the sides of which are more or less steep and covered with grass. Their sides are generally perpendicular, their surfaces flat, and often covered with mountain cherries and other shrubs. They have the appearance of having been suddenly elevated above the surrounding surface by some specific cause."

In

CLIMATE. Though the climate of Nebraska has not been accurately ascertained, enough is known, however, for practical purposes. Eastern Nebraska, vegetation is some weeks later than in Iowa, and in the vicinity of the mountains some weeks later still. From the city of St. Louis, traveling either northward or westward, the climate becomes colder about in the same degree-the difference of elevation, traveling west, being about equivalent in its effects to the difference of latitude traveling north. The altitude of Nebraska, considerably greater than that of the Mississippi Valley, secures to it a dry, pure, salubrious atmosphere, free from fogs and humidity. The prevalent diseases are mostly malarious, and become less frequent as the country becomes cultivated. The climate is remarkable for the number of bright, clear, sunny days throughout the year. Rain is not abundant, the summer and fall being comparatively dry. The extreme heat is 100°. This is tempered by the prairie breezes, and the nights are always cool. The winters are usually mild and open, with little snow. The extreme cold is from 10° to 15° below zero in moderate winters, and from 20° to 30° below in severe ones. High winds prevail in the spring, and at times throughout the year, sweeping unobstructed over the open plains.

SOIL AND TIMBER.-We will briefly recapitulate the best soils, so far as ascertained. Near the south-east extremity the soil is often fourteen feet deep. For about 250 miles west of the Missouri River, says Hale, the prairie through which the Nebraska passes is very rich and admirably adapted to cultivation; and the whole "divide" for the distance named, between the Kansas and Nebraska, is a soil easy to till and yielding heavy crops. Much of the prairie region, where untillable, is yet covered with rich pastures. Deficiency of timber is the great want of Nebraska, yet there are many well-timbered districts. There are dense forests of cotton-wood on the Missouri bottoms, from the mouth of the Nebraska to Minnesota, and on the bluffs and highlands bordering the Missouri River large tracts of timber, besides countless groves of oak, black-walnut, lime, slippery-elm, ash, etc. The Nebraska Valley is stated to be densely wooded for many miles on each side, to a distance of more than 100 miles above its mouth, and the valleys of the rivers and streams between it and the Lower White Earth are sufficiently well timbered for dense settlement.

Throughout the fertile region above described, wheat, corn, oats, and other cereals, sorghum, root crops, and all culinary vegetables, give a large yield. Sweet-potatoes are raised below latitude 42°. The native fruits are plums, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, etc. The winters are too severe for peaches, but the soil and climate are suitable for tobacco. The prairies furnish a boundless pasture-ground, and the grass of the valleys and the low grounds furnishes excellent hay.

ANIMALS. This country is the paradise of the hunter and trapper. Vast herds of buffalo roam over its prairies, though now rapidly diminishing in numbers. Lewis and Clark have stated that at times the Missouri was backed up as by a dam by the multitudes of these animals crossing. The beaver in former times existed in great numbers, though the trappers are now fast thinning them out. Otters also are found. Panthers were met with by Lewis and Clark and others; also black bears, deer, elks, and wolves.

HISTORY.-The valley of the Missouri was first visited by Father Marquette, in the last half of the seventeenth century. La Salle followed him in 1681-82. Nebraska formed a part of the great grant of the Mississippi Valley to Crozard in 1712, and was the object of Law's celebrated Mississippi Scheme. This territory came into possession of the United States in 1803, as a part of the Louisiana purchase, and successively formed parts of that and the Missouri and Indian Territories. In 1804-5 an expedition, commanded by Lewis and Clark, under the direction of the United States Government, ascended the Missouri River, wintered at Fort Mandan, and the next spring crossed the Rocky Mountains to the present State of Oregon, and are believed to have been the first explorers of the interior and western parts of Nebraska. In May, 1854, the Congress of the United States erected this region into a separate Territory, reserving, however, the right to subdivide it—a right which has been frequently exercised of late, till now, instead of running through nine degrees of latitude and eighteen of longitude, as it did originally, it only covers three degrees of latitude and about two of longitude.

