Litchfield enquirer., 1875-03-04
WESTERN KANSAS.
THE TREELESS PLAINS.

1EoDaOLy uo teffHofy HhS oecu Su tuoI
 oughly advertised at home and abroad af
 Kansas It has been described as the
 Garden of the West" and the Paradise
 of fruit-gro~ers wheE-whatever may be
 said of Eastern kdnsds we have no eyi;
 dence that either trees or fruit have been
 successfully grown here. West of Salins
 at the junction of the Smoky Hill and Sa
 line rivers-all west of this point for ove1
 five hundred miles-are the ''treeless
 plains,' for the most part covered with the
 short buffalo grass and extending into
 Colorado to the base of the mountains.
 Through this vast region flow the Arkan'
 sas on the south, the Smoky Hill and Sa-
 line in the centre, and the Solomon and
 Republican on the north. Along the latter are some trees, but scarcely any on the others whether this region will ever pro- duce general farm crops is question yet to be settled. It has been settling up very fast for three years past, but the grasshop per raid in July, 1874, has brought emigra. tion to a standstin and has caused hundreds to abandon their claims and, with their families, to bid adieu to the country. Still we consider the ''grasshopper curse" a real blessing in disguise because the hot winds and drouth had already ruined the crops and they were only ''the last ounce that broke the camel's back" It has been estimated that fifty thousand people on the frontier are being supplied by pro- visions &c., donated by the East, and it is frightful to contemplate what might have been our condition had the grasshop- pers let us alone and the thousands of families that left had decided to remain. Hunger, cold. nakedness, and starva- tion, must have followed-but since it was reported to our Eastern neighbors that every green thing, even the foliage and bark on the trees, was devoured, an appeal for aid was made, a perfect 'ava- lanche of relief" has been pouring in up- on us, and Kansas may and ought to thank God for the grasshoppers and take cour- age. But what of the future? That de- bends upon the coming season. If fair crops of corn and small grains are success fully grown, the traditional American Desert" will be quickly settled up by the 'Homesteaders' and others, but should the crops prove failure, or another raid from the grasshoppers occur, there will be larger emigration out oJ than there everwas into Western Kansas, and the country will be left to the cattle and sheep men, who will establish Ranches at intervals of B few miles along the creeks and rivers. These will be able to cultivate oats, mill let, and corn for fodder, and will be obliged to ship what grain is necessary from the East.
 THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT.
 A Tribune correspondent who passed over this region in 1859 says, ''This dis trict is essentially pastoral region, wholly unfit for agricultural purposes, and must forever remain so." This is an exaggera- tion as large tract of the region describ- ed has since that time been cultivated and has produced good crops. Geologists inform us that previous to the elevation of the mountains, the Pacific ocean ex- tended unbroken to near the junction of the Forks that form the Kansas river, or one hundred and fifty miles west of the Missouri. Of course the plains are ''cre- formations, abounding in the va- :ious imestones, shales, &c., in which are preserved the remains of shells and rep ,iles. Sharks teeth are found in sand and gravel pits, perfect as when employed by these Arabs of the ancient seas to se- ,ure their prey. After the subsistence of ;he ocean it became in due time the home of the rhinoceros, the mastadon, and nu- nerous species ot their cotemporaries, whose fossilized bones are found in va- rious places. ''This kind of stock gave way to the elk, antelope, and buffalo, that two years since were so numerous. The latter were chased by the hunters right through the streets of Russell City a herd of thirty came dashing past our cabin causing our ten year old boy to spring with unusual elasticity to the ridge board. as he said, ito get better view of ;hem (?'. Their old trails are deep worn paths at intervals of a few miles. where, at the time they were moving to the north or south, they usually travelled, using their favorite lords at all the streams. There is scarcely square rod that does not have one or more of their 'wallowing places" Some idea of the wholesale slaughter going on may be infer 'ed by the fact that one firm, during the winter of 1S72-3, purchased and shipped for into leather, 60, 900 hides. These were sold by the hunters for s1.5o ;o $2.5O each. Those intended for robes are tanned by the squaws and worked soft by main force and awkwardness.
 SOIL, CLIMATE, Sc.
 If we are to believe the railroad agents and land bummers, who are interested in paper town plots, "the Great American Desert or grassy and treeless plains" are not only @ myth but on the contrary the country enjoys mild climate where stock need no food or winter protection except what is afforded by nature. That tine rain fall is equal to the Eastern or Western States, and. if the latter is aot so, all the settlers have to do is to break up the soil and plant trees, and then ''the clouds will drop fatness" and the thirsty arid plains will laugh and sing. Then again these sages inform us that the rain fall is 'sin- creasing every year," in consequence of the cultivation of the land, the grading and laying of the iron rails-the erection oftelegraph poles, with their wires stretch ingi to the Atlantic and Pacific" That breaking up and cultivating the soil may retain moisture, we have no doubt: but we believe a pawnno medicine man,a