The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-02-09
THE BLACK WATER STATE.

It was just half a century ago today
 that the Limited States Congress voted l to admit Nebraska as the 37th state
 of the Union, the bill for it's admls-
 sion, which had been vetoed by Pes- ident Johnson, being passed over has veto. It was "upon the fundamental
 condition that within the state of Ne
 braska there should be no denial of
 the elective franchise or of any other
 right to any person by reason of race 1 or color, except Indians not taxed, Z
 that the Black Water State was of 1 fered sisterhood On the goth of Feb
 ruary, 1867, the legislature accepted the act, and on the 1st of March fol- lowing President Johnson lowing to the will of Congress, proclaimed Ne
 braska a state.
 When the paleface adventures first invaded the country beyond the Mis-
 souri now comprised within the state of Nebraska, it was a paradise for wild animals. Great herds of buffalo roamed over the Nebraska prairies, and elk, deer, antelope, wolves, lynx and foxes also abounded, affording a
 we'll stocked hunting ground for the nomad tribes of red men. It was in 1541 that the country in the vicinity of | ropeans, the Spanish general, Coron-
 ado, leading an expedition into a country which he called Quivira, and described as abounding in buffalo, and inhabited by. powerful Indian tribes ruled by a chief called Tatarax. Pa
 dilla, a Franciscan friar and a con- temporary of Coronado, was the next to visit Nebraska, where he lost his
 life.
 Followed two centuries during which
 the Indian and the buffalo reigned su-
 prene, but about the middle of the eighteenth century French traders and missionaries from Canada reached the country. The country was claimed by France until 1903, when it was bought
 by the United States as part of the Louisiana purchase. At that time In- dian tribes were the sole human oc- cupants, but in 1895 Emanuel Lisa founded trading post at Bellevue, where few years later a fort was built by the American Fur company.
 The scattered posts of the traders remained the only white settlements for many years. and Nebraska re- mained in practical possession of the Sioux, the Pawnees, the Otoes, Oma- has And other tribes, the Sioux being in the ascendant. In 1847 a part of the Mormon emigration passed through Nebraska, and two years later the overland traffic to California com menced and added to the general knowledge of the country and it's re- sources. This led to the establishment Of supply depots at Bellevue, eight miles south of Omaha: Plattsmouth, Nebraska City. and Fort Kearney. Freighting across the plains developed into profitable business and Omaha, founded in 1S54 was conspicuous for it's energy in securing this traffic, which laid the foundation for the city's future greatness as the metrop- oils of Nebraska.
 The territory of Nebraska was formed in 1854, extending northward as far as British America, and west ward to the summit of the Rockies. Before statehood was achieved the territories of Dakota, Colorado and Idaho were formed out of a part of Nebraska's original area, leaving it a purely prairie state. Neraska was started on the road to agricultural greatness in 1859, when many of those who had rushed to Colorado during the gold excitement returned to Ne braska and opened farms. The com pletion of the Union Pacific railway across Nebraska soon after statehood opened up the state to more extended settlement.
 Bellevue was the first territorial capital of Nebraska, but it. was re- moved to Omaha in 1855. When Ne braska was admitted as a state the capital was taken to the tiny village or Lancaster, whose name was chang ed to Lincoln.