Glasgow weekly times. (Glasgow, Mo.) 1848-1861, 1853-11-17

the mouth Of the Big Blue; from this point
TO Platte river the soil is quite sandy, but
covered generally with grasses. The soil
on Big Platte is quite inferior, but on the
Nemchas, and between the Ottoe and Della
ware reservations, there is some excellent
prairie country, and we'll adapted to stool;
raising.
Leaving this northern portion Of the Ter
ritory, we come again TO Fort Riley, at the
junction Of the Republican and Smoky Hill
forks Of the Kansas, which is situated at
an elevation of 926 feet above the Gulf Of
Mexico.
"For several days we continued to travel
along the Republican through country
beautifully watered with numerous streams
handsomely timbered. The bottoms which
form the immediate valley to the Republican
were generally about three miles wide, hav-
ing rich soil of black vegetable mould,
aud for prairie country well interspersed
with wood. The country was every where
covered with considerable variety of grasses;
occasionally poor and thin, but far more fire.
quenty luxuriant and rich. We had been
gradually and regularly ascending, in our
progress westward" AT the distance of
eighty miles from Fort Riley on little creek,
he was at an elevation Of six hundred feet
abol the Forts "That part of the river OPP
posite this point is called by the Indians
Big Timber" Passing over some broken
ground and extensive high level prairie, we
reached the waters of Solomon's Fork of
the Smokey Hill river, along whose tribu-
taries we continued to travel for several days.
The country afforded lis an excellent road,
the route generally being over high and
very level prairies, crossing numerous
streams which were well timbered, with
ash, elm, cottonwood and very large oak, the
latter being occasionally five or six feet in
diameter with spreading summit" He
was now about $50 feet above it. "Cross-
ing in a westerly direction to the aflluents of
the Republican we reached a fork about for
ty feet wide and one foot deep, flowing with
a swift current over sandy bed, and well
wooded with ash-leaved maple, elm, cotton
wood, and few white-oaks. Further on,
we passed another stream forty feet wide
and four feet deep, with u dense border
wood, and musical with the notes of many
birds collected here from the vast expanse
of surrounding prairie" At distance Of
about 300 miles from Fort Riley the country
began to assume a desert character, and he
had reached an elevation Of about 2000 feet
above the Fort. The country still west, al
though clasSed as desert, is covered with
rich and luXurant buffalo grass, on which
immense herds of buffalo roam. On the
south Of dis, towards the head waters of
the Smoky Hill Fork, the grasses become
still richer and thicker and more luxuriant;
and still southerly, until you reach the great
bend Of the Arkansas, the grasses afford the
best pasturage. Here the Musquit grass
appears, which is equal to the best Ken
lucky blue grass.
About two hundred miles west of Fort
Riley, on the Smoky Hill Fork, Col. p. thus
speaks of the country On his downward
trip;
Here the country began perceptb!y TO
changeits character, becoming a more fer
tile, wooded and beautiful region, covered
with profusion of grasses and watered
with innumerable little streams which were
wooded with oak, large elms, and the usual
varieties Of timber common 10 the lower
course Of the Kansas river. As we ad-
vanced, the country gradually improved
gradually assimilating itself in appearance
TO the northwestern part of the State Of
Missouri. The beautiful sward Of the bul-
iaIo grass which is regarded as the best and
most nutritious found on the prairies, op-
pcarcd now only in patches, being displaced
by longer and coarser grass which cover
cd the face Of the country luXuriantly.--
There is much good country about the great
bend Of the Arkansas, on the little Arkan-
sas, The head waters of the Verdigrs, about
Council Grove, on Neoho, and on the Usage
river. The country bordering the Kansas
on the south side, is much more broken than
that on the north"
Taking the area herein described, and in
cluded in the exploration, up the Smoky Hill
Fork, and Republican, together with the
country West; and on the head waters of
the Blue, and Nermillion Rivers, added to
thai west Of the narrow Indian reservations
on the Missouri River, and TO that south OF
the Kansas, and west of the indian reserva-
tons, and we have an extent of $1,000
square miles, exclusive of Indian lands, of
good farming and stock country, well water
ed and timbered--an area considerably lar
ger than the State Of Missouri, and larger
than the six New England States, with a
soil of unsurpassed fertility climate, which
from its central locality, and astonishing ell
ovation, as we'll as from the character of its
stream and springs, may safely be set down
as the most salubrious and healthful on the
continent.
Taking Fort Riley for the central point
it is easy to diverge TO any part of the Ter
ritory. The best approach to Fort Riley, is
from ParkviIle, up the North side of the
Kansas river by the excellent car
riage road we travelled up. On the South