Wright County, Minnesota - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 4 of those read), 1915

Governmental History

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

The history of the early governmental jurisdiction of what is now central Minnesota is formulated with some difficulty, as, l)rior to the nineteenth century, the interior of the country was .so little known and the maps upon which claims and grants were founded were so meager, as well as incorrect and unreliable, that tiescriptions 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 subject, says ("The Mississippi River and Its Sources") : "Spain, by virtue of tlie 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 successfully 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 America, commencing at the Gulf of Mexico and proceeding northward iiulefinitely. This expansiveness of geographical view was paralleled 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, oil this silk' of tilt' Tropic of CaiieiT; on the soutli tlir islands of tlie Atlantic sea in tho direction of Cuba and the Spanish land; ou the east the northern sea which bathes New France; and on the north the laiul saiil to be unknown, towaril the icy sea as far as the arctic pole.'

"Judging also by the various grants to individuals, noble and otherwise, and 'companies,' which gavt' away the country in latitudinal strips extending from the Atlantic westward, the English were not far behind the Spaniards and French in this kiiul 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 more or less contlictiiig claims to territory which lay far to the westward of their own actual borders.

"Thus, in the most arbitrary manner, ilitl 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 upjier Mississipjii valley may be considered as having been in the first place Canadian soil, for it was Frenchmen from Canada who first visited if and traded with its various native inhabitants. The further prosecution of his tliscoveries by La Salle, in 1682, extended Canada as a French possession to the Gulf of Mexico, though he did not use the name of ('aiiada nor yet that of New France. He preferred to call the entire counti-y watered by the Mississipiii river and its tributaries, from its uttermost source to its mouth, by the new name he had already invented for the purpose - Louisiana. The names of Canada and New France had been indifferently used to express about the same extent of territory, 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 ou published maps. Speaking generally, the Canada of the eighteenth century included the Great Lakes and the country drained by their tributaries; 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 Missouri, and finally the valley of the upper Missouri itself." This would include Wright county.

and consider the various explorations of the Mississippi upon whicli were based the claims of the European monarchs. Possibly the mouth of the Mississippi had been reached by Spaniards previous to 1541, possibly Hibernian missionaries as early as the middle of the sixth century, or Welch emigrants (Madoc), about 1170, discovered North Ajnerica by way of the Gulf of ^Mexico, but liistorians 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 tlie 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 discouraged 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 exi)lored 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 b.y the French. I\Iany 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, wliose leader was Ghamplain, the founder of Quebec, which became the capital of New France, whose then unexplored territory stretched westward to well within the boundaries of what is now Minnesota. In 1C13-15 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 possessions. 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 jiosts 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 Jlishis-ip-e, flowing southward to the sea, and of a powerful Indian tribe dwelling near its headwaters. Stories of vast fertile plains, of numberless streams, of lierds of buffalo, and of many people, in regions far to the west and south, roused missionaries and traders anew, and tlie voyages and trips of tlie explorers became more frequent.

In 1659-60 Radissoii ami (iroscilliiTs. in-occcdiiifj \\t'st\viir(l from Lake Superior, possibly entered what is now Minnesota. They spent some time in the "forty villages of the Dakotas, " possibly in the vicinity of Mille Lacs, and where, it has been contended, the tirst 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 Mississippi just above Red Wing, is disputed by some historians, but still forms an interesting subject for study and conjecture.

Some writers also claim that the Frcnchinan, 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 Mississiji])! in 1661 by way of Wisconsin. This was twelve years prior to its discovery by ^Marquette and Joliet, an<l 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, Wisconsin, 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 foimd." 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 AUouez, who had anxiously waited two years for the means of conveyance, embarked for Lake Superior with a party of French traders and Indians. He visited the Minnesota shoi'es of Lake Superior in the fall of 1665, established the Mission of the Holy Spirit at La Pointe, now in Wisconsin, and it is said "was the first to write 'Messipi," tlie 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 foriiu-i' a priest and the latter the commaiulei- 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 eoiiuuission from the governor of Canada, set out from Quebec, to explore the country west of the Lake Supei'ior 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 daj', " he says, "I had the honor to plant His ilajesty's arms where 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 Mississippi, 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. Accordingly, 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 Januaiy, 1682, with a band of followers, he started on his third and greatest expedition. February 6, they reached the Mississippi by way of Lake Michigan and the Illinois river, and March 6, discovered the three great passages by which the river discharges its waters into the Gulf. Two days later they re-ascended 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 mouarchs.

