USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume I > Part 18
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HISTORY OF WYOMING
In February, 1868, Warren & Hastings began the publication of a newspaper called the Sweetwater Miner, at Fort Bridger, which circulated reports that had a tendency to encourage immigration. The first merchant in the Wyoming gold fields was Worden Noble. He was born in the State of New York in 1847 and came to Fort Laramie in 1866 as a bookkeeper for the firm of Coffee & Caney. In the spring of 1868 he opened a store at South Pass City, which he conducted for about one year, after which he was the contractor for Camp Stambaugh (afterward a permanent post) for about seven years. He then turned his atten- tion to stock raising, and was one of the county, commissioners of Sweetwater County from 1871 to 1877. when he was elected a member of the Legislative Council of the territory.
INFLUENCE OF THE UNION PACIFIC
One of the most potent factors in bringing actual settlers into Wyoming was the Union Pacific Railroad. In July, 1867, the railroad company established a land office where the City of Cheyenne now stands and began the sale of lots. The first house in Cheyenne was built about that time by a man named Larimer. Among the first settlers there were J. R. Whitehead, Robert M. Beers, Thomas E. McLeland and three others, who came with their families on the same day. In July. 1867, the first two-story house in the city was commenced by J. R. Whitehead.
Morton E. Post, another early settler at Cheyenne, purchased two lots from the railroad land agent and then started back to a claim he had on the Platte River, about seventy-five miles below Denver. On the way, and when only a few miles from Cheyenne, he met a man who had discovered a coal mine, but who was afraid to visit the place because of Indians. Post agreed to accompany him to the mine, which they found only sixteen miles from Cheyenne and staked off their claim. In August, 1867, Mr. Post opened a store on the corner of Seventeenth and Ferguson streets (Ferguson Street is now Carey Avenue). When he bought his two lots from the railroad company he paid $600 for them, and before the close of the year sold part of them for $5.600. In 1872 he was elected one of the county commissioners of Laramie County, and in 1877 he established the first quartz mill at Deadwood, Dakota Territory. The next year he was one of the firm that opened the banking house of Stebbins, Post & Company at Deadwood. In 1878 he was elected to the upper house of the Wyoming Legisla- ture and in 1880 was chosen delegate to Congress. He was reelected delegate in 1882. and declined a nomination for a third term in 1881.
VIGILANCE COMMITTEE
When the Union Pacific Railroad reached Cheyenne in 1867, that town remained the terminus until work was resumed the following spring. The new town filled up with outlaws and disorderly characters, with which the civil authorities seemed powerless to cope. In this emergency a number of citizens got together and organized a vigilance committee. The first act of the com- mittee occurred on January 1I, 1868. Three men-Grier, St. Clair and Brown- ville-were under bonds to appear before the court for robbery on January 14,
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1868. They were bound together and a canvas fastened to them bearing their names and the following legend: "$900 stolen ; $500 returned; city authorities please not interfere until 10 o'clock A. M. Next case goes up a tree. Beware of the Vigilance Committee."
On the night of the 20th, Charles Martin and Charles Morgan were hanged by the committee, the former for killing Andrew Harris in a quarrel and the latter for horse stealing. The summary punishment meted out to offenders by the committee had a salutary effect on the community, and with the extension of the railroad westward a majority of the undesirables left the town. (See chapter entitled "The Story of Cheyenne" for a full account of the vigilance committee.)
During the year 1868 the railroad was completed to the western boundary of the state, bringing with it hundreds of homeseekers. By the close of the year some enthusiastic persons estimated the population of Wyoming at fifty thousand, or even more, an estimate that proved to be entirely too high, as was shown by the first authorized census the following year, when the territorial government was established.
