Trees in Nebraska???

In 1820, Major Stephen H. Long described the Nebraska landscape as the Great American Desert, characterized by wide-open prairies and very little to no tree cover. Years later, efforts to change that landscape took hold thanks to key contributors to Nebraska's history. In this episode, we learn about the early efforts to encourage widespread tree cultivation in Nebraska in this 1972 Nebraska History Magazine Article, "Trees but no Timber: Prelude to the Timber Culture Act," by Burton J Williams.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The following episode features ahistoric article from the
Nebraska History magazine. This article may reflect the
language and attitudes of its time and while it offers
valuable insight into the past, may contend expressions or
viewpoints that are outdated or offensive by today's standards.
Any outdated terms do not reflect the current views or
perspectives of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Welcome to the Nebraska History podcast.
I'm your host, Chris Goforth. Each episode we explore articles

(00:23):
written and published in Nebraska History Magazine.
In 1820, Major Stephen H Long described the Nebraska landscape
as the Great American Desert with wide open prairies and
hardly any treats. Years later, efforts to change
that landscape took hold, thanksto key contributors to
Nebraska's history. On this episode we learn about

(00:44):
those early efforts to encouragewidespread tree cultivation in
Nebraska in this 1972 Nebraska History Magazine article, Trees
But No Timber, Prelude to the Timber Culture Act by Burton J
Williams. Walter Prescott Webb, in
describing the necessary adaptations for existence on the
Great Plains, spoke of traditional prerequisites and

(01:07):
used his analogy of a three legged stool, IE, land, water,
and timber. On the plains, two of these
legs, water and timber, were frequently in short supply and
thus the need for both innovation and adaptation.
Webb's theme in the Great Plainswas that American civilization

(01:28):
and methods of pioneering were worked out east of the 98th
Meridian and were well suited toconditions there.
However, when these institutionsof the East undertook to cross
into the Great Plains, they broke down and had to be
modified. Put in his thoughts another way,
19th century Americans were dependent naturally on the

(01:48):
obvious, the watered land. What has not been so obvious is
the fact that their dependence upon wood was so great as to
justify using an anthropologicalterm, the Wood Age, to describe
it. Admittedly, anyone would be hard
pressed to sell the Wood Age as a title to a Hollywood
scriptwriter. 6 Guns and saddle leather would doubtless be more

(02:12):
acceptable to those seeking sensationalism in accounts of
the Wild West as the 19th century merged with the 20th.
In spite of increasing use by manufacturers of metals and
minerals as substitutes for wood, the consumption of forests
did not diminish. Indeed, it increased, and
forests remained a major source for fuel and housing

(02:35):
construction materials. The history of tree planting in
Nebraska and the exuberant promotional effort behind this
endeavor are closely tied to these facts.
The plains of Nebraska were essentially lacking in this
predominant resource in 19th century America.
One rider ascending the MissouriRiver from Saint Louis in 1854

(02:57):
observed that only the eastern tier of counties in Nebraska
would ever be thickly settled and that the remainder would
very likely be cultivated. Quote on account of scarcity of
woodland and water. End Quote.
On June 17th, 1854, the New YorkHerald published a report on the
Great West and pointed out that the scarcity of timber was the

(03:21):
greatest barrier to its settlement.
Surveyors carefully chronicled the status of timber as the
townships were laid out with such remarks as quote the timber
is chiefly of an inferior quality.
There is not sufficient timber to supply the wants of farmers.
There are a few scattered trees along the river and creeks fit
only for fuel and fencing. End Quote.

