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 G34 
 opv 1 
 
 GEOGEAPHT OF 
 
 KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. 
 
 SEAL OF KANSAS. 
 
 SEAL OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 V 
 
 }vcj JAILa} 
 
 Cy 1879. ^. 
 
 coi'riiTGiir isT'.i, BY cn.\ni.Es scnrBNEies soys. 
 
MAP STUDIES OX KANSAS. 
 
 I. I>osltIoi> W'liat two parallels form the 
 
 northern and tlie southern boundaries of Kansas V 
 What important points (see map of Middle Atlan- 
 tic States) lie under these parallels on the Atlan- 
 tic seaboard V -Ins. The city of Philadelphia and 
 Fortress Monroe, at the mouth of James Biver. 
 Which of the Atlantic States lie wholly, or mostly, 
 l)et«ecn the parallels which bound Kansas ? 
 
 What m.:-ridian forms the western boundary of 
 the State ? How many degrees is this west of 
 Wa.shington ? Whit meridian forms most of the 
 eastern boundary? Ans. The meridian of 94° 
 ;;0' west from Greenwich. What forms the north- 
 ern part of the eastern boundary V Over how 
 many degrees of longitude and of latitude does 
 Kansas extend ? What is its general form ? Find 
 its breadth by the scale of miles. What is its 
 length through the middle ? 
 
 II. Slope and Drainage— In what direction 
 does the land slope in Kansas V What indicates 
 that the general slope is eastward ? In what direc- 
 tion do nearly all the streams in the south-eastern 
 quarter of the State flow ? What does this indi- 
 cate in regard to the slope of the land V 
 
 What are the two greatest rivers in Kansas ? 
 AVhat three large streams unite to form the Kan- 
 sas ■' Into what does the Kansas flow ? Where 
 are the sources of Smoky Hill and Salmon Rivers V 
 Where are the sources of the Republican V In 
 what State is the larger part of its course ? Where 
 (see map of United States) are the sources of the 
 Arkansas '? What part of its course lies in Kan- 
 sas, and what is its direction in this part ? "What 
 is the principal stream in south-eastern Kansas ? 
 In south-western Kansas ? Of what (see map of 
 Central States) are these two streams tributaries V 
 
 m. Counties and Cities — Name the coun- 
 ties of Kansas which border upon the Missouri, 
 with the county-seats. Name those which lie 
 west of these, as far as the mouth of Republican 
 River. Name their county-seats. Name the 
 counties which border upon the south side of the 
 Kansas, below its confluence with the Republican. 
 What are their county-seats '? Which county con- 
 tains the State capital ? 
 
 Name the counties which border upon Missouri 
 to the south of the Kansas, with their county- 
 seats. Name, in the same way, the first tier to 
 the west of these ; the second tier ; the third tier ; 
 the fourth tier. What part of the area of the 
 State is included in the counties named above ? 
 In what county, and how situated, is Leaven- 
 worth ? Atchison ? Lawrence ? Topeka ? Fort 
 Scott ? Wyandotte ? Emporia ? Independence ? 
 Ottawa ? Parsons ? Paola ? Olathe ? Oswego ? 
 Junction City ? Manhattan ? 
 
 What counties lie between the western part of 
 Butler County and the northern boundary ? What 
 are their county-seats ? Name, with their county- 
 seats, the eight counties forming the tier next west 
 of those last named. In what county, and how 
 situated, is Wichita? Newton? Hutchinson? 
 Salina? Winfield? What two important towns 
 in the extreme south-east corner of Cherokee 
 County ? 
 
 What important towns will you pass in crossing 
 the State from Kan.sas City by the Kansas Pa- 
 cific Railroad ? What important towns will you 
 pass through in going on the Atchison, Topeka. 
 & Santa Fe' Railroad from the Missouri River to 
 the Arkansas ? What important towns will yo\i 
 pass in going on the Kansas Cit3\ Lawrence it 
 Southern Railroad from Kansas City to Indepen- 
 dence ? What important towns are on the Kan- 
 sas City, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad ? What 
 important towns would you pass in going by rail 
 from Oswego, in the Neosho Valley, to Concordia, 
 on the Republican ? 
 
 Longituae "loo "West from 
 
 Cni)i/rig!i'. 1570. by CH.\ 
 
>r 
 
 
 K 4 
 
 RIBNEnS fOXS. 
 
 STUDIES ON NEP.PwVSKA. 
 
 I. Position and Outline. — What parallels 
 form boundaries of Nebraska ? "What important 
 cities (see map of United States) lie on or very 
 near the parallel of 40° ? What important cities 
 lie on or near the parallel of 43° ? -4 ?is. -Milwau- 
 kee and Buffalo. What meridians form the 
 western boundary of Nebraska ? What meridian 
 crosses the eastern boundary near the middle? 
 What is the position of this meridian in the United 
 States ? A71.S. — It is midway between the extreme 
 eastern and western points. 
 
 What rivers form the eastern and north-eastern 
 boundaries ? 
 
 II. Slope an<l l>rainage. — In what direc- 
 tion does the land slope in the larger part of Ne- 
 braska ? What indicates that the general slope is 
 eastward ? In what direction does the land slope 
 in the extreme eastern and south-eastern counties ? 
 What indicates a southern slope in that region ? 
 
 What large river crosses the State from east to 
 west ? What river drains the north-western part ? 
 The south-western part ? What great stream re- 
 ceives all these waters ? What two streams unite 
 to form the Platte ? What two great tributaries 
 does the Platte receive in its lower course ? In 
 what directions do these two streams and their 
 largest tributaries flow ? What does that direction 
 indicate in regard to the slope of the land drained 
 by them ? What do 3'ou notice in regard to streams 
 entering the Missouri between the Niobrara and 
 the Platte ? What do you suppose is the reason 
 of this ? What river with its tributaries drains 
 most of the south-eastern counties ? Into what 
 does the Big Blue flow ? 
 
 III. Counties and Cities. — Name the coun- 
 ties of Nebraska which border upon the Missouri 
 and the Niobrara ? Name their county seats ? 
 Name, with their county seats, the counties ly- 
 ing between the western half of Knox and the 
 southern State line. Name, in the same manner, 
 the first tier to the east of these ; the second tier ; 
 the third tier ; the remaining counties of the 
 south-east. 
 
 Name, with their county seats, the counties 
 crossed by Republican River. Nam'\ in like man- 
 ner, the counties lying next north of those crossed 
 by the Republican. Name the counties crossed 
 by the Platte. Name those drained by the Loup 
 River and its tributaries. 
 
 What important cities of Nebraska lie on or 
 near the Missouri River ? What railroad skirts 
 the Platte through the entire length of the State ? 
 What cities lie on this raiUoad? What county 
 seats are on the road leading from Kearney, on 
 the Union Pacific to St. Joseph, in Missouri ? 
 What city at the mouth of Platte River ? What 
 important towns can be reached by railroad to 
 the west and south-west of Plattsmouth ? To 
 the north of Plattsmouth ? What and where is 
 the capital of Nebraska ? Where is Omaha ? 
 Nebraska City ? Fremont ? Kearney ? Colum- 
 bus ? Plattsmouth ? Falls City ? West Point ? 
 Beatrice? Orand Island? Crete? Seward? 
 Blair ? Tecumseh ? Brownville ? 
 
GEOGRAPHY OF KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. 
 
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KANSAS. 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY.* 
 
 Area, 81,300 sq. m. Pop. (1879), 851,217. Total val. (1878), $303,954,651. 
 
 POSITION AND SIZE. 
 
 The States of Kansas and Nebraska are distinguished by their 
 central position in the Continent of North America. The parallel 
 which separates them is midway between the Arctic Ocean and 
 the Isthmus of Panama ; and the meridian of 96° west from 
 Greenwich, which crosses the eastern part of both States, is mid- 
 way between the eastern and western extremes of the United 
 States. 
 
 This central position makes its influence felt very perceptibly 
 upon the climate; and through climate upon every interest of the 
 States, whether industrial or commercial. 
 
 The area of Kansas is 81,300 square miles, it,s length being 
 about 400 miles, and its breadth 200. 
 
 SURFACE. 
 
 The State of Kansas is an elevated plain, with a very gradual 
 descent, from the north-western extreme, towards the east and the 
 south. 
 
 The surface is undulating and somewhat broken. The irregu- 
 larities are due mainly to the erosive action of the streams which 
 have cut their valleys below the general level. They are, there- 
 fore, most apparent in traversing the country in a north and south 
 direction; but the valleys are not often deep nor their margins 
 precipitous in descent. 
 
 According to the State Geologist, even " in the untilled portion 
 of the State, where there are no roads, the traveller has no diffi- 
 culty in crossing the State in any direction." The streams are 
 generally bordered by a belt of alluvial " bottom," beyond which, 
 
 * Based upon the " First Biennial Report of the State Board of Agriculture." 
 
 gentle ascents or occasional steep bluffs lead up to the rolling 
 upland which forms the general surface. 
 
 In some of the counties drained by the Smoky Hill and its tributaries, the 
 rocks lyintf at or near the surface are much harder than those underneath. 
 It therefore happens that when they have been cut through by the streams, 
 80 that the lower are exposed to the air, they wear away much the faster. 
 Thus in some valleys we find masses and pillars of the hard rock, standing 
 like monuments or castles on the flat " bottom," after the softer have all been 
 worn down and mingled with the soil. Such are "Monument Rocks" in 
 Gove County, and " Castle Rocks" in Ellis County. 
 
 Sometimes masses of hard rock are supported like tables upon columns of 
 the softer rock, not yet worn away. Such are "Pulpit Bock" in Ellsworth 
 County, and " Table Rock" in Lincoln County. 
 
 The average elevation of the surface above the sea-level is 
 about 3,375 feet. The easternmost portion of the State is less 
 than 800 feet in altitude; the westernmost varies from 4,000 feet 
 in Cheyenne County, to 3,247, at Syracuse, in Hamilton County 
 in the Arkansas valley. , 
 
 In respect to altitude, the State may be divided into three 
 parts — eastern, middle, and western — the first being below 1,000 
 feet ; the second, between 1,000 and 2,000 ; and the third, above 
 2,000. The boundaries between these divisions are exceedingly 
 irregular lines, which have, however, a general direction from 
 north-east to south-west. 
 
 The line separating the eastern and middle divisions passes in a zig-zag 
 course from the northern boundary, in Brown County, to the mouth of Big 
 Blue River; thence south-eastward to the middle of Franklin County ; again 
 south-westward to the southern boundary of the State in Cowley County. 
 
