The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1881-01-12
INVITATIONS O. MONTE, i
From the Holiday Avant Courier, and Re.
Elections on its Resources BY the
Eastern Press.

The boundary lines or the Territory Of
Montana were delineated on the map of the
United States, May 20, 1864. More than
three centuries finished their cycles after Fer
dinand and Isabella received from Columbus
the unparalleled gift Of the New World, and
Montana was as invisible to the civilized ma
tons as the planet Neptune. But during this
period this unseen region was affected by the
action Of European governments, and Its fate
and allegiance were decided by battles which
were fought thousands Of miles from the
Rocky Mountains. The conquests Of nations
and the rise and fall of dynasties, set in mo-
ton sound-waVes passing over the hemis-
pheres, and the roar of cannon in conflicts
upon the Atlantic and in Europe reverberated
from summit to summit within Montana.
We wish to cast a hasty glance at some of
these decisive events on the history Of the
Territory, which resemble, in effect, the geo
logical ages preceding the creation of man.
Columbus and the early navigators, who
found the Western continent, believed that
they had explored the shores of India, and
gave ~ Ia ~ Ii AALGC "a @l0A1nEGs 0A0
the whole country was called the West Indies.
The o Alexander the Sixth, issued q bull
in 1893, and granted to Spain and Portuga
the vast and which had been, or might be
discovered beyond an imaginary line con-
Meeting the poles and one hundred leagues
west of the Azores. Spain thereby obtained
a. title to the country west Of this boundary,
and Portugal acquired what was east Of it.
Near the close of the fifteenth century, the
Cabots, sailing under q commission from the
King Of England, scanned the coast washed
by the Atlantic, and claimed for the British
government the region included between the
Gulf Of Mexico and the extreme north. This
was the origin of the right Of England 10
America. under which charters were granted
TO different persons, empowering them to
possess large tracts running across the CONT
nent from sea to sea, or from the Atlantic
Ocean to the South Sea. The latter is known
as the Pacific Ocean. By these British grants
the colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts,
and Plymouth embraced portions Of Mon
tana, and the residents of the Territory can
rejoice over their Plymouth Rock, Bunker
Hill, and Lexington, and sing the praises of
their Pilgrim Fathers.
Most Of North America was designated as
Florida by the Epaniards in the Sixteenth
century, and Philip IT. was proclaimed it's
monarch in 1910. France planted settlements
at Acadia, and by letters-patent, in 1908, au-
thorjzed the representative Of the king to
Jsono.n - 1,,J ~:*h;r c,~ 3orrc 80 I - ;&r1o
LaSalle glided down the Mississippi in 1852,
and asserted the dominion OF France over
the empire which nourishes this inland gulf
stream and its tributaries, and perpetuated
tile memory Of his sovereign BY bestoWing
thereon the name Of Louisiana.
The conflicting claims Of these monarch
les, Spain, France and England, were deter
mined by long-continued and destructive
wars, and every letter Of their grants and
charters were written in Daco's ink. The
destiny of Mars changed materially the des-
tiny of America, and when the Revolution
INDICATED the right of thirteen colonies to
their independence, the United States Inherit
ed from England q territory having its vest
ern limits in the thread Of the Mississippi.
France compensated Spain for her losses in
their joint combat with England by the Sc
cret c%ession, in 1863, of Louisiana, which
was, however, %reconyeyed to the former in
1900.
While Napoleon was dreaming of conquer
ing the Old World, the thought flashed
through bis brilliant mind that the road to
imperial victory would be cleared of obsta-
Giles by impairing the commerce Of his arch
enemy, Great Britain, and increasing the re-
sources of her maritime rival, the United
States. Treaties effected the sale of Louis
lana in 1909, and there was added to the
American Union an area of the globe sur
passing that above which the Roman eagles
scared in their triumphant flight. Many citi-
zenssinsisted that the general government had
no power to acquire territory from foreign
nations, and that this purchase was a viola
ton of the constitution. But the doctrine OF
manifest destiny was then promulgated and
adopted. When one OF the French ministers
referred to the indefinite boundaries Of Louis
lana, Napoleon said mo matter. It there
were no uncertainty, it would, perhaps, be
good policy to leave some." Contrary to the
rule applicable to such matters, the absence
OF these landmarks was an advantage to this
country in it's controversies with England
respecting the south line of British America.