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 Winnebago), of tlie 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." (F. B. 0 "Callahan's translation in 1855, published in Vol. 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 on the northeastern shore of Lake Pepin, about six miles from its mouth.

The previous proclamations of St. Lusson in 1671 at the outlet of Lake Superior, of De Luth, in 1679, at the west end of the same lake and at Mille Lacs, liad no definite bearing on the land now embraced in Wright county, but nevertheless strengthened the French claims of sovereignty.

tacitly at least, recognized in Europe. In 176;{ there came a change. Of this change A. N. Wincliell (in Vol. 10, "Minnesota Historical Society Collections"") writes: "The present eastern boundary of Minnesota, in part (that is so far as the Mississip[)i now forms its eastern boiuidary), 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," Vol. 33, pages 1'21-126, March, 1763) :

"VII. 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 Mississippi, 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 farther 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 Fontainbleau, 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 : Conuueuciiig at the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, and from thence on a due course west to the j\Iississippi 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 }nade necessary in order tliat 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 wa.s 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 president of the LInited States was authorized to take possession of this territory, the act providing tlutt "all the military, civil, and judicial powers exercised by the officers of the existing government, sliall be vested in such pei'sou and persons, and shall be exercised in such manner as the president of the LTnited States sliall direct." (LTnited States Statutes at Large, Vol. 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. Wright county was included in the Louisiana purchase.

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), tlie 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, * « * tlu^ western state in the said territory shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio anil the Wabash rivers; a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincennes, 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 Doeunu'uts, 3d session, 46th congress, 1880-81, Vol. 25, Doc. 47,

Indiana Territory. The ordinance of 1787 provided lor the oi'gani/.ation of three "states" out ol' the Northwest Territory. Tliat same year the constitution of the United States was adojited. In 17!)!t, Ohio organized a territoi'ial government, hut tlie (proposed) middle (Indiana) and western (Illinois) "states" did not have, separately, s)ifificieut po|)ulation to warrant the estahlishnient of two separate governments. Congress solved the difficulty hy uniting the two under the nanu> of Indiana. The act was passed May 7, ISflO, 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 tiu' territory of the United States, injrthwest of the Ohio river, which lies to the westward of a line beginning at the Ohio opposite the uu)uth of the Kentiicky river, and ruiniing thence to Fort Ket-overy, and thence north until it shall intersect the teri'itorial line between the United States and Canada, shall, for the pnrpose of temporary government, constitute a separate territory, and be called the Indiana Territory." (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 2, page 58.) Indiana was admitted as a state in 1816. Wright county was a part of Indiana (as a part of Louisiana district) a little less than one year, 1804-05.

Louisiana District. By an act of congress, approved March 26, 1804, all of that portion of tlie country ceded by France to the United States under the name of Louisiana, l.ying south of the '.i'-id degree of north latitude, was organized as the territory of Orleans and all the residue thereof was organized as the district of Louisiana. The latter included Wright eounty. That act contained the follow'iug 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 off 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.

Missouri Territory. By an act of congress approved June 4, 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 sway of slavery, and the final admission of Missouri with her present boundaries, by presidential proclamation, Aug\ist 10, 1821, are outside of th" province of this history. Sufficient is it to say here that this admission left the land to the northward, including Wright county, without a fountain head of territorial government from that date until June 28, 1834, when it was attached to Michigan.

In 1809 settlers liad come in so fast that there were sufficient citizens in Indiana territory to support two governments. Accordingly, the territory of Illinois was established February 3, 1908, 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, Vol. 2, page 514.) Illinois was admitted as a state in 1818. Wright county was never a part of Illinois.

