IO 



©be TOarbler 



between the Dismal and the Lonp River some twenty miles to the east. I 

 have never seen a stone, a pebble or even gravel in the Sand Hills. The 

 soil is all fine sand and clay. The Dismal in places flows through perpen- 

 dicular clay banks, one hundred feet or more in height, and slanting banks 

 of sand which are continually washing away by the action of the rains and 

 being carried down stream to be deposited on flats and shoals many miles 

 below. The washing away of these banks exposes great quantities of bones 

 of large mammals, some of which must have been concealed for many cen- 

 turies, as they show at depths below the surface of the soil ranging from a 

 few inches to twenty feet and are in all stages of decay, and even petrified 

 pieces are frequently found in the river or near it. The great quantity of 

 bones one sees gives a good idea of the vastness of animal life that once 

 swarmed in the vicinity of the Dismal. Being the only water in a vast area 

 of good grazing, it must have been an attractive hunting ground for the 

 aboriginies, and that they took advantage of it is evident by the great quan- 

 tity of broken flint, arrow heads and spear points, as well as leaden bullets 

 of the earlier rifle patterns that we found on two or three of their camping 

 grounds near the forks. There are tracts of considerable area which are still 

 barren and the wind cutting away the sand exposes the relics of past ages 

 and races. It was a great country for Buffalo, Elk, Deer and Antelope. The 

 last herd of Elk in Nebraska was on the Dismal River, and a few Antelope 

 and Deer still remain, while the river itself swarms with Beaver, whose work 

 is everywhere evident. The preservation of these animals is largely due to 

 the efforts of Black Brothers who have spared no trouble or expense in keep- 

 ing the hunters and trappers away. Excepting the Ranch house, which is 

 the home of Mr. Frederick Black and his charming little family, little signs 

 of human life aie seen on the river. Only here and there a hut inhabited by 

 a hermit, or some recluse who has flown to the solitude of wild nature, or a 

 misguided settler attempting to get a foothold in a most unpromising local- 

 ity, is all the signs of human life one sees for nearly a hundred miles 

 of river, including the territory above and below the Ranch house. As may 

 be supposed, the course of the Dismal River affords a rarely good opportu- 

 nity for observing bird life. Not only do the migrants follow it in vast quan- 

 tities but the resident and breeding birds are numerous in variety and un- 

 limited in number. It is the most fertile and interesting bird region I have 

 ever seen. 



It seems quite remarkable that not a Crow, Song Sparrow or Chipping 

 Sparrow, and only one Robin was observed by our party. 



I kept careful notes of all the birds observed from the time I left Mul- 

 len to drive through the Sand Hills to the forks until I reached Thedford 

 after a drive of sixteen miles from the Ranch house on May 30th. The re- 

 sults of these observations are as follows: 



