Of the 856 persons for whom detailed information was secured, 51.5 per cent were males and 48.5 per cent were females. Foreignborn shows a higher per cent of males than native-born of native father, the latter showing a higher percentage of females than foreign-born.

The following table shows, by sex and general nativity and race of individual, the persons for whom detailed information was secured: TABLE 85.-Persons for whom detailed information was secured, by sex and general nativity and race of individual.

Of the total number of persons for whom detailed information was secured, 55 per cent are foreign-born; 35.7 per cent are native-born of foreign father; 9.2 per cent are native-born of native father. Among the native-born of native father and the native-born of foreign father information was secured for a slightly greater proportion. of females than of males. Among the foreign-born, however, information was secured for a slightly greater proportion of males.

EMPLOYEES FOR WHOM INFORMATION WAS SECURED.

The number of employees of each race for whom information was secured is set forth in the following table:

TABLE 86.-Male employees of each race for whom information was secured.

CHAPTER II.

RACIAL DISPLACEMENTS.

History of immigration-Present population of the ranges-Period of residence in the United States of foreign-born employees and members of their households-Racial classification of employees at the present time-Reasons for employing immigrants— [Text Tables 87 to 89 and General Tables 54 and 55].

HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION.

The history of immigration to the iron region of Minnesota and the history of the industrial development of the ore ranges go hand in hand-one can not be written without the other. The Vermillion

Range was explored and recognized as an iron-bearing district as early as the late forties, but prior to 1880 the inhabitants of the locality now known as the Vermillion Iron Range were Chippewa Indians and a few French Canadian trappers. These people were joined about 1880 by nondescript gold hunters, drawn from all over the country by a report that gold had been discovered near the Vermillion Lake. A few years later the excitement over the alleged discovery of gold gave way to that resulting from the discovery of large iron deposits, and the first settlement was made at what is now the town of Tower in the year 1882. The town of Tower was the first After permanent mining camp established in the State of Minnesota. the erection of the first cabin, in 1882, the control of the vicinity passed into the hands of the Minnesota Iron Company, and rapid development of the ore bodies ensued. This company has since been merged into the single interest now controlling mining operations on the range. Following closely the institution of a mining system, a Roman Catholic mission church was established at Tower in the year 1884. The records of this church show that in the year of establishment the congregation was composed of 30 families of Irish, Germans, Italians, and French Canadians, or a total of 120 souls, 45 of whom were single. The majority of these people came from the iron ranges of the State of Michigan, seeking employment.a

In 1886 the congregation of the Roman Catholic Church had increased to a total of 350 individuals, or 100 single persons and 52 families, as follows:

On authority of the priest who took charge of the church in 1888 the total population of Tower in that year was about 4,000 persons, with a racial make-up as follows:

The largest part, if not all, of these people came from the Michigan ore ranges and other sections of the United States, and entered the ore mines and lumber camps or worked independently as prospectors. About the time that ore developments were undertaken at Tower ore was discovered where the town of Ely now stands, but a permanent settlement was not effected until about 1888. Ely, when finally established, however, developed rapidly, and by the end of the year 1890 had a population of about 3,000 persons, made up of the same races and in about the same proportions as the population of Tower, given above.

The history of these two towns is the history of the Vermillion Range. From the early settlement until 1890 immigration came from the Michigan ore ranges and other sections of the United States. The Slovenians and Finns entered the unskilled occupations, and the English, Scandinavians, and Americans took the skilled and semiskilled positions. There have never been very many Italians in the locality, and those found are in the unskilled work. The Swedes, Norwegians, Finns, and French Canadians have entered the lumber camps as well as the mines, while the Slovenians, with but very few exceptions, have worked in the mines exclusively.

The inducement offered immigrants prior to 1890 was employment in the mines and lumber camps, and it is claimed by reliable persons that no labor has ever been imported on the range by the industrial concerns. The tide of immigration to the region was deflected southward in 1890 by the discovery of iron ore on the Mesabi Range, and since that date until the present there has been but little immigration to the settlements on the Vermillion Range. A mining superintendent, in discussing the conditions on the range, stated that there is practically no present immigration, and that the immigration which has been in progress during the past ten years has been composed chiefly of persons coming over from the old countries to join relatives.

The range is peopled with a permanent population, and representatives of all races own their own homes. As long as the mines and lumber tracts are productive there is little danger of any great change in the existing conditions. The racial make-up of the town of Tower in 1909 was approximately as follows:

A careful estimate of the racial composition of Ely in the same year showed the following result:

Immigration from 1890 to 1900 came from the old Vermillion Range on the north and from the ranges of Michigan, and was composed chiefly of Slovenians, Finns, Scandinavians, Irish, Italians, and English (Cornishmen). Very few of these people came direct from. Europe, according to the statements of the oldest settlers on the range. In the last few years of the decade the percentage of direct European immigration may have risen, but in the absence of definite data bearing on the subject, it is only possible to surmise that such was the case, because beginning about 1900 the "black races," as they are spoken of on the range, of southern Europe began to enter in large numbers, coming direct from Europe. Among these latter immigrants were found a number of Croatians, who, together with the Slovenians, have always been considered as simply "Austrians" by the people on the range. The Italians in the immigration of this period came, with but few exceptions, from the northern and central States of Italy when emigrating from that country; the southern Italians from Calabria and Sicily did not put in an appearance until after 1900.

Beginning about 1900, and possibly a few years earlier, their direct emigration from Europe began, not alone of races already in the community, but of new ones.

Scandinavians, Finns, and Slovenians have been coming to the mines of the Minnesota ranges annually since their opening and to-day are found to predominate, but since about 1900 hundreds of Servians, Croatians, Hebrews, South Italians, Bulgarians, Bohemians, and Montenegrins have entered the region, coming from other sections of the United States and from Europe. The Montenegrins did not make an appearance until 1907, when one of the large mining companies imported about 1,300 men as strike breakers, composed of Montene