NEBRASKA.

NEBRASKA, which was organized as a Territory in 1854, has been reduced in its area from time to time, till it is now included between the 40th and 43d parallels of north latitude, and the 25th and 27th degrees of longitude west from Washington. It is bounded on the north by the Territory of Dakota, on the east by the States of Iowa and Missouri, on the south by the State of Kansas, and on the west by Colorado and Dakota. The following are its present boundary lines: From the intersection of the 43d parallel of latitude with the 27th degree of longitude, the northern boundary line runs due east on said 43d parallel of latitude till it strikes the Keha Paha, or Turtle Hill River; thence down that river to its junction with the Niobrara, Running Water, or Rapid River; thence down the Niobrara till it joins the Missouri River; thence down the Missouri to its junction with the Big Sioux River; thence southwardly the boundary line of Nebraska follows the Missouri River to the 40th parallel of latitude; thence it runs west on that parallel till it strikes the 25th degree of longitude west from Washington; thence it follows that meridian north to the 41st parallel of latitude; then, turning west, it runs on that parallel to the 27th degree of longitude west from Washington, and then north on that meridian to its intersection with the 43d parallel of north latitude.

COUNTIES.-There were twenty-six counties in Nebraska in 1866. We annex a list of the counties, the population of each as given in the census of 1860, and the votes polled in each for and against the proposed State Constitution at an election held June 2d, 1866:

Nemahu.............

FACE OF THE COUNTRY.-The greater part of Nebraska seems to consist of a high prairie land. A chain of highlands called the Black Hills runs from near the Platte River, in a north-east direction, to the Missouri River, in Dakota, which they approach in about 102° west longitude, dividing the waters running into the Yellowstone from those flowing into the Missouri, below its great south-eastern bend. A recent authority, writing on the spot, thus speaks of Nebraska: "The soil, for a space varying from fifty to one hundred miles west of the Missouri River, is nearly identical with that of Missouri and Iowa. The highlands are open prairie grounds, covered with grasses; the river bottom, a deep, rich loam, shaded by dense forest trees. From this district to about the mouth of the Running Water River, is one boundless expanse of rolling prairie, so largely intermingled with sand as to be unfit for agriculture, but carpeted with succulent grasses. A third district, extending in a belt many miles east and west of the Mandan village in Dakota, on the most northerly bend of the Missouri, and southward across the southern boundary of Nebraska, is a formation of marl and earthy limestone, which can not be otherwise than very productive." Coal has been found in the north-western counties of Missouri, and it is probable may be found in the south-east portion of Nebraska. The limestone formation of Missouri and Iowa extends over the first district of Nebraska, described in the passage just quoted. Beyond that district the formation is chiefly sandstone. Coal has been seen cropping out in various places along the Nebraska River, in the south-west part of Nebraska.

The first district is the only really good agricultural region at present. It is a rich loam, finely timbered and watered. The second is strictly pastoral. The third has soil, but is destitute of timber, and very sparsely supplied with springs.

RIVERS. Nebraska is bounded on the east by the Missouri, one of the most important rivers on the globe, which takes its rise in the western part of Montana, among the declivities of the Rocky Mountains; runs north-east for about 1,000 miles, to 48° 20′ north latitude, rereceiving a large number of affluents from the north, and the Yellowstone, nearly 1,000 miles long, with a multitude of sub-tributaries from the south; then, turning to the south-east, pursues its course for 1,800 miles further, having its flood of waters swelled by the influx of a con

stant succession of streams, among which the principal are in the order named the Little Missouri, the Mankizilah, or Lower White Earth, the Niobrarah and its affluent the Keha Paha, and the Nebraska, or Platte River. The most important of the northern tributaries, beginning at the west, are the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson Rivers, (whose confluence forms the main stream,) followed by the Dearborn, Maria's, Milk, Upper White Earth, and numerous small streams. The Platte or Nebraska, which gives Nebraska its name, rises in two branches, respectively, in the north and south parks of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and flows east through the south part of Nebraska. The El Paso steamer ascended the Nebraska in the spring of 1853 to the distance of 400 or 500 miles, but this river can only be navigated at the highest water, and even then the navigation is difficult. As its name imports, it is broad and shallow, and during the dry season is, in parts, only a series of pools. The spring freshets in the Missouri usually occur about the first of June.

OBJECTS OF INTEREST TO TOURISTS.-Near 42° north latitude, and 103° west longitude, on the head-waters of the Lower White Earth River, or Mankizilah, and lying partly in Nebraska and partly in Dakota, between Fort Laramie and the Missouri, is a remarkable tract or valley, about 30 miles wide and perhaps 80 or 90 long, called Mauvaises Terres, or "bad lands," from its thin, sterile soil, which is covered with only a very scanty growth of grass. The appearance of this region presents a most striking contrast to that of the adjacent country. "From the uniform, monotonous, and open prairies, the traveler suddenly descends 100 or 200 feet into a valley that looks as if it had sunk away from the surrounding world, leaving standing all over it thousands of abrupt, irregular, prismatic and columnar masses, frequently capped with irregular pyramids, and stretching up to a height of from 100 to 200 feet or more. So thickly are these natural towers studded over the surface of this extraordinary region, that the traveler treads his way through deep, confined, labyrinthine passages, not unlike the narrow, irregular streets and lanes of some quaint old town of the European continent. One might almost imagine oneself approaching some magnificent city of the dead, where the labor and genius of forgotten nations had left behind them the monuments of their art and skill." In one sense, this region is truly a great "city of the dead," as it contains, in the most extraordinary profusion, the fossil skeletons of various tribes of animals now extinct, particularly of the pachydermata. Among others, there was found a nearly entire skeleton of the palæotherium, eighteen feet in length. Unhappily, its substance was too fragile to admit of removal. The bluffs, which often recede for several miles from the rivers, frequently rise from 50 to 500 feet above the bottom-lands, and present the appearance of castles, towers, domes, ramparts, terraces, etc. In the third district, described above, elevations "called buttes by the Canadian French, and cerros by the Spaniards, are profusely scattered. Here and there the traveler finds the surface varying in diameter from 100 feet to a mile, elevated from 15 to 50 feet above the surrounding surface. They are not hills or knobs,

the sides of which are more or less steep and covered with grass. Their sides are generally perpendicular, their surfaces flat, and often covered with mountain cherries and other shrubs. They have the appearance of having been suddenly elevated above the surrounding surface by some specific cause."

