New-York daily tribune., 1859-06-01
AN OVERLAND JOURNEY.
NOTES ON KANSAS.
I.AMRFNcE. kansAs. Us

when thunder-showers came mp from every ssAe.
| snd KEEP, flashing and rumbling and pouring nearly
throughout the night Kansas brsgs ou its thunder
and lightning; and the boas, is well founded.
nrycr before observed display OF celestial pyrs-
eclny so protrscted ineessant and vivid as that d
last Sundsy night. The country. already satnrsseS
with wstcr, was fairly drnched BY this deluse.
which rendered many strcsms ordinarily insisnin-
cant either dangerous or for season inpassaoie.
Al 6 a. IN. on Monday morning, four cf Us lcts
Atchison in two-horse wagon, intent on reaching
osawatamie come eighty miles rather east sf
sou,h-one GDudrcd BY any practicable routs)
next evening. The sky W. st threatening; wo
knew that the streams were sv,lled beyond reasos;
but our pilot was most experienced pioneer. who
had forded. been ferried over or swan every
stream in Eastern Kansas and WAS confident oi hs
ability to 90 through by some route or other -
We went ahead in southerly direction. scrOs
swells Of prairie rather steep-sded for Kaus.r and
through ravnes in which what were usually r'iis
| we're swelled into torrents. From the high level o.
the prairirs little bu. broad sweep Of grass On
every SIDE was visible; bat soon We were descead-
ing into new rsvine. and now belts aud spurs oi
timber were seen, generally widening as theg do
scend ! noted that these woody spurs, composod
mainly of Black Oak and Cottonwood (the latter
very poor but quick growing timber rsnga&
somewhere between Poplar AMI Bassweod) bo-
gan To extend ou every side wherever the ANIMAL
fires were rcpeled from the adjacent prairie.
whether by the interposition OF road or otaor-
wise and that the young trees that thus spring ~
along The sides of the rsyines aud run out into the
level prairie. are quite often Hickory, White Ash.
&c. even where none such are visible among the
adjacent timber was fully convinced that wooa
grows more abundant with the progress Of settle
ment and cultivation OF course, there is timber
enough to day in the Territory; but the better pse-
ton of il is too generally confined tn the intervsrs
of the larger streams, too far Tor their co0foo
from most settlers on the pralries. Covid
praire-fres be wholly arrested, the increase u
| timber would oycrbslapce teufold the annual rtss
| aud waste and the quality improves even faster
| than the quantity. This is real progress For
though there is quite enough in the Territory, and
| pretty good variety Of all species except The
eyergreens which are lamentaby deficient. thers
are points at which none is within two or three
miles-the little that formerly ran up the smAu rS-
vines which cut in upon the great high prnries be-
ing soon exhausted by use for building fuel and
fencing, and requiring years for its reproduction
Twelve or fifteen miles south Of AtchIson. We
| struck the great California trail from LeAvon-
worth, and thence followed it east by south ats
that city, some fifteen to eighteen miles. should
have liked Gerrit Smith one of our party, that
mi ght show him the practical working Of his thos-
~ that Government has no other legitimate bssi-
ness than to keep one mans fingers on another
mans throat and out Of any pocket but his own
The great California trail, like the Santa F6 asd
all other primitive roads through this prairie oous-
Try, keeps along the highest " divides or prsrss
swells avoiding the miry bottoms Of tho
streams and (so far as possibe) the ravines which
the water falling the high prairie has cut down
to them, of course winding considerably, but mak,
ng the best and most serycesble natural road thst
can be, and one that in dry weather 10 exoellspS
and in wet as good as is possible. Butesch settler
along this trail. in the absence Of any legal estsb
lishment of the trail a. a highway, is at liberty -
run bis fences right across it the line Of his lend
runs, and 30 crowd il of the high "divides" int
all manner of angles and zigzags, across thn
rayiDe and. into that slough, until the trail IL fnss
becoming the very worst road in all Kansas. j
have had pretty full experience Of bad roads
during this week but the very worst and mdest
was that portion Of the California trail (aud United
States military road from Fort Leavenworth wsst
to other Forts) which works its sinuous way
through the region generally settled by thirty
farmers lying directly west of Ieayenworth Ana
the worst bill for teams have seen 10 kAnsss v
trsversed by this road within five mites Of Leasen-
worth. between the Fort and the rich but miry
valley of Salt Greek on the west This road, un-
lees il can be restored will soon have to be sbss-
doned, and thence Leavenworth must su6sr
Az We nesred the California trail. the whits oov-
| erngs of the many emgraat and tanspod w~sos
dotted the landscape, giving the trail the appear
snce Of Il river running through great moado~s' WIN
many ships ssiling on its bosom. Most OF tho ineS-
pendent wsgoners were still encsmped BY the way
side, unable or unwilling to brave the deep nsds
their cattle feeding on the broad prairie; the omi-
grants cooking or sitting beside the wagons; womea
sometimes washing, aud all trying to DRY taeir
clothing. drenched aad soaked by the pouring rain
| Of the past night One great wagontrsin WA
still in corral with ts cattle feeding and men louas
ing about the others might better haye been, a.
it was clearly impossible to make theiriesn wilA-
looking oxen (mainly Of the long ghorned strips.
which indicates Texas as their native Land, aud
hich bad probably first 6elt the yoke within the
past week. draw them up the slightest ascent
through that Deep slippery mire. grea. of
yelling, beating, swearing was beiss expended u