The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1854-04-19

tory there are but few white settlers be-
sides the Indian agents, military occu-
pants, and missionaries sent out by the
various religious denominations of the
United States The Whites arc princi-
pally located on the Santa Fc road, and
the routes leading to California and Or
egon. Prominent points for them are
Fort Lcavcnworth, military station,
and Council Bluffs, an indian Agency.
1t is estimated that there arc some
$4,000 people in Nebraska, the greater
part Of these being Indians. 1t is the
choicest hunting ground of the REQ men,
and it is supposed, of the estimated half
a million of Indians in the United States,
nearly a sixth of them are within this
territory The Sioux tribes alone are
supposed to have 5000 lodges, and a
bout 5000 people. Added to these are
in Nebraska, tie Pawuees. the Della.
wares, the Shawnecs, the Kickapoos, the
Stockbridgos, tho Grow. BlacEfoot, Che.
yenne, Aricare, Grosbontrcs, Assne-
bowe, the Mandan and other Indians.
a portion of the Cherokecs will fall in
to this territory, under tho bill Of Mr.
Douglas. 1t is well known that the A.
mercan Board of Missions has for many
years employed Missionaries among these
Indians The Osagcs would also be in
cludcd, to whom the same association
formerly sent missionaries.
The climate of Nebraska is, of course,
different in different parts. Its south
ern portion may have about the climate
Of Virginia its interior Of Connecticut
and its extreme northern portion that of
Maine. Then the prairie region must
be milder than the mountainous portion
on the western borders The tops of its
highest mountains are described as Gov
cred with almost perpetual snow.
The soil varies as much as the climate
Much of it is excellent while other por-
tions arc composed of nothing but sand
such as Great American Desert, in the
central portion of the territory. The
eastern portion is generally prairie
which, like the tracts on the numerous
rivers. is productive. itis generally a
greed that the country must be Chiefly
an agricultural one. Manufactures may
flourish to some extent, and commerce
hardly at all, as it is far from the
oceans, and has no great lakes leading
thereto
The agricultural powers of the coun-
try may be somewhat inferred from the
returns Of the crops of Christian Iu-
dians-the Dclawares, Kickapoos Shaw
uces aud StockLrdges-all living north
aDd south of the Kansas river. The
number Of these Indians is 2.702 They
are mostly supported by agriculture, aud
these returns are for a single year. The
number of acres cultivated were over
1000. They raised over $4,000 bushels
of corn, $500 bushels of wheat, and l2,-
900 bushels of oats. They kept over
900 working oxen, and large number
of horses OF melons of all kinds they
raised over 100000, and 400 hogs. The
value of their products is put down at
$4,000.
Among these Indians, civilization and
christianity have much advanced, and
Will he further indicated by the statistics
that follow They have six schools, sew
en- teachers. and two hundred scholars
Their Sabbath schools are five and their
churches are the same. OF professors
of religion there are $40, nearly half of
whom are males or a much larger por-
tion than is usual in England The Ne
braska, the Kansas and the Arkansas
are the three great rivers. The first two
flow from the west to the east, and emp
ty into the Missouri several hundred
miles above its mouth The branches
or forks Of these rivers are many. The
Arkansas rises in the western portion
of the territory and flows southeast, and
emptios after crossing the State by the
same name, into the Mississippi The
Nebraska river Is from one to three miles
broad 1t is full of islands covered with
cotton wood, willow and shrubs Col.
Long says that "only forty miles Of II is
open to steamboat navigation The
great emigraht routes to California and
Oregon follow the north forl; of this riv,
er. The Kansas river is navigable for
l50 mouth, for steamboats,.
All accounts agree that this. territory
is not well wooded, or, at least, is not a
timber country. Many trees that are
found in our forests, such as elm, birch,
maple, white oak, willow and pines, are
found there
Much of the country is high table
and prairie land, elevated from 1000 to
6,000 feet above the sen. The climate
is termed very dry. Wild animals a
bound there, such as buflaloes, deer, elk,
antelopes, prairie dogs, mountain sheep,
wolves, wild horses, turkeys, etc. Oc-
casionally agrizzly bear crosses the track
of the traveller Those who journey
through this territory subsist much up
on the meat of the buffalo, the meat Of
the cows being much preferred to that
Of the bulls. Deer are much used for
food, as also a plant called the milk
plant, much eateu by the Indians. Ere
monts account of his given chase to
tho buaaloes, in company with Kit Car
son and others, is exciting in the ex-
.reme. One must be good deal of
horseman, as well as marksman, to en-.
gage in that hazardous sport. This vast
region is now almost an unbroEen wilder
ness. Asthe territory is not organic
cd, the emigrant has not yet fixed his
eye upon it, except with the hope of fix
ing his abode there as soon as the word
goes forth from Washington. f
IMPRESSIONS AT FIRsr SIenr.-This
subject was getting talked over at the
supper table, when the lady who presided
over the cups and tea declared that she
9 always formed an idea of a person at
6rsI eight; and that idea, she found, was
generally correct one"