At the second session of the 37th Congress, in the winter of 1862-3, a bill for the admission of Nebraska as a State of the Union passed one house of Congress, but was lost in the other. The next, the 38th Congress, however, at its first session in 1863-4, passed an act to enable the people of Nebraska to form a State Constitution and State Government, with a view to admission into the Union. Delegates were accordingly elected to a Convention to prepare a State Constitution for submission to the people. The delegates so chosen met at Omaha on the 4th of July, 1864, and voted to adjourn sine die, without taking any steps toward the accomplishment of the object for which they had been elected.

A second Convention was called, and a Constitution framed, which was submitted to the people at an election held on the 2d of June, 1866. It was adopted by a majority of 100 in its favor, out of a total vote cast of 7,776. "An act for the admission of the State of Nebraska into the Union" was passed just at the close of the first session of the 39th Congress, but, not being signed by the President, it failed to become a law. Another bill, with the same title, originating in the Senate, was passed at the second session of the same Congress. This bill the President, on the 29th of January, 1867, returned to the Senate with his objections.

These objections are mainly confined to the third section of the bill, which provides that the State of Nebraska shall not be admitted into

the Union except upon the fundamental condition that, within the State, there shall be no denial of the elective franchise, or of any other right, to any person by reason of race or color, except Indians not taxed; and also upon the further fundamental condition that the Legislature of the State shall, by a solemn public act, declare the assent of said State to the said fundamental condition. The President objects that this condition was not mentioned in the original enabling act, was not sought by the people of Nebraska, has not heretofore been applied to the inhabitants of any State asking admission, and is in direct conflict with the Constitution adopted by the people, and declared in the preamble to the bill to be "republican in its form of government." It is also objected that Congress undertakes to authorize and compel the Legislature to change a Constitution adopted by the people, and ratified and confirmed by Congress in the first section of the bill. The President makes the further objection that the condition precedent in the bill is an assertion of the right of Congress to regulate the elective franchise in any State hereafter to be admitted. This he regards as a clear violation of the Federal Constitution.

Soon after the President's veto, and early in February, 1867, this second bill for the admission of Nebraska as a State of the Union was passed by Congress by a two-thirds vote in each branch, thus making it a law notwithstanding the President's veto.

Following the passage of the bill for the admission of Nebraska, the Legislature of the new State met at Omaha, the capital, and, on or about the 20th of February, 1867, ratified, or agreed to accept and conform to the conditions imposed in the act. Thus, so far as legislation is concerned, was completed the last act for the admission of Nebraska as the thirty-seventh State of the American Union.

CITIES AND TOWNS.-The capital of Nebraska is Omaha, situated on the Missouri River, opposite Council Bluffs, in Iowa, a little above the latitude of New York City. As the outlet of the Platte Valley, as the crossing point of the river for the North and South Platte routes to Denver, in Colorado, California, and Oregon, as the eastern terminus of the main trunk line of the Union Pacific Railroad, and the business center for north-eastern Nebraska, Omaha has great commercial promise. The capitol, built on a commanding eminence and a romantic site, is an elegant two-story brick edifice. The population of Omaha in 1860 was 1,950.

Nebraska City is the principal town below the Platte. It is on the beautiful site of old Fort Kearney, and commands a large share of the travel to Denver and the mines. It had in 1860 a population of 2,000.

The other principal towns in Nebraska are Plattsmouth, Brownville, Rule, Peru, Nemaha City, Falls City, Salem, Archer, Kenosha, Rock Bluff, and Wyoming, below the Platte; Bellevue, the site of the old Omaha mission; Florence, the starting point on the Missouri for the Mormon trains to Utah; and Fort Calhoun, De Soto, Corning City, Tehuma, Decatur, Omadi, Dakota, St. John's, Punca, St. James, and St. Helena, above the Platte, on and near the Missouri; Fontanelle, on the Elk Horn, and Fremont and Columbus, in the Platte Valley.

Fort Kearney is situated on the Platte River, near the 99th degree of west longitude, and 250 miles from Atchison, Kansas. It is at the junction of the Omaha, Nebraska City, and Atchison roads for the grand central overland route to Colorado and Utah and the Pacific Territories. MINERALS. The southern portion of Nebraska abounds in limestone, and the counties along the Kansas line, particularly near the Big and Little Blue Rivers, present some stony surface. In many places sandstone underlies the soil, cropping out along the bluffs and ravines. Rock is seldom met with in digging wells, which range from 15 to 60 feet in depth. In Cedar County, on the Missouri, and in some other localities, there is a large deposit, a few feet below the surface, of a calcareous substance, soft and pliable, which hardens on exposure, and makes excellent lime. Alum has been found in Dixon County, and coal is obtained at various points. On Salt Creek, in Lancaster County, are several rock-salt springs. The salt impregnates the waters of the creek, and in many spots, covers the ground with a crust about the thickness of window-glass, spreading in one place to the extent of three miles in length by one in breadth.

