Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1854-03-31
Geography Of Nebraska Territory.

4
Nsbraska is SO named from ono OF i I
large rivers called Nebraska, and ais,
Platte river. II contains all the unor
ganizsd territory Of the United States
il We include within it the Indian ter
ri,orv, so called. II we include in Ne
braska what MIR. Douglas PROPOSES il
his bill now pending before Congress
it will extend south to 81 deg. or hal
a degree above tho line established BY
the Compromise Of 1920. Taking thin
line, considerable portion Of the ter
ritory now occupied by the Indians
would not come into the Nebraska and
Kansas territories. into which the re
gioR, popularity called Nsbrasks. i= to
be organized. according to the plan be-
fore Congress.
We may sag in general that Nebras-
ka 10 bounded on the north by the par
allsll. l.of 43 deg, on the east BY the States
of Iowa and Missouri. on the south by
the Indian territory. or q portion of it,
by Texas and New Mexico, and on the
west by the Rocky Mountains, bo rdering
upon Utah and Oregon According to
tbs es,ima te in Havward's United States
Gazette, lately published. this territsry
contains 1876 TOO square m lies, or a tracl
larger than all the New England States.
New York, Ne~ Jersey. Delaware aid
Maryland. Some ofthe pa pers est mate
that Nebraska is ten or twelve times as
large as Oaio. 1t would seem that by
this estimate all the Indian territory
must be included, or more than that
bounded by the Douglas bill.
There have been two previous a tie m . IS
to organize this territory. One was
made in Congress in June, 1S45, or soon
after these graphic reports were submit.
ted to shat body by Col. Fremont. 1,
was then proposed to make the terrific
ry extend from the Missouri river to
the Rocky Mountains. and from Al
deg. to 43 deg. north and south, or quite
small affair eompared to the bounds
now proposed. The second proposition
in reference TO organization, came be
fore Congress in March OF last year
The southern boundary was to be the
latitude Of IS deg. and the northern
that Of al deg. Neither Of these plans
were entertained by Congress.
From all sources Of information now
open, we learn that there are but few
white settlers in the Nebraska territory
besides the Indian agents, military oecu-
pants. and Missionaries sent out by the
various religious denominations Of the
United States. The whites are princi
pally located long the Santa Fe road, and
the routes leading to California and Ore
gon. Prominent points for them are
Fort Lsavenworth. a military station.
and Council Bluffs, an Indian agency
1t is estimated that there are some
rs, 900 people in Nebraska. the greater
part Of thase being Indians. 1t 10 the
choicest hunting ground of the the red
men, and it is supposed. of the sstima-
ted half million Of Indians in the
United States, nearly a sixth Of them
are within this territory. The Sioux
tribe alone are supposed to have 5000
lodges, and about $4,000 people Tbs
P:wnees, the Delawares, the Shawnees,
the Kickapoos. the S,ockbridges, the
Crow. Blackfoot, Cheyenne. Aarisre,
Grosbentres. Assinebome, the Mondsn.
and other Indians. A portion OF the
Cherokees, will fall into this territory,
under the bill of Mr.. Douglas. 1t is
we'll known that the American bosrd Of
missions has for many yeers employed
missionaries among those, Indians.
The Osages would also be included. to
whom the same association formerly
sent missionaries.
The climate Of Nebraska is, of course,
different in different parts. lis south
ern portion may have about the climate
Of Virginia, its interior Of Connecticut.
and its extreme northern section tha t
OF Maine. Then the prairie region
must be milder. The mountains are
described as covered with almost per-
petual snow.
The soil varies as much es the climate
Mush Of it is excellent. while other por-
lions are composed Of nothing but sand,
such as the Great American Dssert, in
the central portion of the ,irritory.-
The eastean portion is generally prairie,
which. like the tracts on the numhrous
rivers. is productive. 1t is generally
agreed that the country must be chiefly
al agricultural one. Manufacturers ma
flourish to some extent, and commerce
hardly at all. as it is far from OCEANS
and has no great lakes leading thereto.
The agricultural po overs Of the coun.
try may be somewhat inferred from this
returns Of the crops Of the four tribes
Of Christian Indians--the Delawares.
Kickapoos. Shawnees and S,ockbridge.
-all living north aud south of the
Kansas river. The number of these
Indians is ? TOE. They are mostly sup
ported BY agriculture, and these return,
are for single year. The number o
scres cultivated were over 900. They
raised over $4,000 bushels Of corn, 2. go
bushels Of wheat. and l2 1000 bushels
Of oats. They kept over 600 working
oxen and q large number Of horses. OF
melons Of all kinds they raised owe,
400, 900, and 1000 hogs. The value o.
the products is put down at e3l 900.
Among these Indians, civilization snt
Christianity have much advanced, q,
will be further indicated BY the sta,is
tics that follow. They have 6 schools.
seven teachers. and two hundred schol
ars. Theif Sabbath schools are five
! Nd their churches the same. OF pro.
! se.so.s Of religion there are 372, near
lv b.lf o. whom are malls. or . mucl