Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1842-01-12
THE pRAiRrEs OF TEXAS.

as prairies. communicates some facts
worth the attention Of the curious aud sci
enIitic.
Origin Of Prairies.-rhe prairies of
Texas from a peculiar feature Of It's sur
face. and we often hear the enquiry made,
especially by emigranls from the Atlantic
states "wIIy are not these vast plains COW
cred with forest trees, instead 0fGrass!'--
Various are the causes assigned for The
! origin of the praires. Some believe they
were cleared Of ancient forests by the un-
known race of mcn who built the mounds
and fortiGcations which are found scatter
ed from The Rocky Mountains to the At
lantic. Bu, this opinion is rclulcd By the
fact. that most Of these mounds and ioriI.
ficaiions are found enbosomed in deep for
csts. and trees that have bufleted the Storm
of many centuries are often found growing
upon their SUBMITS. Others believe the
peculiar quality Of the soil of the prurics
is not adapted 10 the growth Of trees. and
is only capable of supporting growth Of
grass or he smallest specie oi grass. But
! this opinion is contradIcted by The fact, that
insulated trees arc often found growing
!uxurianIy in the very midst Of prairie.
and M the distance OF several miles from
the forests. Others, and among them
Gen. Pike. who travcrscd almost the whole
section Of country where praIfics abound.
advance The opinion that they are caused
nv dryucss of The soil and The aridiIy Of the
climate. Gcu. Pike asserts that the for
csrs found near the streams arc supported
by The moisture dilIused from these streams
through The inrer.iires ui the soil, and the
,, humidity Of the air bordering The streams,
| But as the hills which are often found
extending iuto prairics arc generally COW
cred with trees. We think this Op!onoa can
not be correct. There must be some other
and more general cause. When wc ex
| anime the country through which The praI.
ries extend. we find every where eviden-
ces that il has been, III comparatively re-
cent period, the bed Of sea or immense
lake. The lodges Of rocks are filled with
marine shells; the loose stones WHEREVER
they arc found, are round and smooth as u
they had been hjccl To the action OF ma
rinc currents. and The soil where ID stones
are found, is disposed in layers OF teds as
If il were deposited like sediment. rom Il
large body Of muddy wafer. OItcn, in
diegin. wells. we pass through bed Of
black vegetable mould. then bed o.! clay.
then anOrher of sand again, aud not un
frequently al the depth Of sixty or seventy
feet We find the bones OF animals inibcdded
ia the earth. These facts indicate that the
soil OF The prairics has been formed from
the sediments of water. Mr.. llacIure aud
other ocnlncis,s imagine thu: an immense
lake or sea in ancienttircs extended from
the AlIeghany to the Rocky Mountains.
embracing an area whose diameter from
east to west was about 1900 miles. aud
from north to south about 1900 miles aud
that the waters OF this lake have been gra-
dually discharged by the Mississippi, The
Hudson aud ST. Lawrence: the only III
yers that have broken through the noun
,aius that once surrounded this immense
basin of water.
Now, If this opinion is correct. tho bed
ofsl,;s Immense lake, ue :, grsd.aiIy eu,-rs
ed from the water, would exhibit the same
changes in its vegetable productions that
the delta OF The Mississippi oow exhibits.
Firsr it would bc covered with dense
growth Of reeds and coarse weeds, as it he
come more elevated aud dry grass would
appear aons the banks of The Streams.
and trees gradually supplan,lnS The sra,,
ovcrshadow tho soil with forests
This rScidb!e ::af. il ". may 81 Icrm
IL. berwccm III" i"rcs aud the grass. Is still
gong on, and II IS common remark a.
moag cmigrani-, tha The Tor -. invariably
cncroach upon The prairi",. where they
are so situated as 10 DC uncXpOsed to the
ravacc, Of the fires that often drvastaIc
the large prairics. II these pra:rcs wcre
uninhabtrd and left undisturbcd by man,
doubtless in the course Of Il !cw centurics
they would be suPplantcd by forests. In
the more elevated sections. where the rock,
indicate that they have been for ages ele
varcd above The bosom Of the waters. few
praircs ure found. and those Icw are very
small The country rs almost entirely CO.
vcrci with forests. In the Atlantic States,
where The primitive and older secondary
rock, abound it Is worthy OF remark that
praireS are unknown. Hence it is bat
reasonable to infer that these praIr:cS III.
dicarr, III some degree, the age .! the sur.
face o! !!ic country.
We shall be happy ii these efrcmarks
shall excite a spirit Of Investigation among
our citizens. as by hi, means facts may be
elected that may prove valuable 10 the
Dniur,li.i