Following his 1805 and 1806 expeditions, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike noted in his 1810 report that Kansas was the gateway to the Great American Desert. He compared the Great Plains to Africa--a vast expanse of sandy desert devoid of vegetation. As he believed the prairies were unfit for cultivation, Pike suggested the government consign that area to the Indians.
Major Stephen Long's expedition across the Great Plains did not dispute Pike's conclusion. Long believed Kansas was unfit for white settlers. In some regards, he was correct. Water was scarce in the western regions. The treeless plains forced emigrants and settlers to find other sources for building materials and fuel.
But the westward expansion eventually pushed across Kansas. The majority of the Indian tribes were once again displaced in present day Oklahoma. Between 1854 and 1860, close to one hundred thousand white emigrants settled the Kansas plains.
Hills and valleys stretch over the majority of the 82,277 miles that make up Kansas. Fossils prove that eons ago, it was a great sea. Glaciers scored the area, cutting rivers and leaving upheavals of limestone across the state. Before settlement, the prairie was a sea of undulating tallgrass.
The Eastern third is a lush collage of winding rivers, rolling hills, steeply wooded river bluffs and sprawling prairies. The first towns sprang up here.
Water was plentiful, both streams, rivers and underground sources for wells. The land was excellent for agricultural use--fertile soil, good growing season and ample annual rainfall. The thick woodlands provided plenty of lumber for building and fuel, with the most abundant tree being the cottonwood. Small herds of cattle fattened on the lush prairie grass.
But just as the Indians pushed westward, so did the homesteaders and emigrants. "Kansas Fever" ignited like a prairie fire and settlers rushed onto the prairie from as far away as Russia. The new settlers followed the rivers and trails across the treelees prairie and laid claim to the land.
In the heart of the state, a living sea of big bluestem prairie grass and wildflowers abound in the Flint Hills. Farther north, steep grassy slopes of lush buffalo grass roll on for miles.
Four streams flowed parallel from west to east and spilled into the Kansas River; the Republic, the Solomon, the Delaware and the Smoky Hill. Farther south was the Arkansas River which was fed by Walnut Creek and the Pawnee River.
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