The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-02
DRENNEN COMPANY

decided to erect Dakota territory out of the lands now included in the two Da- kotas, and one of his last official acts was to sign the enabling act. One of the first officials acts of Lincoln was to ap- point as territorial governor his old family physician, Dr. William Jayne, of Spring
 field, III. Dakota then had 2iO2 white in- habitants.
 There was rivalry between the towns as to which should be the territorial capital. Yankton and Vermillion were most eager in the race. Vermillion even went so far as to have committees watch the roads, intercept the governors carriage and bring him and his suite in for public entertainment. They met carriage. in- sisted that it's two occupants come to the banquet and gave them royal well come. In the midst of the speech-makine runners from another road came to say that the governor had gone on to Yank- ton Inquiry developed that the Vermil- lion guests were G. B. Bigelow and a friend who were astounded and delighted at such unexpected cordiality on the part of Vermillion to mere travellers.
 When the civil war broke out Dakota territory raised company for the north ern army, but it was deemed best to leave it for outpost duty at home. The Santee Sioux had arisen in Minnesota and two or three Dakota settlers had been slain. Near the close of the civil war an attempt to build highway to tho mines of Idaho and Montana was blocked by the Indians. and not until 1869 was the treaty secured that allowed the work to progress |: was during this period of unrest that Da- kota developed her Paul Revere, Samuel J. Brown of Fort Sisseton riding all night in storm to warn outlying Villages or possible Indian uprising. and at the efIj of 125-mile ride falling from his pony paralyzed, an afflction that followed him all the rest of his life. From 1862 to 1875 the progress of the settlements was slow. The soil was different from that the pio- neers had earlier known, and in five dis astrous years clouds of grasshoppers brought devastation. In 1880 came the famous October blizzard, coming before
 people were yet ready for winter and locking up the country until spring. Oil gave out and there were no lights in the houses corn was ground in coffee mills and bread baked over fires made of hay
 wisps Yet so courageous were these peo- pie that they made merry over their plight. even when the 12-foot snowfall oS the winter caused spring floods that swept down the valleys and delayed spring planting.
 The first great impetus to the territory S growth came in 1874 Gen. George A. Gus ter found gold in the Black Hills, and in few months there were 15,oo0 people in that region. Next year a gold find in Deadwood gulch depopulated the city of Custer with it's il eco inhabitants in one day, and Deadwood shortly had 25.000 min CTS, traders and soldiers of fortune as a citizenry. Railroads became pioneers of much of Dakota's civilization, offering homesteads. building grain elevators ds fast as material could be secured, and often. as in the case of James J. Hill, giving the settlers blooded cattle and pigs as an incentive to them to raise other things than grain alone. Many national ties are represented, but most of the railways settlers are c.urdy farmers drawn from less promising sections They conduct their immigration on big scale Thirteen years ago they took out in one day from Indiana 1f passenger coaches full Of settlers with their goods and stock following in 45 freight ears. In March and April of 1898, 5000 went out, and two years later big body went from the Shenandoah valley. In 1908 the railroads rendezvoused a party If 2S00 in Chicago and from that point they went into North Dakota on five passenger and six freight trains. It is no unusual sight to see a party of several thousand immigrants ST. rive in village of several hundred. there to find a ready welcome, and then be helped on to their lands further off the railway The Dakotas have the lands fol farmers and they mean to have them and the best ones. too
 Where Nerendrye walked alone 164 year' ri building up a great agricultural empire on lasting principles. Where IS years az, was a young territory fighting to keeI it's school lands away from spectators and. this fight precipitated the statehood