370 
A PRAIRIE-LANDSCAPE. 
north latitude. The dry plains of Texas and the upper region of the 
Arkansas present all the features of the Asiatic table-lands ; further 
northward, the lifeless, treeless steppes on the high grounds of the Far 
West are burned up in summer and withered in winter by the climatic 
extremes. Towards the Mississippi the soil improves ; but the river- 
delta is a labyi'inth of lakes and streams and patches of dense brush- 
wood, while the swamps and inundated levels at its mouth occupy an 
area of 32,000 square miles. The cultivated lands lie chiefly on the 
right bank of the river, and the produce is of a tropical character, in- 
cluding the sugar-cane, cotton, and indigo. Then begin the prairies : — 
" Leagues upon leagues of rolling meadow-land, sometimes as level as 
an English pasture, always as boundless, apparently, as the sea, covered 
with long rank grass of tender green, and lighted up by flowers of the 
liliaceous kind, which embalm the air with fragrance. Here and there, 
in the north, flourish clumps of oak and black walnut ; in the south, 
groups of tulip, cotton, and magnolia trees. Occasionally the monotony 
of the scene is enriched by a lazy brook, the banks of which bloom 
brilliantly with azalea, kalmia, rhododendron, and andromeda ; the low 
howl of the cayeute or prairie-dog interrupts the silence ; and life is given 
to the landscape by the frequent appearance of herds of deer, bison, 
and wild horses. At times, in the lonelier districts, the prairie-wolves 
will be seen in some leafy covert, awaiting the approach of a victim ; or 
flights of birds darken the air, and tempt the traveller with the promise 
of an abundant provision." There can be little doubt that at one time 
all this area was clothed with masses of deep foliage ; and even when 
North America was first opened up to European enterprise, the primeval 
forests spread almost uninterruptedly from the Canadian Lakes to the 
Gulf of Mexico, and filled the entire valley of the Mississippi — an ocean 
of vegetation swelling and sinking for upwards of one million of square 
miles. 
" Then all the broad and boundless mainland lay 
Cooled by the interminable wood, that frowned 
O'er mound and vale, where never summer ray 
Glanced, till the strong tornado broke his way 
Through the gray giants of the sylvan wild ; 
Yet many a sheltered glade, with blossoms gay, 
Beneath the showery sky and sunshine mild, 
Within the shaggy arms of that dark forest smiled." 
