200 THE CROSS TIMBERS. 
west of north, to the Red Fork of Arkan- 
sas, if not further. Itis a rough hilly range 
of country, and, though not mountainous, may 
perhaps be considered a prolongation of that 
chain of low mountains which pass to the 
northward of Bexar and Austin city in Texas. 
The Cross Timbers vary in width from five 
to thirty miles, and entirely cut off the com- 
munication betwixt the interior prairies and 
those of the great plains). They may be con- 
sidered as the ‘fringe’ of the great prairies, 
being a continuous brushy strip, composed 
of various kinds of undergrowth; such as 
black-jacks, post-oaks, and in some places 
hickory, elm, etc., intermixed with a very di- 
minutive dwarf oak, called by the hunters 
‘shin-oak. Most of the timber appears to be 
kept small by the continual inroads of the 
‘burning prairies ;’ for, being killed almost an- 
nually, it is constantly replaced by scions of 
undergrowth ; so that it becomes more and 
more dense ‘every reproduction. In some 
_ places, however, the oaks are of considerable 
size, and able to withstand the conflagrations. 
The underwood is so matted in many places 
with grape-vines, green-briars, etc., as fo form 
almost impenetrable ‘ roughs,’ which serve as 
hiding-places for wild beasts, as well as wild 
ndians ; and would, in savage warfare, prove 
almost as formidable as the hammocks of 
Florida. 
South of the Canadian, a branch of these 
ross Timbers projects off wontons gs 
wards crosses the metece e 
