The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-06-17

naI forms Near him The surface undulasesA - The
ocean after gale, and In the distance wsving haue
lines, banked by buttes and knsbs and frinsed with
trees, mark the windings Of The streams. Upon the
praires the tall rich grasses occasionally cover the
surface for miles and miles together, scarce inter-
ruptsd by anything ese then the wayfarer wiz zee
punches and zigzag lines of alder, Of halle, and in
teraoed vines and briars; and, again. large spots
viii be invested by bouquets Of wild roses and fash
ing flowers filing the air with fragrant odors, and
outvieing in grace and beauty the rarest exotics.
There the gentle harebel, the carnation rose, the
blue violet the gaudy piony, the modest daisy, the
simple buttercup, the fragrant sweet briar the pur
pile smorpha, and an endless variety Of shruhs and
flowers, are set as gems upon the deep green YER
dure of the plains, delighting the eye with their
brilliant hues, and enriching the imagination with
gorgeous pictures Of grace, beauty, and grandeur.
The face Of the country presents nearly uniform
succession Of ridges and Valleys marked by curved
lines, nowhere expanding into dead fats save ia the
river bottoms, broken into knobs and bluffs along
the streams, and along the entire skirts Of the bot
toms, but never too much so to prevent profuse
growth Of grass everywhere. The soil from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred miles westward
and south Of the Platte river has nearly the charac
&erstics of that of the adjoining States From the Ar
kansas boundary to the timbers, the highlands
are fertile and beautifully varegated with open pra
Ees and tufts Of forest trees and glades with occa
aional intermixture Of small spots fiat and msrhy
for cultivation. The river valleys consist Of deep
rich oam in some places subject to inundation but
for the most part tillable. That portion adjacent to
the boundary of the State of Missouri including the
Vources Of the Neostro, the Verdigrs the Maras de
Cygne, and other tributaries of the Usage, and the
lower section Of the Kansas river, is unparagoned
for the fertility Of its soil, the value Of its timber
md forest trees, the beauty of its rolling prares
and broad valleys the number Of its peucid str
and rvules and the salubrity of its climate Though
this first section of the great Western Territory il
more scant of timber than the adjoining States it
equals them in fertility and water courses and sur
passes them in the purity of its atmosphere. Travel
ling due west from Independence, in the State of
Missouri, this dark fertile soil, ceases at Sandy
Greek, tributary of the Kansas moving on the
route to Santa Fe, it commences deteriorating at
Council Grove, near the Neostro river, and becomes
more sterile thence to the Arkansas and farther
north it is ntersected by the Platte river with its
double line of sterile bluffs. 1t is remarkable that
this change of soil is not gradual but sudden and
paIpabIe to the most careless observer. At Sandy
Greek and at Council Grove the traveller sees the
last timber trees properly called, until he APP
proaches the spires of the Rocky Mountains and at
these points the caravans Of emgrants and traders
usually make pause to provide themselves with
timber to rectiiy any accident which may occur to
their wagons.
South Of Platte river this fertile district is con-
tiguous to directly west of it, where the soil is
SO intermixed with sand scarcely to be percepti
BILE, save in its luxuriant grasses, which extends
several hundred miles towards the mountains, and
is again succeeded by bench of fertile soil in the
vicinity of them. The valleys of the Platte, Arkan-
sas Kansas and Red rivers consist generally of rich
alluvon, freely interspersed with sand; and the
high dividing ridges between these great streams
become more sterile as we recede from the waters,
until upon their submits the grasses become stuned,
and present withered and sickly appearance.
North Of tha Platte river and adjacent to the first
whole soil is largely intermixed with formation of
mari and earthly limestone, so tenacious in some
places as to be nearly as much indurated and give
the appearance OF the yellow soapstone of our
streams; but this extensive district is also inter.
seeted by ridges not of DESERT but of poor SOIL It
is in this district that what are called bucs by the
French, and cerros by the Spaniards, make their
appearance. Custom has, however, enlarged these
terms TO include what we denominate bluffs and
knobs. 1t is as if the whole surface had suddenly
and regularly sunk leaving points and portions Of
various sizes and forms from twenty to three hun
dred feet above the plains The sides OF these Duties
are nearly perpendicular, and their upper surfaces
fat and covered with grass, and sometimes trees.
This is the formation Of which what are popularity
called the Court House, the Cathedral AMI the
chmneys in the valley of the Platte are composed.
They arc 30 called because at some miles distance
they bear rude resemblance to the structures from
which they are named. Col Fremont has only
mentioned ono of the chimney rocks, OF which he
gives Autograph, There were two in the summer
OF lS43 AS the tallest of these is Of the grand
landmarks Of traders and hunters, it should be men
toned that it is Tor was) about two hundred feet
high Between the forks of Platte river, at place
al ufp Hnln
ed by the elements into extraordinary imitation
OF massive fertilization. At little distance ii
strikingiy resembles masonry, and it sweeps round
an area of some three hundred yards In diameter il
the form of half moon, terminating in immense
bastions. with domes and minarets along the whole
line of the parapets. The formation juts for some
distance across the south fork OF the Platte pre-
senting variety Of strange and fantastical forms.
On the head waters of White river, tributary of
the Missouri, there is space Of near thirty miles
in diameter broken into buttes and towers. Some
miles off the traveller sees cleaning in the sun the
outlines of fairy city. Palaces and walls and for
tifcations shine and frown upon the surface, and
steeples. and domes and minarets, and nnumerable
fantastic and beautiful forms, shoot up to the
height Of several hundred feet. 1t ia similar to the
optical decisions described by Parry and Sconsby
In the masses Of ice in the Polar Seas, the extra
ordinary phenomena sometimes exhibited by the
reflection of light in the atmosphere, portending
In the eyes of the ancients the fall of thrones and
the revolutions of empires. But the deusion van
ishes as we approach, and nothing is presented to
the eye but cold dead masses OF mari and earthly
limestone worked into picturesque forms by the
power and caprice of the elements. Scattered
through this city of clay found great numbers of
petrefactons on the surface, principally Of turtle
some of which were fifteen inches across the back,
and the whole frame shell, legs, and intestines,
perfectly ndurated A few wolves heads may also
be found, with multitude Of shells and molusca
This spot is very celebrated among traders and
tappers not only for its curiosties but because of
its having been great Indian battle-ground time
out Of mind. 1t is also place Of refuge and Sc
curity for traders when pursued by hostile bands
flight as well attempt to thread the Egyptian
hharynths, such multitude of narrow and winding
dofr anil