The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-02-17
euoet 5am Nespaper euot umdnip Of
pescrip,iou Of southsrn kansas.

Description Of Southern Kansas.
? The southern psrts of Kansas lie IN the
upper valley of the Arkansas river. This
stream has been so named, since its dis
coyery by the French, from the Arkan-
sas tribe, whom they found nearits mouth.
These Indians represented that they had
then bat lately separated from the Kan
sas Indians on the Kansas river. The
lower part of the valley of the Arkansas
is. as is well known, a rich and fertile
country. That part of its valley. how
ever, which lies in Kansas is not well
wooded, and, though fertile farms have
been established in the immediate vicinity
of the river, it does not appear to be. in
general, promising agricultural region.
In the neighborhood of he Pueblo tall
woods line the river WI a green meadows
on each side. The crops raised there are
abundant. At Bent's Fort there is but
little timber. Timber sometimes appears
in small sections but, in general. for
several hundred miles the river is most Of
the year broad sand-bed, over which a
few threads of water glide along, occa-
sionally expanding into wide shadows.
In the autumn, the water sometimes sinks
into the sand and disappears altogether.
At the "Big Timbers," about thirty five
miles below Bent's Fort, the river widens,
and the banks ON each side fall towards it
in gentle slopes. The timber is
thinly-scattered growth of large cotton
woods, not more than three quarters of a
mile wide, and three or four miles long.
""The bed of the river" says Col. En-
DRY, sis seldom more than one hundred
and fifty yards wide. and, but for the
4uicksands, is everywhere fordable. The
bottom land, few feet above the level of
the water, varies in width from half a
mile to two miles, and is generally COW
cred with good, nutritious grass. Beyond
this the ground rises by gentle slopes into
wilderness of sand-hills on the south,
and into prairie on the north. There are
one or two exceptions; for instance, at
the great bend, the sand-hills from the
south impinge abruptly on the course OF
the river; at Pawnee rock, long swell
in the ground terminates in an abrupt hill
of highly ferruginous sandstone and
ten miles above Chouteau's island the
hills along the river are vertical, as if the
river had cut passage through them
and, as you approach Bent's Fort, the
hills generally roll in more boldly on the
river, and the bottoms become narrower
and the grass more precious.
cat these places the geological forma
ton can be seen distinctly. On the lower
part of the river it is a conglomerate o
pebbles, sometimes shells cemented by
lime and clay everything a stratum of sof
sandstone, which in turn overlies blue
shale, and sometimes the richest descrip
ton of marl
"Higher up the river we find the same
formation, but in addition argillaceous
limestone, containing ammonites and 9TH
er impressions of shells in great variety,
and in more than one instance distinct
impressions of oyster shells. The dip
in both cases about six degrees, and lit
tie north of east.
"The soil of the plains is granite
sand, intermixed with the exuvie of ami
mails and vegetable matter, supporting a
scanty vegetation. The eye wanders in
vain over these immense wastes in search
of trees. Not one is to be seen. The
principal growth is the buffalo grass,
cacti in endless variety, and very rarely
that wonderful plant, the Ipomea lepto-
phylla, called by the hunters man-root,
from the similarity of its root in size and
shape to the body of a man. 1t is escu-
lent, and serves to sustain human life in
some of the many yicissitudes of hunger
and priyation to which men who roam
the prairies asan occupation are subjected
1.-The narrow strip which I have de-
scribed as the bottom land of the Arkan-
sas, varying from half mile to two OIL
three miles wide, contains a luxuriant
growth of grasses, which, by the judi.
cious selection and distribution of the
camps, sustained all the animals of the
army of the west whilst on the river
The only tree of any magnitude found
on its course is the cottonwood, Popuius
Canadensis, and it frequently happens
that not one of these is seen in whole
days journey, and the buffalo dung and
wild sage constitute the only fuel to be
procured"
The droughts described render the Ar
kansas river very uncertain reliance fol
communication. 1t is said, however,
thai steamboat can ascend at full water
within twenty -four miles of the Great
Bend-the point where the river gains it:
greatest northern latitude.-Ransas ana
Nebraska.