 The line between the middle and western divisions extends from the middle 
 part of Jewell County to the western portion of Clark County. 
 
 RIVERS. 
 
 Two principal streams, the Kansas and the Arkansas, receive 
 almost the entire drainage of the State. 
 
 The Kansas drains the northern half, and is formed by the con- 
 
GEOGRAPHY OF KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. 
 
 flueiifo of the Smoky Hill, Saline, and Solomon, and the Repub- 
 lican, wliieh has the greater part of its course in Nebraska. Flow- 
 ing directly eastward, it discharges its waters into the Missouri. 
 
 The Arkansas receives all the waters of the southern half of the 
 State. It flows in an irregular course eastward to the middle of 
 the State, then takes a south-easterly course to the Mississippi. 
 The tributaries of this stream from the eastern half of Kansas 
 flow nearly due south. 
 
 The valley of the Smoky Hill, in the western part of the State, is from 
 three hundred to five hundred feet higher than the corresponding part of the 
 Arkansas valley ; and the upper part of the Solomon valley is from one hun- 
 dred to two hundred feet higher than the Smoky Hill. 
 
 These streams therefore descend at quite unequal rates ; for they all reach 
 the same level just east of the middle of the State. 
 
 The descent of the rivers throughout their several courses is so gradual that 
 " there is not a water-fall in the State seven feet in height ; " and " even 
 where the rivers have rapids, a mill-dam can rarely give a head of more than 
 ten feet." 
 
 MINERAL RESOURCES. 
 
 The mineral resources of Kansas are abundant and varied. They 
 include quarries of limestone and sandstone suitable for building 
 purposes ; hydraulic limestone suitable for the manufacture of 
 Roman cement ; rich beds of fire clay, potter's clay, chalk, and 
 gvpsum; salt, both crystalline and in salt springs and marshes; and 
 mines of coal, lead, and zinc. 
 
 Limesto)ie abounds in nearly all parts of the State. * " A heavy 
 stratum, si.xty feet in thickness, e.vtends from the Nebraska line, 
 in Jewell County, over one hundred and sixty miles, in a south- 
 westerly direction, disappearing on Pawnee Creek, in Hodgeman 
 County. The layers composing it are from one to four feet in 
 thickness, and of quite uniform quality in all localities. It is easily 
 wrought, durable, and improves in hardness by exposure to the air." 
 
 Farther west, about the headwaters of Smoky Hill River, are 
 e.Ktensive beds of nearly pure carbonate of lime, or chalk, the only 
 deposit of the kind known in North America. It cannot be dis- 
 tinguished from the best foreign chalk. 
 
 The limestone in the eastern part of the State is also fine, par- 
 ticularly that known as Junction City stone. * " It is soft, of a 
 fine grain, can be sawed with a common saw, and smoothed with a 
 carpenter's plane, and is at the same time firm enough to be dura- 
 ble." " Some of the limestones take a good polish, and can be 
 used as marbles." 
 
 * " Hydraulic limestone of good quality is found near Fort Scott, 
 Lawrence, and Leavenworth, and probably exists in many other 
 places." 
 
 Gypsum is found alotig the banks of both Big and Little Blue 
 Rivers, and extends easterly from the confluence of those streams 
 from four to ten miles, in a bed from three to ten feet in thickness. 
 It is ground into "plaster" for agricultural purposes, and can be 
 manufactured into plaster-of-Paris of the best grade. It is abun- 
 dant in several other localities, especially in Saline and Wallace 
 Counties. 
 
 Salt, in a cr\-stallized form, abounds at the south of the great 
 bend of the Arkansas River, near the State line. * " It forms 
 beds from six to twenty-eight inches in depth, so compact that a 
 hatchet is required in cutting it." 
 
 There is also an inexhaustible supply of salt in the northern part 
 of the State, a little to the east of the middle. It occurs in marshes 
 
 * State Geologist. 
 
 and springs, over a tract of country thirty-five miles wide and 
 eighty miles long, crossing Ijoth the Republican and the Saline 
 valleys. 
 
 The most remarkable is the Tuthill marsli, in Republic County, covering 
 1,000 acres, about one-third of which is destitute of vegetation, owing to the 
 quantity of salt in the soil. In seasons of drought the surface is covered with 
 an incrustation of salt, frequently three-eighths of an inch in thickness. 
 
 Coal is found in the eastern and south-eastern counties of the 
 State. It is bituminous, like all the coal of the Mississippi basin. 
 At Leavenworth it is obtained by a shaft penetrating to the depth 
 of 700 feet. 
 
 The thickest and best seam of coal in Kansas, is found in Cher- 
 okee, Crawford, and Labette Counties, not far below the surface. 
 It is free from impurities, cokes well, is a good gas coal, and is 
 used at the .loplin mines, in Missouri, for smelting. 
 
 Gas, with an illuminating power nearly equal to that manufac- 
 tured from coal, and of superior heating power, flows from wells at 
 several points in the coal region. The most remarkable gas wells 
 are at Wyandotte, lola, and Fort Scott. 
 
 Lead and zinc are found together, in very rich mines, at the 
 " Short Creek Diggins," in the south-eastern township of Craw- 
 ford County, a few miles from the famous Joplin mines of Mis- 
 souri. The mines were discovered in April, 1877, and proved so 
 profitable that two adjacent towns. Galena and Empire City, with 
 a joint population of 3,000, grew up before the end of the year. 
 
 The amount of lead ore raised durina; eighteen months after the 
 discovery was not far from 6,000,000 pounds. The amount of zinc 
 is but small in comparison with the lead. Zinc smelting furnaces 
 are in operation at Cherokee and New Pittsburg, in the southern 
 part of Crawford County, over the best coal deposits. 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 The position of the State at the centre of a great continent 
 determines the general character of its climate — that is, compara- 
 tive dryness and extremes of temperature in summer and winter. 
 
 Observations on the temperature and rainfall throughout the 
 State have not been carried on for a sufficient length of time to 
 furnish data for a correct annual average. The State Board of 
 Agriculture, however, report observations, at points carefully 
 selected, during the years lS77-'78, from which the following- 
 averages are derived : 
 
 The mean temjierature in the month of January, for the two 
 years, was 28.97° Fahrenheit; in the month of July, 70.77°. The 
 lowest winter temperature observed in that period was at Man- 
 hattan, in 1877, where the thermometer showed a temperature of 
 10.5° below zero. The highest temperature observed in the same 
 period, was 106°, at Fort Wallace, in 1878. The entire year of 
 1878 was considerably warmer than 1877, the mean for January 
 being 8°, and for July 3^-° higher in the former than in the latter. 
 
 The summer heats are tempered by almost ccntiiuial breezes; 
 and the comparative dryness of the atmosphere in the hottest 
 months diminishes the prostrating effects of so high a temperature. 
 The prevailing winds are the return-trades, from the south and 
 south-west. 
 
 The rainfall diminishes from east to west, approximately as the 
 elevation increases. 
 
 The Board of Agriculture clivide the State into three rain belts, 
 of nearly equal extent. The divisions are meridians, the first 
 
GEOGRAPHY OF KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. 
 
 passing tlirougli Junction City, about 0G° 50'; the other, on the 
 west Ijoundaiy of Ellis County, about 99° 40'. 
 
 The eastern belt includes all that part of the State which is 
 below, oi- only very slightly above 1,000 feet of altitude; the mid- 
 dle belt is very nearly all between 1,000 and 2,000 feet; and the 
 western belt wholly above 2,000 feet of altitude. 
 
 The average rainfall for two years ending October 31, 1878, 
 was, in the eastern belt, 41.03 inches; in the middle, 29.47 inches; 
 and, in the western, 23.08 inches. 
 
 The total rainfall shows fluctuations from year to year similar to 
 those of the temperature. Thus in the year 1877 the rainfall in the 
 eastern belt was almost seven inches, in the middle belt over two 
 inches, and in the western nearly four inches, more than in 1878. 
 
 The rain is very unequally distributed through the year, much 
 the larger pai't falling in the spring and early summer months, 
 from March to July 
 inclusive. Hence, 
 though the total rain- 
 fall for the year is 
 moderate, the moisture 
 during the growing- 
 months is ample for 
 the perfection of all 
 the great agricultural 
 staples of middle lati- 
 tudes. 
 
 SOIL. 
 
 The soil, both of 
 river "bottom" and 
 upland, is a fine black 
 loam abounding in 
 lime and of the great- 
 est fertility. On the 
 upland it is from one 
 to three feet deep; in 
 the "bottom" some- 
 times twenty feet in 
 depth. The most 
 
 westerly and south- 
 westerly counties offer some exceptions to the general rule of fer- 
 tility; but they are of small extent, and seem due rather to in- 
 sufficient moisture than to any defect in the soil itself. * " Tiie 
 State is so perfectly drained that there are very few valleys 
 with stagnant ponds; and there is not a peat swamp of fifty acres 
 within its boundaries." 
 
 TIMBER. 
 
 Forests of native growth in Kansas are confined to narrow belts 
 along the streams. E.xcepting the counties upon the Missouri, 
 the timber according to Government survey (see Table, page 11), 
 varies from ten per cent, of the acreage in the counties of the east- 
 ern rain belt, to one per cent., or even less, in the middle and 
 south-western counties. The north-western counties contain ex- 
 tensive timber bolts. The width of the timber, in the most favored 
 districts, is from one to three miles; while in others it is only a 
 few rods wide. 
 
 PAKMING SCENE. 
 
 * First "Biennial Report " of Stiite Board of .\griculture. 
 
 The counties bordering upon the Missouri have a larger pro- 
 portion of native timber than the inland counties. It forms gener- 
 ally about sixteen per cent, of the acreage; but in Wyandotte, 
 which border.? upon both the Missouri and the Kansas, the native 
 forest formed twenty-five per cent, of the surface. 
 
 In many of the counties forest treea have been planted to a considerable 
 extent, and have been found to thrive perfectly. Thousands o£ acres in the 
 eastern and middle portions of the State are now covered with these culti- 
 vated forests. Cottonwood, box-elder, willow, walnut, locust, catalpa, Loni- 
 bardy poplar, and soft maple are the favorites for cultivation, on account of 
 their rapid growth. The native forests are chiefly of walnut, oak, hickory', 
 hackberry, elm, sycamore, Cottonwood, and maple. 
 
