Reports of explorations and surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean: Vol. 2, Pt. 4

VALLEY OF THE TRINITY.-VALLEY OF THE BRAZOS.
prevent any passage through it even on horseback without constant cutting, it is preferred by
cotton-planters who have the force to clear it, to the prairie or more sparsely timbered districts
to the west. It possesses a soil of black vegetable mould, of such astonishing fertility that it
well repays the labor of clearing the land; and I was told by one of the planters who had just
commenced making a settlement, that there was no'cotton land in America to compare with it.
The resources of the valley are so great, and the soil so exhaustless, that it is beginning to
attract planters from the cotton-growing States along the Mississippi; and although it is
farther from the markets and remote froin the conveniences of life, they find it to their interest
to make the change.
The occupation of the eastern side of the river by half-civilized Indian tribes who interpose
between it and the frontier of Arkansas, is a serious obstacle to the rapid settlement of the
valley.
It is of course forbidden to the whites to own land, or occupy themselves in making farms, in
the Indian country; and the existence of the very unsatisfactory state of things in regard to
law and order on the eastern, seriously retards the settlement of the western side of the valley.
There is little or no security from robbery and outrage of any character, as the facilities for
escape into the Indian country east of the river, and the impossibility of securing or punishing
a fugitive from justice, have attracted, and will continue to attract, the outlaw and the vagabond.
The valley of the river between the 32d and the 34th parallels of latitude is a thickly timbered region of fertile soil, well watered, and possessing a mild and healthy climate. Itproduces abundantly all the cereals, and is admirably adapted to the cultivation of cotton. The
pasturage is very fine, and is only interrupted by the seasons for two or three months of the
year.
Valley of t7he Trinity, and its tributaries.-The valley of the Trinity, between the waters of
the Brazos and Red river, is about one hundred and seventeen miles in width, and contains
about equal proportions of prairie and timbered lands along the line of the survey, but a considerably larger proportion of timber lower down. It is a gently rolling country of prairie
and oak openings, and presents the most beautiful undulations of surface. The groves of oak
timber are so agreeably distributed that each elevated summit of the country affords the most
beautiful landscapes, which seem far more appropriate to a well settled than to a sparsely populated country. It is intersected by numerous fresh-running streams and countless springs, and
seems, in soil, climate, water, and timber, to present every attraction to the emigrant. It is
intersected by the two remarkable strips of very thick timber known as the Upper and Lower
Cross Timbers, extending from the "Canadian Fork" of the Arkansas to about the 32d parallel.
The first of these-the Lower Cross Timbers-is about fifteen miles through from east to
west, and commences about twenty miles west of the Red river, at Preston; and the second,
about eight miles across, is about forty miles farther to the west. The principal growth of
these two belts of timber are the post-oak, black-jack, ash, hackberry, pecan, &c. It would be
very difficult to find a region of country in the United States of more fertile soil, ()r one, in
which the timbered and prairie lands were more beautifully and advantageously distributed.
It is settled, though thinly, for fifty miles west of Preston, and connects with that place by the
military road, joining the chain of posts along the northern frontier of Texas. The small village of Gainesville is on a tributary of the Trinity, and about forty miles west of the Red
river.
Valley of the Brazo8.-Separated by a very gentle dividing ridge, we find the valley of the
Brazos extending one hundred and fifty miles westward to the summit between its waters and
those of the Colorado. It is in all respects similar in character and natural features to the
valley of the Trinity, but rather more heavily timbered to a point near the head of the Clear
fork. Fort Belknap is placed on the east or left bank of the river, one hundred and seventy
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