Freeborn County, Minnesota - Chapter 4: Governmental History, 1911

Chapter 4: Governmental History

Early Claims of Title - Spain, France and England - Treaties and Agreements - The Louisiana Purchase - Indiana - Louisiana District - Louisiana Territory - Missouri Territory - North¬ west Territory - Illinois Territory - Michigan Territory - Wis¬ consin Territory - Iowa Territory - No Man's Land - Sibley in Congress - Minnesota Territory - Minnesota State.

The history of the early government of what is now southern Minnesota is formulated with some difficulty, as, prior to the nineteenth century, the interior of the countrv was so little known and the maps upon which claims and grants were founded were so meagre, as well as incorrect and unreliable that descriptions of boundaries and locations as given in the early treaties are vague in the extreme, and very difficult of identification with present-day lines and locations.

The Hon. J. V. Brower, a scholarly authority upon this sub¬ ject. says - ("The Mississippi River and Its Sources") : "Spain, by virtue of the discoveries of Columbus and others, confirmed to her by papal grant (that of Alexander VI, May 4, 1493), may be said to have been the first European owner of the entire valley of the Mississippi, but she never used this claim as a ground for taking formal possession of this part of her domains other than incidentally involved in De Soto's doings. The feeble objections which she made in the next two centuries after the discovery to other nations exploring and settling North America were success¬ fully overcome by the force of accomplished facts. The name of Florida, now so limited in its application, was first applied by the Spaniards to the greater part of the eastern half of North Amer¬ ica, commencing at the Gulf of Mexico and proceeding northward indefinitely. This expansiveness of geographical view was par¬ alleled later by the definition of a New France of still greater extent, which practically included all the continent.

"L'Escarbot, in his history of New France, written in 1617. says, in reference to this: 'Thus our Canada has for its limits on the west side all the lands as far as the sea called the Pacific, on this side of the Tropic of Cancer; on the south the islands of the Atlantic sea in the direction of Cuba and the Spanish land; on the east the northern sea which bathes New France; and on the

Old Log Cabin

"Judging also by the various grants to individuals, noble and otherwise, and 'companies,' which gave away the country in lati¬ tudinal strips extending from the Atlantic westward, the English were not far behind the Spaniards and French in this kind of effrontery. As English colonists never settled on the Mississippi in pursuance of such grants, and never performed any acts of authority there, such shadowy sovereignties may be disregarded here, in spite of the fact that it was considered necessary, many years later, for various states concerned to convey to the United States their rights to territory which they never actually ruled over.

' ' Thus, in the most arbitrary manner, did the Mississippi river, though yet unknown, become the property, successively, of the Iberian, Gaulish and Anglo-Saxon races - of three peoples who, in later times, by diplomacy and force of arms, struggled for an actual occupancy. Practically, however, the upper Mississippi valley may be considered as having been in the first place Canadian soil, for it was Frenchmen from Canada who first vis¬ ited it and traded with its various native inhabitants. The fur¬ ther prosecution of his discoveries by La Salle, in 1682, extended Canada as a French possession to the Gulf of Mexico, though he did not use the name of Canada nor yet that of New France. He preferred to call the entire country watered by the Missis¬ sippi river and its tributaries, from its uttermost source to its mouth, by the new name he had already invented for the pur¬ pose - Louisiana. The name of Canada and New France had been indifferently used to express about the same extent of ter¬ ritory, but the name of Louisiana now came to supersede them in being applied to the conjectural regions of the West. Although La Salle has applied the latter expression to the entire valley of the Mississippi, it was not generally used in that sense after his time ; the upper part of the region was called Canada, and the lower Louisiana ; but the actual dividing line between the two provinces was not absolutely established, and their names and boundaries were variously indicated on published maps. Speaking generally, the Canada of the eighteenth century in¬ cluded the Great Lakes and the country drained by their tribu¬ taries ; the northern one-fourth of the present state of Illinois - that is, as much as lies north of the mouth of the Rock river ; all the regions lying north of the northern watershed of the Mis¬ souri, and finally the valley of the upper Missouri itself." This would include Freeborn county.

which were based the claims of the European monarelis. Pos¬ sibly the mouth of the Mississippi had been reached by Span¬ iards previous to 1541, possibly Hibernian missionaries as early as the middle of the sixtli century, or Welch emigrants (Madoc), about 1170, discovered North America by way of the Gulf of Mexico, but historians give to Hernando de Soto and his band of adventurers the credit of having been the first white men to actually view the Mississippi on its course through the interior of the continent and of being the first ones to actually traverse its waters. De Soto sighted the Mississippi in May, 1541, at the head of an expedition in search of gold and precious stones. In the following spring, weary with hope long deferred, and worn out with his adventures, De Soto fell a victim to disease, and died May 21, 1541. His followers, greatly reduced in number by sickness, after wandering about in a vain searching, built three small vessels and descended to the mouth of the Mississippi, being the first white men to reach the outlet of that great river from the interior. However, they were too weary and discour¬ aged to lay claim to the country, and took no notes of the region through which they passed.

