GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



101 



earth beds of carbon for his needs. If this idea could be shown to be 

 true in any case, we would ask why are the immense beds of coal stored 

 away in the mountains of Pennsylvania and Virginia, while at the same 

 time the surface is covered with dense forests of timber? We now know 



Fig. 4. 



Cretaceous No. 1, on Little Blue River, Nebraska. 



that this law does not apply to the natural world, and if it did, this 

 western country would be a remarkable exception. The State of Ne- 

 braska seems to be located on the western rim of the great coal basin 

 of the West, and only thin seams of poor coal will probably ever be 

 found. But in the vicinity of the Eocky Mountains, in Wyoming and 

 Colorado, coal in immense quantities has been hidden away for ages, 

 and the Union Pacific Railroad has now brought it near the door of 

 every man's dwelling. 



These Eocky Mountain coal beds will one day supply an abundance 

 of fuel for more than one hundred thousand square miles along the Mis- 

 souri Eiver of the most fertile agricultural land in the world. Every 

 acre of land in Eastern Nebraska is already in possession of the thriv- 

 ing farmer, and some of the most beautiful farms in the West can now 

 be seen there. Although comparatively new, it looks like an old settled 

 country. Farm-houses and small villages meet the eye in every direc- 

 tion, and the great interest which the more intelligent and enterprising 

 citizens have taken in tree-planting is covering the once naked hills with 

 the most elegant artificial groves. The time is not far distant when 

 Nebraska will be noted all over the world for the grandeur and beauty 

 of its agricultural portions. Being composed entirely of plain country, 

 with rocks of comparatively modern age, all holding a horizontal posi- 

 tion, or nearly so, without a single mountain range within its bounda- 

 ries, Nebraska can never le remarkable in any way for its mineral re- 

 sources. It is true that it has its salt springs, winch are annually be- 

 coming more important and valuable. These springs are located near 

 Lincoln, the capital of the State, and the saline water flowing from them 

 into Salt Creek has given character to quite an important tributary of 

 the Platte for thirty miles or more. This stream flows through a most 

 beautiful, rolling, fertile region, covered with splendid farms, and has a 



