Organized March 2, 1861.

Population, 1860,

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.-Denver City, the capital of the Territory, is situated on the South Fork of Platte River, near the border of the Great American Desert, in the northern central portion of the Territory; Central City, near the base of Pike's Peak, is a thriving, busy town of over ten thousand inhabitants; Colorado City, on an affluent of the Arkansas, and Nevada City, are also in the vicinity of Pike's Peak. There are also several considerable settlements on the western slope of the Snowy Mountains, in the region of the silvermines.

Dis

MINES AND MINING.-The Territory unquestionably possesses vast mineral wealth. coveries of gold were reported in 1858 as having been made by two companies of explorers, one from Georgia, the other from Lawrence, Kansas, but the locations named by them have not furnished any remunerative diggings; but on the 6th of May, 1859, discoveries of rich placers were made on the head-waters of Clear Creek, an affluent of the South Fork of Platte, near the site of what is now Denver City, and an immense emigration to that point commenced the ensuing summer, accompanied with great suffering from the want of proper supplies of food, &c. The first gold was obtained from placer diggings, but these after a time gave out, and the quartz lodes were found charged with sulphuret of iron (iron pyrites, or fool's gold), and it was thought that quartzmining would prove unprofitable. In 1861, however, it was discovered that this sulphuret was very rich in gold, and the quartz-mills, which had

| been thrown aside as worthless, came again into demand. It is now found that these quartz lodes grow richer as they are opened to a greater depth; and the mining in 1862 in the Territory yielded very rich returns. The Gregory Diggings, Governor Evans found, by careful inquiry, would yield in 1862 over $5,000,000, and the other goldfields certainly as much more; and their productiveness was only limited by the number of miners employed. On the western slope of the Snowy Mountains extensive silver-mines have been discovered, and also gold in considerable quantities. Deposits of lead and quicksilver ores have also been found in the Territory. Near Denver City, at the base of the mountains, immense beds of coal have recently been discovered, of a charac ter analogous to the coal formations of Illinois. This discovery is highly important, not only as furnishing a needed supply of fuel to the Territory, which is scantily timbered, but also for the supply of the great Pacific Railway, which will probably pass through this region, its route being as near as practicable to the fortieth parallel of latitude, just below which Denver City is situated. A tunnel will be required through the Snowy Mountains, at this point, of some three miles, but the remainder of the route is far more feasible than any other, as a long level valley extends from the western slope of the mountains to Great Salt Lake City. The granite of the mountains is not so solid as that of the mountains in the Eastern States, having numerous veins and being, much of it, easily broken down.

The eastern portion of Colorado will hardly ever admit of a dense population, being a part of the Great American Desert, which, though occupying small tracts in New Mexico, Kansas, and Nebraska, mainly lies in Northwestern Texas and Eastern Colorado.

The Contributions of Colorado Territory to the Volunteer Army-Notwithstanding its recent organization and the pressing necessity for home

defence from the Indian tribes in its vicinity, most of whom had been tampered with by the Confederate commissioners, Colorado promptly responded to the call of the President for troops, and two regiments of cavalry were raised and sent into the field in 1861. In 1862 an infantry regiment and a battery of artillery were raised for Government service abroad, and a volunteer militia force organized for home defence.

Yankton.....

Yankton

1,800

Yankton

Yankton

3,000

Residence.

Office.

Yankton

Joseph L. Williams........

Lorenzo P. Williston......
William E. Gleason........ Yankton
William F. Shaffer.
Yankton

The climate of Dakota is mild and healthful. The principal settlements are Sioux Falls, on the Big Sioux River, near the Minnesota line, Elk Point, Bruley Creek, Vermillion, Yankton (the Territorial capital, on the Missouri, sixty miles from the Iowa Line, and about due west of Chicago); Bonhomme, Greenwood, and Fort Randall, also on the Missouri; and Pembina, in the northeast of the Territory. The Yankton and Ponka Indians, who ceded their lands (nearly 14,000,000 of acres) to the Government, have an extensive reservation on the Missouri River, sixty-five miles above Yankton, and have become domiciled and are giving atten

tion to agriculture. They number about 3000. The Territory yields large amounts of furs and peltries.

The gold-bearing rocks of the Rocky Mountain slope are said by geologists to extend into Dakota; and in the summer of 1862 a gold-field, apparently of considerable extent, and yielding in the placerdiggings large quantities of scale-gold, was discovered on Grasshopper Creek, a tributary of the Missouri, near the line of Nebraska, and a settlement was organized there on the 27th of August, 1862, called the Northwestern District.

