Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1858-08-12

to be found. sope'i.nes q .,,iskress Or o
end 7 feet, and thoss ~ Powder -iyes are
ssid tc ne on Ere q, tbi. time. TIE barr,
appearance of TIE ea-'h a,ou g t.uks Of tie
atresrs, shows tia. in scrmer times these
beds have beer 90 fire over large sress,
Aod in places are entirely burned out
There % every reasos 70 believe that 10
places ibis Egn te viii b. souEc OF qualify
good enough for fuel 10 ,his ssct:on the
tonide,s furnish Tie oa'y good tsilding
s,eus. In nearly all parts Of yebraaks,
good clay for making burnt brick can be
found.
Though .hs western prairie o! Nebraska
- rot nuch inferior 70 tha. Of eorrespor.
ding meiidisas IL Kans.s and northern
Texas, there 10 no Disgusting The fact that
. great portion of Il 10 an irreclaimsble
d~rert. witt o.iy little wood ard cul.ivs
-ab!e land along tie streams The
reascns for this are. LIT. an irsuGcisncy
oftiue,y rains; "a. Over large areas the
soil does not possess THE proper eoustitu.
enH; 81. The severity Of The long cold
winter, sad ehott srmrers; and 9Th
nigh. be included 10 the clouds Of grsss
hopFes .tai occasionaliy desiroy he Csc.
ful vegetation. The are nearly the same
= tbs ioeusss # Egypt, ard no one Who
bas nj travelled On the prairie and seen
for himself csr appreciate b. magnitude
oftbess inject ssarns Often they fll the
cir for many niles Of extent, 20 tia. an
experienced eye can scarce distinguish
,heir appearance from that of shower Of
rain or The smoke Of a prairie fire. The
height Of their Eight may be somewhs. sp.
prec;ated, - Mr. E-James saw them
shove his heAa Is fer - their size vcul5
render them visible, While standing 90 the
top Of rest Of the Rocky mountains,
$500 feet above lie level Of he plains and
81 elevation Of 1850 fee. s6ore ,ha. Of
The sea, in the region where the snow lies
al the yesr. To person standing in
one Of these s~srms a. they pass over ard
around him. the air becomes ssnsibiy dar.
ksred, and the sonni produced by their
wings resembles .ba. Of The passage Of
train Of cars On . rs,lrosi when standing
t~o o. three hundred yards from the track.
The Mormon settlements have Suffered
mUre from the rsvases Of these insects than
probably all other causes combined. Ths-
destroyed nearly all the vegetables aui;ivs.
ted lest year 81 For. Easiall, ard sx.sn-
dsd :bsir rs,ages eas. - far a. Iora.
The length Of the winter may be inferred
from TIE fact, 'hs. in the u.cpn.fins -
had snow storms in the middle Of Septsp.
Der, and on me plains By tie Is. Of October
which is probably the average season for
as appearance These SHOWS, i;ke IRE
rains, are very uncertain in the epanti,iss
in different years. ard soue.i-es vho!e
winters pas without any falling. Ffosts
sometimes desisoy all garas rsge,si.oa 9,
tns mouth Of toe yellosstcEs in Ausaft.
The summers in which have been in
Nebraska hare teen fagors1 With unusual
arPi.es OF fain. The raois. south 1iads
from the Gust Of Mexico. which csuze the
showers Of rain and foods IN tine aissis,
s,ppi valley, known as toe june rise, pro
daee also rainy season to the north ard
west; which reaches the mountains in July
snd August, too late oftsn TO be Of much
bensh! 20 Any vegetation ezcep, grasses
] have seen the prairie, which up 10 the
Is. Of Angus; lad not received q irop Of
rain, and appeared parcbed and barn: up,
present beautiful green in the succeeding
months from The effects Of me rain The
rain sometimes does hot visit the interior
and northern portions for years. The ten
psra;ure through tie long days Of summer
Is frequently as high as 100" 20 ll0' lshr..
and the south Wind passing oyea the hea
ted plains has its temperature 50 raised,
and consequently its capacity to retain
moisture, That no rain falls.
Large areas are covered with different
species ofpriekly pear, sometimes So thick
that il IS difficult ter " III OF any soft foot
ed animal to traverse il, and the bottom
laDfs Of many Of the streams become oeeu.
pied with tie wild sage.
The Black bills lying between the forks
Of the shyenne, On the 18th parallel, be
tween tie l03d and l05th IneridiaHs, GOV
Err "a area Of 5000 square miles, and i, is
safe TO say /. OF this Is covered with good
pine. timber. Their bases are elevated
from $500 feet to $500 feet, and the
highest peaks are about 900 feet above
the ocean level.
The rocks that compose them have been
uphcaved during geological epochs long
preceding the present, and we're probably
IN existence somewhat as We now zee them
" hen what is now the prairie WAS vast
ex panse Of water. CONSIDERABLE: quaint
ties Of gypsum are developed here, and
portions Of the rock will furnish good bull
ding stone and lime, and it is probable
ores Of different minerals will be found.
There are several beautiful streams flow.
ing from them, aud small valleys Of rich
land lie 10 them aud around their base,
which, BY the Aid Of the means OF irriga.
ton offered, can be made productive.
The great obstacle to occupying these
hills with settlements, will be found In the
hostility OF the Dakota Indians. We were
The first explorers to penetrate this region,