460 OCEAN TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK 



ocean. Minerals had not yet been found to any con* 

 siderable extent, and the scarcity of coal rendered more 

 valuable the extensive beds of peat found in some parts 

 of the State. The salt basins of Nebraska are rich and 

 extensive. The principal one is located in Lancaster 

 County, covering an area of twelve by twenty-five 

 miles. Fossil remains, of great interest to geologists^ 

 have been discovered in great quantities. Indian hiero- 

 glyphics, which ante-date the traditions of all living 

 tribes, are cut deep in the bluffs along the Missouri 

 River, in places now inaccessible. 



The Platte or Nebraska River, from which the Ter- 

 ritory received its name, is a broad and shallow stream. 

 It is claimed that there is not a foot of land in Eastern 

 Nebraska that is not susceptible of cultivation. High 

 winds sweep over the plains, and the storms are some- 

 times of terrible severity. The climate is dry and 

 exhilarating, and the nights generally cool throughout 

 the summer. There is no part of the United States 

 better adapted for stock-raising than the prairies of 

 Nebraska. 



There is a well-equipped university at Lincoln, a 

 normal school for the trainins; of teachers and an insti- 

 tution for the blind at Nebraska City. 



After a fifty miles' ride from Omaha a halt was made 

 at the Sherman House, Fremont, Dodge County, for 

 supper and lodging. The journey had been pleasant 

 and the landscape charming in its quiet beauty. The 

 south wind was neither too warm nor too cold for per- 

 fect comfort, and my mustang looked as if he could 

 carry me another fifty miles without any inconvenience 

 to himself. 



Fremont had a population of nearly 3,000, and has 



