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The Great Nemaha River, in southeastern Nebraska, rises in Lancaster County. flows southeasterly through the counties of Gage, Johnson, Pawnee and Richardson, and discharges its waters into the Missouri in the southeast corner of the State. Its course lies through one of the most thickly populated and prosperous sections of the State, celebrated for its fine fruits and general productiveness. The Great Nemaha also affords fine advantages for manufacturing
68
JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
purposes, more than a dozen mills being already located upon it. It is supported by numerous creeks and rivulets on either side, of which Muddy and Long Branch Creeks are the principal on the north, and the South Fork on the south. Muddy Creek extends through both Nemaha and Richardson Counties, and has several flouring mills upon it.
The Little Nemaha River rises in Cass County, flows south- easterly through Otoe and Nemaha Counties, running parallel with and from ten to fifteen miles north of the Great Nemaha, and empties into the Missouri. There are several first class flouring mills located on this stream, with plenty of room for more. The lands adjoining are composed of a deep, rich loam, and compare, for productiveness, with any in this part of the State. The principal tributaries are the North and South Forks, which, with their numerous branches, extend over and drain a large scope of country.
Taken as a whole, Nebraska is remarkably well supplied with water, having, besides the rivers, many clear running creeks and brooks supported by never-failing springs. There are large portions of the State where running water can be found on each quarter section of land, and where such is not the case good water can be had by digging or boring at a depth of from thirty to sixty feet. Water is usually found in the lacustrine deposits at a depth of from twenty to forty feet, but sometimes it is necessary to go beneath these deposits before a good supply can be had. At the bottom of the lacustrine deposits there is generally a stratum of sand and gravel which is a great reservoir of water, and from which it flows in unlimited quantities, and frequently water is not found until this stratum is reached. In some sections of the State, in the vicinity of the larger water-courses south of the Platte, on the high divides between the Loup and Niobrara Rivers, and in the northeastern portions along the Missouri, where the lacustrine deposits are very thick, this stratum of sand and gravel is struck at a depth varying from sixty to one hundred and thirty feet. In many localities this underlying bed of sand and gravel lies on elay or rock, and in such places water is unusually plentiful. On all of the flood plains, val- leys and undulating prairies, water is of easy access. It is found by chemical analysis that the water of the State is above the average
69
JOHNSON'S IIISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
in purity, the most common foreign ingredient being the carbonate of lime.
MINERALS.
There has been no thorough geological survey yet made of Ne- braska. Prof. F.V. Hayden, however, has made a careful examination of the southeastern part of the State, and Prof. Samuel Aughey, of the Nebraska State University, of different localities further west, and from these investigations enough has been discovered to demonstrate the presence of considerable mineral wealth. Coal, salt, peat, marl, limestone of several varieties, sandstone, fine elays and mineral paint have been discovered.
Coal exists in considerable quantities in Cass, Otoe, Nemaha, Richardson, Johnson and Pawnee Counties, in the southeastern part of the State. The coal is of good quality, and in Cass and Nemaha Counties the seams vary from eighteen inches to two feet in thickness. Several miles below Plattsmouth, in Cass County, a shaft has been sunk to a seam eighteen inches thick; also at Aspinwall, Nemaha County, and at various other points. The coal from the mine in Pawnee County is preferred in many places to any other in the market. Thin seams of lignite coal exist in Dodge, Burt, Dixon, Dakota and other Counties in the northern part of tlie State. Near Ponca, in Dixon County, a bed eighteen inches thick supplies fuel to the farmers and people of the neighborhood.
The surface indications in several of the Republican Valley Counties are very favorable for coal. The veins already found are light, though the coal is of a fine bituminous quality, free from sulphur.
It is believed that the coal measures underlie the greater por- tion of the State, and that there are thick, workable beds at a greater depth than has yet been reached, but they remain to be developed by larger capital than has thus far been employed.
Salt is found in great abundance at Lincoln, the Capital of the State. The great salt basin, three miles from that city, covers an area of twelve by tewnty-five miles, in which innumerable salt springs rise to the surface, forming an extensive marsh, through the length of which, partially draining it, flows Salt Creek, a tributary of the Platte River. The water from these springs contains by weight 29 per cent. of pure salt, and a very
70
JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
considerable amount of that useful article is manufactured here by solar evaportion.
