A vast sea of grass

When first the Texas plains were seen by men other than the American Indian, there was endless miles of grass said by some to appear as if it were the sea itself. Then, as now, there was little rainfall on those lush plains, but the fact that they were never tilled by a plow allowed the grass to serve as a buffer for the earth itself, guarding it from erosion and burning sun.

That was before there were any fences, any windmills or even any houses and the plains were teeming with buffalo and antelope, actually pronghorns, but always called antelopes. The coyote was king and was ever present during those days when the cattle drives up to Kansas City and Abilene were just beginning. On those drives, it was essential to know where springs were located because a large herd of cattle needed great quantities of water, at least, twice a day.

Fortunately, Texas was blessed with many springs, some 3,000 to be exact and they were located throughout the state. Agriculturists and Environmentalists bemoan the fact that in today’s world, much of that land that was once a sea of grass, is now under cultivation for wheat and cotton, causing some of our best aquifers to become dangerously low and to cause the soil to become “salted out” with inorganic salts unable to any longer support a crop.

What nature accomplished for millions of years, man changed in a matter of several hundred years, from pristine to worthless.

Perhaps, with better educated ranchers and farmers, we may once again, through absolute necessity, enjoy seeing a “sea of grass” once more.