Chapter LXVI: Individual States (3)

4. The surface is a high rolling prairie, open and mostly treeless, except near streams and bodies of water in the south, but in the north covered with timber. Vast forests of pine grow on the northern slope, which is some 1,200 feet above the level of the sea. Some parts of the State fall 600 feet below that elevation; and a succession of ridges having a general direction east and west, separate the rivers flowing into Lake Superior, Green Bay, and Lake Michigan, while many streams flow southwest into the Mississippi. The State is 285 miles long by 255 wide. Its beautiful prairies, gratefully returning a bountiful harvest to the intelligent farmer; its numerous charming lakes and ponds; its remarkable commercial advantages by lakes and rivers, supplemented by canals and railroads; its great manufacturing facilities, and valuable mineral deposits, give great promise to its future. Wheat is the leading agricultural staple, but all the grains, vegetables, and fruits of the Northern States well reward cultivation. It has an area of 52,924 square miles, equal to 34,511,360 acres. In 1870 the population amounted to 1,055,167, which gave her eight Members of Congress. Wisconsin lies in the seventh judicial circuit (which is composed of Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois,) and forms one judicial district. It has one collection district, one port of entry (Milwaukee,) and five ports of delivery, viz.: Southport, Racine, Sheboygan, Green Bay and Depere.

The capital of the State is Madison. The Legislature meets on the second Wednesday in January. The State election is on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

The enacting clause of her laws is as follows: “The people of Wisconsin, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows.”

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

Henry Dodge, from 1848 to 1857.
Isaac P. Walker, ” 1848 ” 1855.
Charles Durkee, ” 1855 ” 1861.
James R. Doolittle, ” 1857 ” 1869.
Timothy O. Howe, ” 1861 ” 1875.
M. H. Carpenter, ” 1869 ” 1875.
Angus Cameron, ” 1875 ” 1881.

CALIFORNIA

Is said to have been visited by the Spaniards in 1542, and by Sir Francis Drake, a celebrated English navigator, in 1578. The first mission was founded by Spanish Catholics in 1769. It was sparsely settled by Mexican rancheros, who occupied themselves chiefly in raising cattle. In 1846 Fremont, who had been conducting an exploring party across the great plains and the Rocky Mountains, defeated in conjunction with Commodore Stockton, the Mexican forces in California, and took possession of it in the name of the United States; to which it was definitely ceded by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Feb. 2nd, 1848; the United States government paying Mexico for that territory and New Mexico $15,000,000, besides paying $3,500,000 indemnity, due from Mexico to citizens of the United States.

Scarcely had this arrangement been made, when it was published that California was rich in gold, and adventurers from all sections of the Union, and various countries of the Old World, rushed in like a flood. For some years, society there, composed in large part, of the wildest and most ungovernable elements of old communities, was like a seething volcano; but, to the immortal honor of American citizens, it was subdued by the superior resolution and summary vigor of the better class of emigrants from the States, and was admitted into the Union on the 7th of Sept. 1850, with a clause in its Constitution prohibiting slavery. The discussion in Congress on this point came near precipitating the Civil War that broke out ten years later. The difficulty between the slavery and anti-slavery parties was adjusted by compromise measures, for the time, but only served to allay the agitation produced by conflict of interests and opinions, which was irreconcilable.

California “The Golden,” proved extraordinarily rich in precious metals and other minerals, as quicksilver, platinum, asphaltum, iron, lead, and rare qualities of marble. Its gold mines alone from 1858 to 1868 produced over $800,000,000.

It is a broken country, traversed by two ranges of mountains. The valleys are exceedingly productive. They are unexcelled for wheat; all kinds of fruit grow in the greatest perfection; and the grape culture promises to equal, if not to excel, the products of the most famous vineyards of Europe. Surprising as is her mineral wealth, her agricultural possibilities are far greater, and her commerce is already immense, and bids fair, from her position and relations to Eastern Asia, and the western parts of South America, to rival that of the Atlantic States.