Building Stone, of several varieties and various qualities, is abundant. Magnesian and common blue limestone of an excellent quality, suitable for building, is found in large quanties in the southeastern Counties, and in all of the Counties bordering on the Missouri, south of the Platte River, good building stone is plentiful. In Cass and Sarpy Counties, along the Platte, large quarries have been opened, and the stone extensively used at Omaha for building, macadamizing the streets, and rip-rapping the river banks. The elegant U. S. postoffice building at Lincoln was constructed of Sarpy County limestone. On the Republican, the Nemahas and Blues, and some of their tributaries, magnesian limestone of the finest quality is abundant. Extensive quarries are being worked in Lan- caster County, south of Lincoln, and in Gage County, near Beatrice. The major part of the stone used in the construction of the State buildings at Lincoln was taken from these quarries. Valuable quarries have also been opened in some of the northeast- ern Counties, extensive beds of fine magnesian limestone having been discovered on Logan Creek, and at other points. On the Elkhorn and Loup Rivers, and in other sections north of the Platte, a fair quality of building stone is found, but in smaller quantities. An excellent brown sandstone is abundant in a number of the eastern Counties. It is extensively used for building and in walling wells and cellars. A superior coarse red sand, valnable as a build- ing material, is found in abundance in many of the Counties.
Peat exists in great quantities in various parts of the State. On the Blue Rivers, the Elkhorn, Calamus, Logan, on Elk Creek in Dakota County, and on many other streams, there are extensive deposits of peat, which, if properly prepared, would supply the State with fuel for many years. No use has yet been made of these deposits, but such treasures cannot remain long undeveloped.
Marl Beds are abundant, especially in the western sections of the State, but no use of it has yet been made, the richness of the soil preventing any demand for fertilizers. The beds, however, remain in store against the future demands of agriculture.
Clay of many varieties and degrees of fineness abound. Good common clay for the manufacture of brick can be found in almost
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
any County. Clay for fire brick, said to equal the celebrated Milwaukee fire clay, is found at different points in the bluffs of the Missouri, and a superior quality of potters' clay is abundant in the southeastern and northeastern sections of the State. In Jefferson and Cass Counties there is a fine, valuable clay resembling Kaolin.
Mineral Paint. Along the Missouri River, in the south- eastern part of the State, there are immense deposits of ochre of a quality equal to any in the market. It is of various colors-red, brown, yellow and other shades, according to the amount of iron that is present. A company has recently been organized for the purpose of working these mines.
TIMBER.
Timber is one of the natural deficiencies of the State. Yet whilst there are no dense forests nor large bodies of native timber, the supply is sufficient for the wants of the people for some years to come, and the rapid growth of the artificial groves will, in a few years, furnish an abundance. On the Niobrara and Keya Paha Rivers, and their tributaries, in the north-central and western por- tions of the State, there is a considerable tract of pine, cedar, aslı, oak, walnut and other varieties of timber, which will shortly be opened up, and a cheap conveyance to the markets afforded by the Columbus, Covington & Black Hills R. R. and other lines now in course of construction through this sparsely settled region. All of the Counties bordering on the Missouri still have sufficient native timber to supply the present demands for fuel. The Elkhorn, Loup and other large streams north of the Platte, and the Nemahas, the Blues and Republican, and their tributaries south of it, are tolerably well skirted with timber. In the early settlement of the State there were a number of fine groves of hardwood scattered throughout the eastern portion, but these were the first to be claimed by the settlers, and many of them have long since disap- peared, but are fast growing up again; yet there are many beautiful native groves still standing in several of the Counties. In the canons and along the streams in the western part of the State there is still a considerable quantity of good timber, and formerly there was a great deal of fine cedar, which was extensively used in building forts, and in the construction of railroads.
72
JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
There are about fifty species of native forest trees growing in the State, embracing two varieties of cottonwood, ten of oak, six of hickory, four of elm, three of maple, four of ash, two of locust, three of cedar, two of pine, several of willow, and one each of hackberry, sycamore, mulberry, coffee-bean, ironwood, box elder and linn.
