“The high and coarse grasses …”

Hiking through tall grass can be slow going.

I have never had a problem appreciating a hike through tall grass, but that comes from an understanding of what I’m getting myself into when I get in over my head. I have learned to value the prairie and the grasses that grow there. It must be admitted, however, that in the long history of the Flint Hills the uninitiated sometimes struggle when facing the vastness of the tallgrass prairie for the first time. Take the example of Thomas Say.

On this date — August 12 — 189 years ago, Thomas Say, a zoologist, led a small detachment of explorers through the Flint Hills, likely in the vicinity of Alma, Paxico, and Maple Hill, on their trek from Missouri to the Kansas River and the Blue Earth Village of the Kansa. While Say offers much insight into the culture of the Native American Tribe called the Kaw or Kansas, he hadn’t yet learned the value of grass, especially tall grass.

Say’s little group of explorers was part of the larger expedition led by Stephen Long in 1819-1820. Long is well knows for following the Platte River to Colorado, the naming of Long’s Peak in the Rocky Mountains, and his exploration of the Canadian River in Oklahoma, which he mistook for the Red River. Long never made it far into Kansas, however. He slogged his way up the Missouri by steamboat and wintered near Council Bluffs before undertaking the trip up the Platte in the spring of 1820.

Map of Stephen Long's expedition, from a collection of digitized maps at Wichita State University. Click on image to see detailed map.

Thomas Say, a zoologist, and a small detachment of 12 men, a boy, and three pack horses were given the job of visiting the Blue Earth Village. The party left Fort Osage on August 6 and traveled west along the “sources of the Hay Cabin, Blue Water, and Warreruza Creek.”*

Say’s party likely started their journey along what was soon to become the Santa Fe Trail, keeping the headwaters of these named branches of the Kansas River to their right, and the beginnings of the south-flowing rivers and creeks to their left. They were basically traveling in a line to the west, well south of what’s now Lawrence and Topeka. The group reported that the “prairies about the head waters of the Warreruza Creek (now the Wakarusa) abound in game.” They also killed large numbers of rattlesnakes and complained about flies.

The report goes on to say, “On the 11th of August they arrived at some elevated ridges, from which they overlooked an extensive country, and could trace the whole course of the Wahrengeho, or Full Creek, diverging slightly from the Konzas, and could readily perceive timber upon several of its head branches.”

So where are these ridges, from which they observed the whole river valley all the way to the Konzas (Kaw) River? Taking the Wahrengeho River, also called at the time Full Creek, to be modern Mill Creek, the ridges could be the high flint hills to the northeast of Alma or south of Paxico. From those vantage points, they would have a good view of the river valley with the Kaw River in the distance. Or perhaps they stood on the large hill that is along I-70 south of Maple Hill that is sometimes called Buffalo Mound (side note: my father once told me that hill was the image a pregnant woman lying on her back, and now I-70 unfortunately cuts through her head). In either case, the party was in the Flint Hills.

Say’s party complained, “The lands between the head waters of Full Creek and the Konzas are not so good as those about the sources of the Warreruza.” Why then did they prefer the land of Wakarusa River to that of Mill Creek? Simple, around Mill Creek, “it produces less timber.” Or in other words, the land was covered in tallgrass prairie.

So there it is, the first of many examples of hikers exploring the Flint Hills and complaining they want to see more trees. The grass and open prairie went unappreciated among Say and his group as it sometimes does to this day.

To be fair, it is perfectly understandable why this group looked for timberland. In their way of thinking, trees were required for the establishment of permanent dwellings, whether it be villages or farms, because wood was required as a building material and as fuel. At the time, these intrepid explorers, like many moderns, failed to grasp the importance of turkeyfoot, little bluestem, or switch grass. Today, there really should be no excuse for entering the tallgrass prairie without an appreciation for the ecosystem and an understanding of how important grasslands are to the continent.

Later in the report, the party concludes, “On account of the want of wood and of water, the settlements will be, for a long time, confined to the immediate vallies (sic) of the Missouri, the Konzas, and the larger rivers; but it is probable, forests will hereafter be cultivated in those vast woodless regions, which now form so great a proportion of the country; and wells may be made to supply the deficiency of running water.”

Thankfully, the members of Say’s group were not good at prognostication.

As the group looked out over Mill Creek, they noted some timber in the lowlands along the head of the creeks and said, “The sugar maple, and several of the most important species of carya, the oaks, the tulip tree, and the linden, would unquestionably succeed.”

Of course, many today prefer the grasslands to the timber, but that’s because we see the importance of the tallgrass prairie and the value of the grasses. Say’s group was having a hard time, however, at more than just appreciating the grass. After crossing Mill Creek — probably somewhere between modern Alma and Paxico — the group fought their way north to the Kaw River on August 12, arriving at the river and making their first camp along its banks on August 13.

Some folks have to learn to appreciate a good stand of tallgrass prairie.

The way was not an easy hike; the report says, “The high and course grasses which now covered the plains greatly impeded their progress, and very rapidly destroyed their clothing and mockasins. Their journey was, therefore, slow and laborious.”

There was, unfortunately, another problem for Say’s party: They weren’t sure where the village was located. They crossed the Kaw several times and sent scouts out to look for trails to the village. They were not even sure if the village was upriver or down. On August 19, the group arrived at the confluence of the Kansas and Vermillion rivers, just east of Wamego, and dined at mid-day on “the flesh of a black wolf, the only game they were able to procure.”

“About Vermillion Creek,” the report reads, “are some open forests of oak, not extending far on either side. The trees are from fifteen to twenty feet high, and from one foot to eighteen inches in diameter, standing at a considerable distance from each other.”

On August 20, the party finally came across the village, but we’ll leave that story and the events that followed for later posts. While waiting, I hope to get out and see some tall grass. I’ve learned to appreciate it.

*The source of the quotes and information for this entry were taken from the official report of the expedition, compiled by Edwin James, the botanist and geologist for the expedition: James, Edwin, Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, Philadelphia, 1823, 2 volumes.