The world was ripe for the discovery of these unparalleled treasures, and civilization was prepared to use them for the good of mankind. The ready passage across the vast and inhospitable deserts of the American continent, by means of railways, has already changed (and will probably change still more in the future) the course of commerce; and San Francisco and New York may hope to rule, in large part, the commerce of the world.

California is remarkable for the salubrity of its climate, where the rigors of winter (save on the mountains), and the excessive heats of summer are equally unknown, and for the variety and magnitude of its natural curiosities. Of the last the Yosemite valley and the Big Trees are the most prominent. She has near 1,000 miles of railroad, and has made ample provision for education.

California was the thirty-first State. It has an area of 188,982 square miles, equal to 120,948,480 acres. The population in 1870 was 560,285, entitling her to four Representatives in Congress.

By act of 1866, this State, with Oregon and Nevada, constitutes the ninth judicial circuit, and forms two judicial districts. California has seven ports of entry, viz.: San Francisco, Monterey, San Diego, Sacramento, Sonoma, San Joaquin and San Pedro; also, one port of delivery, Santa Barbara. California was obtained from Mexico by conquest in 1846.

The capital is Sacramento. She holds her State election on the first Tuesday in September. Her Legislature meets on the first Monday in December, but meets only once in two years.

The enacting clause of her laws is: “The people of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows.”

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

John C. Fremont, from 1850 to 1851.
William M. Gwin, ” 1850 ” 1861.
John B. Weller, ” 1851 ” 1857.
H. P. Haun, ” 1859 ” 1862.
David C. Broderick, ” 1856 ” 1859.
Milton S. Latham, ” 1860 ” 1866.
John Conness, ” 1863 ” 1869.
Cornelius Cole, ” 1867 ” 1873.
J. A. McDougall, ” 1861 ” 1867.
Eugene Casserly, ” 1869 ” 1875.
Aaron A. Sargent, ” 1873 ” 1879.
John S. Hagar, ” ---- ” 1875.
Newton Booth, ” 1875 ” 1881.

MINNESOTA.

This State might be called the Mother of Rivers, since it contains the high watershed, or tableland, where the rivers sending their waters to two oceans, in three directions, have their sources. The head waters of the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, and the streams flowing into the frozen ocean of the north are all found here. In 1680 the unwearied La Salle visited the head waters of the Mississippi, but this region was long left to the sole occupation of the Indians.

Fort Snelling, near St. Paul, was built in 1819. No other territory was acquired, by extinction of the Indian title to the soil, until 1837; and in 1849 the civilized population gathered about the trading posts and missions amounted to less than 5,000. It then received a Territorial government. A considerable portion of the State having in 1851 been ceded, by treaty with the Indians, to the government, was immediately entered on by the settlers; and in 1858 it was prepared to take rank among the sovereign States. It was admitted in May of this year, by act of Congress.

In 1862 the State passed through the appalling crisis of an Indian massacre of the outlying settlements. It began without warning, in the midst of fancied security, and before adequate protection could be forwarded, some 500 men, women, and children were murdered with all the accompaniments of savage cruelty. Some $3,000,000 of property was destroyed. In a short time sufficient force was gathered to overpower the savages, and they were in large part removed from the State.

The surface is undulating and high, and the soil, in good part, extremely fertile. Portions are open and rolling prairie; the remainder heavily wooded. Though the winters are long and cold, the air is dry and invigorating, and the climate healthy. It is specially favorable to the growth of wheat. Commerce is favored by the Mississippi, navigable to St. Paul, and by good harbors on Lake Superior, as well as by numerous railways. Its provision for education is excellent, and a State University at St. Anthony’s Falls promises to form a suitable crown to its intellectual advantages.

This State was admitted into the Union on the 11th day of May, 1858, and made the thirty-second State. It has an area of 83,531 square miles, equal to 53,459,840 acres. The population in 1870 amounted to 435,511. This State is entitled to three Members of Congress.

It lies in the eighth judicial circuit, which is composed of Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas and Minnesota. Minnesota forms one judicial district, and has no ports of entry or delivery.

St. Paul is the capital. The Legislature meets annually on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The State election is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in January.

