And into this desolate, trackless grassland, 
the forest penetrated as a mere trickle, follow- 
ing the serpentine windings of a thousand water- 
courses, eastbound to meet the Mississippi. 
But we will talk only about the Chicagoland 
prairie, and this we divide into high prairie 
and low prairie. The high prairie occupied well- 
drained upland areas and was well-named the tall- 
grass prairie because only a man’ on horseback 
could see over its waving tassels. The dominant 
grass was tall bluestem, Andropogon furcatus, 
a grass that grows in large bunches and has its 
seed head clearly forked. Another common species 
was goldstem, Sorghastrum nutans. 
A number of broad-leaved plants are associat- 
ed with high prairie, in those few small areas 
where, it is still to be found. Brown-eyed 
Susans, asters and goldenrods are familiar. Com- 
pass plant, prairie dock and rattlesnake master 
are large, conspicuous plants that are pretty 
Illustration by August Pivorv 
a 
master 
3 
H 
