Conquering the Great American Desert: Nebraska

Nebraska State Historical Society Publications Volume XXVII published by the Society in 1975. After Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike and Major Stephen H. Long both reported adversely to the government on their expeditions to spy out the land in the southern reaches of the Louisiana Purchase, the worst fears of critics were confirmed: The land was of little value. Thus arose the epithet "The Great American Desert," and for the next half century transcontinental travelers and potential settlers of the vast area between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains were bedeviled by maps with the ominous legend, "desert." Professor Everett Dick's account of conquering "The Great American Desert" is primarily rural in ambit, dealing with topics such as sod for building purposes, prairie fires and storms, ranching, crops, agricultural machinery, irrigation, and the quality of rural home life. The text contains over one hundred illustrations.