In 1554, James Cartier, a Frenchman, discovered the St. Lawrence, and explored it as far as the present site of Quebec. The next year he ascended the river to Mont Real, the lofty hill for which Montreal was named. Thereafter all the country drained by the St. Lawrence was claimed by the French. Many years later the King of France granted the " basin of the St. Lawrence and all the rivers flowing through it to the sea," to a company, whose leader was Champlain, the founder of Quebec, which became the capital of New France, whose then unex¬ plored territory stretched westward to well within the bounda¬ ries of what is now Minnesota. In 1613-15 Champlain explored the Ottawa river, and the Georgian bay to Lake Huron, and missions were established in the Huron country. Missionaries and fur traders were the most active explorers of the new pos¬ sessions. They followed the shores of the Great Lakes and then penetrated further and further into the wilderness. As they went they tried to make friends of the red men, established trading posts and raised the Christian cross. In 1641 Jogues and Raymbault, Jesuits, after a long and perilous voyage in frail canoes and bateaux, reached the Sault Ste. Marie, where they heard of a large river, the Mich-is-ip-e, flowing southward to the sea, and of a powerful Indian tribe dwelling near its head¬ waters. Stories of vast fertile plains, of numberless streams, of herds of buffalo, and of many people, in regions far to the west and south, roused missionaries and traders anew, and the voyages and trips of the explorers became more frequent.

In 1659-60 Radisson and Groselliers, proceeding westward from Lake Superior, entered what is now Minnesota. They spent some time in the ''forty villages of the Dakotas," in the vicinity of Mille Lacs, and probably were the first white men to set foot on the soil of this state. The contention that these adventurers spent a part of the years 1655-56 on Prairie Island, in the Mis¬ sissippi just above Red Wing, is disputed by most historians, but still forms an interesting subject for study and conjecture.

Some writers also claim that the Frenchman, Sieur Nicollet, who should not be confused with the Nicollet of a later date, reached the Mississippi in 1639.

Rene Menard, a Jesuit missionary, reached the Mississippi in 1661 by way of Wisconsin. This was twelve years prior to its discovery by Marquette and Joliet, and to Menard historians in general give the honor of the discovery of the upper waters of the great river. Menard ascended the Mississippi to the mouth of the Black river, Wis., and was lost in a forest near the source of that stream while attempting to carry the gospel to the Hurons. His sole companion "called him and sought him, but he made no reply and could not be found." Some years later his camp kettle, robe and prayer book were seen in the possession of the Indians.

In the summer of 1663 the intelligence of the fate of Menard reached Quebec, and on August 8, 1665, Father Claude Allouez, who had anxiously waited two years for the means of convey¬ ance, embarked for Lake Superior with a party of French traders and Indians. He visited the Minnesota shores of Lake Superior in the fall of 1665, established the Mission of the Holy Spirit at La Pointe, now in Wisconsin, and we are told "was the first to write 'Messipi,' the name of the great river of the Sioux country, ' ' as he heard it pronounced by the Chippewas, or rather as it sounded to his ears.

May 13, 1673, Jaques Marquette and Louis Joliet, the former a priest and the latter the commander of the expedition, set out with five assistants, and on June 17 of the same year reached the Mississippi at the present site of Prairie du Chien, thence continuing down the river as far as the mouth of the Illinois, which they ascended, subsequently reaching the lakes.

In 1678, the Sieur De Luth, Daniel Graysolon, under commis¬ sion from the governor of Canada, set out from Quebec, to ex¬ plore the country west of the Lake Superior region. He was to take possession of it in the name of the king of France, and secure the trade of the native tribes. De Luth entered Minnesota in 1679, reaching the great Sioux village of Kathio at Mille Lacs, on July 2. "On that day," he says, "I had the honor to plant His Majesty's arms, ivhere a Frenchman never before had been."

La Salle, however, was the first to lay claim to the entire valley in the name of his sovereign. After achieving perpetual fame by the discovery of the Ohio river (1670-71), he conceived the plan of reaching the Pacific by way of the northern Missis¬ sippi, at that time unexplored and supposed to be a waterway connecting the two oceans. Frontenac, then governor-general of Canada, favored the plan, as did the king of France. Ac¬ cordingly, gathering a company of Frenchmen, he pursued his way through the lakes, made a portage to the Illinois river, and January 4, 1680, reached what is now Lake Peoria, in Illinois. From there, in February, he sent Hennepin and two companions to explore the upper Mississippi. During this voyage Hennepin and the men accompanying him were taken by the Indians as far north as Mille Lacs. He also discovered St. Anthony Falls. Needing reinforcements, La Salle again returned to Canada. In January, 1682, with a band of followers, he started on his third and greatest expedition. February 6, they reached the Missis¬ sippi by way of Lake Michigan and the Illinois river, and March 6, discovered the three great passages by which the river dis¬ charges its waters into the Gulf. Two days later they reascended the river a short distance, to find a high spot out of the reach of inundations, and there erected a column and planted a cross, proclaiming with due ceremony the authority of the king of France. Thus did the whole Mississippi valley pass under the nominal sovereignty of the French monarchs.