 The increase of forests in the State must in time modify the climate mate- 
 rially, increasing the annual rainf.all, and diminishing the force of the winds 
 which sweep over the upland prairie. 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 Agriculture, to- 
 gether with stock- 
 ,:-_;^jri^^v raising, is the great 
 
 source of wealth in 
 Kansas. The valua- 
 tion of farm products 
 for the year 1878 is 
 very near seventy-two 
 millions of dollars. 
 
 About one-seventh 
 of this sum, over ten 
 million dollars, was 
 the product of the 
 herds of live stock; 
 the rest being from 
 fi e 1 d and garden 
 crops, increase in farm 
 animals, and the pro- 
 ducts of the apiary, 
 honey and wax. 
 
 The total area under 
 
 cultivation in 1878, as 
 
 given by the State 
 
 Board of Agriculture, is over six and one-half millions of acres, 
 
 about one-fourth being devoted to meadow and pasture. 
 
 The tillage of the soil is, at present, confined almost wholly to 
 the eastern and middle rain belts. The western, though not 
 adapted to general farming, produces an abundance of nutritious 
 grass and herbage, capable of withstanding the drought, and is 
 admirably suited to pasturage, especially sheep raising. 
 
 The great staples of the State are the grains, especially corn and 
 winter wheat. Broom-corn, Irish and sweet potatoes, flax, hemp, 
 tobacco, sorghum, and castor-beans are also largely produced. 
 
 The corn crop is largest in the eastern belt. The counties hav- 
 ing, in 1878, the largest acreage of winter wheat lie, all but Mont- 
 gomery, in the south-eastern portion of the middle rain belt, while 
 the largest acreage of spring wheat and rye is in the northern 
 counties of this belt. 
 
 The greatest yield of butter and cheese is in the eastern belt 
 and the eastern counties of the middle belt. 
 
 Orchard fruits and the small fruits both succeed well through- 
 out the middle and eastern belt. The orchard fruits do best on 
 
the upland, the trees being- 
 cm the bottom. 
 
 more liart 
 
 Iv and bearino- earlier than 
 
 MANUFACTURING. 
 
 The manufacturing interests of Kansas are such as naturally 
 connect themselves with a rich agricultural countr\'. Steam is 
 the power chiefly employed ; but water-power is used where avail- 
 able, and wind-power is sometimes employed. 
 
 Flouring-mills, saw-mills, furniture factories, wagon and carriage 
 shops, agricultural works, woolen-mills, breweries, iron-works, and 
 lead and zinc smelting works, are among those in which most 
 capital is invested. 
 
 COMMERCE. 
 
 Although an inland State, and destitute of navig-able waters 
 within her own borders, Kansas enjoys superior commercial facili- 
 ties. Her position on the Missouri gives access by water to every 
 ]iart of the Mississippi basin 
 and to the Gulf coast, and 
 she is closely connected with 
 the great trunk lines of rail- 
 road which unite the Atlan- 
 tic with the Pacific seaboard, 
 and the Lakes with the Gulf. 
 The construction of railroads 
 throughout the State has 
 been greatly facilitated by 
 the uniformity of its surface. 
 
 Two main lines, the AtcliUoti. 
 Topeka and Santa Fe and the 
 Kaiixris Pacific traverse the en- 
 tire State from east to west, witli 
 a number of sliorter east ami 
 west lines in the most populous 
 l)ortions. Three principal lim s 
 extend north and south through 
 the eastern part of the State, all 
 designed ultimately to reach the 
 markets of Texas and the Gulf 
 coast. These are the Kansas 
 
 City, Lawrence and Southern, the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Gulf, and the 
 Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroads. 
 
 A great number of branches connect these main lines, and others are being 
 rapidly pushed forward, so that every part of the eastern and middle counties 
 will soon have ready access to the best markets. The total length of railroad 
 in operation within the State, at the close of 1878, was not far from 3,500 
 miles, while new lines are being constantly projected. Liberal grants of pub- 
 lic lands have stimulated the building of railroads, and the result has l)een a 
 rapid development of the natural resources of the State. 
 
 The trade of Kansas consists mainly in exporting the products 
 of the farms and herds, and importing foreign supplies and manu- 
 factures from the sea-board cities. There is also a large trade in 
 Texas cattle, which are driven into the State in immense herds, 
 and fattened for the Northern and Eastern markets. 
 
 The wheat of Kansas finds a market chiefly in the cities on the 
 Great Lakes — Milwaukee, Chicago, and Toledo — to which it is 
 transported by rail. Corn and wheat are also shipped down the 
 river to New Orleans on barges towed by steamers. The great 
 home market is Kansas City, in Missouri, which is in reality the 
 commercial metropolis of Kansas. 
 
 bT.\TE HOUSE 
 
 INHABITANTS. 
 
 The most populous part of Kansas is the north-eastern counties, 
 those bordering upon the Missouri and the lower course of the 
 Kansas River. 
 
 These counties had, in 1878, a population of twenty-five persons to the 
 square mile. In the western half of the middle rain belt, at that time, there 
 were less than ten inhabitants to the square mile, and in the most populous 
 portions of the western belt less than five to the square mile. 
 
 The center of p//ji>dation in 1878 was near Diamond Springs, in Morris 
 County. It advances westward year by year, on account of the flow of immi- 
 gration towards the western part of the State. 
 
 The inhabitants are mainly immigrants, and the descendants of 
 immigrants, from the more easterly States, especially New Eng- 
 land and the Middle Atlantic States. In 1875 about one-seventh 
 of the population was of foreign birth, chiefly German, Irish, and 
 English. 
 
 During- the last few years large colonies of Russian Mennoti- 
 
 ites, Danes, Swedes, Eng- 
 lish, and Welsli have settled 
 ^ in Kansas. 
 
 POLITICAL ORGANIZA- 
 TION. 
 
 Kansas is divided into 103 
 counties, of which seventv- 
 si.x are organized (see Table, 
 page 11). The counties are 
 subdivided into townsliijis, 
 ■.vithin which are the incor- 
 jiorated cities and sciiool 
 districts. 
 
 The Stitte (rovenniKiil 
 consists of three depart- 
 ments — Executive, . Indicia 1, 
 and Legislative. 
 
 The Executive Department con- 
 sists of ten oSioerB, elected for 
 two years, namely : Governor, 
 Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary 
 of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney-General, State Printer, Superinten- 
 dent of Public Instruction, Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, and 
 Secretary of the State Historical Society. The Governor appoints a Super- 
 intendent of Insurance, a State Librarian, and an Adjutant-General. 
 
 The Judicial Department includes a Supreme Court, with a Chief-Justice 
 and two Associate Justices ; fifteen District Courts, and inferior courts for 
 minor causes. The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected for a term of 
 six years ; the District Judges for four years. 
 
 The Legislative Dejnrtment consists of a Senate of 40 members, elected for 
 four years, and a House of 129 Representatives, elected for two years. The 
 Legislature meets once in two j'cars, the session opening on the second Tues 
 day iu January. It met in 1870. 
 
 Counties, townships, and cities have their own boards of officers for the 
 management of local affairs, under the laws of the State. 
 
 Kansas sends to Congress two Senators and three members of the Ilouse of 
 Representatives. After the census of 1880 the number of Representatives 
 will be larger. The State is therefore entitled to five votes in the election of 
 President of the United States. 
 
 There are within the State six Military Reservations belonging to the 
 United States Government. They are Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, Fort 
 Dodge, Fort Hays, Fort Wallace, and Fort Harker. There are also five Indian 
 Reservations : The Sacs and Foxes, the Kickapoo, the Pottawattomie, the 
 Otoe, and the Kaw. 
 
GEOGRAPHY OF KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. 
 
 CITIES. 
 
 The cities of Kansas are divided by law into three classes. 
 Those having 15,000 or more inhabitants constitute the first class. 
 The second class are between 2,000 and 15,000; and the third, below 
 2,000. At the end of March, 1879, there were in Kansas one city 
 of the first class, twenty of the second class, and a considerable 
 number of the third class. Leavenworth was the only first class 
 city ; Atchison, Topeka, Lawrence, Wichita, and Fort Scott 
 were the largest of the second class. 
 
 As Kansas is without navigable rivers, excepting the Missouri, 
 its larger inland cities derive their importance chiefly from their 
 commanding positions on the leading lines of railroad. In some 
 cases there are added especial advantages in the nature of water- 
 power for manufacturing, or valuable mineral deposits in the im- 
 mediate neighborhood. 
 
 The most important cities on the leading lines of railroad and 
 their branches, in the order of their position, are: 
 
 1. ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND SANTA FE. 
 
 Atchison, Valley Falls, Topeka, C'arboutlale, Burlingame, Osage City, 
 Emporia, Cottonwood Falls, Florence, Newton, Hutchinson, Nick- 
 ersou. Sterling, Great Bend, Larned, Kinsley, Dodge City, and 
 Syracuse. 
 
 Branches from Topeka through Lawrence, to Kansas City j from 
 Emporia to Eureka ; from Florence to Eldorado, through Marion 
 Centre to McPherson ; from Newton, through Wichita to Win- 
 field and Wellington. 
 
 2. KANSAS PACIFIC (north side of Kansas River). 
 
 Kansas City, Wyandotte, Armstrong, Lawrence, Topeka, Wamego, 
 Manhattan, Junction City, Abilene, Solomon, Salina, Ellsworth, 
 Russell, Hays City, Ellis, Wakeeney, Buffalo, Wallace. (Terminus, 
 Denver in Colorado. ) 
 
 Branches from Lawrence to Leavenworth and Carbondale ; from 
 Junction City through Clay Centre to Concordia; from Solomon 
 to Minneapolis ; from Salina to McPherson. 
 
 3. CENTRAL BRANCH OF UNION PACIFIC. 
 
 Atchison, Blue Rapids, Waterville, Washington, Concordia, Buffalo 
 
 Junction, Beloit, and Cawker City. 
 Branch from Buffalo Junction to Belleville. 
 
 4. KANSAS CITY, LAWRENCE, AND SOUTHERN. 
 
 Lawrence, Ottawa, Garnett, lola, Humboldt, Chanute, Cherryvale, 
 and Coffeyville. 
 
 Branches from Cherryvale for Independence, Elk City, Elk Falls, 
 Winfield, and Wellington ; from Ottawa through Olathe to Kan- 
 sas City. Connection from Lawrence to Leavenworth. 
 
