rising, bold, rugged cliffs, to the height of loo or 200 feet, and then noble plains ascending gradually, with scattered groves, so pleasing to the sight that art seems to have crowned the work of Nature. We wonder that we do not see farms, barns and fences. Surely one just from Europe would think himself on the demesne of some great lord, and would be amazed at not seeing the mansion and its appurtenances.
Nature seems to have lavished its gifts on this region; and without being a prophet, I can predict a future far unlike the past for this desert. The words of the Psalmist will be soon applied - "The earth was created for the abode of man, and to manifest the glory and perfection of the Lord."
These plains, naturally so rich and verdant, seem to invite the husbandman to run the furrow, and promise an ample reward to the slightest toil. Heavy forests await the woodman, and rocks the stonecutter. The sound of the axe and hammer will echo in this wilderness; broad farms, with orchard and vineyard, alive with domestic animals and poultry, will cover these desert plains to provide for thick-coming cities, which will rise as if by enchantment with dome and tower, church and college, school and house, hospital and asylum.
I speak here principally of the region from the mouth of the river Kansas to that of the Niobrara or Eau qui coule,b and extending beyond the Black Hills, continuing along their crest to the Rocky Mountains, thence it follows southwardly the already existing limits of Utah, New Mexico and Texas. This region contains several large rivers, with numerous tributaries, the principal of which are the Platte, the two rivers just named, and the head waters of the Arkansas, Osage and Red. These present the greatest inducements to civilization.
Will not the President of the Republic, like some of his
s An interesting variation of the usual name, Eau qui court.