loess age, so that sufficient time 
 has elapsed for the accumulation of great quantities of this material.. 
 Peat can be cheaply taken out of a bog with a spade, and laid up 
 like cord-wood tinder cover to dry, when it is ready for use. The 
 objections to using it thus prepared is its liability to crumble. Un- 
 fortunately, to prepare it by molding and pressing requires some 
 capital for apparatus, and this is one reason why these beds have 
 not yet been worked. In some places, too, wood-fuel is yet cheap,, 
 and in others coal from abroad is easily obtained, and these causes 
 have also operated to delay the use of peat for fuel. But such 
 treasures cannot remain unused forever. Eventually this peat must 
 be utilized, and if it is cheaply furnished, as it can be, the State will 
 be supplied for a long time from its own territory for manufactur- 
 ing purposes and domestic use, with all the fuel needed. (For an* 
 
ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY. 311 
 
 able discussion of peat in Nebraska, see Hayden's Final Report of 
 Geological Survey of Nebraska, p. 69.) 
 
 Building S'ones. In portions of Nebraska building stones are 
 abundant. In the central and western portions of the State they 
 are difficult to obtain, owing to the great thickness of the superfi- 
 cial deposits, which must be removed in order to reach the underly- 
 ing rocks. This is easiest done along the edge of bluffs or ravines, 
 where they are often partially exposed. 
 
 The Carboniferous section of the State is, on the whole, the rich- 
 est in building stones. Here limestones, silicious limestones, and 
 many kinds of sandstones of all shades and colors abound. In 
 Richardson County there are many fine quarries, and those at Sa- 
 lem are among the best. Here two beds of limestone are exposed, 
 which generally extend under the superficial deposits. These strata 
 are exposed in many other places in this county. In Pawnee 
 County the building stone is still more abundant. Beds from six 
 inches to two feet in thickness crop out on hill-sides in many places. 
 One of the best crops out about eight miles west of Pawnee City 
 It is cream colored, and soft, but of great tenacity. It is a fusulina 
 limestone, can be worked into any form with ease, and is a great 
 favorite with builders. Hay den regards it as of Permo-Carbonifer- 
 ous age. In Gage County there are various beds of soft, yellow 
 limestone, full of geode cavities, porous and spongy; and also of 
 compact limestone, which are used for building purposes. 
 
 Johnson County contains a silicious limestone of various thick- 
 ness, which is almost wholly composed of fusulina. The court 
 house in Tecumseh, is constructed of this material. It is exposed 
 at many places along the hillsides, and is easily quarried and 
 worked. In Nemaha and Otoe counties, along the Missouri 
 River, there are various beds of stone that are quarried and used 
 for building. One of these is a limestone, and at Peru it occurs 
 near the top of the bluffs. .Further down at Brownville, there is a 
 bed of limestone three feet thick, of very superior quality for build- 
 ing purposes. Fine-grained, micaceous sandstone that readily 
 cleaves into flags, also exists here. Towards the center of the 
 county some fine quarries have been opened. The church at Feb- 
 ing is an example of the quality of its stone and its fine architectural 
 effect. Similar exposures of rock, suitable for building materials, 
 occur along the Missouri through Otoe and Cass counties. One of 
 the best is below Plattsmouth, on the banks of the Missouri. Here 
 
312 GEOLOGY. 
 
 are. some of the finest massive limestones in the State. The upper 
 surface, where the superficial deposits aie removed, are worn as 
 smooth as mirrors, and exhibit the parallel striae so characteristic of 
 glacial action. Unfortunately, the great thickness of the superfic- 
 ial deposits here makes these quarries expensive in working. At 
 La Platte, near the line of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad, 
 there is another remarkable quarry of fine-grained, slightly silicious 
 limestone. It contains innumerable impressions of fusulinas. The 
 government architects selected the stones from this quarry with 
 which to build the United States post-office and court house in Lin- 
 coln. It successfully stood the severest mechanical and chemical 
 tests. Farther up the Platte and on its north side, opposite South 
 Bend, W. B. Stout, Esq., has opened a new quarry during the last 
 year. Here occur several strata of unusually massive limestone, 
 one, of which, eighteen inches thick, is partially oolitic and partly 
 filled with fusulina. Near the middle there is a layer of intensely 
 liard nodules of silicious matter. The limestones in this quarry are 
 of exceptional purity. They take a very fine polish. On the 
 whole, it is the best stone quarry that I have yet visited in the 
 State. Some of the piers in the new railroad bridge at Plattsmouth 
 were constructed of this stone. The contractor' is also using it in 
 the construction of the new capitol wing at Lincoln. Other fine 
 quarries are also opened on the south side of the Platte in strata of 
 a similar character. East of Lincoln, on the Nebraska railroad, at 
 Syracuse and at other points, there are quarries of impure, variously 
 colored limestone of considerable thickness, from which immense 
 quantities of building stones have been obtained. From these 
 quarries and from similar ones on the Atchison & Nebraska Rail- 
 road, a little southeast of Lincoln, the*stones were quarried for the 
 State penitentiary. 
 
 The Cretaceous rocks of Nebraska also furnish a large quantity 
 of excellent building stone. Those of the Dakota Group are mostly 
 silicious. They are of all shades of yellow and brown, sometimes 
 approaching to a cream color and white. They furnish the hardest 
 and the softest stone in the State. The softer varieties are unfit for 
 building stone. Large quantities, however, are a medium between 
 the two extremes, and are very valuable for smaller structures, 
 owing to the ease with which they can be quarried and dressed. 
 In Dakota County, in this. group, occurs the intensely hard quartz- 
 ite which has been used in Sioux City, Iowa, for the foundation of 
 
ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY. 313 
 
 some of their largest brick blocks. The best quarry of it that I 
 have examined is that of Hon. J. Warner in Dakota County. This 
 group also furnishes building stones in portions of Dixon, Burt, 
 Dodge, Washington, Saunders, Lancaster and Gage Counties. 
 The rocks of the Niobrara Group which occur above those last 
 mentioned are mostly limestone more or less pure. One of its beds 
 called from the abundance of its fossils the Inoceramus bed, often 
 breaks up into flagging stone. It forms good building materials, 
 is easily worked, and is capable of resisting great pressure. Along 
 the Missouri it is first seen on the hill tops in Dakota County, and 
 increases in thickness northward and westward. It extends in a 
 southwestern direction across the State into Kansas. Over the In- 
 oceramus beds in Cedar and Knox counties, there is an immense 
 thickness of massive chalk rock. In a few places it is almost as 
 pure as the chalk of commerce. It varies in color from light blue, 
 and the various shades of yellow, to almost white. It can be easily 
 sawed and planed into any shape. Though soft, it does not disin- 
 tegrate on exposure, but appears when exposed to grow harder 
 with age. Some houses built of it on the Santee Agency in Knox 
 County, twenty years ago, show no sign of crumbling. Some 
 equally old houses, built of this chalk rock, in Yankton, D. T., are 
 still intact. The various rocks of the Niobrara Group furnish build- 
 ing materials in Cedar, Knox, Wayne, Cuming, Colfax, Stanton, 
 Butter, Saunders, Seward, Jefferson, Nuckolls, Webster, Franklin, 
 and some other counties. 
 
