32 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



and covered with a great variety of small pebble-stones, rendering this 

 district a most excellent one for sheep-raising. 



There are many fine springs of the purest water scattered through the 

 county, but there are extended intervals between them, and there are 

 many entire townships of land with no permanent living water in them* 



Iron is found in considerable quantities in the sandstones, but there 

 is no fuel to render it useful. There is only a narrow fringe of trees 

 along the streams, and no workable bed of coal is even within the range 

 of probability. 



There are a few good mill-sites, and several valuable saw and grist mills 

 are now in process of erection. 



There is really no fine valuable building-rock in Jefferson County. 

 From Beatrice for 30 or 40 miles up the valley of the Big Blue, only the 

 rusty sandstones of the Dakota group are found, and these are exposed 

 only in a few localities. 



The same sandstones prevail in the valley of the Little Blue from the 

 Nebraska line to the mouth of Big Sandy. 



Even the whitish limestones of the Mobrara division, which are quite 

 abundant west of the limestone belt, although excellent for lime, are not 

 tough and hard enough for building-stone ; so that no portion of the 

 county can be regarded as well supplied with economical rocks. 



Still, in the absence of the massive limestones of the Carboniferous 

 beds farther east, these Cretaceous sandstones and limestones will prove 

 of much service. The ease, however, with which these rocks yield to 

 atmospheric influence has given a most beautiful outline to the surface 

 of most of the county. 



The wide bottoms and gently sloping hills along the Big Blue audits 

 tributaries can hardly be surpassed for their monotonous beauty. The 

 high prairies are gently rolling yet well drained. 



I was not a little surprised at the advance of settlers so far westward. 

 The valleys of the two Blues are nearly all occupied by the actual set- 

 tlers. There are a large number of Germans who have taken farms in 

 this county. Six years ago they came into this region and took posses- 

 sion of these homesteads, many of them without any money at all ; now 

 tbey have highly cultivated farms, with 20 to 40 acres of wheat that 

 will average 30 bushels to the acre ; oats, 40 to 50 bushels ; corn, 60 to 

 70 bushels ; a large number of fat horses and cattle, with everything 

 comfortable around them. 



By their industrious and frugal habits these Germans have made for 

 themselves an independence in the short space of six years. 



Surely the great West, with its broad fertile acres, to be had almost 

 for the asking, through the generosity of our Government, is the poor 

 man's paradise. 



BRIEF NOTES ON THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE OTOE INDIANS. 



In our wanderings over the State of Nebraska we came to the Otoe 

 reserve, and pitched camp near the hospitable mansion of the agent. 



In the absence of Major Smith we were most pleasantly entertained 

 by Mr. Moore, the farmer of the Otoe Indians. It occurred to me that 

 I could, not occupy my time better, in the brief space allowed me* to re- 

 main here, than in securing, as far as possible, such information as sug- 

 gested itself in regard to the present condition of this once powerful 

 tribe of Indians, now fast dwindling away. 



The Otoe reserve is located on the Big Blue Eiver, mostly in the 

 southern portion of Gage County, but extending into Jefferson County. 



