Raymond John Pool

“ The soil and climatic conditions over the Sand Hills as a whole are such as to fit this region in a peculiar manner for the grazing of immense herds of cattle. It is from the pursuit of this great industry that the region must always furnish its greatest returns. Thousands of cattle are annually shipped to the eastern markets from the Sand Hills. It is truly amazing to the "newcomer" to see how well the stock does upon what seems to be very meager forage. But with a well-kept range for the summer and plenty of hay for the winter the cattleman realizes a neat return from his labors. ”

“ However, the vegetation and general life conditions of the uplands, the home of the bunch-grasses, are very noticeably different from those characters on the river flats or in the wet valleys. The exposure to both the drying and the mechanical effects of the wind is most keenly felt on the uplands, composed of the hill tops and upper slopes. Sometimes the wind sweeps over the crests of the hills with such terrific force that one can not stand in its path and endure the sting of the sand blast. ”

“ Notwithstanding the sparseness of the vegetation there are very many species represented in the Sand Hill flora, but in spite of this great number of species that are found over the hills and ridges and in the valleys, the most striking characteristic of Sand Hill vegetation is its great monotony due to the domination of bunch-grasses, which are the controlling elements of the floral covering of the whole region. ”

“ Such a loose sandy soil soaks up moisture very readily, so that after a heavy fall of rain scarcely any water is drained from the surface into the valleys, but all of it goes into the porous soil. Now and then rainstorms of such torrential fierceness occur in the hills that a great quantity of the sand is brought down from high on the hills and carried into the valleys. Such storms are, however, exceptional, since the usual heavier rains of about 1.0-1.5 in. are completely taken up by the sand, with no surface drainage at all. ”

“ When the young blow-out is no more than a foot in depth the sand begins to slide into the depression from the sides. This sand is blown away and more continues to slide in, and in this manner the blow-out increases in area as well as in depth. These two processes continue for a number of years until, in many cases, the well-developed crater-form depression is blown out of the hill. Naturally with the increasing depth of the blow-out the direct force of the wind becomes considerably checked by the prominent rim of the crater. ”

“ One can not but admire the vegetation that possesses the power of successfully resisting such a combination of conditions. That Sand Hill vegetation has been very successful in meeting these conditions is fully attested by a glance at the region as we find it to-day and a comparison with the dismal waste of bare sand dunes that once wandered over this same area.
Aside from the bunch-grasses, the most characteristic plant of the uplands is the dagger weed (Yucca glauca) which often occurs m great abundance on the upper slopes. ”

“ Even the cement block has invaded the hills, and now there are numerous ranches with cement-block homes and round about the many other well-constructed buildings of the up-to-date ranch. Thus the development of the civilization and the architecture of the Sand Hills has passed through a number of periods in many ways as interesting and as remarkable as the evolution of the landscape and the vegetation of this great pasture domain. ”

“ It is hoped that at some distant time acres of flourishing pine trees will grace many of the hills now so completely dominated by the bunch-grass.
The people of the Sand Hills are a hale and hardy lot. Their life is a rather hard one, even if they take advantage of every comfort possible for them. Many of them were lured by the roseate stories of the early "boomers" and came to the region from the east years ago. ”

“ Bessey's sand cherry is one of the most ubiquitous plants of the whole region. It is found in almost every site of the uplands and with its low, short twigs with tufts of glossy green leaves is seen springing from the sand on practically every side of every hill. Very frequently it forms extensive communities. The prairie clovers seldom form well-defined communities, but they occur as more or less scattered individuals, especially on the lower slopes of the hills adjacent to the larger valleys. ”

“ From these statements the reader must not infer that life in the Sand Hills is dangerous or even uncongenial because of man's relation to his fellows. Naturally these people have individual rights which they will protect with their lives, but to one who "lives in the open," no truer or more loyal friend can be found than in these rough men of the hills. ”

“ From the appearance of these grasses the decline of the blow-out is rather rapid. As these various species wander up the steep sides, and the force of the wind striking upon the upper slopes is reduced and the sand held from blowing, other species wander in from the bunch-grass association. If these new plants are properly provided with a rhizome device like that of their predecessors they soon begin to weave themselves into the now conspicuous blow-out association. ”

“ Those inhabitants who are so fortunate as to possess fertile valley land in addition to their upland range have made considerable progress along agricultural lines. The soil in many valleys is sufficiently fertile for the production of almost all of the common field and garden crops. Naturally because of the low acreage of agricultural land this industry will never reach great proportions. Alfalfa is destined to become the most important single crop in the Sand Hills. ”

“ Great quantities of the sand thus formed were caught up by the wind and heaped into mounds that finally grew to be large sand dunes extending in long ranges and ridges for many miles over the sandstone beds. Thus were the Sand Hills of the Great American Desert formed in the days preceding the advent of plants or men into the regions now characterized by the billowy hills covered with the bunch-grasses and their associates. ”

“ During a bright day with a high temperature and such a wind, life on the hills is well nigh impossible. During the hottest days of summer the surface sand in such situations is frequently heated to a temperature of 140° F. Such conditions with a low water content of the soil and a high saturation deficit are the factors that plants must meet. ”