 West of the Cretaceous deposits the Tertiary beds occupy the 
 State to its very borders. The superficial deposits here generally 
 conceal the rocks, but as already observed where they are exposed, 
 there are some silicious beds, and silicates of lime that answer for 
 foundation stone. This is notably the case along the Republican 
 River and its tributaries, and on some of the tributaries of the Loup 
 and the Niobrara. But this section of the State has not yet been 
 sufficiently explored to indicate sharply where building stones may 
 be found. 
 
 LIME AND HYDRAULIC CEMENT. 
 
 As already stated, limestone is abundant in the Carboniferous 
 and Permo-Carboniferous measures of the State. The Niobrara 
 Group also furnishes an unlimited supply of it. A curious phenom- 
 enon of the limestone of the Carboniferous and Permo-Carbonifer- 
 ous, is that nearly all of it is more or less hydraulic. This is proba- 
 
314 GEOLOGY. 
 
 bly owing to the presence of greater or less quantities of carbonate 
 of magnesia, and a little alumina. In some sections the hydraulic 
 limestone is of very good quality. At Beatrice its manufacture was 
 for some time conducted, but owing to various causes it has been 
 temporarily suspended. All the work done with this cement has 
 stood the test of time. Owing to inadequate appliances it was not 
 sufficiently pulverized, but that defect will be remedied when its 
 manufacture will be resumed. This will probably be done during 
 the coming season. Sooner or later it must become an important 
 industry of the place and the State. 
 
 Btick Clay of good quality exists in every part of the State. The 
 Loess deposits which are so widely distributed over the State fur- 
 nish it in abundance. The only precaution needed is to select it 
 where there are no concretions of lime. Beneath the Loess and 
 the adjoining drift in many places is a greater or less thickness of 
 clay of glacial age that makes first-class brick. There are also oc- 
 casional strata in the alluviums of the river bottoms that furnish 
 brick clay in abundance. 
 
 fire Clay is also abundant. It underlies and sometimes overlies 
 the thin beds of coal in southeastern Nebraska, and is found at long 
 intervals in other sections of the State. 
 
 Potters 1 Clay is occasionally found in the alluvium. Informer 
 years a bed was worked on the Missouri bottom, east of Dakota 
 City. The best now known or worked is located at Louisville, in. 
 Cass County. The following is a section: 
 
 1. Loess ,.;.'. .-..> 3 feet. 
 
 2. Ked rock ; Dakota Group < 2 to 3 " 
 
 3. Potters' clay, of greyish white color, with streaks of pure white 
 
 sand from one to eight inches thick 20 " 
 
 The bottom of this clay has not yet been reached. Three miles 
 east of this bed another occurs of which the following is a section: 
 
 1 . Black soil 2 feet, 
 
 2. Bluish potters' clay .with lime concretions towards the top 12 " 
 
 One mile and a half northeast of the first another bed occurs. The 
 following is a section : 
 
 1. Black soil 5 inches. 
 
 2. Reddish earth 18 " 
 
 3. Potters' clay, exposed 6 feet. 
 
ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY. 315 
 
 A fine article of stone pottery is now turned out at this place 
 which, because of its excellence, has a large sale. The third sec- 
 tion now furnishes the greater part of the clay that is used in the 
 manufacture of pottery. It is not quite so light colored as that 
 from the first, but fewer cracks occur in burning. Similar beds- 
 that can be utilized in this way no doubt occur elsewhere in the 
 huge beds of blue clay that abound in the State. 
 
 Kaolin has been reported from various parts of the State. The 
 best that I have seen is that from Webster County, and from 
 Louisville, in Cass County, on the line of the Burlington & Mis 
 souri Railroad. The latter is in conjunction with the potters' clay- 
 already spoken of. From its chemical constitution it will no doubt 
 stand the test of expeiience. 
 
 Gypsum (sulphate of lime) exists in many places in the Cretace- 
 ous measures of the State. In Northern Nebraska, and especially 
 in Dakota, Dixon, Cedar and Knox Counties, along the Missouri 
 bluffs, there are innumerable crystals in leaf-like forms. Often 
 they assume the shape of a cross. No other localities in the Union 
 furnish more beautiful forms. Generally they are transparent,, 
 though occasionally coated with oxides of iron. In the Fort Pierre 
 Group, exposed on the hill tops near the town of Niobrara, and on 
 the Republican, these crystals glimmer in the distance, and have 
 ^iven the name of Shining Hills to the country further up the 
 Missouri. 
 
 Mineral Paint Ochre. Along the Missouri from Plattsmouth 
 to Brownville, and further down, there are immense deposits of 
 mineral paint, or ochre. It is of different hues dull red, various 
 shades of brown, yellow, and other colors, according to the amount 
 of iron that is present. Some of the beds are from three to five 
 feet thick, and of as fine a quality as any in the market. There are 
 also large beds of ochre in the Cretaceous deposits along the Re- 
 publican and on the Missouri in northwestern Nebraska. As flax 
 culture is one of the most successful industries in the State, because 
 of the ease with which it is grown and its superior quality, the 
 manufacture of mineral paint can be inaugurated on a large and 
 profitable scale, especially as oil mills and white lead works are in- 
 successful operation in Omaha. 
 
 Silica. Although silica is one of the most abundant of minerals, 
 it is rarely found in so fine a state as in some sections of Nebraska- 
 Some most remarkable deposits of it exist along the Republican* 
 
316 GEOLOGY. 
 
 These are often in combination with alkalies, and have already 
 "been discussed in the chapter on the Pliocene. Fine beds also exist 
 -on the Loup, Elkhorn, Logan, and Oak Creek. The great beds 
 of sand on the Platte contain some organic matter, and the sand 
 itself is contaminated more or less with iron, which is the character 
 of many other deposits in the State. The beds on the Elkhorn 
 above West Point are noteworthy for their purity. The drift in 
 -many places abounds in beds of pure sand, and the principal diffi- 
 culty in obtaining it comes from the thickness of the overlying 
 Loess. In the Pliocene Tertiary region where cuts, ravines or 
 bluffs exist, all grades from very fine to coarse can readily be ob- 
 tained. 
 
 Lithographic Stone, of Upper Carboniferous age, exists near Syra- 
 cuse, in Otoe County. It is of medium quality. The extent of the 
 deposit has not yet been ascertained, but the indications are that it 
 may be sufficient to make it of mercantile importance. 
 
