WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 777 



and wide, open plains lie between mountains capped with everlasting 

 snows and seamed with deep canyons and gorges. The chief rangesare 

 the Yellowstone and Wind River of the Rocky Mountains in the north- 

 west, the Big Horn Mountains near the center and north, and the 

 Laramie and Medicine Bow or Black Hills ranges in the east. Numer- 

 ous rivers and their tributaries have their head waters within the State 

 of Wyoming. 



The extent of surface of the State is 355 miles in length by 276 miles 

 in width, giving an area of 97,883 square miles; and notwithstanding 

 the mountainous character of the State, more than one-half of the area 

 is considered good grazing land, available for that purpose as free 

 public land. The State as a whole has an elevation of from 3,000 to 

 8,000 feet above the sea level. 



The Laramie Plains, in southeast Wyoming, are the best known open 

 range, with an elevation of 5,000 to 6,000 feet. There are no great ex- 

 tremes of altitude except in the Big Horn range in the northwest, and 

 Laramie Peak in the southeast. A very large portion of the State con- 

 sists of small undulating plains and valleys running back into the hills 

 or breaks, which constitute the favored shelter and grazing grounds 

 during stormy winter weather. 



The valleys and even the desert lands, when irrigated, produce large 

 crops of grain or alfalfa. The soil of the valleys and plains is mostly 

 of a rich loam, although there are various qualities of soil which produce 

 nutritious grasses that cure where they grow and furnish food both 

 summer and winter. The grasses in the foothills and breaks are sparse, 

 but when cured are the most nutritious of forage plants. In addition 

 to the grass, there is other nutritious herbage suitable for browsing and 

 grazing. The mountains are mostly covered with a timber growth of 

 pine, spruce, hemlock, and cedar; in some of the foothills aspen, walnut, 

 elm, ash, box elder, hackberry, and small growth of red cedar; while 

 along the rivers or principal streams may be found two species of cot- 

 ton wood and thickets of willows. 



Governor Warren states that during the past ten years not more than 

 fifteen days each year has it been necessary to feed hay or grain to 

 strong, healthy sheep, and then only on account of deep snows which 

 prevented them from reaching the ground. The grass is accessible 

 and nutritious throughout the year. 



NUMBER AND VALUE OF SHEEP IN WYOMING. 



Regarding the value of sheep in Wyoming, it is interesting to note 

 their high average as compared with that of many other States and Ter- 

 ritories. According to the Statistician of the U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture, in his estimate made in June, 1889, the average value of the 

 sheep at that time for the United States was $2.21 per head, while 

 Wyoming sheep were placed at $2.23 a head, and the only other States 

 and Territories west of the Mississippi River which had a higher aver- 



