The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-08-15

sition of old Earth. Where there is suf-
ficient amount of sand mingled With this
gumbo, it produces fine crops of corn, oats
and wheat, with favorable conditions in ad-
dition. Six miles south from the crossing on
the Missouri 1s the mouth of the White river,
which forms the south boundary of the land
ceded The character of the soil here is diff
ferent from that in the vicinity of the Mis-
souri, river. being more sandy loan and less
susceptible to drouths, which have been the
rule there for several years. The valley of
the White river for about ten miles from the
mouth is quite wide. and SO far as cultivated
it has been found very fertile, even under
such careless, hap-haZard cultivation as an
Indian or squaW man gives the land
This valley of the White perhaps offers as
good opportunities for farming as any part
Of the reservation, being far enough south
to lie within the corn-producing belt and
having u warm, rich SOIL with open subsoil,
retaining moisture we'll
Scattered along from the mouth of the
river to it's source are groves of timber.
Cottonwood is the principal variety, though
there are occasional groves of elm, and in
the deeper gulches and ravines clumps of
cedar. Within about fifty miles of the con-
fluence with the Missouri the valley widens
to about five or six miles, forming great
meadow of nearly two thousand acres. This
is the largest piece of land lying in one body
to be found on the river. This produces
~
small creeks, which in wet seasons flow into
the White river. just above this, in as
cending tho river, one finds the character OF
| the country changing, the land becoming
| more broken and billy, the hills more abrupt,
while the streams flowing into the White are
more numerous. Continuing up the river
! for nearly hundred miles above the forks
where the Little White river joins with the
river from the south, the country
is found to te adapted solely
to grazing purposes, being much broken by
abrupt hills covered with short but very
nutritious grass, called by the stockmen
who have grazed their herds upon it alkali
| grass or bunch grass, indiscriminately. Cat
| tie grazing upon this grass fattens very rap
| idly, being made ready for market in August
| or september. Large numbers are yearly
| shipped from this region. Near the head
| waters of the While river the Bad Lands be.
| gin, strange formation of hills, bare
| OF vegetation, interspersed with deer
| canyons and ravines, Though which run
| small streams, the water strongly impreg.
/ mated with alkalL Cattle feeding upon the
/ grass along the margin of these streams are
| frequently stricken with mysterious dis.
| ehse which causes death very soon after at
/ tack. Dissection shows the inner coating
of the stomach burned out by the action q
| the alkali Stock men are careful not K
have tber cattle range through this regior
unless there are some preventtves at hand II
| the shape of salt licks, salt having beer
| found q preventive of alkah poisoning b,
/ nentrdlizing the effect of the poison ant
making the akali salts distasteful.
| MANY FERTILE STRETCHES.
Taken az whole the White river present
these features TO the settler. For hundre'