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 tlirough the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States, shall for the purpose of temporary government constitute a separate territory, to be called Michigan." (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 2, page 309.) The population of Illinois continued to increase, and the people were eager for a state government. The southern portion was therefore granted statehood privileges in 1818, 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 constitution. The terms of the act are as follows: "Section 7. And be it furtlier 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 liy 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.

Missouri, in the meantime, had been admitted as a state (1812), and the territory north of that state, and west of the Mississippi, was practically without organized authority from that year until 1834, wlien 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 inehule this vast region. The act so enlarging Michigan territory passed congress June 28, 1834, in the following 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 by the state of Missouri, and a line drawn due west from the northwest corner of said state to the Missouri river; on the southwest aiul west by the Missouri I'iver and the White Earth river, falling into the same, and on the north by the northern 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." This included Wright county. (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 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, 183(5, but Michigan was not admitted until January 26, 1837. (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. .'), pages 10-16.)

Wisconsin Territory. When W^isconsin territory was organized by an act of Congress, April 20, 1836, all the Louisiana purchase north of the state of Missouri was placed under its jurisdiction. This included Wright county. The boundaries as given at that time Avere 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, following 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 northwest 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." This included Wright county. (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 5, page 18.)

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 aud after the third day of July, nest, all that part of the present territory of Wisconsin which lies west of the Mississippi river and west of a line drawn due south from the headwaters or sources of the Mississippi 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 including Wright county was embraced within these lines.

Iowa remained a territory from 1838 to 184(). 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 constitution. It was provided that the constitution adopted, together with any alterations which might subsequently be made by congress, should be submitted to the people of the territory for their approval or rejection at the township elections in April, 184.^. The boundaries of the proposed new state, as defined in the constitution, 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 Mississi]ipi river ; thence down the middle of said river to the place of beginning." This would have included in the state of Iowa 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 thi'ougli the moutli 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 follo\\'ing 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." Thus the southern boundary of Minnesota would have been on a line due east from the pr(>sent city of Mankato to the Mississipjii 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, Olmsted, Dodge, Steele, Waseca and Blue Earth, portions of Brown,

Watonwan and Martin, and all of Faribault, Freeborn, Slower, Fillmore and Houston. This reduetion in its proposed territory was not pleasing to those citizens of Iowa who wished the state to have its boundaries to include the Minnesota river from the Blue Earth to the ilississippi and the Mississippi from the Minnesota river to the Missouri state line. This changing in the boundary 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, 1S4(), congress passed a second enabling act, which was accepted by the peoi^le by a narrow margin of 456, the vote being 9,492 for and 9,0.i6 against. This second act placed the northern boundary of Iowa still farther south, but added territory to the west. The northern boundary of Iowa, as described in the enabling act, was identical with the ])arallel of 48° 30' north, from the Big Sioux river eastward to the ilississippi. This, with the exception of the short distance from the Big Sioux rivei' to the present western boundary of ^Minnesota, is the present sonthern boundary of our state. Minnesota's southei'n boundaiy. as thus described, was carefully surveyed and marked within six years of its acceiitance by Iowa. The work was authorized ^larch 'A, 1849, and two apjiropriations of "f^l.-'iOO each were soon made. The survey was completed during the years 1849 to 18r)2, at a total cost om !t;.S2,277.7:?. Although the work was done with the best instruments then known, an error of twenty-thi'ee chains, evidently due to carelessness, was discovered within a year. Iowa was admitted as a state Decembei' 28, 184<i.

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 boundaries 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 northeastei-wardly to the first rapids of the St. Louis rivei' and thence to Lake Superior. The residents of the St. Croix valley, and those living on 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 inhal)itants. 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 farther 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, towit: * * * 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 Minnesota's eastern boundary. (United States Statutes at Large, Vol. 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 replace 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 southwestwardly to the mouth of the Iskodewabo or Rum river, where the same empties into the Mississippi river (at Anoka) 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.)

