FROM CHEYENNK TO FOIH' LARAMIE. 23 



rounded hills and isolated rid<^es — with iiiuuerous dry ravines and arroyos, 

 the result of surface denudation The j^eneral elevation of the surface 

 appears to vary only a little, but there is a quick descent to the valley of 

 the North Platte, and at Fort Laramie the altitude is oidy 4,500 feet, 

 while the summit point of the mountains, Laramie Peak, 45 miles to tlie 

 west, attains an altitude of 10,000 feet above the sea 



Of the creeks that we pass on our route. Crow Creek, on which Chey- 

 enne is situated, and Lodge Pole Creek, bend southward and join the South 

 Platte, while Horse and Bear Creeks empty into the North Platte, and the 

 Chugwater joins the Laramie River. With the exce])tion of Crow Creek 

 and the Chugwater, which are of considerable size, these small, feeble 

 streams are barely worthy of the name. Their \alleys, which are from 4 

 to 6 miles in width, are almost destitute of trees, but a fair soil, especially 

 on Horse Creek, supports an excellent gi'owth of grass well adapted for 

 grazing purposes. The Chugwater, for the distance traversed by the road, 

 is quite a fertile valley, excavated in the light-colored sandstones and sandy 

 clays of the Tertiary, which in sharp cliffs line its margins, giving them a 

 drear and castellated appearance. Many ranches have been established 

 in these valleys for grazing stock, and considerable hay is cut from their 

 bottoms, finding a ready market at the neighboring military posts. The 

 valley of the Chugwater, from its sheltered character, is a favorite place for 

 wintering stock, which finds abundant pasturage in its deep and protected 

 bottoms. 



Li this region, wherever irrigation can be directed, the common hardy 

 vegetables and some of the cereals can be cultivated with a good measure 

 of success. The military post at Fort Russell, near Cheyenne, has suc- 

 ceeded by a system of irrigation in raising several kinds of vegetables 

 whose verdant and luxuriant growth presents a most pleasing contrast to 

 the sere and bare plains around. At the military post of Sidney, 100 

 miles east of Cheyenne, and at Phillips's Ranch on the Chugwater, gar- 

 dens have also been maintained by irrigation. At Fort Laramie, where 

 are present all the facilities for an abundant irrigation, all attempts hitherto 

 made have been entirely futile, by reason of the poverty of the soil and the 

 vicissitudes of the climate. Proper irrigation requires very considerable 



