A Trip to the Dismal River, Nebraska 



By John Lewis Childs 



ON May 19th I left New York for the Dismal River in the Sand Hill re- 

 gion of north-western Nebraska. I arrived at Mullen, Hooker County, 

 about noon May 22d, where I was met by Mr. William Black and driven 

 some eighteen miles through the Sand Hills to the forks of the Dismal. Mr. 

 Black and his brother control some thirty miles of the Dismal River which 

 is used for their extensive cattle ranges, their western limit beginning- some 

 twenty miles below the forks or falls of the river. Mr. Black had with un- 

 bounded generosity provided a boat some five by sixteen feet, constructed of 

 heavy sheet-iron in three water-tight sections; two spacious tents, bedding, 

 cook-stove, utensils, lamps, and a two weeks supply of provisions. The out- 

 fit was so complete that nothing whatever was lacking that might add to 

 one's comfort or convenience in floating leisurely down the Dismal, camping 

 or landing where and when we pleased; certainly ideal conditions, for observ- 

 ing and noting the bird life of that wild and highly interesting region. 



There were in the party with me Mr. William Black, his two young 

 sons, William, and Robert; my esteemed friends Mr. Cyrus Black and Ben- 

 jamin Olsen, of Kearney, Nebraska; and Mr. Frank Nash who accompanied 

 the expedition with a saddle horse. We camped for two days at the forks 

 before starting down stream, and ended the expedition on May 30th at the 

 Ranch house of Messrs. Black Brothers, having covered some sixty miles of 

 river through Hooker and Thomas Counties, though probably not over half 

 of that distance in a direct line, all in the heart of the Sand Hills which are 

 of several million acres in extent. The river is very crooked and has cut a 

 deep channel through the hills, and its banks are to some extent wooded 

 with red cedar, ash, wild plum, cottonwood, willow, choke cherry and a few 

 other shrubby trees. But few of these trees are of any considerable size. 

 The surrounding country outside the river banks is absolutely destitute of 

 trees or shrubs. The Sand Hills are, however, covered with a rather sparse 

 growth of buffalo and other nutritious grasses, and the region is adapted to 

 grazing along the river range where stock can water, there being no water 