 Iron Ores have not yet been found in beds thick enough to work. 
 The limenite of the Dakota Group, which is the best ore in the 
 State so far as known, occurs only in thin layers of a few inches in 
 thickness. 
 
 Zinc and Lead are frequently found in small quantities, but no- 
 where yet has enough been obtained to justify extensive prospect- 
 ing. The geological indications are not favorable for their presence 
 in large quantities any where in the State. 
 
 Gold in minute quantities is occasionally found in the sands of 
 the Platte, Nebraska, and other^ streams. But as our geological 
 formations are all more recent than those producing gold, we have 
 no scientific reason to suspect its existence within our borders. The 
 .minute quantities along our river beds no doubt came from the 
 mountains by drift agencies. 
 
 Marl Beds are exceedingly abundant in some sections of West- 
 ern Nebraska. They are specially characteristic of the Tertiary 
 deposits, and vary a great deal in character and in appearance. 
 The dominant colors are greenish, yellowish, and whitish. They 
 .are beautifully exposed on the driftwood south of Culbertson, close 
 by the river bank. Here there are sections of marl exposed, from 
 four to eight feet in thickness, and of green and yellow color. The 
 green marls are specially rich in potash and iron, and their various 
 -compounds. Similar beds are found in many other places along 
 the Republican and its tributaries as far as to the western line of the 
 
ECONOMICAL, GEOLOGY. 317 
 
 State. They are also common on the Niobrara, on tributaries of 
 the Loup, and in other sections. As the sands of New Jersey have 
 been fertilized, and in many places transformed into gardens by 
 marl beds, so can the occasionally excessively sandy tracts of West- 
 ern Nebraska also be changed into rich lands when once the needs 
 of population make it necessary. 
 
 Salt in large quantities exists in a few sections of the State. In 
 Lancaster County there are a number of salt marshes, the one near 
 Lincoln covering about six hundred acres. There are a number of 
 smaller ones near by. They are nearly level and in dry weather 
 are covered with incrustations of salt. They are mostly destitute 
 of vegetation. Fine sand and loam comprise the soil, underlaid, 
 however, by the reddish sandstones of the Dakota Group. In the 
 deposits of this marsh, and all the others that I have visited, are the 
 bones of elk, deer, antelope and buffalo, which no doubt were 
 mired in past times when they resorted here for salt. Over this 
 marsh the water oozes up at innumerable places, and great quanti- 
 ties of it flow off into Salt Creek. Wherever I have tested it the 
 brine contained within a fraction of ten per cent of salt. Oftener 
 more than less. Much of the brine over this marsh that has stood 
 for days and partly evaporated, contains from twenty to thirty per 
 cent of salt. A number of vats have been constructed here and the 
 manufacture of salt is carried on on a small scale. The business is 
 capable of immense development. Artesian wells that have been 
 put down at and near this place have struck brine at different 
 depths, the saltiness varying from five to twenty per cent. The 
 well on the Government Square is one thousand and fifty feet deep. 
 It passed through various strata which furnished brine and mineral 
 waters of remarkable quality. The mingling together of all the 
 streams that flow r constantly from this well, furnishes a mineral 
 water which for efficacy in healing some kind of diseases, is be- 
 lieved not to be surpassed by any medicinal waters of the land. At 
 the Commercial Hotel, in Lincoln, this artesian water is employed 
 in giving Turkish and other baths. Remarkable cures have already 
 been performed through its agency. 
 
 In northwestern Nebraska, beyond the head-waters of the Elk- 
 horn, there is another region of salt springs and marshes far more 
 extensive than the one in Lancaster County. Unfortunately it is 
 beyond the railroad lines, and in a sparsely settled region. It has 
 not yet been thoroughly explored. In various other places brine 
 
318 GEOLOGY. 
 
 has been found in boring for fresh water. There is no doubt, if the 
 saline resources of the State were developed, the home supply 
 would be abundant for ages. 
 
 Artesian Wells. The artesian wells now flowing in Lincoln, and 
 the one in successful operation in Omaha, are demonstrations of the 
 ease with they can be obtained. The former is over 1,000 and the 
 latter 750 feet deep. Water, however, flowing to the surface was 
 first obtained in the former at a depth of 550 feet. The geological 
 structure of the State is most favorable for obtaining water in almost 
 every quarter of it, and eventually it will be found that artesian 
 wells will supply an immense amount of the cheapest motive power. 
 It can be run into huge reservoirs, and let fall from heights 
 sufficient to propel large water wheels. Their value in the interior 
 for watering stock and other purposes w T ill be incalculable. 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The following are the most important works hitherto published giving an 
 account of or referring to the natural history of Nebraska: 
 
 1. Lewis and Clarke's Expedition to the Head Waters of the Missouri, 
 
 1 804-1 80G. 
 
 2. Explorations of Fremont, 1842 and subsequently. 
 
 3. Reports of the Union Pacific Railroad Surveying Expeditions from 
 
 1853 to 1856. 
 
 4. Geological Report of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, by David Dale 
 
 Owen, 1852. Contains some descriptions of vertebrates from the 
 Bad Lands and of Carboniferous fossils. 
 
 5. Swallow's Reports on Fossils of the Carboniferous Deposits. 
 
 <>. Geinitz's (Dresden) Carboniferous and Dyas of Nebraska, 18G6. 
 
 7. Marcou's Report on Carboniferous of Nebraska, Bull., Geol., Soc. 
 
 France; second series, volume 21. 
 
 8. Hayden's Report fo- 1867, 1868, and 1869. 
 
 9. Hayden's Report for 1870. 
 
 10. Hayden's Final Report, 1872. 
 
 CRETACEOUS GEOLOGY. 
 
 11. Hayden's papers in American Journal of Science and Arts from 1863 to 
 
 1807. 
 
 12. O. Heer's (Switzerland) Phyllites du Nebraska, 1865. 
 
 13. Some Cretaceous Fossil Plants of Nebraska, by Lesquereux, 1868. 
 
 14. Newberry's Late Extinct Floras of North America, Lyceum of Natural 
 
 History of New York, 1868. 
 
 15. Lesquereux's Cretaceous Flora, 1874. This work contains all the 
 
 descriptions of Cretaceous leaves from Nebraska, Kansas, etc., 
 previously published. 
 
 16. Cretaceous Vertebrata, E. D. Cope, volume 2, 1875. Though describ- 
 
 ing mainly from Niobrara Group of Kansas, its descriptions are 
 good for many forms from the same horizon in Nebraska. 
 
 17. E. B. Meek's Invertebrate Paleontology of the Cretaceous of the North- 
 
 west; volume 9. 
 
 TERTIARY GEOLOGY. 
 
