46 



in the sixties, stated that in 18G5 he saw the buffalo pawing in the bed 

 of the Platte to obtain water. 



J. J. Armstrong, of Denver, Colo., says that he came to Colorado in 

 1870. That in the early days, from Platteville down, the South 

 Platte River was practically dry in August and September, except 

 for a few small channels. In 1873 he rode from near Platteville or 

 Greeley along the bed of the river, which was nothing but sand bars 

 with a few small, trickling channels. 



Mr. Ryan, conductor on the Burlington Railroad between Nebraska 

 City and Lincoln, Nebr., was freighting along the Platte River from 

 1860 to 1865. He stated that in 1863 the river was dry west of 

 Julesburg for 100 miles. 



John Bratt, of North Platte, Nebr., says that he thinks the South 

 Platte went dry in the sixties, the same as it does noAV. In the early 

 seventies he bought land along the South Platte; since that time 

 the river has usually gone dry at times in summer, usually in August, 

 but in the early summer there was more water then than now, 



Charles McDonald, of North Platte, Nebr., was along the South 

 Platte in the sixties. He says that the river went dry in 1862, and 

 also in 1871. 



Hon. John Evans, of North Platte, Nebr., says that he has been 

 living in North Platte since 1871 ; that in early times the river went 

 dry in exceptional years. Since 1895 it has gone dry every year. 



W. A. Paxton, of Omaha, Nebr., who has had cattle ranches on the 

 Platte since the early sixties, states that the river went dry in 1863, 

 1866, and 1871, and that it has gone dry every year since about 1885 

 or 1886. 



Henry T. Clarke, of Omaha, Nebr., built several bridges across the 

 Platte River in 1874. He states that in that year the river was dry, 

 and it was necessary to dig holes in the river bed to secure water for 

 his cattle. 



Summing up these statements, the accounts of the early travelers 

 and explorers, while not stating that the river was dry, all agree as to 

 its being very Ioav in summer. The testimony of the i)arties living 

 in the Platte Valley show that the river was dry in places, and for 

 short periods at least, during the years 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866, 1871, 

 1873, 1874, and 1875. For these years we have definite statements. 

 For the years 1863 and 1864 we have a large number of statements 

 that the river was dry. In addition to these definite statements as 

 to particular years, we have the statement of J. J. Armstrong that it 

 usually went practically dry ; the statement of John Brewer that he 

 heard freighters say that the water sank into the sand and that they 

 were obliged to dig for water. Mr. Hawley states that he understood 

 from the talk of oldtimers that as a usual thing the South Platte 

 went dry below the mouth of the Cache la Poudre nearly to the June- 