 5. KANSAS CITY, FORT SCOTT, AND GULF. 
 
 Kansas City, Olathe, Paola, La Cygne, Mound City, Fort Scott, 
 Girard, Cherokt-e, Columbus, and Baxter Springs. 
 
 Branches from Girard for New Pittsburg, Carbon, and Joplin Mines 
 (Mo.). 
 
 6. MISSOURI, KANSAS, AND TEXAS. 
 
 Junction City, Council Grove, Emporia, Burlington, Neosho Falls, 
 Humboldt, Chanute, Parsons, Oswego, and Chetopa. 
 
 Connections from Burlington for Ottawa, Olathe, and Kansas City; 
 from Parsons for Fort Scott ; from Oswego for Columbus. 
 
 7. ST. JOSEPH AND DENVER. 
 
 Troy, Hiawatha, Seneca, and Marysville. 
 
 8. KANSAS CENTRAL. 
 
 Leavenworth, Winchester, Valley Falls, Holton, Onega (to go to Clay 
 Centre). 
 
 9. MISSOURI PACIFIC. 
 
 Kansas City, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, and Atchison. 
 
 10. ATCHISON AND NEBRASKA. 
 
 Atchison, Troy, and White Cloud. (Terminus, Lincoln, Neb.) 
 
 The Oreat Centres to which the railroads of the State converge 
 are Kansas City, Leavenworth, and Atchison. Topeka and Law- 
 rence are the most important intermediate points of intersection. 
 
 Leavenworth (16,G-i3) and Atchison (11,000) are finely situated 
 on the Missouri, and are connected by bridges across the river, 
 with the railroad sj-stems of Missouri and the adjacent States. 
 
 In addition to their commercial importance as shipping points 
 for the produce of northern Kansas, they have large and varied 
 manufacturing interests. The most important are steam flouring- 
 mills, breweries, furniture manufactories, wagon and carriage 
 works, agricultural works and foundries. The State penitentiary 
 is near Leavenworth. 
 
 Adjoining the city of Leavenworth, on the north, is the military reservation 
 of Fort Leavenworth. It is one of the finest military posts in the Union in 
 the natural beauty of its position and surroundings, and is the head-quarters 
 of the department of the Missouri. The fort is about two miles from the 
 city, and is connected with it by a fine drive. 
 
 Kansas City, in Kansas, occupies the narrow space between the 
 mouth of the Kansas River and the Missouri State line, adjoining 
 Kansas City in Missouri. These two cities, with Wyandotte and 
 Armstrong on the opposite side of the river, and Rosedale, four 
 miles to the south-west, form one great commercial and manufac- 
 turing centre, the most important between the Mississippi and the 
 Pacific coast. 
 
 The leading commercial interests are the grain and stock trade. 
 The most important manufacturing establishments are meat-pack- 
 ing houses, iron-works, machine-shops, and flouring-mills. 
 
 The stock-yards and stock-exchange, and the packing-houses, 
 which are on an immense scale, are in Kansas City, Kansas. 
 
 Wyandotte has large steam flouring-mills; Armstrong, railroad 
 machine-shops; and Rosedale, rolling-mills, car-wheel foundries, 
 and iron-fence works. The State School for the Blind is at Wy- 
 andotte. 
 
 Topeka (13,500), the State capital, lies on both sides of the Kan- 
 sas River, in Shawnee County. It contains a steam-power rolling- 
 mill, the car and machine-shops of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa 
 F6 railroad; a steam lumber manufactory; large establishments 
 for the manufacture of mill and elevator machinery and architec- 
 
tural iron work; also foundries, steam flouring'-mills, grain eleva- 
 tors, and a steam cracker factory. The new State House is one 
 of the finest buildings of the kind in the West. The city is the 
 seat of one of the State Asylums for the Insane and of the State 
 Reform School. 
 
 Lawrence has fine water-power, and its manufactories also em- 
 ploy both steam and wind power. The most important are flour- 
 ing-mills, a wagon and plough factor}', foundries and soap works. 
 
 This city is the seat of the State University, and is noted for the culture and 
 refinement of its people and the excellence of its facilities for public educa- 
 tion. It is known as the "historic city," and is one of the mast famous places 
 in Kansas, having been the heart of the long and severe struggle between 
 freedom and slavery which preceded the organization of the State Govern- 
 ment. During the late war, in 1863, it was burned and 180 of its citizens 
 slain in " Quantrell's Raid." 
 
 Fort Scott (.3,010) is one of the most important cities in South- 
 ern Kansas. It is in the heart of the coal region ; and building 
 stone, cement stone, fire clay, 
 and potter's clay, all abound 
 in the vicinity. The city has 
 an extensive manufacturinar 
 
 o 
 
 business, in flouring-mills, 
 brewerie.s, and cement 
 works; also tile and pipe 
 works and castor-oil works. 
 Wichita (5,335), at the 
 confluence of the Arkansas 
 and the Little Arkansas, is 
 an important wheat market 
 and the leading city of the 
 Arkansas valley in Kansas. 
 
 Emporia (4,061) is beau- 
 tifulh' situated on the high 
 ground between Neosho and 
 Cottonwood Rivers, near 
 their confluence. It has 
 important manufacturing 
 interests, and is the seat of 
 the State Normal School. 
 
 Ottawa (3,507) is the chief centre of trade in Franklin County. 
 The raising of silk-worms has been successfully introduced into 
 this county, and raw silk is an article of trade together with farm 
 produce. 
 
 Indejyendence (2,82fl) has a large grain trade and considerable 
 manufactures. 
 
 Parsons (3,130) contains the machine-shops of the Missouri, 
 Kansas, and Texas Railroad. 
 
 Faola (1,973) is the county-seat, and chief centre of trade, of 
 Miami County. A State Asylum for the Insane is at Ossawat- 
 tomie, near Faola. 
 
 Olathe (2,260) contains the State School for the Deaf and 
 Dumb. 
 
 Mari/sinlle (2,636) is the largest city, excepting Atchison, in 
 the northern part of the State. It has good water-power, and 
 does an active business in the grain trade and the manufacture of 
 flour. 
 
 Salina (3,383) has a large trade in farm products, especially 
 grain, dairy products, and broom-corn. 
 
 and smelting 
 smelting- fur- 
 
 Junction Citi/ (2,345) is noted for its quarries of fine limestone, 
 which is employed in buildings in several of the largest cities of 
 the State. Fort Riley is five miles from the city. 
 
 At Manhattan (1,902) is the State Agricultural College. 
 Winfield (2,542) and Oswego (1,317), in the southern part of 
 the State, have fine water-power and larg-e flouring-mills, and are 
 important grain markets. 
 
 HvrlinijtO)! (1,740) has extensive flouring-mills. 
 
 Empire City (in 1878, 1,847) has lead niinino 
 works. Cherokee and New Pittsburg have zinc 
 naces. 
 
 Newton (2,539) is one of the chief centres of trade in the coun- 
 try drained by the Arkansas. 
 
 Concordia, on the Republican, has fine water-power, which is 
 employed in a large flouring-mill and other manufactories. 
 
 Abilem and Beloit are important railroad stations, and centres 
 of an active local trade. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 fi, .,,5^ . Public education is care- 
 
 fully provided for in the 
 State of Kansas. The com- 
 mon school system is excel- 
 lent, and a subject of just 
 pride to all citizens. In the 
 larger cities the public 
 school building-s are among 
 their most imposing edifices, 
 and the public high-schools 
 maintain a grade of scholar- 
 ship not surpassed bj' the 
 liest academies and semina- 
 i-ies. 
 
 In addition to the common 
 schools, the State maintains, 
 as a part of its educational 
 system, a State University, 
 an Agricultural College, a 
 Normal School for the Edu- 
 cation of Teachers, a School for the Blind, a School for the Deaf 
 and Dumb, and a Reform School. 
 
 The common schools are sujjported by the proceeds of the sale 
 of lands granted to the State by the General Government for edu- 
 cational purposes, an annual ta.x of one* mill per dollar on the 
 assessed property valuation of the State, and a local tax voted by 
 the school districts. 
 
 The common school lands consist of the sixteenth and thirty- 
 sixth section of each congressional township in the State. 
 
 The State University, Normal School, and Agricultural College have large 
 endowments in lands. 
 
 The Normal School lands are saline, situated in Republic, Cloud, Lincoln, 
 Mitchell, and Saline Counties. 
 
 The University lands are in Anderson, Allen, Coffey, Lyon, Wabaunsee, 
 and Woodson Counties. 
 
 The Agricultural College lands were granted by the United States to the 
 State of Kansas for the support of such a school, in accordance with an act of 
 Congress passed in 1862. They are located in Marshall, Washington, Clay, 
 Riley. Dickinson, and Jackson Counties. 
 
 The State school officers are a Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 
 NOliM.VL SCHOOL .Kt E.MPOUI.V, K.4NSAS. 
 
GEOGRAPHY OF KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. 
 
 11 
 
 tion and a State Board of Education, consisting of the Superinten- 
 dent and the heads of the University, Agricultural College, and 
 Normal School. 
 
 The local officers are County Superintendents, a Board of Edu- 
 cation in each city of the first or second class, and a District 
 Board, of three members, in eacli school district. 
 
 This wise system of public schools, numerous public libraries, 
 and a daily and weekly press of more than two hundred different 
 publications, together with a considerable number of excellent in- 
 corporated colleges and seminaries, furnisli educational facilities 
 not surpassed by many of the older and more populous States. 
 
 Among the educational institutions not forming- a part of the State system 
 are: the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary, Washburn College, and 
 the College of the Sisters of Bethany, at Topeka; Baker University, at Bald- 
 win City ; Highland University, at Highland ; Ottawa University, at Ottawa ; 
 St. Benedict College and Atchi,son In.stitute, at Atchison ; Mount St. Mary's 
 Academy and St. Mary's Cathedral School, at Leavenworth; St. Mary's Mis- 
 sion and St. Mary's College, at St. Mary's; and Nonual Schools at Fort 
 Scott, Paola, and Junction City. 
 
 HISTORY. 
 
 The present State of Kansas, excepting the south-western por- 
 tion, formed part of the territory which, under the general name 
 of Louisiana, was purchased of France in 180.3. The part lyino- 
 
 west of the meridian of 100° and south of the Arkansas, belonged 
 to Mexico, and was procured by treaty in 1848. Kansas was 
 organized as a Territory by act of Congress in 1854, its bounda- 
 ries being the same as now, excepting the western, which was 
 formed by the summit of the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 The act organizing the Territory left the citizens the right to 
 determine whether slaves should be held within its limits. There 
 immediately began a struggle for supremacy between the immi- 
 grants from the Free and the Slave States, which ceased only at the 
 admission of Kansas into the Union, in 1801, with a State consti- 
 tution excluding slavery. 
 