 18. Leidy's Ancient Fauna of Nebraska. Smithsonian publication, 1852. 
 18. Leidy's Mammalian Fauna of Dakota and Nebraska; 1879, published by 
 
 the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; volume 7, second 
 series. 
 
 20. Tertiary Flora, by Lesquereux; 1878, volume 5. 
 
 21. Superficial Deposits of Nebraska, by S. A.; 1874. 
 
320 APPENDIX. 
 
 GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 22. Birds of the Northwest, Coues; 1874. 
 
 23. Faunal List and Natural Food of tbe Birds of Nebraska, by S. A. ; 1877. 
 
 24. Report of U. S. Entomological Commission ; 1877. 
 
 25. Catalogue of the Flora of Nebraska, by S. A., published by the Univers- 
 
 ity of Nebraska; 1875. 
 
 26. Catalogue of Land and Fresh Water Shells of Nebraska, by S. A ; Bul- 
 
 letin of Geological Surveys of the Territories, 1876. 
 
 Of the above publications the following numbers were published under the 
 direction of the Hayden Surveys, by authority of the government, namely; 
 Numbers 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 26. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PAGE" 
 
 Agates 
 
 257 Birds, butcher bird .... 
 
 . 123 
 
 Alga', fresh water, 
 
 S3 k 4 fly catchers .... 
 
 . 124 
 
 Alkali lands, 
 
 301 j ' 4 gallinaceous .... 
 
 . 1 25 
 
 4 4 analysis of . . 
 
 301 4 4 grackles 
 
 . 124 
 
 4 4 origin of .... 
 
 301 44 gulls ...... 
 
 . 126. 
 
 kk how best cultivated 
 
 301 44 hummingbirds 
 
 . 1 "5 
 
 Alkaline character of Pliocene lake . 
 
 251 kt long- winged swimmers . 
 
 
 matter beneath Loess . 
 
 261 " meadow larks 
 
 '. 124 
 
 Alluvium ....... 
 
 262 44 mockingbirds 
 2!3 ' k night hawks .... 
 
 1 23 
 . 125 
 
 Amphibians 
 
 128 44 orioles ..... 
 
 . 124 
 
 Analysis of alkaline beds beneath Loess . 
 
 262 4k perchers .... 
 
 . 123 
 
 44 alluvium .... 
 
 269 tk piccariaii .... 
 
 . 125 
 
 flour-like polishing powder in 
 
 4 4 pigeons 
 
 . 1:5 
 
 Pliocene .... 
 
 240 '< hinging 
 
 . 123 
 
 4 4 Loess 
 
 267 44 starlings .... 
 
 . 124 
 
 44 Missouri River sediment 
 
 281 4 k sparrows .... 
 
 . 124 
 
 4 4 water 
 
 74 kk swallows .... 
 
 . 123 
 
 4 ' silicious matter beneath Loess 
 
 262 kk thrushes .... 
 
 . 123 
 
 Anemones 
 
 78 ' 4 totipalmate .... 
 
 . 126 
 
 Animal Hie during Tertiary ages 
 
 247 44 vireos 
 
 . 123 
 
 Antelope, pronghorn, number of 
 
 118 4k wading 
 
 . 125 
 
 Appalachian revolution . . . 171 
 
 1-171 44 warblers .... 
 
 . 1 23 
 
 4 4 chain 
 
 209 ' 4 k woodpeckers .... 
 
 . 125 
 
 44 region ..... 
 
 162 ' 4 wrens 
 
 . 12* 
 
 Appendix 
 
 319 Bishoff's analysis of Loess 
 
 . 267 
 
 Archajan highlands 
 
 K.l Bisons in tlie Pliocene 
 
 . 'J4U 
 
 Area of Nebraska 
 
 3 Bison latifrons 
 
 . 259 
 
 Artesian borings in Laramie Group . 
 
 2o:) Blackberries, wild .... 
 
 . 102 
 
 4 4 Lincoln 
 
 166 Black-haws 
 
 . 104 
 
 k 4 4 ' Omaha 
 
 166 i Blue clay, analysis of ... 
 
 255 
 
 Artesian well in Beatrice and Omaha 
 
 55 4 * character of 
 
 .' 254 
 
 44 k 4 Lincoln .... 
 
 54 4 k extent of . . . . 
 
 . 254 
 
 44 4 4 k 4 chemical consti- 
 
 44 glacial origin of 
 
 
 of water 
 
 150 4 4 section of ... 
 
 . 253 
 
 4 4 wells .... 
 Arickeree, Pliocene beds on 
 
 318 Blue Rivers, length and character of 
 238 Bogs, peat 
 
 . H5. 
 . 31 1> 
 
 Asthmatic subjects cured in Nebraska 
 
 147 Bony fishes 
 
 . 1 2!) 
 
 
 
 
 Atmosphere, a motive power . 
 
 151 Bottom lands 
 
 4 
 
 purity and clearness of 
 
 31 4 k analysis of soil . 
 
 . 2!!0: 
 
 Authorities on Nebraska Geology and 
 
 Bottom river of issouri Valley 
 
 . 291 
 
 Natural History 
 
 319 44 of Platte Valley . 
 
 . 2'.4 
 
 Bad Lands ...... 
 
 V> ' 4 how recent Iv formed . 
 
 2! '5' 
 
 agricultural character 
 
 303 Bow Rivers 
 
 (il 
 
 44 geological 44 
 
 303 Broadliead, opinion on coal 
 
 . 165 
 
 of F..rt Bridget- . 
 
 215 Brick clay 
 
 . S14 
 
 44 of Miocene age . . 222 
 
 -224 Buckwheat family 
 
 N2 
 
 Bathmodontidaee 
 
 218 Buffalo berry . 
 
 . 105 
 
 Batrachians, tailed 
 Beatrice, hydraulic limestone at 
 
 12!) Buffalo grass disappearance of 
 314 44 in Nebraska 
 
 . 114 
 . 42 
 
 Beetle, cottomvood leaf .... 
 
 134 Buffaloes, number of in Nebraska 
 
 . 117 
 
 Big Horn Mountains .... 
 
 2(i() Bulletins of Nebraska Weather Service 
 
 Birds, fossil in Pliocene beds . 
 
 242 
 
 26-27-28 . 
 
 4 reptilian in Niobrara Group . 
 
 195 Cactus family 
 
 79 
 
 4 modern ...... 
 
 122 Calcareous materials in Drift . 
 
 261 
 
 Anserine 
 
 126 Camel family in Miocene . 
 
 22 7 
 
 4 carnivorous ..... 
 
 125 Canon City, reptilian remains at 
 
 . 176 
 
 ' chimney swallows .... 
 
 125 Canons f Nebraska .... 
 
 14-15 
 
 crow family 
 
 124 Carboniferous age .... 
 
 . 1 6-1 
 
 k diving birds 
 
 1-7 k ' 44 animal life of 
 
 . 168 
 
 4 belted kingfisher .... 
 
