OF THE UPPER MISSOURI. 
7 
Although all the rocks in this region are composed of strata 
holding a horizontal position, or dipping at a very small 
angle, examples not unfrequently occur in sandstone forma¬ 
tion No. 1 of what is usually called “false or cross stratifica¬ 
tion,” as is shown in Fig. 2, which was taken from the bluff 
exposed at the mouth of Elkhorn river, and indicates the dif¬ 
ferent changes that took place in the currents of water that 
deposited the arenaceous sediments. Strata a and c are formed 
of thin horizontal layers of sandstone, while the lamina of 
stratum b seemed to have been deposited upon an inclined surface in very shallow water. 
Similar illustrations were observed by the writer in the Potsdam sandstone of the Black 
Hills, and they occur frequently in arenaceous rocks of all countries. 
The bottoms along the Lower Platte are quite broad and extremely fertile, possessing a 
rich soil, and admirably adapted to the wants of the farmer. Fine crystal springs issue 
from the limestone banks, a sufficiency of timber skirts the river or clothes the bluffs, 
the climate is quite dry and healthy, and if it were not for the extreme cold of winter this 
region would be one of the most desirable agricultural districts in the West, The timber 
of the uplands consists chiefly of ash, elm, oak, soft maple, boxwood, &c.; while along the 
bottoms the cottonwood forms nine-tenths of the woodland. The land when in a state of 
nature supports a most luxuriant vegetation, and when cultivated by the farmer brings 
forth very abundant crops. The valley of the Elkhorn is similar to that of the Platte, 
and the land is at this time mostly taken up by the actual settler. The bluffs are formed 
of sandstone No. 1, often presenting lofty vertical walls, which, from the yielding nature 
of the rock, are of great service to the Indian, upon which to record his hieroglyphical 
history. 
On my return to Bellevue, I passed over the upland prairie, several miles north of the 
Platte. Already nearly every valuable claim was occupied by the persevering pioneer, and 
as far as the eye could reach, the plain was dotted over with farmhouses, giving it much 
the appearance of an old-settled country. Very little timber, however, is to be seen except 
that which skirts the small tributaries of the Platte. The soil upon the surface is com¬ 
posed of a rich vegetable mould, the result of the annual decay of a luxuriant vegetation, 
underlaid by a yellow silicious marl, and is admirably adapted for the cultivation of all 
kinds of cereal grains and for grazing purposes. When the prairie turf is broken up by 
the plough and allowed to decay, the land becomes like a garden. The soil is so loose that 
it is tilled with great ease, but from this very fact is liable to suffer extensively from the 
wash of the heavy drenching rains of May and June. 
Fig. 2. 