The deep interest taken by the people in tree planting has greatly increased the quantity, and wherever the sweeping prairie fires have been kept in check the native timber is extending its limits and growing up finely. Many of the artificial groves already furnish sufficient fuel for the farmer. Cottonwood, soft maple and box elder are the most rapid growth native trees. Experience has shown that a farmer can raise his own fuel within five years, from the seed.
TOPOGRAPHY.
The surface of Nebraska consists chiefly of valley, table and beautifully rolling prairie land, there being no mountains, nor any hills, lakes, or swamps of magnitude within her borders. Fully one-sixth of the whole State is valley and bottom land; twenty per cent. is table land, and fitty per cent. gently rolling prairie, while the bluffs cover, perhaps, ten per cent.
The extensive and magnificent valleys of the Platte, Repub- lican, Elkhorn, the Loups, Niobrara, the Blues, Nemahas, and other large streams, are among the most attractive on the Conti- nent, and have gained a national renown for the grandeur of their scenery, their unsurpassed fertility and general adaptability to agricultural purposes. The streams are most generally fringed with a luxuriant growth of native timber, while on one side, and sometimes both, a range of low, rounded hills, rising in places to precipitous bluff's, mark the dividing line between the valley and upland.
The table lands which occupy so large a per cent. of the area, are elevated considerably above the bottoms, and lie in beautful level plateaus, varying in width from half a mile to a mile and a half, rising in a succession of gradations, one above another, until the upland is reached. In the South Platte country, west of the Blues, there are extensive table lands, or plains, which appear
73
JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
to the eye almost perfectly level, yet having a gradual ascent to the westward; and the same may also be said of many sections north of the Platte, especially in the vicinity of the Loup Forks.
The rolling lands, of which the surface of the State so largely consists, particularly the east half, are everywhere visible, from the bluffs of the Missouri to the western border. In nearly all of the Missouri River Counties, for several miles into the interior, the lands are considerably rolling, and somewhat broken in occasional places, yet it is very rarely so steep or broken as to prevent easy tillage, except in the bluffs themselves; and further westward the high, rolling land is gradually succeeded by low, gently undulating prairies which sweep in graceful outlines across the wide divides till lost to view in the distance. In the western part of the State, now used as stock ranges, there are large tracts, embracing millions of acres, of almost monotonously level prairie. Near the western border, south of the Platte, the surface is more rolling and rugged, and is frequently cut through by deep ravines and long, winding canons; and the same is also the case in some localities bordering on the Forks of the Platte, and in the vicinity of the Loups and other streams in the northern part of the State.
Many glowing tributes have been paid to the charming land- scape of Nebraska by eminent visitors and distinguished writers, during the past several years. The following is from the pages of The North American Review, volume cix:
"The most perfect display of the prairies is found in the east- ern parts of Kansas and Nebraska. It is no exaggeration to pro- nounce this region, as left by the hand of Nature, the most beau- tiful country in its landscape upon the face of the earth. Here the forest is restricted to narrow fringes along the rivers and streams, the courses of which are thus defined as far as the eye can reach, whilst all between is a broad expanse of meadow lands, carpeted with the richest verdure and wearing the appearance of artistically- graded lawns. They are familiarly called the rolling prairies, because the land rises and falls in gentle swells, which attain an elevation of thirty feet, more or less, and descend again to the original level, within the distance of one or more miles. The
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
crest-lines of these motionless waves of land intersect each other at every conceivable angle, the effect of which is to bring into view the most extended landscape, and to show the dark green foliage of the forest trees skirting the streams in pleasing contrast, with the light green of the prairie grass. In their spring covering of vegetation these prairies wear the semblance of an old and once highly cultivated Country, from the soil of which every inequality of surface, every stone and every bush has been carefully removed, and the surface rolled down into absolute uniformity. The marvel is suggested, how Nature could have kept these verdant fields in such luxuriance after man had apparently abandoned them to waste."