 1 25 4 4 close of 
 
 . 17t 
 
 4 buntings . . . ... 
 
 124 ' 44 features of . 
 
 . 167 
 
 1A 
 
 
 
322 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 165 
 163-164 
 . 164 
 . >J13 
 . 168 
 
 Carboniferous age, fossils of 
 44 4 4 rocks of 
 
 4 4 sections of rocks 
 4 4 rocks for building 
 
 44 age, vegetation of 
 
 Carnivora in Nebraska 
 
 4 4 of Fort Bridger Eocene . 
 44 of Miocene 
 Cat family in Miocene 
 4 4 in Pliocene 
 
 Cats, father of 
 
 Charts of rainfall .... 
 
 Chalk bluffs 
 
 4 ' rocks from, for building 
 
 Cherries, wild 
 
 Childs, Dr., meteorological tables of 
 
 20-'21-22-23 
 
 Chinch bug, history of etc. 
 Climate of Carboniferous age . 
 44 future effect in Nebraska 
 4 4 extreme effects in Nebraska 
 Climatic conditions in Quaternary . 
 44 44 Lyell 's theory . 
 
 44 44 Croll's and Geike's 
 
 theories 
 
 Climatology of Nebraska .... 
 Ckouds, sharp outlines of .... 
 Coal, artesian borings for 
 
 44 fields of TriaJuro deposits . 
 44 in Carboniferous of Nebraska 
 44 in Cretaceous of Nebraska 
 44 in Lincoln artesian boring 
 41 in Upper Carboniferous . 
 Colorado Group, how formed, by King . 
 44 Range, Pliocene beds of . 
 
 Columbine 
 
 Composite family 
 
 Conglomerate of Pliocene beds 
 Consumption discussed .... 
 Convolvulus family 
 
 Convulsive movements in Pliocene 
 
 '229 
 2-' 
 246 
 '219 
 37 
 
 1K8 
 
 313 
 
 100 
 
 170 
 154 
 149 
 305 
 306 
 
 307 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Dinosaurs 176 
 
 44 in Niobrara Group . . .195 
 4 ' in Laramie Group . . . '205 
 
 Dinocerata 217 
 
 Divide between Missouri and Mississippi . 235 
 
 . 230-247 
 . 70 
 255-256--2S7 
 m . '256 
 . ' . 257 
 
 119 I Dog family 
 
 219 Drainage, general character of 
 
 Drift materials 
 
 mingled with alluvi 
 
 4 4 sections of 
 
 Eaton on coal in Lincoln . . . .166 
 
 Eccentricity, the earth's changes of . 307 
 
 Economic geology 39 
 
 Ehrenberg .... 4)-l})-210 
 Elevation of towns and stations in Ne- 
 braska 6 
 
 Elevation, average of east half of State . 9 
 
 4 4 of west half of State . 9 
 
 4 4 of going west . . 9 
 
 44 4 4 of whole State . . 9-70 
 
 Elkhorn River, where it rises, length, 
 
 character and tributaries . 
 Elevation of Pliocene beds 
 p]lephants, earliest forms of 
 
 4 4 in Pliocene .... 
 
 17 Elk, numbers of, etc ..... 
 32 Emmons, Prof., analysis of Missouri wa- 
 167 | ter ....... 
 
 63 
 234 
 217 
 244 
 118 
 
 Endlich, Prof., analysis of geyserite, by 
 Enemies to injurious insects . . 
 Eocene Epoch 
 
 44 groups of 
 
 73 
 241 
 135 
 
 21 D 
 211 
 
 life of . 212-21 3-21 4-21 5 
 
 " length of . . 216-21 8-etc 
 
 Epoch, Niobrara ..... 187 
 " Miocene ..... 221 
 Erie clays ....... "254 
 
 Cope. Prof. 
 
 lJ0-192-19i--2l7-219-226-2oO 
 
 Cottonwood leaf beetle . . . . 134 , 
 
 Coyote 119 i 
 
 Cretaceous deposits represented . . 178 j 
 44 divisions . . . 179 S 
 ' ' groups in Colorado . 180 
 
 " period 178 
 
 44 close of . . 207 
 
 Crinoids 169 
 
 Crocodile in Green River beds . . . 215 
 
 Crowfoo family 78 
 
 Croxton's artesian boring . . . 165 
 
 Crustacians of Carboniferous Age . . 170 
 
 Curlew spring at 150 
 
 Currants, wild 1(,3 
 
 Curves dominant form of surface . . 5 
 
 Cycads 176 
 
 Dakota Group, climate of epoch . . 186 
 
 " discussions in regard to . 182 
 
 extent of . . . .181 
 
 " flora accounted for . .186 
 
 flora disconnected . .185 
 
 " first published reports of 184 
 
 how recognized . 172-176 
 
 Lesquereux's report on . 185 
 
 4 ' opinions of Marco u and 
 
 Capellini . . .182 
 
 origin of . . . .1*1 
 
 ' ' source of salt at Lincoln . 55 
 
 shallow sea deposit . . 182 
 
 Dams, how best built . . . .69 
 
 Dawn horse 213 
 
 Deer number of species in Nebraska . 118 
 
 Destructive climates 149 
 
 Devonian age 162 
 
 Des Moines River coal beds . . 162-163 
 
 Erickson on solar engines 
 
 Erosion during the Miocene 
 
 Estimates comparative of rainfall with 
 
 other regions 
 
 Europe, rainfall of 
 
 Evaporation from rivers of Nebraska 
 Experiments on absorptive power of soils 
 
 Fauna of Nebraska 
 
 Ferns 
 
 Ferret, black-footed . 
 
 Figwort family 
 
 Fire clay, where found, etc. 
 
 Fishes, bony 
 
 44 cartilagenous . 
 Flora of Nebraska, general character of 
 
 44 4 4 origin of 
 
 44 Eocene 
 
 4 4 Miocene 
 
 152 
 '.''23 
 
 39 
 40 
 47 
 45 
 117 
 88 
 119 
 80 
 314 
 129 
 130 
 77 
 
 . 115 
 212-214 
 . 225 
 
 Pliocene 241 
 
 Floras, Gray's Manual, Wood's Class 
 Book 
 
 Flowerless plants 
 Flowering plants of Lignitic 
 Flood-plains of Nebraska rivers 
 Fly, Hessian .... 
 Forest trees of Nebraska 
 
 77 
 89 
 204 
 282 
 133 
 84 
 
 Forest bed. old 258 
 
 ' 4 " 4 4 vegetation of . . . 259 
 
 Forests formerly and now of Nebraska . 84 
 
 44 of Jurassic period . . .177 
 
 Food, kind of in rural districts . . 149 
 
 Fort Bentou Group where found . . 187 
 
 ' ' how originated . 187 
 
 " " length of epoch . 187 
 
 " life of . . .187 
 
 Fort Bridger Group 215 
 
 44 animal remains . 216 
 
 Fort Pierre Group 197 
 
 41 4 4 ' gypsum in .198 
 
 sea . . . .198 
 
INDEX. 
 
