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Show THE STORY OF ! ! OUR STATES I t : J By JONATHAN BRACE i y-.................................................. 4, ( by McClure Newspaper Sndlcu.) DAKOTAS 5. T lliTll and South ' Dakota formed p'''V'WV l,WJ n,,rtll?rn section (It lii'-i- U? t'le Louisiana S&&L)) Purchase b ythe ac-X&&U'3j$M ac-X&&U'3j$M uuisitiun of which NcgjfK from France the b United States nearly near-ly doubled its size. Although little was known, especially of the remote sections sec-tions of this huge territory, it is said that Napoleon, when signing the transfer trans-fer remarked that the accession of territory ter-ritory established forever the power of the United States. The Dakotas were the last states which were made up wholly from this purchase, to become a part of the Union. Shortly after its acquisition, the Lewis and Clark expedition was sent out to explore It and they spent their first winter in 1S0-1 near Man-dan. Man-dan. The British had many fur posts in this region, and as they considered It part of British territory, they built a fort in 1S10 near Pembina. British rights, however, were withdrawn in the Treaty of 1818, which established the formal boundary between the United States and Canada. g555g. TPHE Sioux Indians, 1 who had been Jvery hostile toward 'f (f"'6BwsinVv!,'te lnvas,0D flnal-lr flnal-lr ceded a portion wjSfegtewof their land to the Sfiiife? government In 1S51. This was opened up 0 settlement and thus immigration was started in this part of the country. In 1854 the section west of the Missouri iver became a part of the Nebraska territory, while the portion to the East v.as attached to Minnesota. However, In 1861, the separate Territory of Dakota Da-kota was organized. Population did not increase rapidly, until 1860, due to the warlike demonstrations of the Indians. It is from these Indians that the name Dakota conies. But it was not until 1889 that the Dakota territory was divided and formed into two states. To avoid any feeling of jealousy as to which was made a state first, the two bills were signed by President Harrison after they had been re-shuffled so it Is not known which was signed first. Their areas are about the same, North Dakota Da-kota containing 70,837 square miles, while South Dakota has 77,615 square miles. The population Is also about equal and each is entitled to five presidential pres-idential electors. MONTANA he"?v TtlK mention of "jX Montana history (wVbaww-o immediately brings PSSJ"1! 10 mind the Custer i5wgi1oJ Massacre as one of Vy?S8jtS& the most dramatic Incidents in Indian warfare. It occurred in 1876, the Centennial year, when special emphasis was being laid on the cause of peace throughout the world. The Sioux Indians bad been driven into Montana by the gold miners and the United States government took steps to force them back onto their reservations. General , Custer, with less than 300 men, set out to round up the tribes which were on the warpath, war-path, and at the Little Bighorn river, was ambushed by Sitting Bull and 3,000 warriors. Custer and all his troopers were killed. Soon after this massacre the Indians were defeated and many of them fled to Canada. The earlier history of the state also turns about the Indians. The first settlements were made as posts for fur trading with the redmen, early in the Nineteenth centul-y. In 1840 Father Peter John de Smet began mission work among the Flathead Indians and the next year established a mission of the Indians of Bitter Root valley. Gold was discovered in Montana as early as 1852 by the half-breed Fran-cols Fran-cols Finlay near Hell Gate river. This, however, created little stir and It wasn't until five years later when John Silverthorn discovered gold in quantities, quanti-ties, that mining settlements sprang up in the mountains. This region hd heen part of Nebraska territory, which Id 1863 was subdivided and became a portion of Idaho territory. The next year it was organized as the separate Territory of Montana. Virginia City was the capita! and here in 1865 was Issued the Montana Pst, the first newspaper of the state, lc 1874 the capital was changed to Helena and ten years later a stat constitution was adopted. The state was not taken into the Union, however, how-ever, until 1889. Montana conies from the Spanish adjective meaning "mountainous." Its area is 146,997 square miles, making It the third largest state of the Union. As it is thinly populated, Montana has only four electoral votes for president. |