The Kansas herald of freedom., 1854-10-21

W. understand that several claims have
| haen made there.
On Monday night, just before reaching
F,,,t Riley. we were osertaken by a tre-
,nen.lous thunder storm. We were sur
rounded hy prairie, and the captain had
10 lay his craft close to the shore, and cast
anchor there being no stump or tree to
hitch Co. He il Of opinion that there
| shonn ha no cabin ON steamers nayi-
ga,;no these prair;ieI rivers where the wind
sones;mes sweeps along with unbroken
violence. We saw the Pilot Mounds in
| the distance, where the military road leaves
the Kansas bottoms, and passes through a
depression in the bluff TO the crossing of
the Blne. We passed some small creeks
on the right, with settlements on them
||s,H.f e!arkss Greek, on the lsft, affording
some fine tin,bered lands, and good
springs.
A little after sunrise on Tuesday morn
ing, we neared Fort Riley-its fine stone
buildings looming up grandly in the sra-
beams. 1t is located at the junction of
the Republican and Smoky Hill Forks of
the Kansas, and on the second bench or
roll of the prairie, having higher bluffs
immediately behind, from which the
building rock is quarried. L L Is soft lime
stone, easily cut out with pick, and can
be split into any shape; We noticed the
same horizontal strata cropping out at all
the elevated points in the prairie. Cross
ing the Pawnee or Republican fork, by
the Government bridge, we had good
view of the fine country between the two
rivers, which rises gracefully backward in
high, swelling prairies. Here there is a
saw mill Just started. We strolled up the
Republican. gathered some black raspberries
! and crossed a spring branch, then mount
led high bluff, whence We could see the
beautiful Republican Valley long way up.
1t is nearly three miles wide, high, dry,
and level, with loose, black, rich soil
The river flows in serpentine course
through the prairie bottoms, at some bends
making circuit Of SIX or eight miles, and
coming back to within a mile of itself
again-the banks generally having light
fringe of timber, with occasional groves
near the waters edge. in the rayines. and
ON the bluffs. This is truly a delightfuI
va,ley-tbe most inviting for settlement
we ever saw.
The Excel made short trip up the
Smokyhill; Lieut.. Sargent, from the Fort.
aecomnan;ed MS We had AN exciting
time The constant announcement from
.ba man Who heayed the laad was aNo
bottomr The river was fnll and the
lcnr,ant strong h,t we had oreaf a;fT;cultv
IN o4.,,;n.. ro,,nd tha short handsZ-;t kaars
on The, course Of the main Kansas. coming
a little more from the south west. There
| is more timber ON this river than ON the
Kansas aI,o,ra Paitasaten,ie. and the soil
is better We observed a deep mari de-
nosit on the blufis. beneath black soil. and
| ibs hotton,s inclined I'M prettily from the
,;yar l;,,la vay nm we saw hand of
Eox indians crossina over soine north on
. hui,slp hnpt. and I fsIeir n motely proc4s.
SION stretched along over the prairies for
miles. Here and there in the party was
carried a pole. with swans neck and
eagles head and tail, de-, stuck upon it
| for flag. They had with them about
FIVE hundred horses, all of which looked
we'll. Great was the surprise manifested
ION seeing the .Exeel" in these waters; ;
but, poor feilowsl the startling seream of
the shriH steam whistle, and the iinpetil-
ous snorting of the iron horse, viii soon
scare away the buffalo and other game
from yoar hunting grounds, to return no
Emore--you. too. must follow in the trail
or succumb to the irresistible influence of
fertilization.
Some forty miles up the Smokyhill, an
lextensiye he'd of gypsum has been found,
specimens of which have been tested and
proved to be of superior quality ne bre't
| small specimen home with us. Salt is
also alleged to be very abundant on the
Saline fork the waters of the Smokyhill
are often quite brakisb, and when. the
boilers of the Excel are filed from that
triver, there is slight incrHstation of salt
deposited. Specimens OF coal, both bit'l-
minous and anthracite, and OF tin, lead,
and iron ore, have been brought in. Hints
have been given that gold abounds,t but
in parts-aankaowai There cannot be a
doubt, however, but that valuable numerals
will be found cropping out beneath, or IN
terspersed IN the primitive formation as
Uf ascend toward the Rocky Mountains.