* The first definite claim to the upper Mississippi is embodied in a paper, still preserved, in the colonial archives of France, entitled ''The record of the taking possession, in his majesty's name, of the Bay des Puants (Green bay), of the lake and rivers of the Outagamis and Maskoutins (Fox river and Lake Winne¬ bago), of the river Ouiskonche (Wisconsin), and that of the Mississippi, the country of the Nadouesioux (the Sioux or Dakota Indians), the rivers St. Croix and St. Pierre (Minnesota), and other places more remote, May 8, 1689." (E. B. 0 'Callahan's translation in 1855, published in Yol. 9, page 418, "Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York.") This claim was made by Perrot, and the proclamation is supposed to have been issued from Fort St. Antonie (Anthony) near the present site of Trempealeau.

The previous proclamations of St. Lusson in 1671 at the out¬ let of Lake Superior, of De Luth, in 1679, at the west end of the same lake and at Mille Lacs, had no definite bearing on the land now embraced in Freeborn countv, but nevertheless strengthened the French claims of sovereignty.

change. Of this change, A. N. Winchell (in Yol. 10, "Minnesota Historical Society Collections") writes: "The present eastern boundary of Minnesota, in part (that is so far as the Mississippi now form its eastern boundary), has a history beginning at a very early date. In 1763, at the end of that long struggle during which England passed many a mile post in her race for world empire, while France lost nearly as much as Britain gained - that struggle, called in America, the French and Indian War - the Mississippi river became an international boundary. The articles of the definite treaty of peace were signed at Paris, on February 10, 1763. The seventh article made the Mississippi, from its source to about the 31st degree of north latitude, the boundary between the English colonies on this continent and the French Louisiana. The text of the article is as follows (Published in the "Gentleman's Magazine," Yol. 33, pages 121- 126, March, 1763) :

"YII. In order to re-establish peace on solid and durable foundations, and to remove forever all subjects of dispute to the limits of the British and French Territories on the continent of America; - that for the future, the confines between the domains of his Britannic majesty and those of his most Christian majesty (the king of France) in that part of the world, shall be fixed irrevocably by a line drawn down the middle of the river Missis¬ sippi, from its source to the river Iberville, and from thence, by a line drawn along the middle of this river, and the Lake Maurepas and Pontchartrain, to the sea." The boundary from the source of the river further north, or west, or in any direction, was not given ; it was evidently supposed that it would be of no importance, for many centuries, at least.

This seventh article of the definite treaty was identical with the sixth article in the preliminary treaty of peace signed by England, Spain and France, at Fontainebleu, November 3, 1762. On that same day, November 3, 1762, the French and Spanish representatives had signed another act by which the French king "ceded to his cousin of Spain, and his successors forever # * * all the country known by the name of Louisiana, including New Orleans and the island on which that city is situated." This agreement was kept secret, but when the definite treaty was signed at Paris the following year, this secret pact went into effect, and Spain at once became the possessor of the area described.

At the close of the Revolutionary War, the territory east of the Mississippi, and north of the 31st parallel, passed under the jurisdiction of the United States. By the definite treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain, ratified at Paris, September 3, 1783, a part of the northern boundary of the

United States, and the western boundary thereof was established, as follows: Commencing at the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods and from thence on a due course west to the Mississippi river (the Mississippi at that time was thought to extend into what is now Canada), thence by a line to be drawn along the middle of said Mississippi river until it shall intersect the northernmost part of the 31st degree of north latitude. (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 8, page 82.)

In 1800, by the secret treaty of San (or Saint) Ildefonso (signed October 1), Spain receded the indefinite tract west of the Mississippi to France, which nation did not, however, take formal possession until three years later, when the formality was made necessary in order that the tract might be ceded to the United States, Napoleon, for France, sold the tract to the United States, April 30, 1803. The region comprehended in the "Louisiana Purchase," as this area was called, included all the country west of the Mississippi, except those portions west of the Rocky mountains actually occupied by Spain, and extended as far north as the British territory.

By an act of congress, approved October 31, 1803, the presi¬ dent of the United States was authorized to take possession of this territory, the act providing that ''all the military, civil, and judicial powers exercised by the officers of the existing govern¬ ment, shall be vested in such person and persons, and shall be exercised in such manner as the president of the United States shall direct." (United States Statutes at Large, Yol. 2, page 245.)

December 20, 1803, Louisiana was formally turned over to the United States at New Orleans, by M. Laussat, the civil agent of France, who a few days previous (November 30) had received a formal transfer from representatives of Spain.

Louisiana District. By an act of congress, approved March 26, 1804, all of that portion of the country ceded by France to the United States under the name of Louisiana, lying south of the 33d degree of north latitude, was organized as the territory of Orleans and all the residue thereof was organized as the district of Louisiana. That act contained the following provision: "The executive power now vested in the government of the Indiana territory shall extend to and be exercised in said district of Louisiana." The area set oft' as the territory of Orleans was admitted as the state of Louisiana in 1812.

Louisiana Territory. By an act of congress approved March 3, 1805 all that part of the country embraced in the district of Louisiana, was organized as a territory, called the territory of Louisiana.

1814, it was provided that the territory hitherto called Louisiana should be called Missouri, and was organized as a territory. The struggles in congress which led to the Missouri compromise ; the agreement that all territory west of Missouri and north of parallel 36° 36' should forever be free from the curse of slavery, and the final admission of Missouri with her present boundaries, by presidential proclamation, August 10, 1821, are outside of the province of this history. Sufficient is it to say here that this admission left the land, to the northward, including Freeborn county, without a fountain head of territorial government from that date until June 28, 1834, when it was attached to Michigan.