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

Henry M. Rice, from 1857 to 1863.
James Shields, ” 1857 ” 1859.
Alex. Ramsey, ” 1863 ” 1875.
Daniel Norton, ” 1865 ” 1871.
Mort. S. Wilkinson, ” 1859 ” 1865.
William Windom, ” 1871 ” 1877.
S. J. R. McMillan, ” 1875 ” 1881.

OREGON.

Was discovered by Spanish adventurers in the sixteenth century. In 1792 Capt. Grey, of Boston, discovered the Columbia river and entered it, securing the sovereignty of the country to the United States by right of first exploration. It was more thoroughly explored by Lewis and Clark, appointed for that purpose by the United States government, in 1804-5-6. The northern part, (now Washington Territory,) was claimed by Great Britain, and the conflicting claims produced long and dangerous diplomatic contention, which was finally peaceably ended in favor of the United States.

In 1811 a fur trading company established a fort and settlement at the mouth of the Columbia, which was taken possession of by the English in the latter part of 1813. The country was claimed by them until 1846, when the boundaries were settled by treaty; giving Oregon to the United States. Settlement from the States, however, commenced in 1839, and continued to increase until 1848, when a territorial government was organized. The excitement consequent on the discovery of gold in California drew off many of its citizens; but was, in part, counteracted by the extraordinary inducements made to actual settlers. A State constitution was adopted by the people Nov. 9th, 1857, but it was not admitted, by act of Congress, into the Union, until Feb. 14th, 1859, making the thirty-third State.

The surface of the country is divided by three ranges of mountains, the Cascade, Blue and Rocky mountains. The Cascade Range has the highest peaks found in the United States. The climate is mild near the coast, but more severe in higher eastern parts. The high eastern regions are volcanic, containing vast tracts of lava, entirely sterile; the middle is well adapted to grazing, in many parts. The valuable farming lands are in the western division, along the various tributary streams of the Columbia. Wheat is the great staple; rye, oats, and vegetables, are grown with success. Fruit is also produced in abundance. Its supply of coal and copper is said to be unlimited; and it is specially celebrated for its extensive forests of gigantic trees. Manufactures and commerce are, as yet, undeveloped; but will be important in the future. Little has been done in the way of internal improvement.

Oregon has experienced the disadvantage of growing up in the shade of her splendid neighbor, California, but has a solidly prosperous future before her.

It has an area of 95,274 square miles, equal to 60,975,360 acres. The population amounted in 1870 to 90,922, which did not reach the number required to entitle it to a Member of Congress according to the fixed ratio. But every State is entitled to one member, whatever its population may be. By act of 1866, the States of Oregon, Nevada and California were constituted the ninth judicial circuit. Oregon forms one judicial district, and has one collection district, and one port of entry.

The capital is Salem, where her Legislature meets once in two years, on the second Monday of September. The State election is held on the first Monday in June.

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

Joseph Lane, from 1859 to 1861.
Delazon Smith, ” 1859 ” 1860.
Edward D. Baker, ” 1861 ” 1861.
Benj. F. Harding, ” 1862.
James W. Nesmith, ” 1861 ” 1867.
Benjamin Stark, ” 1861 ” 1862.
Geo. H. Williams, ” 1865 ” 1871.
Henry W. Corbett, ” 1867 ” 1873.
James K. Kelly, ” 1871 ” 1877.
John H. Mitchell, ” 1873 ” 1879.

KANSAS.

1. Nearly every State in the American Union has some advantage that is peculiar to it, or that it shares in a degree so eminent as to distinguish it from all others. Kansas is not an exception, and some of these are exceedingly attractive. They enter, to some extent, into the painful and bloody history of its first settlement; the mighty tragedy of the Civil War having enacted its prelude on her fertile plains. The Kansas and Nebraska Bill, in 1854, repealed the Missouri Compromise, and this territory was opened to a trial of strength between Freedom and Slavery; the contest being transferred from the floors of Congress and the Representatives of the people to the settlers of the soil, who were to determine whether slavery should, or not, exist in it, as a State. The attraction of a decisive political struggle was added to the many favorable features of position, climate, and intrinsic value. Southern people sought to introduce their peculiar institution, and northern people resisted. There was much disorder and bloodshed. Every effort was made, by strategy and force, on the one side and the other. The southern party was signally defeated and there was henceforth no hope of preserving to the slave States a balance of power in the national government, and the civil war followed, almost as a natural consequence.

