Why was there so little settlement on the great plains in the early 1800s?

Settling in The Great Plains was a very difficult and harsh enterprise at the beginning of  1800. Many immigrants coming from Europe and other parts of the world found this area to have a very poor soil quality and a severe climate. These bad conditions discouraged even the toughest and hard working immigrants.

At the same time, these areas of The Great Plains were still considered Indian territory which made it even more difficult to settlers to live there. Adding to all of these problems, purchasing the land was very expensive proposition, and those who were  sufficiently adventurous to make the trip to get there were faced with and uncomfortable, dangerous and very long and arduous journey.

A combination of all these factors mentioned above made it almost impossible for all new settlers to want to live in The Great Plains.  

what are the choices?