 The earliest white inhabitants of the State were traders and 
 missionaries among the Indian tribes. The military reservation of 
 Fort Leavenworth was established in the summer of 1827. A 
 mission was established in Shawnee, Johnson County, in 1829, and 
 the first white child of Kansas was born there in 1832. 
 
 In 1831 the first settlement was made in Atchison County; anil 
 in 1837 a mission was established in Doniphan County, at Higli- 
 land, which was the parent of Highland University. 
 
 There were settlements made in Bourbon and Cherokee Coun- 
 ties in 1843, in Crawford in 1850, and in Davis in 1853 ; bot there 
 was little done towards occupying the ground until the orf,aniza- 
 tion of the Territory in 1854. From that time both the ii.'-re&se 
 in population, and progress in the development of the State, liu\ -. 
 been unsurpassed. 
 
 TABLE OF ORGANIZED COUNTIES AND COUNTY-SEATS IN 18TH-1879. 
 
 Name of Countv. 
 
 When 
 Organ- 
 ized. 
 
 Allen 
 
 1S55 
 
 
 ia5.5 
 
 
 1855 
 
 Barbour 
 
 Barton. .... 
 
 187.3 
 1872 
 
 Bourbon 
 
 Brown 
 
 Butler 
 
 18.55 
 
 1855 
 18,55 
 
 Chautauqua 
 
 Chase 
 
 1875 
 1859 
 
 Cherokee 
 
 Clay 
 
 1866 
 1866 
 
 Cloud 
 
 1866 
 
 Coffey 
 
 18.59 
 
 
 1870 
 
 
 1867 
 
 Davis 
 
 1855 
 
 
 18.57 
 
 Doniphan 
 
 1855 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Edwards 
 
 Elk 
 
 18.55 
 1874 
 1875 
 
 Ellis 
 
 1867 
 
 Ellsworth 
 
 1867 
 
 Ford 
 
 1873 
 
 Franklin 
 
 Greenwood 
 
 Harper 
 
 Harvey 
 
 Hodgeoian 
 
 JackSon 
 
 Jefferson 
 
 18.55 
 1872 
 187.3 
 1873 
 1879 
 18.57 
 18.55 
 1870 
 
 Johnson 
 
 18.55 
 
 Kingman 
 
 1874 
 
 Labette 
 
 Leavenworth 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 1867 
 18,55 
 1870 
 1855 
 
 Lyon 
 
 1858 
 
 Pop. in 
 March, 
 1879. 
 
 10,116 
 
 7.429 
 
 21,700 
 
 2,016 
 
 12,333 
 
 18,310 
 
 10, ,583 
 
 17,006 
 
 10,537 
 
 4,743 
 
 18,.535 
 
 10,658 
 
 12,656 
 
 10,077 
 
 18,157 
 
 14,623 
 
 6,087 
 
 1.3,005 
 
 1.5,123 
 
 18,931* 
 
 2,801 
 
 8,787 
 
 5,240 
 
 6,741 
 
 3,334 
 
 14,073 
 
 8,202 
 
 3,158 
 
 10,440 
 
 1,738 
 
 8,732 
 
 13,872 
 
 14,161 
 
 16.012 
 
 2,599 
 
 18,171 
 
 30,283 
 
 7,448 
 
 14,586 
 
 15,073 
 
 
 .06—1 
 
 M-% 
 
 .10— 
 
 .01 — 
 
 .01— 
 
 .10— 1.< 
 
 .08-1^ 
 
 •05-M 
 .08— 
 
 .10-K 
 
 .04-ii 
 .03->^ 
 .08-11^ 
 •0(i->| 
 
 .10— K 
 
 .03-?^ 
 
 .03-1^ 
 
 .16-% 
 
 .06—1^ 
 
 .0 — 
 
 .08— 
 
 .01— 
 
 .01— 
 
 .01 — 
 
 .08-9^ 
 
 .0.5-1^ 
 
 .02— 
 
 .06— 
 
 .0.5-V.< 
 .05-1^ 
 .03-M 
 .16—',; 
 
 .0 — " 
 
 .10-1 
 
 .10— Ik 
 
 •Ol-ij 
 
 .10— 
 
 .08—1 
 
 Name of 
 County-Seat. 
 
 Population 
 iu 1878, 
 
 Ida 1,839 
 
 Garnett i 1,127 
 
 Atchison (1 879)... [ 11,000 
 
 Medicine Lodge. ..I ,561 
 
 Great Bend I 1,816 
 
 Fort Scott (1879). .' 5,010 
 
 iHiawatha 1,265 
 
 Eldorado : 2,116 
 
 Sedan I 1,066 
 
 iCottonwood Falls.' 404 
 
 Columbus 
 
 {Clay Centre ' 1,300 
 
 Concordia 
 
 Burlington (1879). 1,740 
 
 jWinfield (1879).. .. 3,,542 
 
 ;Girard 
 
 |JuiictionC'y{1879)] 3,345 
 
 lAbilene I 1,1,50 
 
 Troy 
 
 Lawrence 
 
 Kinslev I 1,1.39 
 
 Howard 1,008 
 
 Hays Citv ' 
 
 Ellsworth 895 
 
 Dodge City 1,200 
 
 Ottawa (1879) , . , . 3,507 
 
 Eureka : 803 
 
 Anthony , 
 
 Newton (1879).... 8,539 
 
 ;Holton i 809 
 
 jOskaloosa I 1,597 
 
 Jewell Centre 
 
 qiathe (1879) \ 3,260 
 
 Kingman i 
 
 Oswego I 1,317 
 
 Leavenworth(1879) 16,643 
 
 Lincoln Centre 
 
 Mound City 1,411 
 
 Emporia I 4,061 
 
 Name of County. 
 
 When 
 Organ- 
 ized. 
 
 Marion 
 
 Marshall 
 
 McPherson 
 
 Miami 
 
 Mitchell 
 
 Montgomery 
 
 Morris 
 
 Nemaha 
 
 Neosho 
 
 Norton 
 
 Osage 
 
 Osborne 
 
 Ottawa 
 
 Pawnee 
 
 {Phillips 
 
 Pottowatomie .... 
 
 Pratt 
 
 Reno 
 
 Republic 
 
 Rice 
 
 |Riley 
 
 Rooks 
 
 Rush 
 
 Russell 
 
 Saline 
 
 Sedgwick 
 
 Shawnee 
 
 Smith 
 
 StaiTord 
 
 Sumner 
 
 Trego 
 
 Wabaunsee 
 
 Washington 
 
 Wilson 
 
 Woodson 
 
 Wyandotte 
 
 Unorganized Counties . 
 
 1865 
 18.55 
 1870 
 1855 
 1870 
 1869 
 1858 
 ia55 
 1864 
 1873 
 1859 
 1871 
 1866 
 1872 
 1872 
 1856 
 1879 
 1873 
 1868 
 1871 
 18,55 
 1872 
 1874 
 1873 
 1859 
 1870 
 1855 
 1873 
 1879 
 1871 
 1879 
 18.59 
 1860 
 1865 
 1855 
 1859 
 in 1879 
 
 Pop. in 
 
 March, 
 
 1879. 
 
 Total Population. . 851,317 
 
 
 10,1.54 
 
 .02— V 
 
 17,129 
 
 ■rs-M 
 
 13,196 
 
 ,01— 
 
 1,5,161 
 
 .10-x 
 
 14,034 
 
 ■OV 
 
 15,979 
 
 •10— 3-< 
 
 7,197 
 
 .05-1^ 
 
 10,367 
 
 .03-1^ 
 
 13,.594 
 
 ,C9-K 
 
 4,797 
 
 .01- 
 
 15,369 
 
 ■08-?^ 
 
 9,445 
 
 .02- 
 
 8,7.57 
 
 •os-K 
 
 7,033 
 
 .01— 
 
 7,956 
 
 .03- J^ 
 
 13,791 
 
 •04-J^ 
 
 2,084 
 
 
 13,042 
 
 .01 — 
 
 12,193 
 
 .03— V 
 
 7, ,501 
 
 •01-34 
 
 7,419* 
 
 •04-M 
 
 5,104 
 
 .01- 
 
 5,282 
 
 .01 — 
 
 6,521 
 
 .01- 
 
 12,424 
 
 ■^\-% 
 
 17,613 
 
 .01- 
 
 22,633 
 
 .08— 
 
 11,498 
 
 .03— 
 
 4,731 
 
 
 15,090 
 
 .03-3^ 
 
 2,310 
 
 
 6,245 
 
 .04-X 
 
 11,900 
 
 •02->^ 
 
 11,901 
 
 .08-1 
 
 6,0,58 
 
 .06— K 
 
 1,5,046 
 
 .25- " 1 
 
 15,0001 
 
 1 
 
 Name of 
 County-Seat. 
 
 Population 
 in 1878. 
 
 i Marion Centre 
 
 {Marysville (1879). . 
 
 McPherson 
 
 Paola (1879) 
 
 Beloit 
 
 Independence(IS79 
 
 Council Grove 
 
 Seneca 
 
 Erie 
 
 Norton 
 
 Lyndon ■ 
 
 Osborne 
 
 Minneapolis 
 
 Lamed 
 
 Phillipsburg 
 
 Louisville 
 
 ,636 
 643 
 ,973 
 
 8.38 
 829 
 107 
 841 
 215 
 
 Hutchinson 
 
 Belleville 
 
 Lyons 
 
 Manhattan (1879).. 
 
 Stockton 
 
 Walnut City 
 
 Russell 
 
 Salina (1879) 
 
 Wichita (1879) 
 
 Topeka (1879) 
 
 Smith Centre 
 
 547 
 ,010 
 
 ,287 
 
 1,413 
 687 
 
 1,962 
 
 3,.383 
 5,235 
 2,500 
 
 Wellington. 
 
 Alma 
 
 Washington 
 
 Fredonia 
 
 Yates Centre 1 
 
 Wyandotte (1879) . 
 
 1,160 
 
 363 
 
 4,612 
 
 • Census of 1878. 
 
 t Estimated. 
 
NEBRASKA. 
 