“ The only plant here is Redfieldia flexuosa. as more and more sand is carried away and the up-rooted plants are swept on with the gale, the embryonic blow-out comes rapidly into existence. At this early stage it appears as an area of bare sand a few feet or yards across, over which the wind sweeps and continues to eat its way deeper and deeper into the sand. During this early stage the deep seated roots of woody plants frequently appear strewn over the surface of the shallow depressions until the wind has finally eaten its way far below the point of penetration of the deepest rooted plants. ”

“ Frequently this is the only plant between the bunch-grass association of the hills and the open water of the lake. Sometimes other species such as cat tail (Typha latifolia) , and the giant reed grass (Phragmites phragmites) occur in mixture with the bulrush, or these may now and then form separate belts. Wild rice grass (Zizania aquatica) is a common marginal or shallow-water inhabitant of many of the lakes. This plant is about as tall as the bulrush, but because of its leafy stems it often forms much denser stands in the shallow water. ”

“ The Sand Hills rest upon a series of relatively impermeable clays and stratified rocks. These layers of more solid materials crop out from the surface along streams and on the lower slopes of some hills quite remote from the deeper valleys. The soil is always moister upon a slope with these outcrops than in situations where such are absent. ”

“ The greatest number occur on the northwest-facing slope, but they range in position from northwest to southwest, depending somewhat upon the shape of the hill concerned and its relation to the adjacent hills. Blow-outs do not occur on all hills, nor does a single hill show more than a single blow-out, as a rule.
On an exposed upper slope when the vegetation becomes broken or seriously depleted from any cause, the wind as it sweeps up the slope catches the sand and carries it over the crest of the hill a few yards farther away and deposits it upon the lee face of the hill. In this way ”

“ The soil of these valleys is not so sandy as the uplands. This with the water table nearer the surface makes possible the culture of certain agricultural crops, if the proper care is taken to prevent the soil from blowing. When the sod is broken in a dry valley where a considerable area of nearly flat soil is exposed to the wind, the blowing soil frequently prevents the growth of field crops or any other plants. ”

“ The most important stream of the Sand Hills is the Loup River, the three forks of which rise in low swampy flats toward the central portion of the region. Through the Sand Hills portion of its course the Middle Loup has a fall of about eight feet per mile and so develops considerable current which causes its bed and its channel to shift continually. The sand banks are cut and the channel veers from side to side along its course. This tendency culminates in the formation of many "oxbows" ”

“ They are not necessarily always associated with the dagger weed, since they also occur on slopes with bunch-grasses only.
Like the little blue stem, the dagger weed has little value in the region aside from its interesting and important rôle in the life history of the ridges and slopes. Some economic value is attached to it in that it is eaten by cattle to a slight degree. Especially when the plant is in bloom, if the range is rather short, stock frequently strip every juicy flower from the large spike or panicle, sometimes even eating the axis well down among the needle-tipped leaves. ”

“ In the regions characterized by short valleys and basins the general landscape is strikingly different because in such places the hills rise on all sides without any regularity. Low hills, intermediate hills and high hills are all closely associated, with no long separating valleys. The result is a very abruptly rolling surface with rounded or oblong depressions of varying depth, with the rounded or conical dunes above. ”

“ Whatever may be the cause of this gradient in alkalinity, it is an obvious fact that the degree of alkalinity exerts a very powerful influence upon the vegetation. Studies are now in progress that will probably throw considerable light upon the power of certain species of plants and animals to adjust themselves to this varying chemical relation. In many of the more strongly saline waters scarcely any vegetation appears, although the beach may be well clothed with rushes, sedges and salt-grasses. ”

“ Even the taller shoestring (Amorplia fruticosa) occasionally wanders from its usual habitat in the moist valley and is found on north slopes among the willows and dogwoods. The presence of such plants always indicates a higher percentage of soil moisture quite near the surface than is found typically in the bunch-grass association. ”

“ The explanation of this phenomenon is not hard to find, because such associations and such soil conditions almost always mark an outcrop of clay or other impermeable rock strata which lead the ground water from under the hills in a horizontal direction until it is brought near the surface. If the clay or rock does not actually appear on the surface it is usually found a few feet beneath, so that the effect is practically as has been given. The water is frequently so abundant in such situations that it seeps out and collects in cow tracks and other holes in the more tenacious soil. ”

“ In certain portions of the region over restricted areas this species really becomes dominant and the bunchgrasses then play only a subordinate part in the floral covering. The dagger weed reaches its best development on the south and west exposures, although it is by no means confined to these slopes. The sand is often blown away from the roots for many inches beneath the rosette of bristling leaves, and yet the plant continues to thrive. ”

“ In the regions of widest valleys the ranges of hills often show a succession of higher hills as one passes back from the valley to the highest points on the divide, which may be from 300 to 400 feet above the level of the valley. ”

“ When all of the seed beds are in use the nursery can care for about four million seedlings and two million transplants. The care of the delicate seedlings requires a great amount of skill and a large force of men in order that they may be kept free from disease and develop perfectly for the planting on the hills. ”