2. Kansas is larger by more than 3,000 square miles than the whole of New England. It lies very near the geographical centre of the country, and stretches a friendly hand, by the Pacific Railroads, to both the Atlantic and Pacific States. A good part of her soil is declared to be much superior to that of ordinary prairie land in richness, and to average four feet in depth. It is fairly watered and timbered, and freely produces everything, except the proper tropical products of the extreme south, that is grown in the United States. The climate is that of Virginia, without its excessive heat; which may, perhaps, be considered balanced by its occasional excessively sharp and cutting winds in winter. These, however, are tolerably rare, and the winters, for the most part, short and mild, the climate being, on the whole very healthy. Its deposits of salt are exceedingly rich, and other minerals abound in various parts. Its commercial position is excellent, and its manufacturing capabilities all that the future will be likely to require. Its resources, under suitable development, cannot be considered inferior to any other equal area in the country; which is speaking in the strongest language we can command, considering what may be said of so many different localities.

3. The eastern surface is a succession of waves, or undulations, the valleys generally extending north and south. A narrow section west of it, stretching across the State is more level and the soil lighter. Beyond this long reaches of level, fertile, and well watered lands are adapted to flocks and herds. These are much higher than the river beds, the valleys of which abound in bottoms, beautiful in appearance and situation, and of inexhaustible fertility. Vast beds of coal, a good quality and abundant quantity of iron ore, and petroleum and lead have been discovered. Corn and wheat are the leading staples, and it is believed that fruit culture will soon become a leading interest of this promising State.

Kansas was admitted into the Union as a State, Jan. 29, 1861, making the thirty-fourth State. Kansas has an area of 78,841 square miles, equal to 50,187,520 acres. The population in 1870 was 362,812, giving her three Representatives in Congress. This State is in the eighth judicial circuit, and forms one judicial district. It has no ports of entry or delivery.

Topeka is the capital. The State election is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The Legislature meets on the second Tuesday in January.

The enacting clause of the laws is as follows: “Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas.”

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

James Henry Lane, from 1861 to 1866.
Samuel C. Pomeroy, ” 1861 ” 1873.
E. G. Ross, ” 1866 ” 1871.
Alexander Caldwell, ” 1871 ” 1877.
[3]Robert Crozier, ” 1877.
James M. Harvey, ” ---- ” 1877.
John J. Ingalls, ” 1873 ” 1879.

[3] Appointed by Governor to fill vacancy.

WEST VIRGINIA.

This is the only State ever formed, under the Constitution, by the division of an organized State. The interests of West Virginia were always different from those of the eastern part; and when, at the commencement of the Civil War, the eastern part seceded, the western remained loyal and was erected into a separate State; thus realizing the ancient wish of its citizens.

The act of Congress organizing it as a State was passed December 31st, 1862, with condition that it should take effect 60 days after proclamation of its admission by the President of the United States. This proclamation was issued April 21st, 1863; and it was admitted to representation in Congress as a sovereign State June 20th thereafter. A temporary government without representation in Congress had been formed in May, 1862. It was the thirty-fifth State admitted into the Union.

It is varied in surface, from high mountain ranges, hilly and undulating midlands, to level and rich river bottoms; and is nearly all available either for cultivation or grazing; while its valuable deposits of coal lie very near the surface in nearly all parts of the State. Iron abounds, and timber of the best quality. Its manufacturing facilities are great; and its canals and railroads, with the Ohio river on its northwestern border, furnish the means of making it one of the richest States in the Union. The climate is healthy, and the scenery picturesque, and in places it rises to wild grandeur.

It has an area of 23,000 square miles, or 14,720,000 acres.

The population, in 1870 was 445,616. This State has now three Members of Congress. West Virginia was subsequently put into the fourth judicial circuit, and constitutes one judicial district. Parkersburg, also, was made a port of delivery.

Charleston is the capital. The State election is held on the fourth Thursday in October. The Legislature meets on the second Tuesday in January.