Prof. Samuel Aughey thus writes of the "Bad Lands " of Nebraska:
"In the extreme western part of the State, between Spon Hill Creek and the Niobrara River, there is a remarkable region, extending down from the White Earth River in Dakota Territory. The surface deposits here are miocene tertiary. This region is known as the Bad Lands, Mauvaises Terres, or in the Dakota language, Ma-kao-si-tcha, which means a difficult country to travel, because, while the surface is broken, there is little, if any, good water, wood or game. Here are some of the most curious remains in the world, and the Geologist never tires of investigating them. The almost vertical sections of white rock have been chisseled by water agencies into unique forms. Indeed, as viewed from a distance, they remind the explorer of one of those old cities which only exhibit their ruins as reminders of their ancient great- ness. Among these grandest desolations, the weird, wild, old stories of witchery appear plausible and possible. It is in the deepest canons, at the foot of the stair-like projections, that the earliest of those wonderful fossil treasures are found which have done so much to revolutionize our notions of the life of tertiary times. Here are found the remains of rhinoceri, some with horns and some without, titanotheriums, and hyopatami, which were river horses much like the hippopatami of modern times. Higher up in the deposits are found countless numbers of turtles mingled with the remains of land animals. Among these are the wonder- ful oreontidae, which Leidy calls ruminating hogs, because their
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
cutting teeth and canines and their feet are like those of the swine family, while their molars were patterned after those of the deer, and the upper portions of the head much like that of the camels.
"Several species of fossil monkeys have also been found in these sediments. The vast numbers of these animals were kept within proper bounds by gigantic carnivorous animals, such as sabre- toothed tigers, hyænodons, wolves, etc. Though this region is unattractive to the utilitarian, I doubt whether any portion of Nebraska will be of so much 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. A State that contains within its borders such a wealth of fossil treasures ought to give in the future illustrious diciples to science."
The sand areas, or hills, so often spoken of, are also found in the western portion of the State, chiefly along the Upper Loups and the Niobrara, and some of their tributaries; also on the south side of the Platte, where they run parallel with the stream, and are from one to six miles wide. In the northern part of the State, however, they cover much larger areas. These hills are composed of fine sand, pebbles and gravel, and in some places are covered with nutricious grasses, and are stationary, while in other places, again, they are entirely barren, and the sand so loosely compacted that the wind is ever changing their form.
This sand region has never been thoroughly explored nor properly investigated. Some scientists have undertaken 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; but there are many difficulties in the way of this theory, as in many places the hills are composed of pebbles and stones that could not well have been moved by the wind.
Numerous important streams rise in this sand region of the northern part of the State, among which are the Loups, the Elk- horn, Cedar and Calamus flowing southwardly, and the Pines, Evergreen, Plum and Fairfield Creeks, flowing northwardly to the Niobrara.
CHAPTER IV.
SOIL-AGRICULTURE-FRUIT-STOCK RAISING AND SHEEP HUS- BANDRY.
SOIL.
The unrivalled fertility of her soil, places Nebraska in the front rank among the great grain producing States of the Union. The soil of the table and up-land is composed of what is known as the Lacustrine or Loess deposit, which is the most valuable for agricultural purposes. This deposit prevails over more than three- fourths of the surface of the State, and is of uniform color, It ranges in thickness from 5 to 150 feet, and in some places in the northeastern Counties it is even 200 feet thick.
Prof. Samuel Aughey, State Geologist, recently made an analysis of this soil, taken from different parts of the State, for the purpose of showing the chemical properties and homogenous character of the lacustrine deposits, which is given in the following table, with accompanying remarks from the Professor's pen. No. 1 is from Douglas County; No. 2 from the bluffs near Kearney, in Buffalo County; No. 3 is from the Loup; No. 4 from Clay County, and No. 5 from Harlan County, in the Republican Valley.
COMPOSITION OF SOIL.
No. 1.
No. 2.
No. 3.
No. 4.
No. 5.
A
Insoluble (silicious) matter
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.
6.07
6.06
6.03
6.05
6.09
Lime, Posphate.
3.58
3.59
3.58
3.57
3.59
Magnesia, Carbonate.