It is now necessary to turn to the events that had been transpiring in regard to the government of the area east of the Mississippi and northwest of the Ohio river.

The Northwest Territory embraced all the area of the United* States northwest of the Ohio river. By the provisions of the famous "Northwest Ordinance," passed July 13, 1787, by the Congress of the Confederation (the constitution of the United States not being adopted until September 17), the Ohio river became the boundary of the territory. The fifth article of the ordinance reads as follows: "Art. 5. There shall be formed in the said (i. e., the Northwest) territory, not less than three, nor more than five states," * * * the western state in the said territory shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio and the Wabash rivers; a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents, due north, to the territorial line between the United States and Canada; and by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and the Mississippi. (See Executive Documents. 3d session, 46th congress, 1880-81, Vol. 25, Doc. 47, Part 4, pages 153-156; also United States Statutes at Large, Vol. 1, page 51, note a.)

Indiana Territory. The ordinance of 1787 provided for the organization of three "states" out of the Northwest Territory. That same year the constitution of the United States was adopted. In 1799, Ohio organized a territorial government, but the middle and western "states" did not have, separately, sufficient popula¬ tion to warrant the establishment of two separate governments. Congress solved the difficulty by uniting the two under the name of Indiana. The act was passed May 7, 1800, and its first section reads as follows: "Section 1 - Be it enacted, etc., that from and after the fourth day of July next, all that part of the territory of the United States, northwest of the Ohio river, which lies to the westward of a line beginning at the Ohio opposite the mouth of the Kentucky river, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and Canada, shall, for the purpose of tempo¬ rary government, constitute a separate territory, and be called the Indiana Territory. " (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 2, page

Michigan Territory. By an act of congress passed June 11, 1805, Michigan territory was formed. The boundaries were described as follows: ''All that part of the Indiana territory which lies north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan until it shall intersect Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the said southerly bend through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north of the northern boundary of the United States, shall for the purpose of temporary government constitute a separate terri¬ tory, to be called Michigan. (U. S. Statutes at Large, Yol. 2, page 309.) Additions, noted further along in this article, were later made to this territory.

Illinois Territory. In 1809, settlers had come in so fast that there were sufficient citizens in Indiana territory to support two governments. Accordingly, the territory of Illinois was estab¬ lished, February 3, 1809, by the following enactment: "Be it enacted, etc., That from and after the first day of March, next, all that part of the Indiana territory which lies west of the Wabash river and a direct line drawn from the said Wabash river and Post Vincennes, due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, shall for the purpose of temporary government constitute a separate territory, and be called Illinois. (U. S. Statutes at Large, Yol. 2, page 514.) Illinois was admitted as a state in 1818.

Michigan Territory. The population of Illinois continued to increase, and the people were eager for a state government. The southern portion was therefore granted statehood privileges, and the northern portion, mainly unoccupied, was cut off and added to the territory of Michigan, previously created. This transfer of territory was authorized in section 7 of the act passed April 18, 1818, enabling Illinois to form a state government and constitu¬ tion. The terms of the act are as follows: "Section 7. And be it further enacted, That all that part of the territory of the United States lying north of the state of Indiana, and which was included in the former Indiana territory, together with that part -of the Illinois territory which is situated north of, and not included within the boundaries prescribed by this act (viz., the boundaries of the state of Illinois) to the state thereby authorized to be formed, shall be and hereby is, attached to and made a part of the Michigan territory." Thus matters remained for sixteen years.

(1821), and the territory north of that state, and west of the Mississippi, was practically without organized authority from that year until 1834, when the increase of settlement made it advisable that the benefits of some sort of government should be extended to its area. Consequently, Michigan territory was extended to include this vast region. The act so enlarging Michigan territory passed congress June 28, 1834, in the follow¬ ing terms : "Be it enacted, etc., That all that part of the territory of the United States, bounded on the east by the Mississippi river, on the south of the state of Missouri, and a line drawn due west from the northwest corner of said state to the Missouri river ; on the southwest and west by the Missouri river and the White Earth river, falling into the same, and on the north by the north¬ ern boundary of the United States, shall be, and hereby is, for the purpose of temporary government attached to and made a part of, the territory of Michigan." (U. S. Statutes at Large, Yol. 4, page 701.) In less than two years, certain territory was set apart to form the proposed state of Michigan. This act passed congress April 20, 1836, but Michigan was not admitted until January 26, 1837. (U. S. Statutes at Large, Yol. 5, pages 10-16.)

