34 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 93 



haired porcupine, wolverine, northern plains skunk, wood rat, red 

 squirrel, and numerous species of small rodents. Prairie chickens, 

 sharp-tailed grouse, and migrating water fowl must also have fur- 

 nished a considerable item in primitive household economy. In general 

 the picturesque High Plains in Nebraska offered considerable induce- 

 ment to hunting peoples, whereas from the horticultural standpoint 

 they would seem to possess less obvious advantages then as now. At 

 the present time the region is rather sparsely settled in comparison 

 with the eastern and southern portions of the State, excepting, of 

 course, the even more scantily occupied Sand Hills region immediately 

 to the east. 



The Sand Hills, or more technically sand dunes, in central Nebraska 

 occupy a broad, rather poorly defined area of some 18,000 square miles 

 (map, fig. 2), not including isolated dune areas on the lower Loup and 

 south of the Platte. The area is rather generally covered with shifting 

 wind-blown sand dunes ranging from 25 to 100 feet or more in height. 

 In between occur valleys, marshes, and especially in Cherry County, 

 numerous lakes. The river valleys here have few tributaries and are 

 mainly spring-fed. though a few smaller streams occur on the eastern 

 margin. The water table is variable in depth and most of the drainage 

 is underground, thus accounting for the lakes and marshes. It is a thin 

 grass country supporting a considerable number of varieties of bunch 

 grass, although some 20 acres are said to be necessary to support a 

 single horse or cow. Yucca, sagebrush and small cacti are character- 

 istic, and wild plum, wild rose, dogwood, and greasewood thickets are 

 to be found in the more sheltered pockets. Raspberries, wild plums, 

 and sand cherries are abundant. Waterfowl breed in all the lakes and 

 even today are still very numerous. Prior to the advent of the white 

 man and the automatic shotgun they must have bred here in tre- 

 mendous numbers. Many of the animal species mentioned as occurring 

 in the High Plains are found in the sand hills as well, though it seems 

 improbable that the main butifalo herds would voluntarily have left 

 the rich pasturage of the Loess Plains or even the High Plains for the 

 more barren sand hills. Travel is difficult in the region, owing to the 

 large areas of shifting sand, fuel is hard to obtain, and the dune-sand 

 soil is not well adapted for farm crops. Water and grazing are ade- 

 quate for stock raising, however, and this constitutes the main occupa- 

 tion of the very thin present-day population. We will have occasion 

 subsequently to present a somewhat more intimate picture of the sand- 

 hill region (see p. 212, " Surface Sites on the Dismal River, Hooker 

 County "). 