 -^ 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Area, 76,000 sq. m. Pop. (1879), 386,410. ]'alimtio!i, $75,359,798. 
 
 POSITION AND SIZE. 
 
 The State of Nebraska lies inmiediately iiorlli of the middle 
 parallel of North America, and immediately west of the middle 
 meridian of the United States. It includes eight degrees of lon- 
 gitude and three degrees of latitude. 
 
 The greatest length of the State is .slightly more than 400 
 miles; and its width, 
 
 except in the western 
 
 part, about 300 miles. -_--i^S«i^Bi 
 
 The area is 48-2- mil- -"^'— --^— - "-t.-- 
 lion acres. «*.=,»•;-, 
 
 SURFACE. 
 
 Nebraska is a g'reat 
 inclined plain, sloping 
 very graduallj' from 
 north-west to south- 
 east. The altitude 
 varies from 878 feet 
 at the mouth of tii<' 
 Nemaha, in the ex- 
 treme south-east, to 
 6,051 at Scott's Bluif.s, 
 on the western State 
 line, 30 miles north of 
 the Union Pacific 
 Railroad. 
 
 The entire State 
 may be divided, in 
 reference to altitude, 
 
 into three appro.ximately equal districts, eastern, middle, and 
 western, the lines of division being north and south lines through 
 Niobrara and North Platte. The eastern division rarely exceeds 
 1,500 feet in elevation; the middle is from 1,500 to 3,000 feet; 
 and the western, for the most part, from 3,000 to 5,000. 
 
 The altitude along the Mi.?.souri increases very gradually from 878 feet at 
 the mouth of the Nemaha, to 984 at Plattsmouth, 1,020 at Omaha, and 1,240 
 at Niobrara. 
 
 The altitudes in the Platte valley, on the line of the Union Pacific Railroad, 
 increase from 984 feet at Plattsmouth to 1,230 at Fremont, 1,496 at Colum- 
 bus, 1,887 at Grand Island, 2,825 at North Platte, and 5,001 at Pine Bluffs, 
 near the State line. The depot of the Union PaciBc at Omaha is at an eleva- 
 tion of 1,056 feet, 30 feet above the river; thus, in crossing the State, the 
 grade rises 4,000 feet, at quite a regular rate, about ten feet to the mile. 
 
 In the southern tier of counties the rise is only about one-half as great. 
 The altitudes vary from 909 at Falls City to 1,324 at Fairbury, 1,771 at 
 
 
 Bloomington, 2,343 at Indianola, and 3,0()f^ at the State line, on Republican 
 River.* 
 
 The surface, in the eastern division, in general, is gently undu- 
 lating. A narrow belt, of five miles or more along the Missouri, 
 is quite broken, and abrupt bluffs border the stream. 
 
 The middle division is more varied, and presents a succes- 
 sion of alternate valleys and ridges. The valleys are the result 
 of the erosion of the surface by the streams; and the ridges are 
 simply the remains, between the eroded valleys, of the original 
 surface lands. There are, therefore, no very great differences of 
 
 level between vallev 
 "^""^^S^ 'X- aE"-;^; ;t. , , ^ ,. and upland. 
 
 In general, a stretch 
 of flat alluvial " bot- 
 tom " borders the 
 streams, both in the 
 middle and the east- 
 i-rn division. On each 
 side of this " bottom " 
 the land rises, in more 
 or less abrupt bluffs, 
 to the upland which 
 forms the general sur- 
 face. 
 
 The most important 
 valleys are those of 
 the Platte, Loup, Elk- 
 horn, and Republican 
 Rivers. The first ex- 
 tends the entire length 
 of the State, varying 
 from four to twelve 
 miles in width, with 
 gentle slopes instead 
 of precipitous bluffs, 
 The others are from two to eight miles 
 
 £lCCgfc 
 
 VIEW IN NEBRASKA. 
 
 ^«/«.4ci-^ 
 
 7^ 
 A" 
 
 leading to the upland, 
 wide. 
 
 The toestern division has a still more broken surface; but, even 
 here, the irregularities are the result of the unequal erosion of a 
 once comparatively level plain. The valleys often have the form 
 of narrow and deep ravines, with precipitous sides. Especiallj' is 
 this the case in the region north of the Niobrara. 
 
 DRAINAGE. 
 
 The Missouri River receives the entire drainage of Nebraska, 
 through three principal streams. These are the Niobrara, in the 
 north; the Platte, in the middle; and the Republican, a tributary 
 
 * Figures furni.shed by Prof. S. Aughey, largely from his own measure- 
 ments. 
 
GEOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 13 
 
 of the Kansas, in the south. The Big- Blue, also a feeder of the 
 Kansas, carries to it the waters of the south-eastern portion of the 
 State. 
 
 These streams are quite shallow and rapid, hence are not avail- 
 able for purposes of navigation; but they and their larger tribu- 
 taries, at different points on their course, afford excellent water- 
 power. 
 
 Between the Platte and the Niobrara the Missouri receives only 
 insignificant streams from the broken country adjacent to it. The 
 drainage, in the north-eastern quarter of the State, is toward the 
 Elkhorn, rather than toward the great stream on the lioundary. 
 
 The Platte is formed by the confluence of two nearly equal 
 streams, the North Platte and the South Platte. Its only con- 
 siderable tributaries, aside from these, are the Loup (Wolf) and 
 the Elkhorn, the former draining the middle and the latter the 
 eastern portion of the region north of the Platte. 
 
 The Loup, flowing through a valley nearly parallel with that of 
 the middle Platte, receives a large number of parallel streams, 
 which, like the Elkhorn and the tributaries of the Republican 
 and Big Blue, follow the general south-eastern slope of the State. 
 
 MINERALS. 
 
 The mineral resources of Nebraska, though considerable and 
 varied, are almost entirely undeveloped. The great coal-field of 
 the Mississippi basin extends into the south-eastern part of the 
 State, and peat-beds are very numerous. 
 
 Good building-stone is abundant in eastern Nebraska, also brick 
 clay and potters' clay. A large bed of cement-stone (hydraulic 
 limestone) exists in Gage County, on the Big Blue; and lithog- 
 graphers' stone is found near Syracuse, in Otoe County. Mineral 
 paint is plentiful along- the Missouri, from Plattsmouth southward; 
 and silica, in a form to produce a valuable polishing powder, 
 abounds along the Republican, near Arapahoe. Marl is abundant 
 in western Nebraska. There are extensive and valuable saline 
 lands in Lancaster County, and also in north-western Nebraska, 
 beyond the head-waters of the Elkhorn. 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 The climatic character of Nebraska is almost identical with 
 that of Kansas. The average annual temperature is about 55°, 
 and the summer and winter seasons are marked by extremes of 
 heat and cold. 
 
 The annual rainfall diminishes gradually from the south-east to 
 the north-west, the eastern, middle, and western portions of the 
 State showing about the same differences as in Kansas. The 
 heaviest rains are in spring and early summer, in the months of 
 May, .Tune, and •Tuly. The winter months are nearly rainless. 
 
 The average rainfall in the western half of the State for ten years past has 
 been 30 inches. 
 
 The eastern half may be divided into three nearly equal belts, which have 
 had respectively an annual rainfall of 32, 28, and 22 inches during the same 
 period. 
 
 These rain-belts may be marked by lines passing in an irregular curve from 
 the Missouri to the southern State line. The first passes near Jackson, 
 Schuyler, and Seward ; the second near St. Helena, Grand Island, and Hast- 
 ings. The third, separating the eastern half of the State from the western, 
 passes from the western terminus of the river boundary, through Plum Creek 
 and Beaver City (near the meridian of 100"). 
 
 Constant and often strong winds characterize these States of 
 the plains. This is on account of their position in the track of 
 the return trade, and the absence of any barriers to break the 
 force of the wind. Sudden and violent thunder-showers are quite 
 frequent in summer. 
 
 The climate is undergoing a gradual modification in consequence 
 of the cultivation of the soil and the increase of forests. 
 
 SOIL. 
 
 Of the 48i- millions of acres in the State, it is estimated that 30 
 millions, or five-eighths of the whole, are perfectly adapted to all 
 purposes of agriculture. The remainder, by reason of the nutri- 
 tious prairie grasses which naturally cover the surface, is admira- 
 bly adapted to stock-raising on a vast scale. 
 
 A diagonal drawn from the mouth of the Niobrara to the south-western cor- 
 ner of Hitchcock County, on the Kansas border, would separate that portion 
 of the State where arable laud is the rule from that in which tlie surface in 
 general is better adapted to pasturage, with more or less arable land in the 
 valleys. 
 
 Owing- to the dryness of the winter, the soil is ready for the 
 plough as soon as the frost is out in the spring, and it pulverizes 
 easily and uniformly. Being never water-soaked, it does not bake, 
 and withstands the drought of late summer so perfectly that corn 
 and other late crops are rarely injured, even by weeks of rainless 
 weather. 
 
 The soil of the "bottoms" is a deep black vegetable loam, min- 
 gled with limo and more or less sand, and of the highest fertility. 
 The upland soil, though less deep, is equally productive, being 
 especially suited to wheat-growing. 
 
 The availability of the land for g-eneral farming- is greatest in 
 the eastern quarter of the State, and diminishes gradually toward 
 the west, with the increasing elevation of the surface and decreas- 
 ing rainfall. 
 
 FORESTS. 
 
 Native timber in Nebraska is confined to the vicinity of the 
 streams. The timber belts vary in width from a mile or more in 
 the east, to mere fringes, or scattered patches, along the margins 
 of the streams, in the middle and more westerly counties. 
 
 The most common trees are cottonwood, soft-maple, oak, elm, 
 willow, and ash. 
 
 Much attention is given to timber-raising, and there is scarce 
 a farm without its artificial grove. The trees most commonly 
 planted are cottonwood, soft-maple, black-walnut, and ash. They 
 grow very rapidly, many trees attaining- a foot in diameter in the 
 course of eight or ten years; and after a few years the cultivated 
 timber has the appearance of a natural grove. In the spring of 
 1879 over 58,000 acres of cultivated timber were reported in the 
 State. 
 
 The increase of forests is gradually modifying the climate in 
 the settled portions of the State, increasing the rainfall, retaining 
 the moisture of the soil, and diminishing the force of the winds bv 
 interrupting their hitherto unbroken sweep over the vast area of 
 the plains. 
 
