The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1902-03-14

Year after year, through drought and
rainy seasons, about the same quantity
of water flows in them. Rain may MOI
fall for months, and the country be
parched and burnt, but the flow of these
streams is not diminished.
How the Streams Are Fed.
This strange behavior of the streams
is probably due to several causes. Ir
the first place there is practically nc
surface run-off. The and lies on a bee
of sub-soil which is of q clayey sub
stance impervious to water. When raiE
falls in the hills and cuts, the sand.
which is very absorbent, drinks it in
greedily so that absolutely none of il
runs over the surface and into the
streams SO as to u them to swell
abnormally. Instead, the water slowly
percolates through the sand until it
reaches the sloping subsoil, when il
gradually makes it's way to the
streams.
But the ain alone is not enough to
keep the sand always moist and to feed
the streams. To another source, far
more rich and unusual, is attributed
the Wetness of the soil. Biologists and
photographers have observed hat the
North Platte river, just after it has
passed the town of North Platte,
shrinks greatly in volume. A very con-
"a vi NlC VAIL oIAoClllS
disappears.
Where does 1t go?
Only n theory explains the phe-
nomenon. There must be an enormous
underground flow.
Now, the Platte river at this place,
runs in IN elevated basin, and the
ground slopes away from it to the
northeast. The theory generally held
is that the underground flow from the
North Platte passes through the sand
hill country and feeds the Dismal and
the three Loup rivers, which seem to
be without tributaries. This accounts
for the perpetual saturation of the soil.
The water that one squeezes out of the
sand a few feet from the surface, in
the hollows between the hills. was sup
Piled by a s~ubteGranean source.
Seemingly a Worthless Waste.
The sand hill country is bare and
desolate n unfit for agriculture. Ex-
cept in the northern valleys, a few
miles south of the Niobrara river, one
al travel for many miles without see
ing a tree. No crops will grow on the
land, and trees AVE been kept out by
repeated burning of the grass by the
Indians. In most places the sand is
held in place by stiff, long grass, which
grows in tufts along the slope, its roots
forming a sort OF protective network
oNel lue surface. Inc grass is very
poor in quality, and from twenty-five
steer for six months.
Whenever this protective covering Of
grass roots is broken a singular thing
takes place. The northwest wind, which
blows directly against the hills, is en-
abled to enter the soft sand through
this break in the cover n Immediate
ly there begins to form what is called
q 'hlnJTnllt . Tho wind cnran1o .tho
sand along the sides OF the hill; the
hole expands and deepens, and often
the whole side of the hill is eaten put.
These "blowouts" change the topo-
graphy of the country not a little. They
are very frequent. especially on hills
that have been closely grazed.
Besides grass, the sandhills bear o
species of cherry, which is called the
sand cherry" Farmers wives often
for preserving. The sane cherry is
usually only a few inches high, never
more than q foot and a half, but it's
roots are Of value in holding the sand
fast.
The Grazing OF Cattle.
The grazing question is one hat will
have to De solved in case the sand hills
become a forest reserve. Mr.. Clifford
Pinchot, chief of the bureau, has
planned to cooperate with cattlemen
in the country in such a way as to
make the reserve a benefit to them
rather than a source of harm. Cattle
men, sooner or later, will probably be
granted permanent rights to Craze their
stock in certain parts of the forest re-
serves under specified conditions. The
one thing that will be expected of them
in the sand hill country is that they will
help the government to keep out fires.
An illusion that resembles the mirage
of the desert is often experienced by
travellers in the and hill country. Last
summer Il party Of experts from the
bureau of forestry saw what appeared
to be a lake, a short distance away, and
approached it to take a picture of it
with a camera The water was appar-
emily shimmering in the sun, and even
little waves could be seen; in short,
the resemblance was perfect. When the
foresters approached nearer they found
only the dry bed of what had once been
a lake, but which was now coated with
some alkaline salt that at a distance
bore a perfect resemblance to Water. A
photograph was taken Of a man stand
ing in this alkaline basin, and labeled
walking on the Water" The photo
graph conveyed the illusion perfectly.
A western cattleinan says that all
cows lie down or their left side and
never on their right unless the left is
injured.