26 



DEVILS TOWER TO NEW CASTLE. 



As one proceeds up the Belle Foiircbe from the Tower he can not 

 helj) but notice the gradual decrease of the pine timber. It becomes 

 more and more scrubby until it practically disappears at the mouth of 

 Wind Creek. On the bluffs ou either side of the stream is a growth of 

 jtine, with some oak, and on the bottoms there is a good growth of Cot- 

 tonwood, with more or less of the bufi'alo berry, green ash, box elder, and 

 an occasional plum and cherry thicket. There is always a very vigor- 

 ous growth of roses, buck-bush, and sage-brush. There are large areas 

 on the bottoms covered with long-leafed sage {Artemisia longifoUa), 

 almost to the exclusion of other vegetation. 



Some difficulty was experienced iu finding feed for the horses in the 

 upper Belle Fourche region, not that the country is not productive, 

 but there are too many cattle. It would be difficult to tell what grasses 

 grow ou the river bottom were it not for the winter pastures which are 

 fenced in. During the two nights spent here the party managed to 

 camp in these winter pastures where there were good growths of blue 

 grama {Bouteloua olifjostachya), needle-grass {Sfipa comata), feather 

 bunch-grass {S. riridula), western wheat-grass {Agropijron spinitum), 

 jirairie June-grass {Koeleria cristata), big sand-grass [Calamovilfa 

 longifnlid), big cord-grass {Spartina eynosHroide.s), slender cord- grass (<S^. 

 gracilis), wild rye {Ulymiis canadensis), sand rush-grass {Sporoh<di(s 

 cryptandrns), and Montana sand grass {Calamagrosiis montanensis). 

 The main hay grass is western wheat-grass, which is cut in fenced areas 

 along the river bottoms and farther back ou the range, along creek 

 bottoms. Water for irrigating purposes is rather scarce, but wherever 

 foun<l and used good crops of alfalfa are raised. The rainfall is much 

 less than it is in the vicinity of the Bear Lodge Mountains. As near 

 as we were able to learn the rainfall is seldom sufficient to mature a crop 

 of snuill grain after one gets 10 miles west of the Bear Lodge Mountains. 



It appears to be the common experience that native sod when irri- 

 gated grows up almost exclusively to Agropyron spicatum, which is 

 known by the name of wheat-grass. Several instances of this were 

 seen — one at Mr. Baugh's, another at Mr. McKean's, farther up the 

 river. 



A great deal of the country about Moorcroft is covered with si)ecies 

 of sage-brush, salt-sage, greasewood, and cactus. This is in the edge 

 of the sage-brush plains of Wyoming. To the east are the hills, covered 

 with a good growth of pine. This condition continues nearly to Merino, 

 where the railroad works back toward the western tind)er line of the 

 foothills. The soil is largely of a clayey nature, nuich of it of the sort 

 l)oi>ularly called "gumbo," and washes very badly. The rain does not 

 soak into the ground much, but runs off" into the streams, often swell- 

 ing them to enormous extent. Amcmg the sage-brush and cacti are 

 good growths of grasses, generally those which do not form a sod under 

 ordinary conditions. Among the most important may be mentioned 



