Prairies and Barrens of the West. 1 17 



in their vicinity, grows to the height of six or seven feet. 

 After these natural meadows are fed upon by domestic animals, 

 the grass does not grow to a greater height than it does in 

 common pastures. Sometimes this grass is intermixed with 

 weeds and plum-bushes. Some of those prairies are dry, while 

 others are moist. Pickaway Plains, in Pickaway county, in the 

 State of Ohio, lying a small distance south of this place, are 

 nearly seven miles in length, and about three miles in width, on 

 ground considerably elevated above the Scioto river, almost per- 

 fectly level, and, in their native state, were covered with a great 

 quantity of grass, some weeds and plum-bushes ; and in the 

 most elevated places, there were a few trees. This was one 

 great prairie. 



Sandusky Plains, lying on the high ground between the head 

 waters of the Whetstone branch of the Scioto river, and the 

 waters of streams running into Lake Erie, are still more exten- 

 sive than those of Pickaway, covered with a coarse, tall grass, 

 intermixed with weeds, with here and there a tree, presenting 

 to the eye a landscape of great extent. 



The moist prairies generally lie along some stream, or at the 

 head of one, on level land, or on that which gently descends. 

 The moist prairies are too wet for trees to grow on them ; and 

 whether moist or dry, the soil, for a greater or less depth, is 

 always alluvial, resting on pebbles and sand, such as are found 

 at the bottom of rivers, ponds, and lakes. In some instances, 

 the writer is credibly informed, that the shells of muscles are 

 found imbedded in the pebbles and sand. That these shells, 

 such as abound in our rivers, ponds, and lakes, should be 

 found in low prairies along the banks of waters which fre- 

 quently overflow them, excites no wonder, nor even surprise ; 

 but that these shells should be found thus imbedded in pebbles 

 and sand underneath several feet of alluvial soil, in situation? 

 more than one hundred feet above the waters of any stream 

 now in existence, is calculated to perplex the mind of the 

 superficial observer. These prairies are found in the western 

 half of the State of Ohio, and north of the hills adjacent to the 

 river of that name. They are also found in every state and 

 territory west of the Alleganies, from the great northern lakes 