MISCELLANEOUS.-Agricultural and pastoral pursuits will chiefly occupy the people of Nebraska, as the scarcity of fuel and of good waterpower will limit manufacturing. Their traffic upon the Missouri River is already large, and promises to become immense. Three routes starting from Omaha, Plattsmouth, and Nebraska City unite at Fort Kearney, and thence follow the Platte Valley to Denver and the mountains. On all these routes the roads are excellent, wood and water convenient, and the distance less than by more southern routes. In 1860, 9,100 teams crossed the ferry at Omaha, of which about 6,000 were bound westward to the mines, California, etc.; 2,959 crossed the Loupe River, north of the Platte, by ferry; and several thousands crossed the Platte by Shinn's Ferry, east of the Loupe. Steam ferries are maintained across the Missouri at Omaha, Dakota, Bellevue, Plattsmouth, Nebraska City, and Brownsville.

The school system of Nebraska is modeled after that of Ohio. The number of schools maintained in 1860 was 121; school districts, 139; number of children entitled to attend the public schools, 7,041; and the actual attendance at the schools was 2,930. There were land-offices at Brownville, Nebraska City, Omaha, and Dakota, at which millions of acres were subject to entry. The civil code of Ohio and the criminal code of Illinois were adopted by the Territorial Legislature in 1856. Ten newspapers were then published in Nebraska. Most of the religious denominations in the United States, including Mormons, are rep. resented.

43

NEW MEXICO.

NEW MEXICO is a portion of the territory acquired from Mexico by the treaties of 1848 and 1853, and extends from 31° 20′ to 37° of north latitude, and from 26° to 32° of longitude west from Washington, including an area of about 100,000 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Colorado, on the east by the Indian Territory and Texas, on the south by Texas and Old Mexico, and on the west by Arizona.

FACE OF THE COUNTRY, ETC.-This Territory is, for the most part, a high table-land, crossed by several ranges of mountains. The valleys of the Rio Grande and its tributaries occupy the middle part of New Mexico, and lie between and among different ranges of the Rocky Mountain chain, which crosses the Territory from north to south. The western limit of the Rio Grande Valley is the Sierra Madre Mountains, and the eastern, the Jumanes, the Del Cabello, and other ranges of the Rocky Mountains. Much of the Territory lies west of the Sierra Madre Mountains, and partakes of the general character of the Fremont Basin. (See Utah.) The mountain ranges in the east are the Guadalupe, Sacramento, Organ, (Sierra de los Organos,) Sierra Blanca, Hueca, and other divisions which diverge from the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, and pass off into Texas, forming the western boundary of the valley of the Pecos. Mount Taylor, in a south-west direction from Santa Fe, among the Sierra Madre Mountains, has been computed at 10,000 feet elevation above the valley of the Rio Grande, itself a high tableland of 6,000 feet in the north part, 4,800 feet at Albuquerque, and 3,000 feet at El Paso.

MINERALS.-It is highly probable that New Mexico abounds in the precious metals, but owing to the jealousy of the aborigines, and the unskillfulness with which, even when worked at all, they have been managed, they have not, so far as we are informed, hitherto produced abundantly; yet gold and silver are known to exist, and mines of both metals have been worked. Mines of gold have been worked in a district along the Placer Mountains, 30 miles south-west of Santa Fe. They are known as the Ortiz, Bigg, and Davenport mines. From 1832 to 1835, when mining operations were most flourishing, from $60,000 to $80,000 per annum was taken from them, and from their discovery to 1844, they yielded about $300,000. The ore exists in quartz, which is easily crushed. At placers in the vicinity, gold is obtained by washing. Near the Placer Mountains, the whole soil seems to be impregnated with the precious metal. It is believed by those who have explored it, that this district would be one of the richest gold-bearing countries in the world, if science and capital were employed in its development. Silver mines, 80 miles north-east of El Paso, and near Dona Ana, are reputed to be the richest in New Mexico. Iron occurs in abundance, and gyp