The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-01-08

| the
| We have, then obvious reasons wbv m. scat.
tered clusters OF trees referred to- the isolated
| groves upon the praries have not .,tenaaa 80.
domain 50 as 10 embrace the whole field Tho
! prsirie fires the matted, tough sward a.. -,
| ing OF wild animals In the neIghborhoo, e r.
groves 10 which they resorted the abo,;g;rI -
campments usually located around tho ~.
Of the groves, would seem TO procur. 4. snf,o;..a
| explanation why the groves have not .rtanSs
! independently Of the quality of the sail n.
the cultivation of the prairie soils improves tha;r
condition Tor the growth of trees is proved nv
! tht more vigorous growth of those wbera ~
ground - cultivated than those which snri,,
/ from seeds accidently scattered on the maria
along the horde : of the groves; but TINS is trua
! OF herbaceous vegetation as well
W no that is intimately acquainted with and
/ mas Carefully studied the praIries will dispu.e
/ that the soil of the groves has been form. IN,
the same process that has formed the soil ~ the
/ treeiess prairles? The theory that these groyes
mark out the places where the agitated water.
! have thrown up embankments which cut off the
shallow waters where the n,ked prries have
been formed, Is not sustained by either the tnro.
grapfy or the geography OF the ground II this
theory was true we should find the groves in
! conhnu lines upon elevated ridges com posed
! OF sand ld gravel, such we uniformly ind to
comprise those dykes, which, undoubtedly have
been fc:med a. supposed, and have PERFORMED
! the office assigned them. Such. however is nat
the case. In very few instances do W. find the
! groves occupying continuous, unbrnken ridges of
any considerable extent. We tiud them scattered
over the praries. without law or order except
| ing only the condition of water in some form in
their vICiHltv. which may serve 10 protect them
from the c'ntiigrstlOns OF the praires This wa
ter need not charge the soil itself with humidity
IN order ~ secure the growth Of trees for i, il
not uncommon to find the groves oc ,upying the
highest and dryp.t knpll. hO. nj, ,ka;- 1.
at least 50 near as to serve ~ protection water
Is sure b be found. In former times when the
| traveller IN crossing the great, wild prairie~ saw
a grove in the distance he shaped hi- course 10
IT, with the absolute certainty of finding water
there, no matter how dry parched the prairie
inigh be.
The soil, too, gives no evidence Of An accumu-
laton OF material, such a, is usually thrown up
by agit,tei waters. When we penetrate the soil
OF the woodlands. even 10 great depths a. in dig
ging wells and the like, find the same f5rma.
tiOn- which met with in the surrounding,
praITie~. have already alluded to The fact that
whenever we find chain OF groves occnpyiu,
the high divide, OF the water sheds OF the pr.i-
rIe>, they are generally separated uv deep de-
| pres,ions, which would have destroyed them a.
dyke, Tor the sspsr ,tion OF the waters
A. / have already stated, | am prepared :,
admir-, as almost demonstrated fact, that not
only our green prhIrie,, but ais. our great i,r-
rest lands and the desert p.tIU- rii.iug all the
/ space between the Alicgh.uie, aud tpr Rocky
! Mountains. were originally formed or deposited
under water. from which they hive emerged by
some process, of nature, probably very slow but
this elevation has NOT been dependent, u any
considerable degree, upon a1il'IulI Deposits
but upon the actual uphetgel u the -, ~ mat
ter originally submerged, or the stIs-ilruce Of
the water hy the removal oi barriers which once
/ restrained them. And yet II all prairies have
been formed ~ supposed by the theory which |
! have taken 'he liberty VI crltici-Ing they have
been formed ny deposit. in the water I.l Nv sue.
ce.>iv~ accommodations, they have finally cmer,ei
( above the waters
/ To me the evidence that this l. not ~ il ab-
solutely conclusive ia well ~ that the deposit,
/ have been very insignificant, since they were
| deeply buried ur.der me waters. | Will state
some OF the ihcts. within the observation of all
men, which have led mc to this conclusion.
| think il j. universally accepted al least
among scientific men, that the rocks called bnui-
der-l scattered over most OF our prairie. AT least
east of the Missouri river aud north OF latitude
! forty, have been trans portci from their original
! beds in the north 70 their present places by
means OF floating Ice. Apart from the admitted
fact that this l. not their native place or Mlt thu
dd MT g10,' here, and hence must AVE been
transported by some agency and OF our inability
10 conceive OF any other capable OF producing
such results many or the MASSES. especially the
| Iowa prairles, weighing hundreds OF tUn- each,
! and the additional fact that their rounded form
! has been acquired by abrasion, by which their
! sharp angels nave been worn away since they
| were detached from their original beds. and We
| can conceive OF no other adequate agency to pro-
duce this result but moving water and ice,-l
say, aside from all this evidence, within two
miles OF where now write, the most convincing
evidence exists that these boulders were brought
by icebergs 10 the north, but especially 70 the
west, of the city of Ottawa and almost within
its limits, II Is easy To trace the exact size and
| form OF the masses of ice, where they grounded
and deposited their freight of boulders. There
one may walk over a quarter OF acre, halt
an acre, or several acres, according to the size OF
the mass, always stepping on these stones, thus
deposited close together as they when en-
braced by the cOagsaling waters, and outside Of
the borders not another stone can be found till
another similar collection met with. The
borders of these collections sharply detin-
cd as if marked with wall. Here, too another
interesting fact may be observed, which shows
that they we're not transported in one voyage
from their original homes TO their present resting
place. We observe single collection composed
of a great variety of rocks-several kinds of
granite trap, gneiss, sienite, and perhaps doz'
en- others which we know from their far distant
beds, had been drifted or rolled together from
long distances, and worn to their present form,
before they were picked up for their last
voyage.
The rock.bound shores of Lake Superior show
us how these boulders were formed. There, Ill
many places we may see before MS the lately de-
tached blocks of rocks, with all their angle.
sharp and AZ we pass down from the top OF the