The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1921-03-19
DO YOU KNOW

of being the first of the original thir-
teen states, in that it was the first Of
ficially to adopt the Constitution of
the United States; also that its first
settlers were Swedes?
That the land comprised in the state
of Pennsylvania was granted William
Penn in lieu of a debt owed PENIS
father by Charles II, and that the fig
ures represented about So per square
mile for the entire state?
That Lord Baltimore contracted to
pay for what is now Maryland two
Indian arrows per year and one-ffth
of the precious metals mined, and
that no gold or silver being produced,
he actually obtained the territory for
the arrows?
That to New Hampshire falls the
honor of having cast the decisive vote
which definitely formed the United
States?
That a communistic government
similar to that which many radicals
are advocating at the present time,
was formed by the early settlers of
Virginia and that it proved a disas-
trous failure?
That Verrazano, an Italian navigat-
or, sailed into New York bay in 1924,
IS years before Henry Hudson, to
whom popular credit for the discovery
Sc otuono That Manhattan leland
which is now New York City, was pur-
chased from the Indians for $24 worth
of beads and ribbons?
That the settlement of Georgia orig
inally was conceived as a buffer
against the invasion of Spanish and
Indians into South Carolina?
That Lord Baltimore ruled over the
colony of Maryland to all intents and
purposes an Independent sovereign;
that the rule extended to his son and
that this hereditary monarchy contin-
ued in force for nearly $50 years, un-
til the Declaration of Independence
brought it to an end?
That no one can say positively
which of the two states North Dakota
and South Dakota was admitted to
the Union first; because the rivalry
for the honor between the two being
so great, the papers %purposely were
shuffled both before and after the
presidents signature, so that neither
he nor anyone concerned knew which
was signed first?
These and many other interesting
facts concerning the states and terri
tories of our Union are brought to
light concisely, entertainingly and in
the smallest possible space in a series
of forty-eight feature articles entitled,
1.-The Story of Our States,'' which we
begin publishing in The ~Pleasantville
Press to-day.
This feature is prepared by n who
uses the name Jonathan Brace. We
will not say that it is his real name.
We do say that he is a distinguished
New England novelist who has made
both a hobby and a serious study of
American history. The enigma of his
identity becomes increasingly interest
ing from the number of odd, yet per-
fectly authentic facts which he has
dug up in this series,
In each case the coat of arms of
the state is shown. This will be par
ticularly gratifying to many readers,
for the reason that it is exceedingly
difficult to secure the Goa of arms of
each state. So difficult is it that the
idea almost was abandoned before a
complete set was located for this SER
les.
Readers are advised to cut the stor-
les out until they have a complete set.
They then will have a condensed his
tory of the states and territories which
would cost them much time and mon
ey if thy attempted to obtain it
through libraries. The complete coat
of arms is an interesting thing to have
and cannot be procured by any other
means without great difficulty.
=. a 49, - $500