Wisconsin Territory. When Wisconsin territory was organ¬ ized by an act of congress, April 20, 1836, all the Louisiana pur¬ chase north of the state of Missouri was placed under its jurisdic¬ tion. This included Freeborn county. The boundaries as given at that time were as follows: "Bounded on the east by a line drawn from the northeast corner of the state of Illinois through the middle of Lake Michigan to a point in the middle of said lake and opposite the main channel of Green Bay and through said channel and Green Bay to the mouth of the Menominee river, thence through the middle of the main channel of said river to that head of said river nearest the Lake of the Desert, thence in a direct line to the middle of said lake, thence through the middle of the main channel of the Montreal river to its mouth; thence with a direct line across Lake Superior to where the territorial line of the United States last touches said Lake, northwest, thence on the north with the said territorial line to the White Earth river (located in what is now Wood county, North Dakota). On the west by a line from the said boundary line, fol¬ lowing down the middle of the main channel of the White Earth river to the Missouri river, and down the middle of the main channel of the Missouri river to a point due west from the north¬ west corner of the state of Missouri; and on the south from said point due east to the northwest corner of the state of Missouri, and thence with the boundaries of the states of Missouri and Illinois as already fixed by act of congress. (U. S. Statutes at Large, Yol. 5, page 18.) It is interesting to note in this connection

Iowa Territory. The territory of Iowa was created by the act of congress, June 12, 1838, which act divided the territory of Wisconsin along the Mississippi river and named the western part, Iowa. The act provided: "That from and after the third day of July, next, all that part of the present territory of Wis¬ consin which lies west of the Mississippi river and west of a line drawn due south from the head waters or sources of the Missis¬ sippi to the territorial lines, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, be and constitute a separate territorial government, by the name of Iowa." The area embracing Freeborn county was included within these lines.

Iowa remained a territory from 1838 to 1846. The greater part of southern and southeastern Minnesota was within the jurisdiction of Clayton county. Henry II. Sibley was a justice of the peace in that county. The county seat was 250 miles distant from his home in Mendota, and his jurisdiction extended over a region of country, which, as he expressed it, was "as large as the empire of France." A convention of duly authorized representatives of the people remained in session at Iowa City from October 7 to November 1, 1844, and framed a state consti¬ tution. It was provided that the constitution adopted, together with any alterations which might subsecpientlv be made by con¬ gress, should be submitted to the people of the territory for their approval or rejection at the township elections in April, 1845. The boundaries of the proposed new state, as defined in the con¬ stitution, were in part as follows : " * * * Thence up in the middle of the main channel of the river last mentioned (the Missouri) to the mouth of the Sioux or Calumet river; thence in a direct line to the middle of the main channel of the St. Peter's (Minnesota) river, where the Watonwan river - according to Nicollet's map - enters the same, thence down the middle of the main channel of said river to the middle of the Mississippi river ; thence down the middle of said river to the place of beginning. " This would have included in the state of Iowa Freeborn county, and in fact, all the counties of what is now Minnesota that lie south and east of the Minnesota as far as Mankato, also including Faribault county and nearly all of Martin, the greater part of Blue Earth and portions of Watonwan, Cottonwood and Jackson.

Congress rejected these boundary lines, and March 3, 1845, in its enabling act, substituted the following description of the proposed boundaries: "Beginning at the mouth of the Des Moines river, in the middle of the Mississippi; thence by the middle of the channel of that river to the parallel of latitude passing through the mouth of the Mankato or Blue Earth river; thence west along said parallel of latitude to a point where it is intersected by a meridian line 17° 30' west of the meridian of Washington City; thence due south to the northern boundary line of the state of Missouri; thence eastwardly following that boundary to the point at which the same intersects with the Des Moines river; thence by the middle of the channel of that river to the place of beginning/7 Thus the southern boundary of Minnesota would have been on a line due east from the present city of Mankato to the Mississippi river and due west from the same point to a point in Brown county. This would have included in Iowa all but a small fraction of the counties of Winona, Olmstead, Dodge, Steele, Waseca and Blue Earth, portions of Brown. Watonwan and Martin; and all of Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, Fillmore and Houston. This reduction in its proposed territory was not pleasing to those citizens of Iowa, who wished the state to have its boundaries to include the Minesota river from the Blue Earth to the Mississippi and the Mississippi from the Minne¬ sota river to the Missouri state line. This changing in the bound¬ ary was really a political measure, a part of those battles in congress over free and slave states which preceded the Civil War. The boundaries as proposed by congress were rejected by the people of Iowa after a bitter campaign. August 4, 1846, congress passed a second enabling act, which was accepted by the people by a narrow margin of 456, the vote being 9,492 for and 9,036 against. This second act placed the northern boundary of Iowa still further south, but added territory to the west. The northern boundary of Iowa, as described in the enabling act, was identical with the parallel of 43° 30' north, from the Big Sioux river east¬ ward to the Mississippi. This, with the exception of the short distance from the Big Sioux river to the present western boundary of Minnesota, is the present southern boundary of our state. Minnesota's southern boundary, as thus described, was carefully surveyed and marked within six years of its acceptance by Iowa. The work was authorized March 3, 1849, and two appropriations of $1,500 each were soon made. The survey was completed during the years 1849 to 1852, at a total cost of $32,277.73. Although the work was done with the best instruments then known, an error of twenty-three chains, evidently due to carelessness, was discovered within a year. Iowa was admitted as a state December 28, 1846.

Wisconsin State. Wisconsin soon wished to become a state. The northwestern boundary provoked considerable discussion both in congress and in the two constitutional conventions which were called. There were some who wished to include all the remaining portion of the northwest territory within the bound¬ aries of the new proposed state. The two prevailing coteries, however, were the ones between whom the fight really centered.

