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Trees in Nebraska??? · Nebraska History Podcast

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  The following episode features a historic article from the
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  Nebraska History magazine. This article may reflect the
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  language and attitudes of its time and while it offers
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  valuable insight into the past, may contend expressions or
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  viewpoints that are outdated or offensive by today's standards.
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  Any outdated terms do not reflect the current views or
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  perspectives of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
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  Welcome to the Nebraska History podcast.
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  I'm your host, Chris Goforth. Each episode we explore articles
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  written and published in Nebraska History Magazine.
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  In 1820, Major Stephen H Long described the Nebraska landscape
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  as the Great American Desert with wide open prairies and
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  hardly any treats. Years later, efforts to change
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  that landscape took hold, thanks to key contributors to
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  Nebraska's history. On this episode we learn about
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  those early efforts to encourage widespread tree cultivation in
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  Nebraska in this 1972 Nebraska History Magazine article, Trees
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  But No Timber, Prelude to the Timber Culture Act by Burton J
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  Williams. Walter Prescott Webb, in
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  describing the necessary adaptations for existence on the
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  Great Plains, spoke of traditional prerequisites and
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  used his analogy of a three legged stool, IE, land, water,
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  and timber. On the plains, two of these
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  legs, water and timber, were frequently in short supply and
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  thus the need for both innovation and adaptation.
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  Webb's theme in the Great Plains was that American civilization
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  and methods of pioneering were worked out east of the 98th
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  Meridian and were well suited to conditions there.
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  However, when these institutions of the East undertook to cross
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  into the Great Plains, they broke down and had to be
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  modified. Put in his thoughts another way,
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  19th century Americans were dependent naturally on the
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  obvious, the watered land. What has not been so obvious is
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  the fact that their dependence upon wood was so great as to
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  justify using an anthropological term, the Wood Age, to describe
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  it. Admittedly, anyone would be hard
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  pressed to sell the Wood Age as a title to a Hollywood
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  scriptwriter. 6 Guns and saddle leather would doubtless be more
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  acceptable to those seeking sensationalism in accounts of
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  the Wild West as the 19th century merged with the 20th.
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  In spite of increasing use by manufacturers of metals and
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  minerals as substitutes for wood, the consumption of forests
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  did not diminish. Indeed, it increased, and
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  forests remained a major source for fuel and housing
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  construction materials. The history of tree planting in
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  Nebraska and the exuberant promotional effort behind this
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  endeavor are closely tied to these facts.
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  The plains of Nebraska were essentially lacking in this
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  predominant resource in 19th century America.
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  One rider ascending the Missouri River from Saint Louis in 1854
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  observed that only the eastern tier of counties in Nebraska
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  would ever be thickly settled and that the remainder would
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  very likely be cultivated. Quote on account of scarcity of
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  woodland and water. End Quote.
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  On June 17th, 1854, the New York Herald published a report on the
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  Great West and pointed out that the scarcity of timber was the
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  greatest barrier to its settlement.
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  Surveyors carefully chronicled the status of timber as the
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  townships were laid out with such remarks as quote the timber
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  is chiefly of an inferior quality.
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  There is not sufficient timber to supply the wants of farmers.
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  There are a few scattered trees along the river and creeks fit
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  only for fuel and fencing. End Quote.
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  The fact that at least some sort of timber was to be found along
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  the banks of streams explains in part the early settlement
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  patterns of territorial Nebraska.
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  These settlement patterns have been traced and have been seen
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  to advance westerly along the margins of rivers and streams.
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  This indicates that the western March of migrants did not
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  advance along a single frontier line, but instead penetrated
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  along the arterial network of waterways.
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  The limitations of such a migratory pattern soon became
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  obvious, for only a fraction of territorial Nebraska could or
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  would be settled if occupancy was largely confined along its
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  waterways. In fact, in the eyes of at least
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  one contemporary writer, Senator John J Ingalls of Kansas, the
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  wooded tracks next to water had been unattractive, even
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  anathema, to the energetic, industrious settlers.
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  He claimed in his serial comic essay Catfish Aristocracy, that
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  the most casual observer could not fail to notice the
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  difference between the indolent settler who lived in the Bottoms
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  and the vigorous farmer who cultivated the upland prairies.