THE ASHLEY BILL
In 1865 James M. Ashley, a member of Congress from Ohio, introduced in the national House of Representatives a bill "to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Wyoming." This was the first move toward the formation of a new territory in the Big Horn country, and, so far as is shown by the records, it was the first suggestion of the name "Wyoming" for such a territory. The word "Wyoming" is said to have been derived from the Delaware Indian name "Waugh-mau-wa-ma" (meaning large plains), a name applied by them to the broad, beautiful valley they once inhabited in Pennsylvania. The writer has been unable to ascertain who first proposed the name for a territory in the Rocky Mountain region that was never seen by a Delaware Indian, or how it came to be selected. In the "large plains" sense the name is certainly applicable to the State of Wyoming. This fact may have influenced Mr. Ashley, who came from a state once claimed by the Delawares, to adopt the name, but that is purely a matter of conjecture. The Ashley bill was referred to the committee on terri- tories, which failed to report it back to the house for final action, and there the subject slumbered for more than two years.
On September 27, 1867, the citizens of Cheyenne and the settlers in the immediate vicinity held a meeting at the city hall to consider, among other things, the question of a territorial organization. H. M. Hook presided at this meeting and J. R. Whitehead was chosen secretary. A resolution was adopted to hold an election for a delegate to Congress on the second Tuesday in October. Accord- ingly, on October 8, 1867, J. S. Casement was elected delegate. He went to Washington immediately after his election, but was not admitted because he represented no organized territory. He was able, however, to refresh the memory of the committee on territories, with the result that the Ashley bill was resur- rected and brought before the house.
About the same time, W. W. Brookings, a member of the Dakota Legislature. introduced in that body a memorial asking for the organization of a territory, to
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be called "Lincoln," from the southwestern part of Dakota. The memorial was adopted by the Legislature and forwarded to Congress, but the only effect it had was to indicate that the people of Dakota were willing that the territory should be divided. Early in the year 1868 a petition praying for a territorial organization was presented to Congress, signed "H. Latham, agent for the people of Wyoming." The work of Mr. Casement, the Brookings memorial, and the petition of Mr. Latham finally bore fruit. The Ashley bill, modified in some particulars, passed the house and was sent to the senate. There a spirited dis- cussion occurred over the name, a number of the senators favoring "Cheyenne," rather than "Wyoming," but in the end the latter was adopted and the bill "to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Wyoming" was approved by President Andrew Johnson on July 25, 1868.
THE ORGANIC ACT
"Section I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled : That all that part of the United States described as follows-Commencing at the intersection of the twenty-seventh meridian of longitude west from Washington with the forty- fifth degree of north latitude, and running thence west to the thirty-fourth meri- dian of west longitude; thence south to the forty-first degree of north latitude ; thence east to the twenty-seventh meridian of west longitude, and thence north to the place of beginning, be, and the same is hereby, organized into a temporary government by the name of the Territory of Wyoming ; Provided, That nothing in this act shall be construed to impair the rights of persons or property now pertaining to the Indians in said territory, so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished by treaty between the United States and such Indians; Pro- vided further, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to inhibit the Government of the United States from dividing said territory into two or more territories, in such manner and at such times as Congress shall deem con- venient and proper, or from attaching any portion thereof to any other territory or state.
"Section 2. And be it further enacted. That the executive power and authority in and over said Territory of Wyoming shall be vested in a governor, who shall hold office for four years, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified. unless sooner removed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The governor shall reside within said territory, shall be commander-in-chief of the militia thereof, shall perform the duties and receive the emoluments of superintendent of Indian affairs, and shall approve all laws passed by the Legislative Assembly before they shall take effect, unless the same shall pass by a two-thirds vote as provided by section six of this act; he may grant pardons for offienses against the laws of said territory, and reprieves for offenses against the laws of the United States, until the decision of the Presi- dent can be made known thereon; he shall commission all officers who shall be appointed to office under the laws of said territory, and shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
"Section 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a secretary of said territory, who shall reside therein and hold his office for four years, unless
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sooner removed by the President of the United States, with the consent of the Senate; he shall record and preserve all the laws and the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly hereinafter constituted, and all acts and proceedings of the governor in his executive department ; he shall transmit one copy of the laws and one copy of the executive proceedings on or before the first day of December in each year to the President of the United States, and at the same time, two copies of the laws to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the presi- dent of the Senate for the use of Congress; and in case of death, removal, resignation or other necessary absence of the governor from the territory, the secretary shall have, and he is hereby authorized and required to execute and perform, all the powers and duties of the governor during such vacancy or absence, or until another governor shall be appointed to fill such vacancy.
