Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1884-08-20
DAKOTA.

a BIT Of Her Early History.
As originally organized, says the Out
look, Dakota included Montana, Idaho.
and Wyoming, thus embracing about 5OQ.:
600 square miles.
The first settlement of Dakota by white
men was in 1912, when a few of the
Scotchmen who composed the Assina-
boine colony Of Lord Selkirk settled at or
near where Pembina now is. These loyal
subjects of the British crown were not a
little annoyed, years after; to find chat
they had been tilling the soil and breath
ing the air of the land presided over by
Uncle Sans "bird O. freedom" and
most of them moved northward
1t is not definitely known when the first
settlers came into South Dakota The
party of Lewis and Clarke (1803-8) were
the first white men to explore the Mis-
souri, river to its source, and the report of
the expedition, published in 1914, prob
ably gave the first information of Dakota.
But the account of the extreme cold and
other hardships which the explorers en-
dured was not such as to make this land
inviting While the course of empire
took its westward flight, Iowa, Nebraska,
Kansas and Colorado became the prom
ised land of eastern emigrants. Dakota
was considered part of the Great Amer
lean Desert-a land of barren sands in
summer and of snow and frosts in winter.
About the year 1850, however a few
hardy adventures settled in Dakota, and
their magnificent crops of wheat bore un-
mistakable evidence that this was, indeed,
a goodly land. Their reports caused 9TH
ers to come, and by the year 1858 thriving
settlements liad been made along the
Missouri river at Elk Point, Vermillion,
Yankton, and other places and at differ
ent points along the Big Sioux. These
settlements were upon Indian land, which
was finally ceded in the spring of 1858.
During the next two or three years a
large number of settlers came in, and the
people began to move for the formation
of the territory of Dakota. In those
early days the citizens of Sioux Falls
were no less energetic and enteTprsing
than they are now. They not only dis
cussed the matter. but proceeded to or
ganize a provisional government, choos-
ing also q full list of territorial officers
This was during the latter part of 1859.
On the 8th of November of the same year
there was held at Yankton meeting the
object of which was to petition congress
to organize the territory. A similar
meeting was held at Vermillion on the
day. following. The organization was
not accomplished, however, until Febru-
ary, 1851. William Payne, the first gov
ernor, entered upon the discharge of his
official duties on May 81, 1861. A census
showed the population to be 1,788.
On Sept. 16 there occurred the first cleo
ton, at which Capt ]. B. S. Todd was
elected delegate to congress-.
The first legislative assembly met on
the nth of March, 1862, and adopted a
full code of laws.
In 1870 the census showed population
of .141S1, of whom 1887 were white.
This was small gain for ten years but
little was yet known of the natural re-
sources of Dakata.
Up to this time two thirds of the entire
population of the territory lived in the
counties of Union, Clay, and Yankton.
A gradual increase continued until
1876, when the Dakota boom may be said
to. lave begun. At this time gold was
discovered in the Black; Hills, and nearly
all the papers in the country published
wonderful stories of the precious yellow
nuggets that were found there Adven-
turers hocked in from every direction.
Not only did they find gold, but they
found also millions of acres of the very
best of land, and that the country was
one of the most healthful in the world.
While thousands passed onward to the
Hills, many stopped on this side of the
Missouri. Many more, attracted by the
marvellous stories of the golden wheat
fields, crowded into North Dakota. In,
that section, where in 1870 there could
not be found 1000 white faces, there are
to-day 100000 people, the assessed value
of whose property last year was $37, 0O0,-
600. South Dakota has $50 600 people.