The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-01-01
MONTANA'S SEAL.
The Helena HeroLd makes his time

The Helena Heraid makes this time
~ suggestions:
We very much wish that We could arouse and
concentrate the attention Of our people Of good
taste and skill To enter into u competition Ia de-
wise an appropriate seal and motto for our new
state. " II general attention is directed
to the subject, some happy moment Of inspira-
ton may bring forth one that will lind universal
recognition and acceptance.
This movement IL in the right direc-
ton and will DE heartily endorsed by
"all our people of good taste and Skill"
and although all such may not have
sufficient time at command to enter
into the competition, those who do not
compete can have h pleasure of ciiti-
cising the designs of those who do,
and thus all the good taste of the state
will be brought into bold relief. Pre-
liminary to this interesting competition,
it is well to recall briefly the origin,
history, Significance and influence of
seals.
1t is n fact not generally known, per-
haps, hat the origin of seals must be
attributed to women. Not that wo-
men invented the seal. but they We're
the cause of its being invented. The
ancient Phoenicians, who were also the
inventors of the alphabet, first intro
duced the custom which was after
wards so deliberately ampliiied in
tireece-that of branding their wives
i'm precisely the same that
the ranchmen of the west brand
their cattle at the present day. The
wars of that day necessitated long alb
sences from home, and the husbands
took this means of identifying their
property OH the return. Lost, strayed
and stolen wives were traced and re-
covered with comparative ease. When a
warrior slew another warrior he Of
course claimed and vas allowed all his
enemy's wives. lie took them to his
home. and branded them anew with his
own brand. taking care to make his
trade mark far larger and more con
spicuous than the stamp of their for
mer husband. After our or five
such transfers Il set of wives became SD
thoroughly rande from head to foot
that they were either slain outright as
having outlived their usefulness. or
were turned into slaves, wlIenc origi-
mated the expression their doom is
sealed.
The aesthetic Greeks were not long
content with horse shoes. g~ridirons, in
verted letters and other crude designs
AS brands for their wives. and soon be-
gan to decorate them with pictorial
representations of gods. ships, battles.
sacred snakes and the like. This, in
deed. was the first attempt ut painting.
When n king or warrior entered into a
treaty with another king or warrior. it
became customary to exchange the
most handsomely branded wives
of the respective parties as hos
tages for the preservation of
the compact. But in course of
time men began to think some
thing of their wives and were loath to
part with those upon whom they had
lavished SD much care and attention in
the way of red hot pokers. 1t came ia
pass therefore that they exchanged
other animals branded i'm like manner
az their wives, and these animals being
sanctitied by the priests were regarded
as holy in the eyes of he gods as the
ladies' whom they represented. During
IL scarcity of animals inanimate objects
came to be used. and thus the gradual
development Of the seal may be traced
These ancient practices seem barbar'
GUS enough to the modern mind, but
they were humane and charitable com
pared with Others in vogue mt the same
time. They show how really slow hu'
man progress VAS at the start. Take
the acOuthanaton of the Greek for in
stance, the ancient substitute fol- bells
and steam whistles. In h center O1
every Greek city, usually in the vicinity
of the principal corner grocery and
meat market, was erected a pole about
twenty feet high, and not more thar
two inches i'm diameter at tht
base. The diameter narrowed
with the greatest delicacy all the way
to the top. which was "A point rs fine AZ
that of any spear. by this simple pole
the ancients were enabled in the i'm
plest manner to convey sound for a ra