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

Peter G. Van Winkle, from 1863 to 1869.
Waitman T. Willey, ” 1863 ” 1871.
Arthur J. Boreman, ” 1868 ” 1875.
H. G. Davis, ” 1871 ” 1877.
Allen T. Caperon, ” 1875 ” 1881.

NEVADA.

“The Snowy Land” derives its name from the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy Range of mountains forming the eastern boundary of California. It lies in the western part of the basin of the Great Salt Lake and among those mountains, in whose rocky bosom was found the stimulus that has changed so much of the Pacific slope, and the Rocky Mountain region, from a wild and dismal waste to populous and thriving States.

Gold was found in moderate quantities among the mountains, and population began to scatter slowly over them about 1850, and soon settlers began to improve the valleys at the foot of the mountains on the east for agricultural purposes. Carson county was organized by the territorial government of Utah in 1854; but in June, 1859, rich deposits of silver were found; and emigration began to pour in rapidly. In March, 1861, the Territory of Nevada was organized, and the same month, three years later, it was admitted into the Union, making the thirty-sixth State.

The history of these States, so rich in precious metals, puts to the blush the fantastic fables of the Arabian Nights. The silver mines of Nevada are believed to be the richest in the world. The celebrated silver mines of Potosi, in South America, never produced over $10,000,000 a year, while in 1867, one mine in Nevada produced $17,500,000, and is thought to be almost, or quite, inexhaustible. The climate, like that of California, is healthy; the seasons are divided into wet and dry, and agriculture is dependent on irrigation. With time and pains its products will be considerable. It has much wild and sublime scenery, and some natural curiosities; as Lake Mono, with its waters so sharply acid as to destroy cloth and leather immersed in it. Its gloomy surroundings, and the great distance from the tops of the precipitous rocks surrounding its shores to the surface of the water lend an impressive and fearful character to its severe desolation. It lies below the reach of the winds, and no living thing can exist in its waters.

It has an area of 63,473 square miles, or 40,622,720 acres. The population in 1860, while yet a Territory, was 6,857. In 1870 it had increased to 42,491. In conformity with the Constitutional provision that every State shall have one Representative in Congress, Nevada has one. This State lies in the ninth judicial circuit, and forms one judicial district, called the district of Nevada.

Carson City is the capital. The State election is held on the first Tuesday in November; and the Legislature meets on the first Monday in January.

The enacting clause of the laws is in the following words: “The people of the State of Nevada, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows.”

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

James W. Nye, from 1865 to 1873.
William M. Stewart, ” 1865 ” 1875.
John P. Jones, ” 1873 ” 1879.
Wm. Sharon, ” 1875 ” 1881.

NEBRASKA.

1. Formed a part of the Louisiana Purchase from the French government in 1803. It received a Territorial government in 1854, and was, by the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, equally with Kansas, exposed to the introduction of slavery; but the Southern people limited their efforts in that direction to Kansas, and Nebraska did not share in its disorder and bloodshed.

2. The greater portion of the country consists of a high, rolling prairie. The soil in the eastern part of the State is nearly the same as that of the adjoining portions of Iowa and Kansas. It is a rich loam, finely pulverized, and admirably adapted to cultivation. The second district, near the center of the State, is strictly pastoral. The third, or western section, has a fair soil, but is destitute of timber, and insufficiently supplied with water.

Throughout the fertile portion of the State, wheat, corn, oats, and other cereals, and vegetables and fruits yield largely. Vast herds of buffaloes formerly roamed over its prairies; but they are now mostly exterminated. The altitude of Nebraska secures to it a dry, pure, and salubrious atmosphere. Rain is not abundant, but, in the eastern part, is sufficient for the purposes of the agriculturist. Salt, limestone, and coal are found in various localities, and not improbably other minerals will be found in paying quantities. The State is too new to fully estimate all its resources and capabilities.

3. The educational advantages are good. The Common School System, modeled on that of Ohio, is well supplied with funds, embracing one-sixteenth of the public land, or 2,500,000 acres. 90,000 acres were given to endow a State Agricultural College, and 46,081 acres to the State University.