One body wished the northwestern boundary of the new state (Wisconsin) to extend up the Mississippi as far as the Rum river, where the city of Anoka is now situated, thence northeastwardly to the first rapids of the St. Louis river and thence to Lake Supe¬ rior. The residents of the St. Croix valley, and those living or the east side of the Mississippi, between the St. Croix and the Rum river, constituted the other party and objected to being included in the proposed state of Wisconsin. They declared that they were separated from the settled portions of Wisconsin by hundreds of miles of barren land, and still more greatly separated by a difference in the interests and character of the inhabitants. They proposed that the northwest boundary of the new state should be a line drawn due south from Shagwamigan bay, on Lake Superior, to the intersection of the main Chippewa river, and from thence down the middle of said river to its debouchure into the Mississippi. Residents of the district affected and also about Fort Snelling and on the west bank of the Mississippi further up joined in a memorial to congress, citing the grave injustice that would be done the proposed territory of Minnesota if it were left without a single point on the Mississippi below St. Anthony's falls, the limit of navigation. Among those who signed this memorial were H. H. Sibley and Alexander Faribault. The result of the controversy was a compromise adopting a middle line along the St. Croix and St. Louis rivers.

The enabling act for the state of Wisconsin, approved August 6, 1846, provided : " That the people of the territory of Wisconsin be and they are hereby authorized to form a constitution and state government * * * with the following boundaries, to-wit : * * * thence through the center of Lake Superior to the mouth of the St. Louis river, thence up the main channel of said river to the first rapids in the same, above the Indian village, according to Nicollet's map; thence due south to the main branch of the River St. Croix; thence down the main channel of said river to the Mississippi ; thence down the main channel of said river to the northwest corner of the state of Illinois, thence due east * *

This is the first and incidentally the present description of Minne¬ sota 's eastern boundary. (United States Statutes at Large, Yol. 9. page 56.)

The convention that framed the constitution of Wisconsin in 1847-48 strongly desired the Rum river as their western boundary. After accepting the boundary chosen by congress the convention recommended a line which, if agreeable to congress, should re* place the one in the enabling act. The proposed boundary, which was rejected, was described as follows. Leaving the aforesaid boundary line at the first rapids of the St. Louis river, thence in a direct line, bearing southwestwardlv to the mouth of the Isko- dewabo or Rum river, where the same empties into the Missis¬ sippi river, thence down the main channel of the said Mississippi river to the aforesaid boundary. (Charters and Constitutions of the United States, Part ii, page 2030.)

x. Minnesota Territory. The events which led up to the estab¬ lishing of Minnesota as a territory can be given but brief mention here. Sufficient is it to say that for three years after the admis¬ sion of Iowa (in 1846) the area that is now Minnesota, west of the Mississippi, wTas practically a no-man's land. December 18, 1846, Morgan L. Martin, delegate from Wisconsin territory, gave notice to the house of representatives that "at an early day" he would ask leave to introduce a bill establishing the territorial government of Minnesota. The name, which is the Indian term for what was then the river St. Peter (Pierre) and has now be¬ come its official designation wras, it is believed, applied to the proposed territory at the suggestion of Joseph R. Brown. During its consideration by congress the bill underwent various changes. As reported back to the house, the name "Minnesota" had been changed by Stephen A. Douglas to "Itasca." Mr. Martin imme¬ diately moved that the name "Minnesota" be placed in the bill in place of "Itasca." "Chippewa," "Jackson" and "Washington" were also proposed. After many motions, counter motions and amendments, "Minnesota" was placed in the bill, which with a minor change passed the house. In the senate it was rajected. A second attempt was made two years later. January 10, 1848 , Stephen A. Douglas gave due notice to the senate that "at a future day" he would introduce a bill to establish the territory of Minnesota. He brought in the bill February 23. It was several times read, was amended, referred to committee and discussed, but congress adjourned August 14 without taking ultimate action on the proposition.

In the meantime Wisconsin was admitted to the Union May 29, 1848, and the western half of what was then St. Croix county was left outside the new state. The settled portions of the area thus cut off from Wisconsin by its admission to statehood privileges were in the southern part of the peninsula of land lying between the Mississippi and the St. Croix.

The people of this area were now confronted with a serious problem. As residents of the territory of Wisconsin they had enjoyed the privileges of citizenship in the United States. By the creation of the state of Wisconsin they were disfranchised and left without the benefits of organized government. Thus, Stillwater, wffiich had been the governmental seat of a growing county (St. Croix), was left outside the pale of organized law^. Legal minds disagreed on the question of whether the minor civil officers, such as justices of the peace, created under the territorial organization, were still qualified to exercise the authority of their positions. At a meeting held at St. Paul, in July, 1848, the citizens of that (then) village considered the necessity for the formation of a new territory. August 5 a meeting of citizens of the area west of the St. Croix was held at Stillwater, and it was decided to call a general convention at that place, August 26, 1848, for a three-fold purpose : 1 - To elect a territorial delegate to congress.