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  The bottom dwellers he termed the catfish aristocrats, who he
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  felt contributed little to society while living indolently
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  off the land, fishing, hunting, and cultivating half heartedly
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  small acreages. In his elaborate prose style,
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  Ingalls scorned the catfish aristocrat, who he said, quote
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  builds no schoolhouse, erects no church.
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  To his morals the Sabbath is unknown.
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  To his intellect the alphabet is superfluous.
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  He delights in cracklins and spare ribs, has a weakness for
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  cow cumbers and watermelons. But when he soars above the
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  crass knees of his common nature and strives to prepare a feast
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  that shall rival the banquets of Lucullus, he spreads his festive
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  Cottonwood with catfish and paw paws.
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  End Quote. Whether this kind of facetious
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  geographic determinism had any credibility or not is
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  questionable. If so, it only pertained to a
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  very limited area along the deep rivers of eastern Kansas and
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  Nebraska. There is some evidence to the
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  contrary, IE, that bottom land was coveted by the industrious
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  settlers. Nevertheless, if extensive
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  immigration were to be realized, then the upland prairies would
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  of necessity be needed for the anticipated growth in
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  population. To make these treeless subhumid
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  plains attractive to prospective settlers required something more
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  than a good public relations program.
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  Trees and water virtually everywhere were the essential
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  requisites, and Nebraska's boomers planned to produce both.
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  As early as 1857, the idea had been advanced that the federal
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  government should inaugurate a program to encourage the growth
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  of timber upon the western prairies.
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  The specifics of this proposal suggested that the federal land
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  policies should be amended so as to give a quarter section or
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  sections of land to those who would agree to plant an
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  unspecified number of acres with trees.
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  However, such a proposal would wait some 16 years before
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  Congress enacted such legislation.
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  But Nebraskans proceeded on their own, and the gospel of
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  trees and its attendant blessings were preached in the
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  waste places of the territory. Acting Governor Algernon S
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  Paddock and his message to the Legislature of January 11th,
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  1867, favored a homestead law requiring every settler to
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  cultivate 20 acres of timber on his homestead for five years as
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  one of the conditions required to prove up his claim.
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  Two years later, the Nebraska Legislature enacted a law
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  whereby $100 worth of property would be exempted from taxation
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  for every acre of forest trees planted and cultivated.
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  The provisions of the law required the cultivation of such
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  trees for five years, which was also the limit to the period of
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  time to which the tax exemption applied.
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  The trees were to be planted no farther than 12 feet apart and
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  kept in a healthy growing condition.
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  This law did not produce either ecstatic enthusiasm or cosmic
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  convulsions. Seward County, cited in a tract
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  promoting the interests of that place by declaring quote.
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  With such laws as these, the vast prairies of the central
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  state will in a single generation grow into a densely
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  wooded country. This one element of wealth
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  inducing immigration will give it an additional impulse, and
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  Nebraska will have a population that will have placed her in the
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  front rank among the states of the nation.
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  End Quote. A Nebraska newspaper, however,
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  indicated that such claims of grandeur were a long way from
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  being realized, and in its reportage wondered why more
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  people were not taking advantage of this act since the economy of
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  the state was so bad that it was impossible to even pay the
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  interest on the present indebtedness. 2 men who remained
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  undaunted while associated with early tree planting efforts in
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  Nebraska were Robert W Furnace and J Sterling Morton.
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  Furnace came to Nebraska Territory from Ohio in 1856 and
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  established the Nebraska Advertiser in Brownville in
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  1867. He started a nursery business
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  there and remained interested in agriculture and horticulture for
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  the remainder of his life. He became the 1st president of
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  the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture and later its
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  secretary for nearly 20 years. J Sterling Morton had arrived in
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  Nebraska Territory in 1855 and made his home in Nebraska City.
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  Like Furnace, Morton also edited a newspaper, the Nebraska City
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  News. He became active as a member of
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  the Nebraska Board of Immigration and served for many
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  years as an officer on the State Horticultural Society.
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  In addition, he was extremely active politically, serving as
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  acting governor and as Secretary of the Nebraska Territory.