 323 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Fort Pierre Group, life of ... 199 
 
 4 ' 4 4 how closed . . -200 
 
 Foxes 119 
 
 Fox Hills Group 200 
 
 4 4 not found in Nebraska . 200 
 
 ' ' vegetable remains of . 201 
 
 ' ' animal life of . . . 201 
 
 Fremont on Buffalo grass . .42 
 
 Fruit destroyers 1 33 
 
 Fruits, wild, of Nebraska ... 97 
 
 Gentian family 81 
 
 Geometrical forms of surface ... 5 
 
 Geike James, on origin of till . . . 254 
 
 Gervais M. of France .... 246 
 
 Gigantic reptiles 177 
 
 Glacial Drift, second appearance of . 209 
 
 44 period . 253 
 
 44 " sections of . . . . 253 
 
 44 " scratches of on rock . . 253 
 
 Glaciers, local during Terrace Epoch . 2.42 
 
 Gold 316 
 
 Gooseberries 103 
 
 Gophers 120-121 
 
 Grapes, where finest flourish . . . 25 
 
 wild 104 
 
 44 summer, etc 104 
 
 Grasses, wild 108 
 
 analysis of 109 
 
 4 * Buffalo disappearance of . .114 
 
 Griffith Mountain 51 
 
 Group, Dakota 181 
 
 4 ' Fox Hills 200 
 
 44 Fort Benton . . . . - . 187 
 
 44 Fort Pierre 197 
 
 44 Laramie 201 
 
 4 ' Loup Fork 2*3 
 
 Green River Group, flora of . . 203-214 
 
 41 animal life . . 215 
 
 Grinnell Laud, former climate of . . 3t>6 
 
 Gumbo soil, analysis of .... 302 
 
 G-uyot's table of rainfall .... 40 
 
 Hares 122 
 
 Harlan County, character of Pliocene . _'o7 
 
 Hard pan . , 3n-> 
 
 41 analysis of 3u2 
 
 Hawn, Prof 182 
 
 Hawthorns . . . . . . ],_> 
 
 Hazel nuts . . . . . .108 
 
 Hay den quoted, etc. . 178-181-188-208=224-244 
 
 Healthfulness of Nebraska . . 145 
 
 Heat, amount received from the sun . 308 
 
 Hessian fly, habits of. etc. . . . 133 
 
 Heer, Prof. O. ... 183-225-242 
 
 Honeysuckle family 80 
 
 Hoofed animals . . . . . 213 
 
 Horse family in Miocene .... 226 
 
 in Pliocene . . .243 
 
 Humboldt quoted 4J 
 
 Humidity, annual and mean . . .86 
 
 Huronian rocks 161 
 
 Hydraulic limestone , 313 
 Hieroglyphic on boulder . . . .256 
 
 Ice sheet retreating .... 263 
 
 Impurities of water, source of . . 72 
 
 Increasing rainfall 43 
 
 Indigo plant 79 
 
 Insectivora 122 
 
 Insect life, number of species, etc. . 131 j 
 
 Insect, material conditions in relation to 135 
 
 Insects, enemies to .... 135 
 
 Infusorial earth in the Pliocene . . 238 
 Iris family . . . . .82 
 
 Iron ores 318 | 
 
 Isotherm summer of 72 , 76 c . . 25 
 
 Isochimal, winter of 20 . . . 25 I 
 
 June berry 102 
 
 June rains . 34 
 
 PAGE 
 . 173 
 . 173 
 . 174 
 . 177 
 259-293 
 . 314 
 
 Jurassic deposits absent in Nebraska 
 
 Juro-Trio period 
 
 Jurassic beds, where found 
 
 Jurassic period, close of . 
 
 Kames 
 
 Kaolin 
 
 Keya Paha River .... 
 
 King, Clarence . 1 74-198-2 15-249-etc. 
 
 Labyrinths on the Niobrara ... 13 
 
 Lake Bonneville 262 
 
 Lake Lahontan . . . 263 
 
 Lake, Miocene . ... 222 
 
 Lakes, number and extent in Nebraska . 52 
 
 Laramie Group ...... 201 
 
 animal life of . . . 204 
 
 area of ... 202 
 
 coal beds of ... 203 
 
 sediments of . . . 201 
 
 44 vegetable life of . . 203 
 
 Lancaster County, section in . . . 257 
 
 Larkspur . 78 
 
 Laurentian rocks . ... 161 
 
 Lava Hood at close of Miocene . . . 231 
 
 Lead ... ... 318 
 
 Leidy, Dr. . 1 91-215-221-236-244-25 7-etc. 
 
 Lesquereux, quoted . 184-203-214-etc. 
 
 Level, changes of during Loess period . 282 
 
 Lewis and Clarke . . . . . 203 
 
 4 4 on buffalo grass . 42 
 44 44 on temperature of Mis- 
 souri .... 48 
 
 Lily family 82 
 
 Limestone 313 
 
 Lithographic stone . ... 316 
 
 Lobelia family . 80 
 
 Locusts, egg laying . ... 138 
 
 departure of swarms . .139 
 
 destructiveness of . . 139 
 future depredations of . .143 
 
 how to combat them . . 140 
 hatching of . . .139 
 
 invasions of ... 143 
 
 invertebrate enemies of . . 142 
 
 nativity of . . 136 
 
 nature's method to destroy . 141 
 
 numbers that light down . . 187 
 
 spring history and migration . 187 
 
 vertebrate enemies of . . 143 
 
 Loess deposits, and period of . . . 265 
 
 4 4 analysis of ... 267 
 
 adaptability to fruit . 271 
 
 architectural properties . 2d9 
 
 causes of peculiarities . 270 
 
 4 close of period . . 286 
 
 human remains in . . 283 
 
 4 4 length of ... 283 
 
 44 life of .... 284 
 
 mollusks of ... 287 
 
 physical properties of . 267 
 
 river sediments of . . 281 
 
 Rhine Loess, analysis of 267 
 44 Richthof en's theory con- 
 sidered . . .273 
 
 4 4 scenery of ... 272 
 
 4 4 true origin of . . . 280 
 
 Logan River, character of, etc. . . 64 
 
 Loup River, head waters of . . 15 
 
 4 origin of, etc. ... 66 
 
 Lyell's theory on changes of climate . 306 
 
 Mallows . ..... 78 
 
 Mammals, wild of Nebraska . . . 117 
 
 44 of Eocene . . . 213 
 
 4 4 of Vermillion Group . . 213 
 
 Manual of Economic Entomology needed 136 
 
 Marl beds ... . 316 
 
 Marsh . . . 191-194-213-243-245-etc. 
 