3 - To determine whether the laws and organization of the old territory of Wisconsin were still in effect now that a part of that territory was organized as a state. In the call for this meeting, the signers called themselves, "We, the undersigned citizens of Minnesota territory.' ' The meeting was held pursuant to the call. Action was taken in regard to the first proposition by the election of II. H. Sibley, who was authorized to proceed to Wash¬ ington and use such efforts as were in his power to secure the organization of the territory of Minnesota in regard to the second proposition a memorial was addressed to the president of the United States, stating the reasons why the organization of Minnesota territory was necessary. The third proposition pre¬ sented technical points worthy of the attention of the wisest legal minds. The state of Wisconsin had been organized, but the terri¬ tory of Wisconsin had not been abolished. Was not, therefore, the territory still in existence, and did not its organization and its laws still prevail in the part of the territory that had not been included in the state? If territorial government was in existence would it not give the residents thereof a better standing before the nation in their desire to become Minnesota territory? Might not this technicality give the delegate a seat in congress when otherwise he must, as simply the representative of an unorganized area, make his requests in the lobby and to the indivibual mem¬ bers? John Catlin, who had been secretary of the territory of Wisconsin before the organization of that state, declared that the territory still existed in the area not included in the organized state and that he was the acting governor. Accordingly, the people of the cut-off portion organized as the " Territory of Wis¬ consin," and named a day for the election of a delegate. In the closely contested election, held October 30, 1848, Sibley won out against Henry M. Rice and accordingly made his way to Washin gf on, technically from the "Territory of Wisconsin," actually as a representative of the proposed territory of Minnesota. As a matter of fact, indeed, Sibley, living at Mendota, had ceased to be a citizen of the territory of Wisconsin in 1838, when Iowa terri¬ tory was created, and was a resident of the part of Iowa territory which the organization of the state of Iowa had left without a government, rather than of that territory in question (between the Mississippi and the St. Croix) which the admission of Wis¬ consin as a state had left without a government. Sibley was, how¬ ever, after much opposition, admitted to congress and given a seat January 15, 1849. He at once set about securing friends for the proposition to create Minnesota territory. December 4, 1848,' a few days previous to Sibley's admission to congress, Stephen A. Douglas had announced that it was his intention to introduce anew a bill to establish the territory of Minnesota. Like the pre¬ vious attempt, this bill underwent various vicissitudes. As passed, March 3, 1849, the act creating the territory read as follows : "Be it enacted, # # That from and after the passage of this act', all that part of the territory of the United States which lies within the following limites, to-wit : Beginning in the Mississippi river at a point where the line of 43° and 30' of north latitude crosses the same, thence running due west on said line, which is the northern boundary of the state of Iowa, to the northwest corner of the said state of Iowa ; thence southerly along the west¬ ern boundary of said state to the point where said boundary strikes the Missouri river ; thence up the middle of the main chan¬ nel of the Missouri river to the mouth of the White Earth river ; thence up the middle of the main channel of the White Earth river to the boundary line between the possessions of the United States and Great Britain ; thence east and south of east along the bound¬ ary line between the possessions of the United States and Great Britain to Lake Superior; thence in a straight line to the north¬ ernmost point of the state of Wisconsin, in Lake Superior; thence along the western boundary of the state of Wisconsin to the Mississippi river; thence down the main channel of said river to the place of beginning, and the same is hereby erected into a temporary government by the name of the territory of

The executive power of the territory of Minnesota was vested in a governor, (appointed by the president, whose term of office was four years, unless sooner removed by the president), who was also superintendent of Indian affairs. The legislative power was vested in a governor and a legislative assembly, consisting of a council of nine members, whose term of office was two years, and a house of representatives of eighteen members, whose term of office was one year. . It was provided that the number of mem¬ bers in the council and the house might be increased by the legis¬ lative assembly from time to time in proportion to the increase in population, but that the whole number should not exceed fifteen councillors and thirty-nine representatives. It was provided that the first election should be held at such time and place and be con¬ ducted in such manner as the governor should appoint and direct, and that the persons thus elected to the legislative assembly should meet at such place, and on such days as the governor should appoint, but thereafter the time and place and manner of holding and conducting all elections by the people, and the ap¬ portioning the representatives in the several counties and dis¬ tricts, to the council and house of representatives, according to the population, should be prescribed by law, as well as the day of the commencement of the regular sessions of the legislative assembly, but that no session should exceed sixty days.

Every white male inhabitant above the age of twenty-one, who was a resident of the territory at the time of the passage of the act organizing the same, was entitled to vote and eligible to office at the election. But the qualification of voters and of holding office at all subsequent elections should be such as should be prescribed by the legislative assembly. It was provided by the act that all laws passed by the legislative assembly should be submitted to congress, and if disapproved by it, should be null and of no effect. The laws in force in the territory of Wisconsin after the date of the admission of the state of Wisconsin were con¬ tinued to be valid and in operation in the territory of Minnesota so far as not incompatible with the provisions of the act of organi¬ zation of the territory of Minnesota, subject to be altered, modi¬ fied or repealed by the governor and legislative assembly of said territory. All justices of the peace, constables, sheriffs and all other judicial and ministerial officers who were in office within the limits of the territory at the time of law organizing the territory was approved were authorized and required to continue to exer¬ cise and perform the duties of their respective offices as officers of the territory of Minnesota temporarily and until they, or others, should be appointed and qualified in the manner therein described or until their offices should be abolished.

