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The Great American Desert covered explorers who approached the Great Plains from both directions, North and South. The French Verendryes from the North and the Spanish Conquistadors out of the South. Neither group ever actually found what they were looking for, riches. Then there were the Americans, who were interested in crossing the country and reporting back to the excited populace what is out there. Some explorers like Zebulon Pike had specific missions, like finding the source of the Mississippi. Because of reports from explorers like Stephen Long, the image of the Great American Desert became entrenched. Travelers of the plains were of all types, naturalists, pathfinders, and geologists. The first half of the 19th century seemed to be the hay day for investigating the plains. The Great American Desert image stuck with the plains for decades, which also played a major part of its development, especially culturally. We mentioned how football and sports played such a big role in town identity. The Canadians had the fertile belt right above the border, which contrasts with the American desert view. The lecture finished with people coming to embrace the harsh Great American Desert.

I thought some of the settlers ideas of the frontier sounded like X-Files episodes, Welsh Indians with wild sex, mountains of salt, and Meriwether Lewis’s children. The most interesting was the Chavez monument and how one guy had created such a respectable image which others would go so far out of their way to honor him.

How come you don’t hear of football or sports being such a big part of plains history? Is there this sort of identity amongst Eastern or Western American towns? Or is this a Great Plains phenomenon?