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The fact that at least some sortof timber was to be found along
the banks of streams explains inpart the early settlement
patterns of territorial Nebraska.
These settlement patterns have been traced and have been seen
to advance westerly along the margins of rivers and streams.
This indicates that the western March of migrants did not

(04:05):
advance along a single frontier line, but instead penetrated
along the arterial network of waterways.
The limitations of such a migratory pattern soon became
obvious, for only a fraction of territorial Nebraska could or
would be settled if occupancy was largely confined along its
waterways. In fact, in the eyes of at least

(04:28):
one contemporary writer, SenatorJohn J Ingalls of Kansas, the
wooded tracks next to water had been unattractive, even
anathema, to the energetic, industrious settlers.
He claimed in his serial comic essay Catfish Aristocracy, that
the most casual observer could not fail to notice the

(04:48):
difference between the indolent settler who lived in the Bottoms
and the vigorous farmer who cultivated the upland prairies.
The bottom dwellers he termed the catfish aristocrats, who he
felt contributed little to society while living indolently
off the land, fishing, hunting, and cultivating half heartedly
small acreages. In his elaborate prose style,

(05:11):
Ingalls scorned the catfish aristocrat, who he said, quote
builds no schoolhouse, erects nochurch.
To his morals the Sabbath is unknown.
To his intellect the alphabet issuperfluous.
He delights in cracklins and spare ribs, has a weakness for
cow cumbers and watermelons. But when he soars above the

(05:34):
crass knees of his common natureand strives to prepare a feast
that shall rival the banquets ofLucullus, he spreads his festive
Cottonwood with catfish and paw paws.
End Quote. Whether this kind of facetious
geographic determinism had any credibility or not is
questionable. If so, it only pertained to a
very limited area along the deeprivers of eastern Kansas and

(05:57):
Nebraska. There is some evidence to the
contrary, IE, that bottom land was coveted by the industrious
settlers. Nevertheless, if extensive
immigration were to be realized,then the upland prairies would
of necessity be needed for the anticipated growth in
population. To make these treeless subhumid

(06:19):
plains attractive to prospectivesettlers required something more
than a good public relations program.
Trees and water virtually everywhere were the essential
requisites, and Nebraska's boomers planned to produce both.
As early as 1857, the idea had been advanced that the federal

(06:39):
government should inaugurate a program to encourage the growth
of timber upon the western prairies.
The specifics of this proposal suggested that the federal land
policies should be amended so asto give a quarter section or
sections of land to those who would agree to plant an
unspecified number of acres withtrees.
However, such a proposal would wait some 16 years before

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Congress enacted such legislation.
But Nebraskans proceeded on their own, and the gospel of
trees and its attendant blessings were preached in the
waste places of the territory. Acting Governor Algernon S
Paddock and his message to the Legislature of January 11th,
1867, favored a homestead law requiring every settler to

(07:26):
cultivate 20 acres of timber on his homestead for five years as
one of the conditions required to prove up his claim.
Two years later, the Nebraska Legislature enacted a law
whereby $100 worth of property would be exempted from taxation
for every acre of forest trees planted and cultivated.

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The provisions of the law required the cultivation of such
trees for five years, which was also the limit to the period of
time to which the tax exemption applied.
The trees were to be planted no farther than 12 feet apart and
kept in a healthy growing condition.
This law did not produce either ecstatic enthusiasm or cosmic

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convulsions. Seward County, cited in a tract
promoting the interests of that place by declaring quote.
With such laws as these, the vast prairies of the central
state will in a single generation grow into a densely
wooded country. This one element of wealth
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
front rank among the states of the nation.
End Quote. A Nebraska newspaper, however,
indicated that such claims of grandeur were a long way from
being realized, and in its reportage wondered why more
people were not taking advantageof this act since the economy of

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the state was so bad that it wasimpossible to even pay the
interest on the present indebtedness. 2 men who remained
undaunted while associated with early tree planting efforts in
Nebraska were Robert W Furnace and J Sterling Morton.
Furnace came to Nebraska Territory from Ohio in 1856 and

(09:11):
established the Nebraska Advertiser in Brownville in
1867. He started a nursery business
there and remained interested inagriculture and horticulture for
the remainder of his life. He became the 1st president of
the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture and later its
secretary for nearly 20 years. J Sterling Morton had arrived in