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  He was a frustrated candidate for the governorship in 18661882
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  and 1884, and was also unsuccessful in his bid for the
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  US Senate, suffering defeat in 1886, a year in which he also
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  tried to be elected governor. He did, however, gain an
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  appointment to the cabinet of the Grover Cleveland
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  Administration from 1893 to 1897, where he served with
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  distinction. His major importance in so far
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  as the subject of this monograph is concerned, is the fact that
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  he wrote the resolution designating the first Arbor Day
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  and providing a prize for the person who planted the most
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  trees on that day. The resolution itself urged
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  Nebraskans to realize the importance of tree planting, and
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  the State Board of Agriculture offered $100 to the county
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  Agricultural Society, which properly planted the largest
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  number of trees on that day. In addition, the state Board
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  offered a farm library worth $25.00 to the person planting
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  the most trees on Arbor Day. The state's newspapers were
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  urged to publicize the resolution and to remind the
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  people of the importance of the matter from time to time.
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  The individual winner that first Arbor Day was JD Smith, who
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  lived 4 miles West of Lincoln, according to the Nebraska
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  Herald. He planted one tree per second
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  for nearly 10 hours, or 35,550 forest trees.
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  The Herald reported also that Elder Taggart of Palmyra had
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  planted 20,000 trees during Arbor Day week.
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  The Nebraska Statesman declared JD Smith to be the first Arbor
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  Day champion, claiming that altogether he had planted a
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  total of 60 acres. Smith believed that within 10
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  years these trees would be worth $1.00 each.
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  He estimated that he had planted all together 136,000 trees and
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  recommended tree planting as a paying business.
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  The fact remains, however, that tree planting had been big
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  business prior to such promotional efforts as Arbor
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  Day. Robert W Furnace used his
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  advertiser to promote both tree planting and his growing nursery
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  business. On August 10th, 1871, the
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  advertiser contained A2 column article under the title of The
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  Effect of Trees on Climate. In it, Furnace said that the
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  concept of the Trans Missouri as infertile was a myth and that in
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  fact this very region was God's domain and that nowhere else was
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  there richer or more productive soil.
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  It's only deficiency was insufficient precipitation.
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  The article went on to claim that Egypt's annual rainfall had
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  already been increased from six inches to 24 as a direct result
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  of planting trees. In Algiers, North Africa,
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  similar miracles were supposedly transpiring.
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  On the other hand, if the climate happened to be too wet
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  in the ground, marshy or swampy, again, the solution was to plant
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  trees. The trees would drain the land
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  and destroy the swamp fevers. From time to time there were
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  reports that large foreign investments were about to be
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  made in an attempt to cover Nebraska with forests, however
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  this was never realized. The Omaha Daily Tribune was
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  heartened at local efforts and the energy with which the
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  settlers had commenced to plant trees.
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  Commenting that 4 inch seedlings could be purchased at West Point
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  NE for $13.75 per thousand. The Tribune urged haste in
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  planting since the dearth of coal required an increase in
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  supply of wood for fuel. The Tribune had been campaigning
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  for tree planting for some time, having earlier declared quote,
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  we can grow anything which can be successfully cultivated in
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  Illinois or Ohio, unless it be frogs.
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  End Quote A few days later, a similar article concluded with
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  this boast. Quote Yes, Mr. Editor, in five
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  years from today, the Great American desert will be the
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  Garden of America. End Quote.
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  Paradoxically, the Blue Valley Record printed a story in which
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  the scarcity of trees appeared to be a boon.
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  The story argued that it was easier for a farmer, quote, to
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  haul his wood in fencing several miles than to settle in a
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  country where there is heavy timber and have to wear himself
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  out clearing his land. End Quote.
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  The argument was pressed still further by the claim that if 2
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  farmers, one beginning his farm on the Prairie and the other on
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  timbered farm, were to compare their successes at the end of 10
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  years, the Prairie farmer would have excelled by a wide margin.
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  The accomplishments of the farmer who began on timbered
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  land, the Prairie farmer quote, will have double the amount of
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  land under cultivation, will have fences equally as good, a
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  better house, better stock. His land will be worth 25 to 50%
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  more, and he will seem at least five years younger.
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  End Quote The only reservation expressed in the record story
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  about the advantages of Prairie farming was the statement Quote.
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  True, it may seem hard for a while, but after he once gets a
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  start, he can live with half the labor and enjoy all the
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  privileges he could on timbered farm.
