The Last Days of the Rainbelt

List of Illustrations

Illustrations  1. Indian land cessions . . 4 2. Frontier zones . . 7 3. Postal map of Kansas, 1876 (detail) . . 19 4. The High Plains . . 29 5. The mat uplands . . 30 6. Population change for selected northwestern Kansas Counties, 1880–1900 . . 45 7. Population change for selected southwestern Kansas Counties, 1880–1900 . . 45 8. Benkleman and Haigler Precincts, Dundy County, Nebraska, 1885 . . 46 9. North Valley Precinct, Red Willow County, Nebraska, 1885 . . 47 10. Hayes County, Nebraska, 1885 . . 48 11. Culbertson Village, Hitchcock County, Nebraska, 1885 . . 49 12. Indianola Village, Red Willow County, Nebraska, 1885 . . 49 13. Yuma, Colorado, promotion, between 1890 and 1910 . . 54 14. Oflcial map of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1890 (detail) . . 57 15. Land Oflce transactions, 1880–1890, Wakeeney, Garden City, and Oberlin, Kansas . . 63 16. Land Oflce transactions, 1886–1895, Lamar, Colorado . . 63 17. Sorghum on old ground and on sod . . 69 18. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the year, 1890 . . 72 19. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the growing season, 1890 . . 73 20. The Rainbelt, circa 1890 . . 77 21. Typical “buffalo wallow” . . 80 22. Deep-well making on the uplands . . 83 23. First home of Mrs. Margaret Sneider, Seibert, Colorado . . 84 24. G. W. Franklin Farm . . 86 25. Wallace v. Elsie baseball game, Elsie, Perkins County, Nebraska . . 96 26. Residence and photo tent on farm of G. W. Franklin, lve miles east of Elsie, Perkins County, Nebraska . . 98 27. Schoolhouse at Elsie, Perkins County, Nebraska . . 99 28. Percentage population change, 1890–1900 . . 111 29. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the year, 1891 . . 113 30. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the growing season, 1891 . . 113 31. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the year, 1892 . . 115 32. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the growing season, 1892 . . 115 33. The rival rainmakers . . 116 34. Melburne as Jupiter Pluvius . . 118 35. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the year, 1893 . . 123 36. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the growing season, 1893 . . 123 37. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the year, 1894 . . 125 38. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the growing season, 1894 . . 125 39. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the year, 1895 . . 126 40. Percentage precipitation deviation from average for the growing season, 1895 . . 126 41. Abandoned town . . 139 42. Sod house ruins . . 140 43. Cistern near sod house ruins . . 141 44. Abandoned schoolhouse . . 142 45. Population change, 1890–2010 . . 156 ...