1.29
1.28
1.31
1.31
1.29
Potassa .
.27
.29
.35
.34
.33
Soda .
.15
.16
.14
.16
.16
Organic Matter
1.07
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
.47
Totals
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
IXXVI
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JOIINSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
"From the above it is seen that over eighty per cent. of this formation is silicious matter, and so finely comminuted is it that the grains can only be seen under a good microscope. So abundant are the carbonates and phosphates of lime, that in many places they form peculiar rounded and oval concretions, vast numbers of these concretious, from the size of a shot to a walnut, are found almost everywhere by turning over the sod, and in excavations. When first exposed they are soft enough to be rubbed fine between the fingers, but they gradually haiden by exposure to the open air. The analysis show the presence of a comparatively large amount of iron, besides alumina, soda, potash, etc.
"As would be expected from its elements, it forms one of the richest and most tillable soils in the world. In fact, in its chemical and physical properties, and the mode of its origin, it comes nearest to the Loess of the Rhine and the Valley of Egypt. It can never be exhausted until every hill and valley which composes it is entirely worn away. Owing to the wonderfully finely comminuted silica of which the bulk of the deposit consists, it possesses natural drainage in the highest degree. However great the floods of water that fall, it soon percolates through this soil, which in its lowest depthis, retains it like a sponge. When drougths come, by capil- lary attraction, the moisture comes up from below, supplying the needs of vegetation in the dryest seasons. This is the reason why all over this region, where this deposit prevails, the native vegeta- tion and cultivated crops are seldom either dried out or drowned out. This is especially the case on old breaking and where deep plowing is practiced.
"This deposit is a paradise for fruits, especially the apple, plum, grape, and all the small fruits of the temperate zone. They luxuriate in a soil like this, which has perfect natural drain- age and is composed of such materials."
The alluvium deposits are the next most important after the Loess or Lacustrine. From an analysis made of the bottom lands, it appears that, chemically, alluvium differs from the lacustrine cheifly in having more organic matter and alumina and less silica. The following analysis of bottom soils, by Prof. Aughey, will give an idea of their physical character. The first is from the
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JOIINSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
Elkhorn, the second from the Platte, the third from the Republi- can, the fourth from the Blue, and the fifth from an exceptionally wet and sticky soil near Dakota City:
BOTTOM SOILS.
No. 1.
No. 2.
No. 3.
No. 4.
No. 5.
Insoluble (silicious) matter.
63.07
63.70
63.01
62.99
61.03
Ferric Oxide.
2.85
2.25
2.40
2.47
2.82
Alumina.
8.41
7.76
8.36
8.08
10.52
Lime, Carbonate.
7.08
7.99
8.01
7.85
7.09
Lime, Phosphate.
.90
.S5
.99
.94
.98
Magnesia, Carbonate.
1.41
1.45
1.39
1.40
1.38
Potash
.50
.54
.61
.67
.60
Soda .
.49
.52
.54
.58
.57
Sulphuric Acid.
.79
.79
.71
.79
.69
Organic Matter
14.00
13.45
13.01
13.27
13.40
Loss in Analysis.
.50
.79
.97
.96
.92
Totals.
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
The depth of this soil varies greatly, it often being twenty feet or more in thickness, then again the sand of the sub-soil is reached at a depth of two or three feet. Most of the bottom lands are well drained and are dry and warm, while some are low and cold, and in wet seasons, difficult to work. The bottom lands are the richest in organic matter, and are generally preferred for the raising of corn and vegetables, while the table and rolling lands are selected as the best adapted to small grain, fruits, etc. Yet after many years' experience in the cultivation of these lands the question of the superiority of the one over the other, for general farming purposes, remains undecided. Bottom lands are so well distributed throughout the State, that in the choice of a farm, usually a portion of both bottom and upland is selected.
Alkali lands are to be found in different sections of the State, but chiefly in the western portion. In the east half there are scarcely any such lands, the majority of the Counties having none at all, while in others there may be only a small spot in a township so affected. These alkali lands, however, are often renovated and eventually made productive for the cereals, by thorough drainage, deep cultivation, and seeding with wheat, especially in the wet seasons.
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