“Commercially, the value of the Oregon country must be great, washed as it is by the North Pacific Ocean, fronting Asia, producing many of the elements of commerce, mild and healthy in its climate, and becoming, as it naturally will, a thoroughfare for the East India and China trade.”

Col.  Fremont, in this beautiful and instructive passage of descriptive writing, refers to the grass on which the buffalo “delight to feed.”  It is eminently proper that we should add a few words for general information concerning the grasses of the prairies, as also concerning the timber, flowers, game, face of the country, etc., etc., in which the whole life of Kit Carson has been spent.

On the west side of the Arkansas River, and between that stream and the Rocky Mountains, there are three distinct species of grass found.  The first is the short, curly variety, on which the buffalo are said to feed, from which fact it takes its name.  The second kind is the Grama grass, which is, I believe, indigenous to only this section of America.  Its stalk grows to the height of about one foot.  Near its top, it gives off, at right angles, another stem, which is usually from one and a half to three inches in length.  From this last-mentioned stem, hang clusters of seeds which are well protected by a suitable covering.  It is said, and my own observation confirms the fact, that horses will leave grain, such as corn and oats, to feed on this grass; and its wonderful nutritious properties cannot be denied.  Wild oats are often seen in the mountain valleys.  Along the low swampy lands which skirt the rivers of the plains, there is yet another species of grass which grows oftentimes several feet high, and has a broad blade, similar almost to that of the flag plant.  On approaching the mountains the blue grass is found, which is nearly the same as that usually met with in many of our western States.  The bunch grass, as spoken of by Fremont, is not confined to the mountains in New Mexico; it is sometimes met with in the valleys, where it grows to an immense height; but, in the low lands, it is useless, being too tough for animals to masticate.  Strangers, when journeying in these parts, often make the mistake of selecting camps in this tall grass, being deceived by its thrifty appearance; but, one night, thus spent, will clearly prove its utter worthlessness.

On the plains there are but few wild flowers; but, as the traveler approaches the mountains, they greet his eyes in extensive beds and of variegated colors.  As a grazing country, the Rocky Mountains and their immediate vicinity cannot be surpassed.  The timber found there is poor in quality.  It comprises pine, cedar, and cotton wood, with here and there patches of small and crooked oak bushes.  The rivers in the mountains are formed from melting snows and springs.  They come tumbling down through rough gorges and rocky canons, until they are free in the valleys, where, they form bold and beautiful rivers.