Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1892-03-22
InT sIAkGo PLAIN.


The geographical mystery of Texas U
the Ilsno Estacado or staked Plain. u
lies south of IN. Canadian aud east Of
the rccos aud west of the l0ist merid
Ian.
"In surface features" Professor I'LL
says, "the northwestern half of thi'
plain 1. similar to the plains ~ Colorado
Kansas and northward. Hut there U
this difference: Instead of extending "a
the Rocky Mountains ON the west or I'm
perccp,lbly grading Into the level of th'
eastern areas, II IL surrounded on ever,
slde, except few miles on its south
east corner, by a more or les. prcclpl
tate e.carpment of erosion resembling
palisades. Thi. Isolate. u from the sur
rounding region excep, the Edwards
plateau, which IL its southeastern con
ncction, already mentioned"
III. stAkci Plain IL there, q great
steep sldci Island Ia an ocean 10 land
This elevated surface embraces fiity
thousand square miles. The gcograph
ic,l condition !. that the spaniards gave
the name because they had to dfiy,
stakes Ia marx their way across. THIS
accorJis pretty well With prOf. liill's lie
.cripiiOn. lie say. this vast surface u
perfectly smooth, with the exception OF
an OCCASIONAL deprcssio0--so much .o n
To resemble the level of the o~an nj
dead calm. II !. unbroken by tres OF
bu.he. or deep drained channels. II
l. c.rpeiei with a rich growth OF gram
ma gras.es. The new railroads of Tex
az and New Mexico have mad. accc..i-
BILE to the geologlst. thl. largest Texas
plain, and perhaIi. the greatest and the
least studied plateau of our country,
IN. small amount of surface wafer
Nhichi. not drunk up by IN. -oll u
found In q few widely distributed ponds.
Two stream. iow around the plain. They
ar, the Canadian aud the rccos. Both
have cut nearly Que thousand fcct below
N. level. Neither % them rccNc any
surface drainage from the plain. Vet
the rainfall on the stakci Plain from
June to September !. from twenty "a
twenty-five inches. III. soil !. rich aud
from siN io thirty feet deep. II seem.
like lake deposit, and u differ. from all
other part. of Texas.
notwithstanding the rainfall, the
plain I. covered With nutrition. grass. n.
one approaches, the edge of the stakc,i
Plain ri.cs like prccipicc. Ihls wall
can b. seen At dl.tanc. ~ lfiy miles.
The c,ig. Z. s-rrated aud cut into by the
rain-ws.hc. Ia such degree that IL l.
evident the w.sring-sway proc-.. u 60
ing ou rapidly. This extensive washing
I. the same kind as that "a b. seen In the
edges II the Had Lands and the Dako-
tas. The g,-ologi.t easily estimates that
the rcco. and the Canadisn, flowing
around the west aud the north slides, and
the Rel BraHo. aud Colorado, heading
near the eastern boricr, have ALREADY
worn away great slices ~ the stsked
Plain. The top % a book resting on a
ilat table gives good Idea ~ the Stakei
Plain. This plain, taking II from the top
consist. of, first. porous se,i-
imcnt ~ soil, sand, gravel and salt In
horizontal layer. Ia . depth 10 tvo hun
drc,i feet. Then come. great hoor of
sand, clay. aud GRANTEES. Fart of the
ioor l. composed of the Trinity sands.
Fart of H., where the sands have been
worn away hy the conyulsions of nature,
1. of t,lc rrd beds.
iNf ffhAAAANu- w Wv HfN'NH ~ Wv
scientist, but the main question with q
practical generation II about the water
condition of thl. great plain. Running
water In Dickcn, County !. the only
stream on the vast plain. II isa bright,
sparkling stream that suddenly breaks
out ~ the ground, ripple. over pebbly
bottom for distance 81 ten mlle-, and
then mys,criously dl.appears. How !.
this absence of running water to IT, ac-
count.d for ON 1000 miles 81 country
possessing q fair ralnfallt
The answet l., the great capplng strata
of the ~takci rlsln are as porous a. a
sponge. Eycry drop Of water either
eyapOrate- or sink. downward through
the soil. untll recent years the stakci
Plain va. considered utterly watsrlcs-.
Hut there nov have been dug Into these
porou. strata more than Que thousand
wells. These we'll. do not dow. bat the
water :. pumped freely by windmlli.,
and the stakei Plain l. thereby made a
pasture for countless herds of cattle.
Thc.e we'll. have been obtained In all
parts of the Plain. Digging !. no longer
regarded a. an experiment. The water
soak. into the ground, aud !. storei In
the mortar bei. and grlt.. II !. kept
FROM going farther down by the under
lying rcd beds. II constitutes one of
th. most remarkable sheets of under
ground water In this country Louis
"a