CLIMATE. Though the climate of Nebraska has not been accurately ascertained, enough is known, however, for practical purposes. In Eastern Nebraska, vegetation is some weeks later than in Iowa, and in the vicinity of the mountains some weeks later still. From the city of St. Louis, traveling either northward or westward, the climate becomes colder about in the same degree-the difference of elevation, traveling west, being about equivalent in its effects to the difference of latitude traveling north. The altitude of Nebraska, considerably greater than that of the Mississippi Valley, secures to it a dry, pure, salubrious atmosphere, free from fogs and humidity. The prevalent diseases are mostly malarious, and become less frequent as the country becomes cultivated. The climate is remarkable for the number of bright, clear, sunny days throughout the year. Rain is not abundant, the summer and fall being comparatively dry. The extreme heat is 100°. This is tempered by the prairie breezes, and the nights are always cool. The winters are usually mild and open, with little snow. The extreme cold is from 10° to 15° below zero in moderate winters, and from 20° to 30° below in severe ones. High winds prevail in the spring, and at times throughout the year, sweeping unobstructed over the open plains.

SOIL AND TIMBER.-We will briefly recapitulate the best soils, so far as ascertained. Near the south-east extremity the soil is often fourteen feet deep. For about 250 miles west of the Missouri River, says Hale, the prairie through which the Nebraska passes is very rich and admirably adapted to cultivation; and the whole "divide" for the distance named, between the Kansas and Nebraska, is a soil easy to till and yielding heavy crops. Much of the prairie region, where nutillable, is yet covered with rich pastures. Deficiency of timber is the great want of Nebraska, yet there are many well-timbered districts. There are dense forests of cotton-wood on the Missouri bottoms, from the mouth of the Nebraska to Minnesota, and on the bluffs and highlands bordering the Missouri River large tracts of timber, besides countless groves of oak, black-walnut, lime, slippery-elm, ash, etc. The Nebraska Valley is stated to be densely wooded for many miles on each side, to a distance of more than 100 miles above its mouth, and the valleys of the rivers and streams between it and the Lower White Earth are sufficiently well timbered for dense settlement.

Throughout the fertile region above described, wheat, corn, oats, and other cereals, sorghum, root crops, and all culinary vegetables, give a large yield. Sweet-potatoes are raised below latitude 42°. The native fruits are plums, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, etc. The winters are too severe for peaches, but the soil and climate are suitable for tobacco. The prairies furnish a boundless pasture-ground, and the grass of the valleys and the low grounds furnishes excellent bay.

ANIMALS. This country is the paradise of the hunter and trapper. Vast herds of buffalo roam over its prairies, though now rapidly diminishing in numbers. Lewis and Clark have stated that at times the Missouri was backed up as by a dam by the multitudes of these animals crossing. The beaver in former times existed in great numbers, though the trappers are now fast thinning them out. Otters also are found. Panthers were met with by Lewis and Clark and others; also black bears, deer, elks, and wolves.

HISTORY.-The valley of the Missouri was first visited by Father Marquette, in the last half of the seventeenth century. La Salle followed him in 1681-82. Nebraska formed a part of the great grant of the Mississippi Valley to Crozard in 1712, and was the object of Law's celebrated Mississippi Scheme. This territory came into possession of the United States in 1803, as a part of the Louisiana purchase, and successively formed parts of that and the Missouri and Indian Territories. In 1804-5 an expedition, commanded by Lewis and Clark, under the direction of the United States Government, ascended the Missouri River, wintered at Fort Mandan, and the next spring crossed the Rocky Mountains to the present State of Oregon, and are believed to have been the first explorers of the interior and western parts of Nebraska. In May, 1854, the Congress of the United States erected this region into a separate Territory, reserving, however, the right to subdivide it a right which has been frequently exercised of late, till now, instead of running through nine degrees of latitude and eighteen of longitude, as it did originally, it only covers three degrees of latitude and about two of longitude.

At the second session of the 37th Congress, in the winter of 1862–3, a bill for the admission of Nebraska as a State of the Union passed one house of Congress, but was lost in the other. The next, the 38th Congress, however, at its first session in 1863-4, passed an act to enable the people of Nebraska to form a State Constitution and State Government, with a view to admission into the Union. Delegates were accordingly elected to a Convention to prepare a State Constitution for submission to the people. The delegates so chosen met at Omaha on the 4th of July, 1864, and voted to adjourn sine die, without taking any steps toward the accomplishment of the object for which they had been elected.

A second Convention was called, and a Constitution framed, which was submitted to the people at an election held on the 2d of June, 1866. It was adopted by a majority of 100 in its favor, out of a total vote cast of 7,776. "An act for the admission of the State of Nebraska into the Union was passed just at the close of the first session of the 39th Congress, but, not being signed by the President, it failed to become a law. Another bill, with the same title, originating in the Senate, was passed at the second session of the same Cougress. This bill the President, on the 29th of January, 1867, returned to the Senate with his objections.

These objections are mainly confined to the third section of the bill, which provides that the State of Nebraska shall not be admitted into