14 
 
 GEOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 The cultivation of the soil and stock-raising are the great 
 sources of wealth in Nebraska; yet at the present time only a 
 small fraction of the available land has been brought into use. 
 In the spring of 1879 only alx)Ut 2^ millions of acres were re- 
 ported as under cultivation, not quite one-thirteenth of the esti- 
 mated area of arable land in the State. 
 
 Tlie crops to which the largest acreage is devoted are the dif- 
 ferent grains, especially corn, spring- wheat, oats, and barley. 
 Corn succeeds best on the valleys and slopes, while wheat thrives 
 better on the upland. 
 
 The estimated yield of these crops in 1878 was: corn, 42 million 
 bushels; wheat, 15 millions; oats, 8 millions; and barley, 3 millions. 
 
 Potatoes and other 
 root-crops, meadow- 
 grasses, sorghum, 
 flax, and broom-corn, 
 together with or- 
 chard-fruits, grapes, 
 and tiie different 
 small fruits, are also 
 cultivated. 
 
 Vast herds of cat- 
 tle are fed upon the 
 native prairies in the 
 western half of the 
 State, and the capa- 
 city for increase in 
 this direction is prac- 
 tically without limit. 
 Immense numbers of 
 Texan cattle are fat- 
 tened here for the 
 Chicago market. The 
 " drives " are brought 
 for market to Ogal- 
 alla, on the Union 
 Pacific Railroad, 
 whence they are distributed to the great ranges on the upper 
 Republican, Platte, and Loup rivers. 
 
 MANUFACTURING. 
 
 The manufacturing industries of the State are still in their in- 
 fancy, but the past few years have witnessed great progress in 
 this department. The leading branches are those more or less 
 connected with agriculture — flouring-mills, breweries and distil- 
 leries, soap works, carriiige and wagon factories, plow shops, cheese 
 factories, foundries, broom factories, and pork-packing houses. 
 
 COMMERCE. 
 
 The trade of Nebraska is large, and steadily increasing with the 
 development of the natural resources of the State. It consists 
 chiefly in the exchange of the products of the soil and the herds 
 for eastern manufactures and foreig-n supplies. 
 
 The principal home market is Omaha; the most accessible out- 
 side markets, Chicago, INIilwaukee, and St. Louis. 
 
 A VIEW IN OMAHA. 
 
 There is also a large shipping trade westward to the mining 
 districts, especially in poultry and eggs, flour, butter, pork, and 
 other articles of common consumption. 
 
 The facilities for transportation are great, notwithstanding the 
 absence of navigable streams within the boundaries. Throuerh 
 the Missouri, access by water can be had to every part of the great 
 central plain. The Union Pacific Railroad, which crosses the State, 
 brings it into connection with the general railroad system of the 
 country, and gives access to all the great markets, not only upon 
 the lakes and the Gulf, but also upon the Eastern and Western 
 sea-boards. 
 
 In 1879 there were in operation within the State 1,23.5 miles of 
 railroad, with an assessed valuation of over 8^ millions of dollars. 
 Two hundred miles of road were built and equipped during 
 
 the years 1877 and 
 1878. 
 
 INHABITANTS. 
 
 The total popula- 
 tion of Nebraska in 
 April, 1879i was 386,- 
 410, or about five per- 
 sons to every square 
 mile of territory. 
 This population is, 
 however, nearly all 
 included in the south- 
 eastern half of the 
 State, the western 
 h a 1 f being very 
 sparsely peopled. 
 Eight counties — 
 Cass, Dodge, Doug- 
 las, Lancaster, Otoe, 
 Richardson, Saline, 
 and Saunders — con- 
 tain over one-third of 
 the entire population. 
 The rapid increase of population is due to immigration, both 
 from the more populous States at the East and from Europe. It 
 is estimated that not less than 50,000 immigrants entered the 
 State during the year 1878. The total increase of population in 
 one year, from the end of March, 1878, was nearly' 64,000. 
 
 The great bulk of the population is American born. The Eu- 
 ropean immigrants represent nearly all the countries of Northern 
 Europe. Scandinavians, Germans, English, and Irish are espe- 
 cially numerous. 
 
 POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 The State is divided, for purposes of administration, into coun- 
 ties, 63 of which were organized at the end of March, 1879. The 
 organized counties are subdivided into voting precincts and into 
 school districts. The incorporated cities have their own political 
 organization apart from the townships within which the}- are 
 situated. There are also within the State several military and 
 Indian reservations. 
 
GEOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 15 
 
 The State Government embraces three departments, Executive, 
 Legislative, and Judicial. 
 
 The Executive officers are Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
 Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney-General, Commissioner 
 of Public Lands and Buildings, and Superintendent of Public 
 Instruction. 
 
 The State Legislature includes a Senate of thirty members, and 
 a House of Representatives of eighty-four members. The mem- 
 bers of both the Executive and the Legislative departments are 
 elected for a term of two years. The regular sessions of the Le- 
 gislature are held biennially, opening on the first Tuesday in 
 .January. 
 
 The Judicial department includes a Supreme Court, six District 
 Courts, and various inferior courts for the hearing of minor causes. 
 
 The Supreme Court consists of a Chief-Justice and two Asso- 
 ciate Judges, elected by the people for a term of six years. The 
 Judges of the District Courts are also elected by the people, serv- 
 ing during a term of two 
 years, 
 
 Nebraska sends to Con- 
 gress two United States 
 Senators and one member of 
 the National House of Re- 
 presentatives. It is there- 
 fore entitled to three votes 
 in the election of President 
 of the United States. 
 
 Hastings, Juniata, Kearney. Connections from Crete southward 
 to Beatrice ; from Concord northward to Bellevue and Omaha j 
 from Hastings southward to Red Cloud. 
 
 NEBRASKA RAILROAD. 
 
 lirowuville, Peru, Nebraska City, Syracuse, Pahuyra, Xjincoln, Sew- 
 ard, York. Extensions in construction from Brownville to Falls 
 City, and from York to Aurora. 
 
 ATCHISON AND NEBRASKA. 
 
 Falls City, Salem, Humboldt, Table Rock, Elk Creek, Tecumseh, 
 Sterlinrr, Lincoln. 
 
 5. 
 
 6. 
 
 STATE UNIVEKSI' 
 
 CITIES. 
 
 The cities of Nebraska 
 are incorporated in two 
 classes. Those having a pop- 
 ulation of 15,000 or more 
 form the first class; those 
 below 15,000 and above 
 1,500, the second class. 
 Places with less than 1,500 
 inhabitants have no city or- 
 ganization. Omaha is the only city of the first class. There- are 
 over thirty of the second class, all distinguished by rapid growth 
 and great business activity. 
 
 The leading cities of Nebraska, like those of Kansas, are situated 
 at advantageous points for shipment on the lines of railroad which 
 traverse the State. The greatest are at the points of intersection of 
 the leading lines. Omaha is the great railroad centre of the State. 
 N^i'hraska City, Lincoln and Fremont are next in importance. 
 
 These four cities are distinguished for their extensive jobbing- 
 trade, which extends not only to all parta of the State, but to ad- 
 jacent States and Territories. 
 
 The principal places on the leading railroads of the State and 
 their branches are the following: 
 
 1. UNION PACIFIC. (Between Omaha and western State line.) 
 
 Omaha, Papillon, Fremont, Schuyler, Columbus, Central City, Grand 
 Island, Kearney, Plum Creek, North Platte, Ogalalla, and Sidney. 
 Connections at Fremont eastward for Blair, northward for West 
 Point and Wisner ; at Valley for Wahoo and David City. 
 
 2. BURLINGTON AND MISSOURI. (Omaha and Kearney Junction.) 
 
 Plattsmouth, Ashland, Lincoln, Crete, Fairmont, Sutton, Harvard, 
 
 ST. JOSEPH AND DENVER. 
 
 Fairbury, Alexandria, Belvidere, Carleton, Edgar, Fairfield, Hastings, 
 Grand Island. 
 
 OMAHA AND NORTHWESTERN. 
 
 Omaha, Florence, Blair, Tekamah. Branch from Blair westward to 
 Amherst. 
 
 7. COVINGTON, COLUMBUS, AND BLACK HILLS. 
 
 Covington (opposite Sioux City), Dakota City, Jackson, Summit, Fonca. 
 
 Omaha (30,000), on the 
 Missouri River, at the cross- 
 ing of the Union Pacific 
 railroad, is one of the most 
 important cities west of the 
 Mississippi. It is the great 
 commercial centre of the 
 • T iiia*? L *■ State, being the point to 
 
 '^jfl^ ^^i^Jb^^^BT^- %%M which its leading railroads 
 
 r-r niTllSrn ft MiiS , . ■ 
 
 ^' I l,iiilBi»i^H^?!i ^^1 - > iiimp^sa converge, has extensive 
 
 stock yards, and its ship- 
 ping trade is very large. 
 The manufacturing inter- 
 ests are also extensive, in- 
 cluding railroad machine- 
 shops, foundries, carriage 
 and wagon manufactories, 
 a safe and vault manufac- 
 tory, linseed-oil works, lead- 
 smelting works, white lead 
 works, works for reducing 
 and refining gold ancr'ii^er ores, and many other establishments. 
 It has excellent public schools, the State Institute for the Deaf 
 and Dumb, and several important denominational schools. 
 
 The city is beautifully situated on a low table-land, rising on 
 the west into bluffs, which form admirable building sites, and are 
 crowned by many elegant residences. The business part of the 
 city is on the lower ground. It is connected with Council Blufifs, on 
 the opposite side of tiie river, by a railroad bridge and a steam ferry. 
 Lincoln (7,500), the capital of the State, and the county seat of 
 Lancaster County, was founded in 1867, its site having been selected 
 by a commission appointed to locate the State capital. Its growth 
 has been remarkable, and it is now one of the leading railroad cen- 
 tres of the State. The State University is located at Lincoln, also 
 the State Penitentiary. 
 
 Nebraska City (5,500), the county seat of Otoe County, is finely 
 situated on Missouri River, and has an important local trade. It 
 contains the State Institution for the Blind, and Nebraska College. 
 Fremont (3,500), situated on the north side of Platte River, is 
 an important grain market, and a place of active and rapidly in- 
 creasing business. 
 
 AT LINCOLN. 
 
LIBRRRY OF CONGRESS i 
 
 GEOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 
 
 016 094 415 8 
 
 I'lills City (2,500), the county seat of Ricliardsi^n County, is the 
 inoipal market for South-eastern Nebraska. 
 