Its commercial facilities are supplied by the Missouri River, the Pacific and other railroads, and are amply sufficient to develop its resources. The future of the State has many elements of promise. No public debt impedes its growth, and within the last few years it has increased in wealth and population more rapidly than any of the adjoining States or Territories. An unknown, but certainly not limited, amount of wealth still lies locked up in its soil, and its relation to ocean commerce by the mighty Missouri, and to inter-State trade by lying in the great traveled route between the Atlantic and Pacific States, with a remarkably fine, healthy climate, and the ease with which its soil is worked, contribute to form a powerful attraction to labor and capital, and we have no reason to suspect any decrease in its rapid progress.

4. On its admission, in 1867, it was the thirty-seventh State. It has an area of 122,007 square miles, or 78,084,480 acres.

Population in 1870, 123,000. It forms the ninth judicial district, and has no ports of entry or delivery.

The capital is Lincoln. The State election is held on the second Tuesday in October. The Legislature meets on the Thursday after the first Monday in January.

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

John M. Thayer, from 1867 to 1871.
Thomas W. Tipton, ” 1867 ” 1875.
Phineas W. Hitchcock, ” 1871 ” 1877.
Algernon S. Paddock, ” 1875 ” 1881.

COLORADO

Was formed from parts of Kansas, Nebraska and Utah. Its Territorial government was organized by act of Congress, March 2nd, 1861. It is situated west of Kansas, on the great route from the Pacific to the Atlantic States, and on the dividing ridge, or backbone, of the continent. The rivers that find their head waters within the territory run southeast and south to the Gulf of Mexico, and southwest to the Gulf of California. The surface is nearly equally divided between a plain, gently descending from the abrupt mountain wall of rock constituting the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains, and the mighty mass of that chain, with its peaks, rising nearly three miles above the surface of the sea, now forming an elevated plateau, and again sending off spurs and lateral ranges containing beautiful valleys, or, in a more lavish and genial mood, taking a wide circuit inclosing an immense sunken plain containing hundreds of square miles of charming, well watered farming land called parks. Of these there are seven. It is a magnificent region, and contains all the elements of extreme mineral and agricultural wealth. It has mines of gold, silver, copper, lead, and iron. Coal abounds in all parts, oil flows from the wells with a little encouragement, and salt is easily obtained in some parts. An immense soda-fountain is found near Colorado City, called Fontaine qui Bouille (boiling fountain) and there are indications of cinnabar, platina, and precious stones.

The climate is fine, the general temperature like Southern Pennsylvania or Maryland; and, from the elevation, the air is very dry and pure. The plain rises by imperceptible degrees to 5,000 feet, (about one mile,) above the level of the sea, at the foot of the mountains. The numerous valleys, the parks, and much of the sloping plain, form as fine an agricultural region, with proper irrigation, as any State possesses, and much of the remainder furnishes excellent pasturage through the entire year. Occasionally heavy snow falls and for a few days extreme cold prevails, but these are exceptional years; and it does not lie long. Its effects can be guarded against with prudent care. Corn, wheat, and other small grains and vegetables reach their greatest perfection here.

It furnishes excellent manufacturing facilities along the unfailing mountain streams in the valleys, and will no doubt ultimately unite with Montana and Southwestern Dacotah to supply the immense central part of our domain with all the products of manufacturing genius and skill.

Denver the capital and principal city, is situated near the eastern base of the mountains, where these put on their severest and sublimest aspect. Clear lakes are set like stars, here and there, and the beautiful and grand in scenery are nowhere more striking, or more agreeably combined.

The Territory contains 106,475 square miles in area, and the population in 1870 numbered 29,706.

Several attempts have been made to obtain the admission of Colorado as a State into the American Union. An act to enable the people to form a constitution and State Government was passed by Congress, March, 1864. The constitution, framed under this act, was rejected by the people of the territory. Another constitution was framed and adopted in 1865, but a bill, passed by Congress for its admission, was vetoed by the President. Another attempt made in 1867 likewise failed by the President’s veto; since which time it quietly remained under its Territorial government, until March 3, 1875, when it was admitted by Act of Congress.