Minnesota Territory. The events which led up to the establishing 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, was 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 introdiice a bill establishing the territorial government of Minnesota. The name, which is the Indian term for what was then tho river St. Peter (Pierre) ami has now become its official desitrnation, was, it is believed, anplied to tiie proposed territory at the suggestion of Joseph R. Brown. During its consideration by congress the bill underwent various changes. As reported hack to the house, the name "Minnesota" had been changed by Stephen A. Douglas to "Itasca." Mr. Martin immediately moved that the name "Minnesota" be jilaced 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 rejected. 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 2'i. 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, which 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 ]ieace, 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 question of 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, Aiigust 26, 1848, for a three-fold purpose : 1 - To elect a territoi'ial delegate to congress. 2 - To organize a territory with a name other than Wisconsin. 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 iindersigned 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 H. H. Sibley, who was authorized to proceed to Washington 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 presented technical points worthy of the attention of the wisest legal minds. The state of Wisconsin had been organized, but the territory 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 jiart 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? IMight not this technicality give the delegate a seat in congress when otherwise lie must, as simply the representative of an unorganized area, make his requests in the lobby and to the individual members? 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 Wisconsin,'' 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 Washington, 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 loAva territory 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 ciuestion (between the Mississippi and the St. Croix) which the admission of Wisconsin as a state had left without a government. Sibley was, however, after nuich opposition, admitted to congress and given a seat January 15, 184!). 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 liad annouiu'ed that it was his intention to introduce a new bill to establish the territory of Minnesota. Like the previous attempt, this bill underwent various vicissitudes. As passed, Marcli 3, 1849, the act ci'cating 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 wliich lies within the following limits, to-wit: Beginning in the Mississippi river at a point where the line of 43° and 30' of north latitude crosses the same, theiice running due west on said line, which is tlie northern boundary of the state of Iowa, to the nort Invest corner of the said state of Iowa ; thence southerly along the western boundary of said state to the point where said boundai'y strikes the IMissouri river; thence up the middle of the main channel 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 boundary line between the possession of the United States and Great Britain to Lake Superior; thence in a straight line to the northernmost point of the state of Wisconsin, in Lake Superior ; thence along the western boundary of the state of Wisconsin to the Jlississippi river; thence down the main channel of said river to the place of beginning, anil the same is hereby erected into a temporary government by tlic name of the territoiy of Jlinnesota.'"

State of Minnesota. The people of the territory of Minnesota were not long content with a territorial government. In the words of A. N. Winchell, "December 24, ]8r)6, the delegate from the territory of Miiuiesota introduced a bill to authorize the people of that territory to form a constitution and state government. The bill limitetl 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 Jlr. Grow, of Pennsylvania, was chairman. January 31, 1857, the chairman reported a substitute, which tlitTered from the original hill in no essential respect except in regard to the western boundary. The change there consisted in adopting a line thi'ough 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 congress, 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 within 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 Bois des Sioux river; thence (up) the main channel of said river to Lake Travers; then 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 bj- a due south line to the north line of the state of Iowa; thence east along the northern 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, imtil the same intersects 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, according to the federal constitution."

Summary. It will therefore be seen that the territorial claim of title to Wright county was first embraced in the paper grant to Spain, May 4, 1493. It was subsequently included in the indefinite claims made by Spain to lands north and noi'thwest of her settlements in Mexico, 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 Wright county was made by La Salle at the mouth of the Mississippi, March 8, 1682, in the name of the king of France, and the second (still more definite) by Perrot, not far from the present site of Winona, May 8, 1689. This was also a French claim. France remained in tacit authority until February 10, 1763, when, upon England's acknowledging the French authority to lands west of the Mississippi, France, by a previous secret agreement, turned her authority over to Spain. October 1, 1800, Spain ceded the tract to France, but France did not take formal possession until November 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 Wright county was included in the Louisiana district as a part of Indiana, and so remained until March 3, 180.5. 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 jurisdiction. 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. Prom June 12, 1838, to December 28, 1846, it was a part of the territory of Iowa. Prom December

28, 1846, to March 3, 1849, it was again without territorial 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.