The governor was given the veto power, and the council and house could pass a bill over his veto by a two-thirds vote. The judicial power of the territory was vested in a supreme court, district court, probate court and in justices of the peace. The supreme court consisted of a chief justice and two associate jus¬ tices, appointed by the president, whose term of office was four years and whose salary was $1,800 a year.

The territory was by the act of organization required to be divided into three judicial districts, and the district court to be held therein by one of the judges of the supreme court at such times and places as might be prescribed by law, and the judges thereof were required to reside in the districts assigned to them. The clerks of said courts were appointed by the judges thereof.

The United States officers of the territory were a governor, secretary, chief justice, two associate justices, attorney and mar¬ shal, appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the senate of the United States. The governor received a salary of $1,500 a year as governor and $1,000 a year as superintendent of Indian affairs. The chief justice and associate justices and secretary received a salary of $1,800 a year, and the members of the legislative assembly $3 a day during their attendance upon the sessions thereof and $3 each day for every twenty miles trav¬ eled going to and returning therefrom.

State of Minnesota. The people of the territory of Minnesota were not long content with a territorial government. In the words of A. N. Winch ell, "December 24, 1856, the delegate from the territory of Minnesota introduced a bill to authorize the people of that territory to form a constitution and state govern¬ ment. The bill limited the proposed state on the west by the Red River of the North and the Big Sioux river. It was referred to the committee on territories, of which Mr. Grow, of Pennsyl¬ vania, was chairman. January 31, 1857, the chairman reported a substitute, which differed from the original bill in no essential respect except in regard to the western boundary. The change there consisted in adopting a line through Traverse and Big Stone lakes, due south from the latter to the Iowa line. The altered boundary cut off a narrow strip of territory, estimated by Mr. Grow to contain between five and six hundred square miles. Today the strip contains such towns as Sioux Falls, Watertown and Brookings. The substitute had a stormy voyage through con¬ gress, especially in the senate, but finally completed the trip on February 25, 1857."

The enabling act, as passed and approved February 26, 1857, defined the boundaries of Minnesota as follows: "Be it enacted, # * # That the inhabitants of that portion of the territory of

Minnesota, which is embraced with the following limits, to-wit : Beginning at the point in the center of the main channel of the Red River of the North, where the boundary line between the United States and the British possessions crosses the same ; thence up the main channel of said river to that of the Bois des Sioux river; thence (up) the main channel of said river to Lake Tra¬ vers ; thence up the center of said lake to the southern extremity thereof ; thence in a direct line to the head of Big Stone lake ; thence through its center to its outlet ; thence by a due south line to the north line of the state of Iowa ; thence east along the north¬ ern boundary of said state to the main channel of the Mississippi river; thence up the main channel of said river and following the boundary line of the state of Wisconsin, until the same inter¬ sects the St. Louis river; thence down said river to and through Lake Superior, on the boundary line of Wisconsin and Michigan, until it intersects the dividing line between the United States and the British possessions; thence up Pigeon river and following said dividing line to the place of beginning; be and the same are thereby authorized to form for themselves a constitution and state government, by the name of the state of Minnesota, and to come into the Union on an equal footing with the original states, accord¬ ing to the federal constitution."

It will therefore be seen that the territorial claim of title to Freeborn county was first embraced in the papal grant to Spain, May 4, 1493. It was then included in the indefinite claims made by Spain to lands north and northwest of her settlements in Mex¬ ico, Florida and the West Indies; by the English to lands west of their Atlantic coast settlements, and by the French to lands south, west and southwest of their Canadian settlements. The first definite claim to territory now embracing Freeborn county was made by LaSalle at the mouth of the Mississippi, March 8, 1682, in the name of the king of France, and the second (still more defi¬ nite) by Perrot near the present site of Trempealeau, Wis., May 8, 1689. This was also a French claim. France remained in tacit authority until February 10, 1763, when, upon England's ac¬ knowledging the French authority to lands west of the Missis¬ sippi, France, by a previous secret agreement, turned her author¬ ity over to Spain. October 1, 1800, Spain ceded the tract to France, but France did not take formal possession until Novem¬ ber 30, 1803, and almost immediately, December 20, 1803, turned it over to the United States, the Americans having purchased it from Napoleon April 30 of that year.

March 26, 1804, the area that is now Freeborn county was included in Louisiana district as a part of Indiana and so remained until March 3, 1805. From March 3, 1805, to June 4, 1812, it was a part of Louisiana territory. From June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1820, it was a part of Missouri territory. From August 10, 1821, until June 28, 1834, it was outside the pale of all organized government, except that congress had general juris¬ diction. From June 28, 1834, to April 20, 1836, it was a part of Michigan territory. From April 20, 1836, to June 12, 1838, it was a part of Wisconsin territory. From June 12, 1838, to December 28, 1846, it was a part of the territory of Iowa and was included in the boundaries at first proposed for the state of Iowa. From December 28. 1846, to March 3, 1849, it was again without terri¬ torial affiliation. From March 3, 1849, to May 11, 1858, it was a part of Minnesota territory, and on the latter date became an integral part of that sovereign state.