New Mexico has a large Indian population, but the greater part of them are Pueblo or village Indians, and belong to the same races as the Indian inhabitants of Mexico. There are also a considerable number of Mexicans of Spanish descent in the Territory. Its mineral wealth is abundant; silver, gold, copper, iron, and lead exist probably in larger quantities than in any other part of the United States, but the unsettled condition of the country, and the frequent forays of the Apache and Camanche Indians, have rendered

| mining hazardous. Since the commencement of the war, New Mexico has been the scene of several severe battles between a force of Texan rangers and the United States troops and native inhabitants of the Territory. The surrender of Fort Fillmore, the battles of Apache Cañon and Valverde, and the capture and retaking of Santa Fé, occurred within the limits of this Terri tory. The invaders were finally driven out of the Territory in April, 1862, with great loss.

The two Houses of Congress have a joint committee on the District of Columbia, who report from time to time the appropriations needed for the civil and judicial service in the District, and also any appropriations which may be required for the construction or completion of any public works for the benefit of the inhabitants of the District. Within a few years past, two substantial bridges have been built across the Potomac, the city of Washington supplied with water by an aqueduct, a metropolitan city railway constructed, extensive hospitals for the sick and the insane, and a District penitentiary, erected, and an asylum

for the deaf-mutes and blind supported, by Congressional appropriations.

On the 16th of April, 1862, a bill abolishing slavery in the District, having passed both Houses of Congress, received the President's signature, and became a law. It provided for a board of commissioners, who should appraise the slaves of loyal citizens and allow them a compensation therefor, not exceeding an average of $300 each. This Board of Commissioners performed their duties and reported their awards about the 1st of January, 1863. The whole amount awarded was about $900,000.

At the close of that eventful struggle the patriotic army was disbanded, and the country was for a short time without a military force, as it was also without a proper constitution of government. The want of both gave rise to disorders, | which demonstrated to the people the necessity of a stable government. To this end they adopted the Constitution of the United States; but this, although framed in 1787, did not go into operation until 1789.

By the eighth section of the first article, Congress was empowered, in general, "to raise and support armies;" and by the second section of the second article, the President was appointed "Commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and of the militia when called into the service of the United States." On the 7th of August, 1789, Congress established a Department of War as the instrument of the President in carrying out the provisions of the Constitution for military affairs.

"Original Rules and Articles of War" had been enacted by the Congress of 1776, and were continued in force under the Constitution, with suitable modifications. These rules were the basis of the present Articles of War, which were enacted in 1806, and have been but slightly altered since that time. They form the military code which governs all troops when mustered into the service. In 1790, the rank and file of the army, as fixed by act of Congress, amounted to twelve hundred and sixteen men; to which force, in the next year, one regiment (nine hundred strong) was added.

In 1792, an act of Congress provided for a uniform militia throughout the United States, and the system then arranged has received but slight alterations until the present time. The want of modification of this system, and a more rigorous application of it, have been often felt, and a proper care of its efficiency will hereafter be more demanded than ever.

In 1796, the army consisted essentially of a corps of artillerists and engineers, two companies of light dragoons, four regiments of infantry (of eight companies each); and, to control this force, Congress authorized the President to ap

In 1802, the danger of foreign war being over, the peace establishment was fixed, in numbers not materially differing from the former force. In 1807, incident to the retaliatory French and English decrees, which materially affected our national prosperity, there was a greater military activity than had ever been previously known in this country. Congress authorized the President to accept thirty thousand volunteers, and made large appropriations for building fortifications and gunboats; the gunboats being a part of Mr. Jefferson's too prudent system of defence, which was devised to make a navy unnecessary, and which was only neutralized by the gallant and pertinacious manner in which the navy fought itself into popularity which it has never lost.

As an additional preparation, in those portentous times which culminated in 1812, the entire militia of the country was newly equipped in 1808.

From that time every thing pointed to war; and at this day the student of history only wonders that it did not burst forth at once. The Embargo which had been laid in 1807 was superseded by the Non-Intercourse act in 1809; the hostility was decided, and yet the act of war was long delayed.

The legislation of 1812 was essentially warlike. In January, an act was passed to raise an additional force; in February that force was increased; and when, on the 18th of June, war was declared, thirty-five thousand men were voted with which to carry it on successfully; but the struggle was really begun with only ten thousand.

Although suffering defeat and disaster at the outset of this war, the army retrieved its reputation and gained great glory before it closed, both on the northern frontier and at New Orleans. In 1815, at the close of the war, the provisional army was disbanded; but it was not until 1821 that the systematic reduction and the organization of the new peace establishment were made.

At that time was given the organization which the army retained, with slight additions and occasional temporary enlargements, until the breaking out of the present rebellion. There were then