 Mastodon of Pliocene . . . 244, 
 
324 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 McGee, W. G 264 
 
 Meek, opinions of on Nebraska Geology 
 
 162-164-179 
 
 Mediteranean sea during Cretaceous 209 
 
 Mesozoic times in Nebraska . . 173-1!>7 
 Mexico, Gulf of source of moisture 47 
 
 Mice . . . 121-122 
 
 Microscopic infusorial earth . . . 239 
 Milkweed family . 82 
 
 Mint family 81 
 
 Miocene Epoch, bad lands of . . . 224 
 
 ' ' camel family in . . 227 
 
 4 ' carnivora of. . . 228 
 
 ' * close of . . . . 231 
 
 deposits of ... 223 
 
 elephants of . . .227 
 
 extent of lakes of . 222 
 
 flora of . . . . 225 
 
 horse family in . . 220 
 
 inauguration of . 221 
 
 ' ' length of ... 223 
 
 ' ' life, animal of . . 225 
 
 Missouri River, at close of Loess period . 282 
 
 character of . 58-56 
 
 " character during Loess 
 
 period . . 282 
 
 sediments analyzed . 281 
 
 ' ' valley different from Mis- 
 
 sissippi . . . .155 
 ' ' traffic on . . . .58 
 
 Moisture in atmosphere .... 34 
 " relative amount . 35 
 ' ' how much absorbed by the soil . 45 
 Mollusks, land and fresh water . . 144 
 ' ' in Lignitic deposits . . . 205 
 " of Carboniferous age . .169 
 Monkeys, earliest of .... 21!> 
 
 ' ' of the Miocene . . . 290 
 Monchat's solar engine . . . 152 
 
 Mosses 83 
 
 Mountain horse .... 21 7 
 
 ' k regions, supposed drying up of 49 
 
 Mudge, Prof 183-238 
 
 Mulberry, wild . . . 117 
 
 Muskrat 122 
 
 Nebraska affected by the precipitation in 
 
 the mountains . . . .49 
 
 Nebraska a health resort, .... 150 
 ' ' future of the race in . . 153 
 
 ' ' partly a land surface in Miocene 224 
 " reserve and now wasted forces of 151 
 " sun power in . . . 151-153 
 " what to be expected from its 
 
 people . . 155 
 
 " when second time a land surface 208 
 
 Nemaha, noted character, character of, etc 64 
 
 Neuralgia, cause of in Nebraska . . 148 
 
 Newberry 263 
 
 Night-shade family . ... 81 
 
 Niobrara Group, animal life of . .189 
 " birds of . . 195 
 
 fossil wood of . . 1 89 
 fishes of ... 200 
 reptiles in . . .191 
 vegetable life of . .189 
 ' ' vigorous life of . ] 96 
 
 Niobrara River, exposures of Miocene on 222 
 ' ' region, exceptional fea- 
 
 tures of ... 13 
 region, exceptional mete- 
 orological conditions of 
 
 38-39 
 
 source, elevation above 
 the sea, length, canons 
 of, tributaries, etc 61 
 
 Niobrara and Loup, character of Pliocene 236 
 North Park, Pliocene lake . . . 233 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Nuts . 107 
 
 Oak Creek, section of blue clay on . . 253 
 Ochre . . . . .315 
 
 Orchis family 82 
 
 Oreodons . . ... 245-22$ 
 
 Owen, Prof R D 194 
 
 Oysters in Lignitic Group . . . 205 
 lysters in Niobrara Group . . 190 
 Ozone in atmosphere . . . 32-146 
 Paint, mineral .... 315 
 Palmer, Captain, owner of molar of mas- 
 todon 244 
 
 Papaw 107 
 
 Parasite, insect 135 
 
 | Paris, rainfall of 40 
 
 Peak-toothed animals . . . .213 
 
 Peat 309 
 
 Peat, extent and character of . . 3C9-3IO 
 
 Penstemons . 80 
 
 Perchers . . . 123 
 
 Permian Age, character of its rocks . 172 
 
 " how caused, effects . . 171 
 
 '.' last portion lost . .172 
 
 " where its deposit occurs . 171 
 
 Petrified wood in Pliocene . . . 241 
 
 " " in Drift .... 257 
 
 Pine forests formerly in Nebraska . . 3(4 
 
 Pink family 78 
 
 Planting of trees, supposed effect on rain- 
 fall ....... 44 
 
 Plant lice, habits, increase, etc . .133 
 
 Platte drainage into Republican . . 59 
 
 " length, origin, character . 58-59 
 
 ' ' North Fork of, level of, etc. . . 59 
 
 ' ' temperature of waters at its mouth 
 
 and at North Platte . . 49 
 
 Pliocene Epoch, analysis of geysers . 280 
 
 animal life of . .242 
 
 ' ' beds conformable to Mi- 
 
 ocene .... 233 
 
 " birds of . . . . 2-12 
 
 " bisons in ... 246 
 
 " calcareous character of . 238 
 
 " camels in . . . 245 
 
 cat family . . . 246 
 
 ' ' close of . . . 249 
 
 dog family . . . 247 
 
 elephants in . . . 244 
 
 1 ' elevation of . . . 234 
 
 extinct geysers in . . 239 
 
 favorable conditions for 
 
 animal life in . . 247 
 ' ' horse family in . . 243 
 
 how inaugurated . . 232 
 ' ' lake, eastward barren of 234 
 
 length of ... 241 
 
 materials of in Nebraska 235 
 ' ' Oreodons . . . 245 
 
 " origin of the above . 2o9 
 
 picture of, character of 247 
 * ' polishing powder, infuso- 
 
 rial earth, geyser flo- 
 cula .... 238 
 
 Rhionoseros in . . 244 
 
 ruminants in . . . '245 
 
 11 thickness of . . . 233 
 
 section of . . 23U-237 
 
 " vegetable life of . . 241 
 
 Pliocene lake, where perpetuated . . 299 
 
 Plum, ground . . . . 78 
 
 " wild of Nebraska . . . .97 
 
 Polemonium family . . . . .81 
 
 Polishing powder in Pliocene . . . 239 
 
 ' ' origin of ... 239 
 
 " section of bed . . 239 
 
 Pouillet's solar physics .... 151 
 
 Position of Nebraska . . . 3 
 
INDEX. 
 