(09:31):
Nebraska Territory in 1855 and made his home in Nebraska City.
Like Furnace, Morton also editeda newspaper, the Nebraska City
News. He became active as a member of
the Nebraska Board of Immigration and served for many
years as an officer on the StateHorticultural Society.
In addition, he was extremely active politically, serving as

(09:55):
acting governor and as Secretaryof the Nebraska Territory.
He was a frustrated candidate for the governorship in 18661882
and 1884, and was also unsuccessful in his bid for the
US Senate, suffering defeat in 1886, a year in which he also
tried to be elected governor. He did, however, gain an

(10:18):
appointment to the cabinet of the Grover Cleveland
Administration from 1893 to 1897, where he served with
distinction. His major importance in so far
as the subject of this monographis concerned, is the fact that
he wrote the resolution designating the first Arbor Day
and providing a prize for the person who planted the most

(10:40):
trees on that day. The resolution itself urged
Nebraskans to realize the importance of tree planting, and
the State Board of Agriculture offered $100 to the county
Agricultural Society, which properly planted the largest
number of trees on that day. In addition, the state Board
offered a farm library worth $25.00 to the person planting

(11:03):
the most trees on Arbor Day. The state's newspapers were
urged to publicize the resolution and to remind the
people of the importance of the matter from time to time.
The individual winner that firstArbor Day was JD Smith, who
lived 4 miles West of Lincoln, according to the Nebraska
Herald. He planted one tree per second

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for nearly 10 hours, or 35,550 forest trees.
The Herald reported also that Elder Taggart of Palmyra had
planted 20,000 trees during Arbor Day week.
The Nebraska Statesman declared JD Smith to be the first Arbor
Day champion, claiming that altogether he had planted a

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total of 60 acres. Smith believed that within 10
years these trees would be worth$1.00 each.
He estimated that he had plantedall together 136,000 trees and
recommended tree planting as a paying business.
The fact remains, however, that tree planting had been big

(12:07):
business prior to such promotional efforts as Arbor
Day. Robert W Furnace used his
advertiser to promote both tree planting and his growing nursery
business. On August 10th, 1871, the
advertiser contained A2 column article under the title of The
Effect of Trees on Climate. In it, Furnace said that the

(12:30):
concept of the Trans Missouri asinfertile was a myth and that in
fact this very region was God's domain and that nowhere else was
there richer or more productive soil.
It's only deficiency was insufficient precipitation.
The article went on to claim that Egypt's annual rainfall had

(12:51):
already been increased from six inches to 24 as a direct result
of planting trees. In Algiers, North Africa,
similar miracles were supposedlytranspiring.
On the other hand, if the climate happened to be too wet
in the ground, marshy or swampy,again, the solution was to plant

(13:11):
trees. The trees would drain the land
and destroy the swamp fevers. From time to time there were
reports that large foreign investments were about to be
made in an attempt to cover Nebraska with forests, however
this was never realized. The Omaha Daily Tribune was
heartened at local efforts and the energy with which the

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settlers had commenced to plant trees.
Commenting that 4 inch seedlingscould be purchased at West Point
NE for $13.75 per thousand. The Tribune urged haste in
planting since the dearth of coal required an increase in
supply of wood for fuel. The Tribune had been campaigning

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for tree planting for some time,having earlier declared quote,
we can grow anything which can be successfully cultivated in
Illinois or Ohio, unless it be frogs.
End Quote A few days later, a similar article concluded with
this boast. Quote Yes, Mr. Editor, in five
years from today, the Great American desert will be the

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Garden of America. End Quote.
Paradoxically, the Blue Valley Record printed a story in which
the scarcity of trees appeared to be a boon.
The story argued that it was easier for a farmer, quote, to
haul his wood in fencing severalmiles than to settle in a
country where there is heavy timber and have to wear himself

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out clearing his land. End Quote.
The argument was pressed still further by the claim that if 2
farmers, one beginning his farm on the Prairie and the other on
timbered farm, were to compare their successes at the end of 10
years, the Prairie farmer would have excelled by a wide margin.
The accomplishments of the farmer who began on timbered

