Council Bluffs bugle. [volume] (Council Bluffs, Iowa) 1860-1868, 1868-12-10
VOLUME XVII,


- : IT. S II zI.IJ!l
Thus IS Che cultivation ~ the soil
lessons the area occupied by the prai-
ria grass the production Of fuel will
advance bath hy artificial planting
and spontaneous CROWN uutli sne oe-
sired amount Is obtained, the settlers
choosing In advance the location OF
their timber lands, assigning such
spaces foF thaa purpose % are 80
adapted 10 cultivation.
As would naturally be inferred
from tho fact that 20 few exposures
Of the underlying rocks exist here.
the whole region Is deeply covered
with drift, This deposit 70 Of course
of variable thickness, but we have
little means of determining even APP
proxirnateIy what that ahiokness
really Is I'm any case, for nothing hut
this material Is TO be seen over prai
rie surface or valley slope. and no
excavations yet made have passed
through 1t. Nothing but this is seen
even where the streams have cut
their valleys betweeu one ana TWO
hundred feet deep,
AT Peterson in Clay county, the
Little Sioux has cut its valley down
so abruptly that 1t is only alb, ut haiI
q mile wide and one hundred ana
ninety feet deep from the general
Drairie level, This level is so dis
tinet, and the valley 50 well uenned
in this neighborhood that tFe traSei-
er does not suspect the existence Oh
the valley until he Is just upon It's
border, and yet nothing but drlft -
found covering the slopes nom top
to bott om. 1t is possible that the
valley has been eroded part OF the
way through strata 50 friable that
their debris has mingled with ana
become undistinguishable from the
drift, but on the other hand there Is
no reason to suppose that the whole
denth of the valley has not been cut
| through the drift deposit alone.
Generally speaking, there Il not SO
much clay In the drifft Of this region
as there IS in that further souIa S.ru
as.sa a~asaaAaaStgard. although brick
elays may be obtained IN stIffleIent
quantity over the greater part OF ii,
| This gives a subsoil, not only OF great
depth, but composed largely OF ma>
| teriais, sand, gravel, &C., that insure
| TO great extent, sufficient natural
underdrainagc.
The derivation of this immense
amount of material called drift, such
as eomposes the soil and sulsoli OF
| this region Is d subject of great in~
| terest. but can now receive only a
| passinr notice. All soil is decom-
posed rock, and when it has not been
moved by glacial or aqueous agency
/ il Is derived from those rocks which
Immediately uuderlie it. The gia-
ciers during the drift epoch having
| moved southwardly, the soil Of Iowa
is very largely derived from rocks
within its own borders, much OF Il
| fFom r0Gi.s immediately underlying
| it, butts large portion from rocks
Immediately underlying the surface
| 4 little to the n0rthWard.
The soil and subsoii, in other wor.ftss:
| the drift, of Iowa, i deep aIld nnsiy
| cOinmInutptf DeTsltlsS TIC rsScsxS fTsfs2a
| which it is derived were disiategra
| ted ana acted upon with comparative
ease by the glaciers during the DRIFT
epoch. Ii they had been 50 hard ~
| to have resisted this action. as the
rocks in some parts of the world
were, the soil would have been thin
s2d poor. The rocks Of New En-
gland although containing in thair
Composition the elements of good soil
resisted all the action of the gIaciers;
consequently the soil isthin and poor
except in the valleys. Much of the
- AFtEw.ssy,$a la ha aFs3 anil
durable as that of Ne England,
but very much Of 1t was, aud Is now
SO friahle that 1t was easily ground
to the condition of soil i'm the tee mill.
So thoroughly are some OF these
granite masses deeompoSed that large
cliffs of it which | saw near the
mouth OF Redwood river could be
easily crushed to the condition Of
soil in the hand, and yet they remain
there undisturbed in the original
place of deposit. 1t Is from such
sources as this that much of the soil
OF the region under discussion has
been derived.
The soil proper, as before said, Is
good. Ii Is quite uniform in charac-
ter over the whole region, except
that q part of the western portion of
Plymouth county is covered with
soil derived from the bluff deposit 50
frequently referFed to In former LETT
tiers as composing the III Of the
counties bordering the Missouri
river.
1t is almost everywhere rich and
loamy and containing perceptable
proportion of sand, not enough 30
approach barrenness however--it Is
warm and mellow, and viii perfect
crops as early as the heavier soils
further southwark.
The wells thus far dug in this re-
gion have been In the Drift deposit
alone, and no difficulty has been ex-
perieneed in obtaining full supply
of good water at moderate depth.
In brief the region is we'll watered,
and the water of the streams as well
as that of the springs and wells, Is
clear and excellent.
The scenery Is not marked by fea-
tures 50 strong as that OF some other
parts of the State, beeause the b6lder
features OF a landscape ara usually
due 10 more or less abrupt exposures
Of rocky masses, but It nevertheless
possesses much baauty along the nu-
merous valleys, and especially In the
vicinity of the lakes. In this respect
Snigit and 0koboji lakes In Dicken-
son county are very inviting. The
beautiful wooded shores and grav-
ely beaches OF the latter, with It's
indented shore line and cosy hooks. |
make IL q delightful summer retreat |
for those In pursuit of health and |
pleasure, while the abundance of fish |
and wild fowl of its waters psesent |
rare attractions for the sportsman.
G. A. WHITE,
State Geolagist.