 Cohimhm (2,500), Grand Island (3,000), Kearney City (1,500), 
 d JIastinys (2,500) are the leading commercial centres of middle 
 ebraska, all being important grain markets. At North Platte 
 e repair .shops of the Union Pacific Railroad. The jiopulation 
 
 Grand Island and vicinity is largely German. 
 Seward {l,bQQ), Crete (1,500), and Beatrice (2,000) are the great 
 ntres of trade for the basin of the Big Blue, one of the most 
 ipulous and productive jiortions of the State. 
 JHattsmouth (3,200) is the eastern terminus of the Nebraska 
 vision of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, and con- 
 ins extensive repair-sliops. 
 
 West Jpoi?it (2,000) , the county seat of Cuming County, has, like 
 rand Island, a large German population. 
 
 Jiroionville (1,750), the .starting-point of the Nebraska Railroad, 
 id Tecumseh, the county seat of Johnson County, have a large 
 cal trade, chiefly in farm-produce. North Platte (1,000) is the 
 ost important place in Western Nebraska. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 The State system of public instruction includes ungraded schools, 
 strict graded schools, city schools, a State Normal School, located 
 Peru, and a State University, at Lincoln. There is also an 
 istitute for the Deaf and Dumb, at Omaha; and an Institution 
 r the Blind, at Nebraska City ; and a Reform School, at Kearney^ 
 The larg-er cities have graded schools of a high order of e.vel- 
 nce, through which pupils are advanced regularly, from the most 
 enientary grades of scholarship to that required for admission to 
 le university. 
 
 The schools are supported by the income of the fund derived 
 om the congressional land grant, together with aVax of one mill 
 'v dollar on the assessed valuation of the State ;/and a local tax 
 liich in cities cannot exceed 10 mills on a dollar, in other dis- 
 icts 25 mills on a dollar. gT 
 
 The land grant consists of the 10th and 36tV' sections in each 
 >ngTessional townsliip in the State, making one-eigliteentli of its 
 itire area. This land is sold or leased, at a price fixed by law, 
 
 'V 
 
 and the proceeds constitute the permanent fund for the support 
 of the schools. 
 
 The State University and other State schools are supported 
 partly by appropriations made by the State Legislature, and partly 
 by the proceeds of valuable land endowments. The district and 
 graded schools are under the direction of the State Superintendent 
 of Public Instruction, county superintendents, and district boards. 
 
 The State institutions have each their own boards of managers. 
 
 The Board of Regents of the University consists of six persons 
 elected by the people, one j^early, for a term of six years. They 
 are authorized by law to establish five colleges, namely, (1) a Col- 
 lege of Literature, Science, and the Arts; (2) an Industrial College; 
 (3) a College of Law; (4) a College of Medicine; (5) a College of 
 the Fine Arts. Only the first two are as yet organized. 
 
 HISTORY. 
 
 Nebraska, like the other States west of the Mississippi, formed 
 a part of the territory which, under the general name of Louisiana, 
 was purchased from France in 1803. 
 
 The Territory of Nebi-aska was organized in 1854, with a much 
 more extended area than the present State. Immediately after the 
 organization immigration began, and the population rapidly in- 
 creased. In 1855 it numbered 4,500, and in 18G0 nearly 20,000. 
 
 The State was admitted into the LTnion, with its present bound- 
 aries, in 18G7. A special session of the State Legislature was held 
 in the summer of the same j^ear. 
 
 An act was passed at this session providing for the establish- 
 ment of the seat of government at a site to be called Lincoln, and 
 to be selected by a commission consisting of the Governor, Secre- 
 tary of State, and Auditor. 
 
 The establishment of a Normal School at Peru, and the location 
 of the State University and Agricultural College at Lincoln were 
 provided for at the same time. The Normal School was opened 
 tlie same year; the LTniversity not until 1871. 
 
 The Institute for Deaf and Dumb was opened in 1869, and tlie 
 Institute for the Blind in 1875. 
 
 The first regular session of the State Legislature was held at 
 Lincoln in 1869, opening- on tlie seventh day of January. 
 
 COUNTIESf^-iF NEBRASKA.— (Feom Census by Counties, 1879.) 
 
 _*_ 
 
 lams. . , , 
 itelope. . 
 'one . . . 
 iffalo ... 
 
 lit 
 
 Ltler 
 
 ss. 
 
 dar 
 
 ase. . . . 
 eyenne . 
 
 IV 
 
 Ifax.... 
 ming* . 
 ster. .. . 
 ■kota . . . 
 ■wson* . 
 ^on .... 
 a-e^'... 
 aglas* . 
 ^dy. . . . 
 Imore . . 
 mldin. . 
 :)ufcier*. 
 ruas . . . 
 
 Orgiiu- 
 ized. 
 
 1871 
 1871 
 1871 
 1869 
 18.').5 
 1868 
 1855 
 18.57 
 1873 
 1867 
 ISTl 
 186y 
 1856 
 1877 
 1855 
 1871 
 1858 
 1855 
 18.54 
 187.3 
 1871 
 1871 
 1873 
 1873 
 
 Popula- 
 tion in 
 IST'J. 
 
 County Scat. 
 
 Pojiula- 
 tlon. 
 
 8,163 
 2,178 
 3,636 
 6,878 
 5,165 
 7, .310 
 13,435 
 2,775 
 
 Hastings. 
 Oakdale. 
 Albion. 
 Kearney. 
 Tekaniah. 
 David City. 
 PlattsmoutU. 
 St. Helena. 
 
 3,500 
 
 300 
 1,450 
 
 700 
 
 SOO 
 3,300 
 
 185 
 
 Counties. 
 
 1,318 'Sidney. 
 9,373 ISutton. 
 5,060 'Schuyler. 
 
 9,095 
 
 696 
 
 3,308 
 
 3,871 
 
 4,061 
 
 11,57!) 
 
 36,557 
 
 West Point. 
 
 Custer. 
 
 Dakota City. 
 
 Plum Creek. 
 
 Ponca. 
 
 Fremont. 
 
 Omaha. 
 
 1,000 
 900 
 
 3,000 
 
 8 
 
 500 
 
 763 
 
 600 
 
 3,500 
 
 3,000 
 
 8,760 iGeneva. 
 
 4,137 'Blooraington. 
 
 630 IStockviUe. 
 
 2,983 iBeaver City. 
 
 400 
 800 
 
 150 
 
 Gage 
 
 Greeley 
 
 Gosper 
 
 HaU 
 
 Hamilton.. . 
 
 Harlan 
 
 Hitchcock* . 
 
 Howard 
 
 Holt 
 
 Hayes*t . . . . 
 JclTerson. . .. 
 Johnson ... 
 Kearney . . . 
 
 Keith* 
 
 Knox 
 
 Lancaster . . . 
 Lincoln.. .. 
 
 Madison 
 
 Merrick 
 
 Nance* 
 
 Nemaha* . . . 
 Nuckolls . . . 
 
 Otoe 
 
 Pawnee 
 
 Orgran- 
 
 iz •!. 
 
 1857 
 1873 
 1S77 
 1861 
 18^0 
 1S71 
 1873 
 1871 
 1871 
 
 1869 
 18.56 
 1873 
 1873 
 1856 
 1864 
 18.59 
 1867 
 1864 
 
 is.5.5 
 1871 
 18.55 
 1857 
 
 Popula- 
 tion in 
 1879. 
 
 9,639 
 7.53 
 633 
 
 6,375 
 
 6,478 
 
 4,193 
 
 364 
 
 3,316 
 
 1,839 
 
 600 
 
 6,280 
 
 6,303 
 
 3,840 
 
 374 
 
 2,088 
 
 18,675 
 3,017 
 4,280 
 4,635 
 1,000 
 
 10,504 
 3,964 
 
 13,863 
 5,899 
 
 County Seat. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Beatrice. 
 
 2,000 
 
 Scotia. 
 
 40 
 
 Vaughn. 
 
 
 Grand Island. 
 
 2,000 
 
 Aurora. 
 
 500 
 
 Alma. 
 
 
 Culbertson. 
 
 200 
 
 St. Paul. 
 
 800 
 
 Paddock. 
 
 
 Fairburv. 
 
 i,'.566 
 
 Tecumseh. 
 
 1,200 
 
 Minden. 
 
 35 
 
 Ogalalla. 
 
 
 Niobrara. 
 
 .550 
 
 Lincoln. 
 
 7,500 
 
 North Platte. 
 
 1,000 
 
 Madison. 
 
 260 
 
 Central City. 
 
 600 
 
 Brownville. 
 
 Nelson. 
 
 200 
 
 Nebraska City 
 Pawnee City. 
 
 5,500 
 800 
 
 Counties. 
 
 iPhelps 
 
 iPierce 
 
 Platte 
 
 IPolk 
 
 ! Red Willow 
 
 Richardson 
 
 Saline 
 
 iSarpy 
 
 Saunders 
 
 ^Seward* 
 
 Sherman 
 
 Stanton 
 
 ISionx*t 
 
 :Thaver 
 
 ; Valley 
 
 Washington*. . . . 
 
 Wayne 
 
 Webster 
 
 ;Wheeler*t 
 
 York 
 
 Unorgan'd Ter.* 
 
 Organ- 
 ized. 
 
 1873 
 1859 
 1157 
 1870 
 1873 
 1855 
 1867 
 18.57 
 1863 
 1865 
 1874 
 1867 
 
 1873 
 1873 
 1855 
 1.S70 
 1871 
 
 1870 
 
 Popula- 
 tion in 
 187a. 
 
 County Seat. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 1,375 Williamsburg. 
 
 684 Pierce. 
 7,587 Columbus. 
 5,033 Osceola. 
 963 Indianola. 
 13,433 Falls City. 
 12,417 Wilbcr. 
 4,3i'3 Papillon. 
 13,.52S Wahoo. 
 9,389 S.ward. 
 1,130 Loup City. 
 1,486 Stanton. 
 
 550 
 
 4,535 Hebron. 
 1,540 Ord City. 
 8,361 Blair. 
 
 481 La Porte. 
 5,947 Red Cloud. 
 
 700 
 9,113|York. 
 17,635 
 
 3,500 
 
 300 
 
 50 
 
 8,500 
 
 1,388 
 
 600 
 
 1,300 
 
 1,500 
 
 250 
 
 200 
 
 750 
 100 
 
 1,.500 
 100 
 900 
 
 Total 386,410 
 
 * Estimated. 
 
 t Unorganized.