(14:58):
land, the Prairie farmer quote, will have double the amount of
land under cultivation, will have fences equally as good, a
better house, better stock. His land will be worth 25 to 50%
more, and he will seem at least five years younger.
End Quote The only reservation expressed in the record story

(15:19):
about the advantages of Prairie farming was the statement Quote.
True, it may seem hard for a while, but after he once gets a
start, he can live with half thelabor and enjoy all the
privileges he could on timbered farm.
End Quote On May 31st, 1871, theState Journal carried the
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
was a life insurance policy, andhe had inquired of the newspaper
what it might be worth. The Journal answered that the
only way he could collect on thepolicy was to die and in that
event he would not be able to goWest.

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Following this perspective observation, the Journal went on
to point out that loving parentswould be wise to plant trees as
a legacy for their children. The lesson drawn was that if the
Easterner had had parents who were tree planters, he would
have been wallowing in wealth with which to finance his move

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West. As for the kinds of trees to be
planted in Nebraska, there was aprofusion of advice concerning
the most adaptable varieties. The European larch was
frequently suggested, along withWillow, Cottonwood, ash, oak,
walnut, Hickory, chestnut, catalpa, Maple, honey locust,

(16:44):
black locust, Osage, orange, andseveral varieties of pine.
Sometimes there were conflictingreports about the successes
obtained with one or more of these varieties.
The qualities of the larch were hotly disputed, some claiming it
grew well, others not at all. One critic argued, in effect,
that it was unpatriotic to buy European trees such as the

(17:07):
larch. He encouraged the planting of
native trees until such times asfarms were paid for.
Then a few dollars could be squandered abroad.
In spite of all the claims and the enthusiastic promotional
activity, the annual report of the Nebraska State Horticultural
Society in 1897 stated that quote.

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Not until 1873 did we see any active planting West of Lincoln.
End Quote. And this in spite of the fact
that the planting of trees was alleged to cure the homesickness
of immigrants, to cause rain to moderate the temperature, to
prove parental love of their children, to instill patriotism.

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And, of course, tree planting was guaranteed to make everybody
rich. Yet, surprisingly, the 1880
Nebraska Agricultural Census lists woodland and forest as
unimproved. The fact that the attempt to
promote tree planting was not anunqualified excess is attested
to by a correspondent of the NewYork Sun.

(18:09):
While traveling over the plains of Nebraska, he sent his paper a
deprecatory news story, appending to it what he termed,
quote, the only real picture of a western Prairie ever taken.
It was taken on the spot. It is a night scene as seen by
night. End Quote.
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
through 11 and a total of 19 asterisks.
Below this the numbers were identified as one Prairie
chicken, 2 herd of cattle, 3 unheard of cattle, 4 Boston
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
explanation. Quote.
All the blank part is grass. The stars are supposed to be
shining on the grass and all nature is hushed.
That part of nature that is not hushed is left out of the design

(19:18):
by design. End Quote.
One loyal Nebraska newsmen's editorial comment was simply
that the Sun correspondent quote, did not appreciate the
picturesque beauty of our Western landscape.
End Quote. Nevertheless, out of all of this
came a federal supplemental landlaw, the Timber Culture Act,
which was approved March 3rd, 1873.

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Its provisions were ludicrous. Its author, Nebraska Senator
Phineas W Hitchcock, should haveknown as much, being familiar
with the state's varying rainfall and temperature
patterns, its soil capabilities,and the time and energy the
harassed homesteader had to devote to caring for his plots
of trees. Yet somehow, once the ACT was

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sanctioned in Washington, local conditions, including climate
and geographic determinants, were supposed to cooperate.
But in Nebraska, they didn't. Thank you for listening to the
Nebraska History Podcast. To learn more about Nebraska
History Magazine, to listen to more podcasts, or to support our
podcast by becoming a member of the Nebraska State Historical

(20:24):
Society, go to history.nebraska.gov/podcast.
And don't forget to subscribe tothe podcast and get notified
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Until next time, I'm Chris Goforth.