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  End Quote On May 31st, 1871, the State Journal carried the
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  allegorical news story of a man who wanted to migrate from the
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  east to Nebraska. He had no money, his only asset
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  was a life insurance policy, and he had inquired of the newspaper
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  what it might be worth. The Journal answered that the
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  only way he could collect on the policy was to die and in that
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  event he would not be able to go West.
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  Following this perspective observation, the Journal went on
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  to point out that loving parents would be wise to plant trees as
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  a legacy for their children. The lesson drawn was that if the
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  Easterner had had parents who were tree planters, he would
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  have been wallowing in wealth with which to finance his move
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  West. As for the kinds of trees to be
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  planted in Nebraska, there was a profusion of advice concerning
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  the most adaptable varieties. The European larch was
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  frequently suggested, along with Willow, Cottonwood, ash, oak,
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  walnut, Hickory, chestnut, catalpa, Maple, honey locust,
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  black locust, Osage, orange, and several varieties of pine.
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  Sometimes there were conflicting reports about the successes
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  obtained with one or more of these varieties.
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  The qualities of the larch were hotly disputed, some claiming it
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  grew well, others not at all. One critic argued, in effect,
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  that it was unpatriotic to buy European trees such as the
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  larch. He encouraged the planting of
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  native trees until such times as farms were paid for.
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  Then a few dollars could be squandered abroad.
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  In spite of all the claims and the enthusiastic promotional
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  activity, the annual report of the Nebraska State Horticultural
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  Society in 1897 stated that quote.
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  Not until 1873 did we see any active planting West of Lincoln.
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  End Quote. And this in spite of the fact
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  that the planting of trees was alleged to cure the homesickness
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  of immigrants, to cause rain to moderate the temperature, to
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  prove parental love of their children, to instill patriotism.
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  And, of course, tree planting was guaranteed to make everybody
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  rich. Yet, surprisingly, the 1880
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  Nebraska Agricultural Census lists woodland and forest as
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  unimproved. The fact that the attempt to
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  promote tree planting was not an unqualified excess is attested
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  to by a correspondent of the New York Sun.
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  While traveling over the plains of Nebraska, he sent his paper a
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  deprecatory news story, appending to it what he termed,
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  quote, the only real picture of a western Prairie ever taken.
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  It was taken on the spot. It is a night scene as seen by
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  night. End Quote.
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  What accompanied his article in the Sun was a small column,
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  wide, all but blank rectangle, containing only the numbers one
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  through 11 and a total of 19 asterisks.
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  Below this the numbers were identified as one Prairie
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  chicken, 2 herd of cattle, 3 unheard of cattle, 4 Boston
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  Drummer, 5 Silvery Sheen 6 Space, 7 Nothing, 8 Hail
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  Moonbeams 9 do 10 don't 11 dust. Following the picture was this
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  explanation. Quote.
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  All the blank part is grass. The stars are supposed to be
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  shining on the grass and all nature is hushed.
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  That part of nature that is not hushed is left out of the design
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  by design. End Quote.
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  One loyal Nebraska newsmen's editorial comment was simply
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  that the Sun correspondent quote, did not appreciate the
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  picturesque beauty of our Western landscape.
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  End Quote. Nevertheless, out of all of this
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  came a federal supplemental land law, the Timber Culture Act,
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  which was approved March 3rd, 1873.
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  Its provisions were ludicrous. Its author, Nebraska Senator
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  Phineas W Hitchcock, should have known as much, being familiar
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  with the state's varying rainfall and temperature
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  patterns, its soil capabilities, and the time and energy the
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  harassed homesteader had to devote to caring for his plots
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  of trees. Yet somehow, once the ACT was
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  sanctioned in Washington, local conditions, including climate
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  and geographic determinants, were supposed to cooperate.
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  But in Nebraska, they didn't. Thank you for listening to the
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  Nebraska History Podcast. To learn more about Nebraska
• 20:17
  History Magazine, to listen to more podcasts, or to support our
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  podcast by becoming a member of the Nebraska State Historical
• 20:24
  Society, go to history.nebraska.gov/podcast.
• 20:28
  And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and get notified
• 20:31
  when we release new episodes on your favorite podcast platform.
• 20:34
  Until next time, I'm Chris Goforth.