221 



moro especially atlaptcd to liorticiiltm-e, and in some places, perhaps, 

 stofik-raisin^-. I base this opinion partly upon the unusual abun<hince 

 of native species of fruits anil partly ujton the kind of soil present. 

 But of course ther<^ are otlier things to be taken into account, and I 

 fully admit tlie possibility of my being wroiij;' in the matter. 



I am especially inclined to believe that small frnits and plums and 

 perha})S pears will do well in this district, particiihuiy in the southern 

 and eastern portions, while pcatdies are alreaily<piite successfully jjjrown 

 by Indians and S([naw men in tlic (Mierokee ^S'^ation. Tlic soil seems 

 to have the clayey consistency desirable for some fruits — as theplniu — 

 and yet with sufficient sand ov gravel to allow ncM'essary drainai;c. 



Moreover, native I'ruits ur(^ found in great abnudance, as a rule. In 

 the (Jherokee and Creek nations haws are extremely <;ommon, their 

 blossoms giving a white appearance to the woods and tilling the air 

 with fragrance. They include the species Cratamm arborescenn VA\. 

 aud (J. tomentosa ]j., var. mollit,- Gray, and no doubt others that 1 <lid 

 not observe. In nearly all this district the following species are quite 

 common, esi)ecially the first named: Chickasaw plum {Prunus Chica.sa 

 Mx.), the ordiiuiry wdd plum {FninuH Americana Marshall), the wild 

 cherry (7V«»?/.s' scrotina Ehrh.), and Prnnns gracilis Kng. and Gr. ; and 

 in the timbered portions of the southern [tart of this district dewber- 

 ries and strawberries are so very abundant as to form extensive wild 

 gardens, as I observed myself, both to my pleasure; in the berries they 

 furnished and to my annoyance in the obstruction they offered to the 

 pe<lestriau. The <*ommon blackberry and rasi)berry {Hubm villmm 

 Ait. and E. oeoklentall.s L.) are also found every tvhere, and a Ioav, bushy 

 species of blackberry [Rubus trivialis Mx.) seems to be rather common 

 at Mnita, 



The usual western grasses thrive well, aud a native species of i-lover 

 {Trlfolium CaroUnianum Mx.) is common at Okmulkee, the capital of 

 the Creek Nation. Another larger-headed, clover [Trifolhim re/iexmn 

 u.) was collected in the southern Seminole Nation, but did not seem to 

 be very frequent. 



In theeastern portions there is excellent timber, including quite a num- 

 ber of the common oaks, several hickories, hard and soft maple, green 

 ash, the elms, box elder, sycamore, yellow birch, bla(;k walnut, cotton- 

 wood, etc. Post oak is especially common, and makes fairly good timber. 

 Farther westward, except along streams, forests are reduced to small 

 groves of gnarly " black Jack," I't^notely S(;attered here and there. 

 From my one trip through the eastern part of this district it was im- 

 possible to gain mu(Oi thorough knowledge of its timber. 



W l':STJO K N IN b I AN T FAIU ETOR V. 



For the entire region included in Kansas and Indian Territory the 

 28th meridian may be taken as a very good arbitrary line separating 

 the Great Plains llora into an eastern and western section, some- 