 325 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Potters' clay, where found, and analysis 
 
 of 314 
 
 Prairie, its natural compactness . . 44 
 
 44 clover 79 
 
 " dogs 120 
 
 Pulse family 78 
 
 Quaternary Age, changes of climate in . 306 
 
 periods of . 253-265-291 
 
 ' 4 inauguration of . . 253 
 
 Rabbits 122 
 
 Raccoons 119 
 
 Race, probable future of in Nebraska . 153 
 
 Rain, when most apt to fall . . 47 
 
 Rainfall, areas of equal . . . 36-37-38 
 
 4 average amount of . . 35-36 
 
 ' ' cause of increasing ... 44 
 
 44 increasing . . 41-43 
 
 ' ' increase in west Nebraska . . 46 
 
 4 4 originating from rivers . . 48 
 
 west of 100th "Meridian . . 35 
 
 Rainy season 84 
 
 Rapid Creek 62 
 
 Raspberries 102 
 
 Rats 121 
 
 Reptiles in Niobrara Group . . .191 
 
 Republican River origin of, etc. . . 63 
 
 Resume of geological history . . . 262 
 Revolution, geological at close of Laramie 
 
 Group . 207 
 
 Rheumatism in Nebraska .... 48 
 
 Rhinoceros in Pliocene . . . .244 
 
 Richthofen's theory on origin of Loess . 273 
 
 what it explains . 274 
 
 4 4 objections to 
 
 274-275-276-etc. 
 44 his assumed absence 
 
 of shells . .278 
 his assumed absence 
 
 of stratification . 279 
 
 Rivers of Nebraska ..... 56 
 
 Roads, nature of Nebraska ... 70 
 
 Rocky Mountains, when formed, etc. . 208 
 
 Rose 'family 79 
 
 Ruminating hogs oreodons in Miocene . 228 
 
 Sable American 119 
 
 Saline Springs, where located ... 53 
 
 Salt 316 
 
 Salt Creek, name, character of. etc. . 55 
 Sand Hill cherry . . . .99 
 
 Sand Hills, area of 298 
 
 4 4 character of . . . . 298 
 
 ' 4 cultivation of . . . . 300 
 
 4 4 location and description of . 15 
 
 origin of .... 299 
 4 4 where located . . . .297 
 
 Saurians 127 
 
 Scott's Bluffs, Pliocene origin of . . 236 
 Sections, geological 164-236-237-239-253- 
 
 25 8-260-2 61-262-2 67-2 76-2 79-281-292-317 
 
 Section showing potters' clay . . 314 
 Sediment of Missouri River water 73-74 
 
 Sensitive River 79 
 
 Sharks of Niobrara Group . . . 191 
 
 Shell bark hickory 107 
 
 Showers in spring ..... 34 
 
 4 4 on Niobrara . 39 
 
 Shrubs, list of in Nebraska . . 91 i 
 
 Silica 315 ! 
 
 Silting up of river beds . . . . 292 j 
 
 Sioux Lake 228 j 
 
 Skunks . 120 i 
 
 Snakes in Nebraska 128 , 
 
 Soap plant 83 
 
 Springs, appearance of new ... 41 
 
 Springs on Niobrara . ... 13 
 
 4 ' where found .... 63 
 
 Spurge family 82 
 
 2A 
 
 PAGE 
 Stanton, Captain W. S., TJ. S. A. . 39-65 
 
 Strawberries, wild 201 
 
 Stone, building . . . .311 
 
 Stout, W. B , stone quarry of . . . 312 
 Streams, increasing size of in Nebraska . 42 
 Subsidence of Basin region . .' . 233 
 4 4 of Pliocene lake . . . 235 
 Superficial deposits . . . 253-265-291 
 Surface deposits, fuel in . . . . 304 
 
 Swift, the 119 
 
 Swallows 182-161-162 
 
 Squirrels 120 
 
 Tables of annual and mean humidity . 35 
 
 44 of temperature 18-19-20-21-22-23-24 
 
 Temperature above 100 in ten years . 23 
 
 below /ero .... 22 
 
 different estimates of . 17 
 
 extremes of ... 29 
 
 mean of years . . .21 
 
 ' 4 for the seasons . 25-28 
 
 4 4 for the whole year . 29 
 
 of the Missouri ... 74 
 
 of the Platte ... 75 
 
 of the Missouri and its effect 
 
 on evaporation . . 48 
 44 tables .... 18-19 
 
 Terrace Epoch 291 
 
 44 in Europe .... 292 
 Terraces, number and height of . . 293 
 Tertiary ages, their character and condi- 
 tion 248 
 
 44 epoch . . 209-221-223-etc. 
 
 4 4 general remarks on . . 252 
 
 Thompson, S. R., head of Nebraska 
 
 weather service 26 
 
 Timber in modern geological times . . 304 
 
 Titanotheriums 226 
 
 Tortoises in Nebraska . . . .127 
 4 4 in Niobrara Group . . . 194 
 4 4 in Pliocene beds . . . 242 
 Transition bed between Eocene and Mio- 
 cene 220 
 
 Transition period between Cretaceous and 
 
 Tertiary 207 
 
 Trees covered by alluvium . . .297 
 4 4 increase of young in Colorado . 51 
 4 4 supposed dying out of in the moun- 
 tains 50 
 
 Triassic deposits absent from Nebraska . 173 
 
 Trio-Juro Periods 173 
 
 44 animal life of . .176 
 
 deposits of . . .174 
 
 length of . . .174 
 
 4 4 vegetable life of . .175 
 
 Trilobites of Carboniferous . . .170 
 
 Uintah Group 220 
 
 44 animal life of . . . 220 
 
 Uintah Range, Avhen formed . . . 207 
 Valleys, how to gain a conception of the 
 
 number 12 
 
 Vegetation, changing character of . . 42 
 
 Verbenas 81 
 
 Vertebrate fauna of Nebraska . . . 117 
 
 Vermillion Group Eocene . . . 212 
 
 44 life of . . . .212- 
 
 Violets 78 
 
 Von Meyer 194 
 
 Walnut, black 107 
 
 44 white .... 84-88 
 
 Warner, Hon. J. T 189 
 
 44 4 4 stone quarry of . 312 
 
 Warren, Lieutenant, discovery by . . 235 
 
 Water, character of in Nebraska . . 71 
 
 4 4 river, character of the Bow . 7S 
 
 4 4 Niobrara . 75 
 
 44 44 4l Republican 75 
 
 44 4 4 4 4 Missouri . 74 
 
326 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Water, river, character of the Platte 75 
 Waters of Nebraska .... 52 
 Wayne Count}', how affected by the Lo- 
 gan River 64 
 
 Weasels 119 
 
 Wells, artesian and common . . 54 
 Western Nebraska, future increase of 
 
 rainfall 48 
 
 WildCat 119 
 
 Wind, direction and force of, table . 24 
 
 PAGE 
 
 White, Dr. . . . 162-163-165-178 
 White River, character of, etc. . 62-63 
 Winds of Nebraska . 30 
 
 Winter, storms of . 30 
 
 Wood chucks . . . 120 
 Wolverines ... . . 120 
 Wolves, number of, etc. . . 119 
 Worm, army ... .133 
 Zinc 316 
 
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