"Section 4. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power and authority of said territory shall be vested in the governor and Legislative Assem- bly. The Legislative Assembly shall consist of a council and House of Repre- sentatives. The council shall consist of nine members, which may be increased to thirteen, having the qualifications of voters as hereinafter prescribed, whose term of service shall continue two years. The House of Representatives shall consist of thirteen members, which may be increased to twenty-seven, possessing the same qualifications as prescribed for members of the council, and whose term of service shall continue one year. An apportionment shall be made by the governor as nearly equal as practicable among the several counties or dis- tricts for the election of the council and the House of Representatives, giving to each section of the territory representation in the ratio of their population (excepting Indians not taxed), as nearly as may be, and the members of the council and House of Representatives shall reside in and be inhabitants of the districts for which they may be elected, respectively. Previous to the first election the governor shall cause a census or enumeration of the inhabitants of the several counties or districts of the territory to be taken, and the first election shall be held at such times and places, and be conducted in such manner as the governor shall appoint and direct, and he shall at the same time declare the number of members of the council and House of Representatives to which each of the counties or districts shall be entitled under this act. The number of persons authorized to be elected, having the highest number of votes in each of the said council districts for members of the council, shall be declared by the governor duly elected to the council; and the person or persons authorized to be elected having the greatest number of votes for the House of Representatives equal to the number to which each county or district shall be entitled, shall be . declared by the governor to be elected members of the House of Representatives : Provided. That in case of a tie between two or more persons voted for, the gov- ernor shall order a new election to supply the vacancy made by such tie vote. And the persons thus elected to the Legislative Assembly shall meet at such place and on such day as the governor shall appoint ; but thereafter the time, place and manner of holding elections by the people, and the apportioning the representation in the several counties or districts to the council and House of Representatives, according to the population, shall be prescribed by law, as well as the day of the commencement of the regular sessions of the Legislative Assem-
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bly : Provided, That no one session shall exceed the term of forty days, except the first, which may be extended to sixty days, but no longer.
"Section 5. And be it further enacted, That every male citizen of the United States above the age of twenty-one years, and (including) persons who shall have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, who shall have been residents of the said territory at the time of the passage of this act, shall be entitled to vote at the first and all subsequent elections in the territory, and shall be eligible to hold any office in said territory. And the Legislative Assembly shall not at any time abridge the right of suffrage, or to hold office, on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude of any resident of the territory ; Provided, That the right of suffrage and of holding office shall be exercised only by citizens of the United States, and those who shall have declared on oath before a competent court of record their intention to become such, and shall have taken an oath to support the Constitution and Government of the United States.
"Section 6. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power of the territory shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation consistent with the Constitution of the United States and the provisions of this act ; but no law shall be passed interfering with the primary disposal of the soil; no tax shall be imposed upon the property of the United States, nor shall the lands or other property of non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or other property of residents, nor shall any law be passed impairing the rights of private property, nor shall any unequal discrimination be made in taxing different kinds of prop- erty, but all property subject to taxation shall be taxed in proportion to its value. Every bill which shall have been passed by the council and House of Representa- tives of said territory shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor of the territory. If he approves, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it with his objections, to the house in which it originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon their journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered; and if it be approved by two-thirds of that house it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, to be entered on the journal of each house, respec- tively. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Assembly, by adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not become a law.
"Section 7. And be it further enacted, That all township, district and county officers, not herein otherwise provided for, shall be appointed or elected, as the case may be, in such manner as shall be provided by the governor and Legislative Assembly of the territory. The governor shall nominate and, by and with the consent of the council, appoint all officers not herein otherwise provided for, and in the first instance the governor alone may appoint all such officers, who shall hold their offices until the end of the first session of the Legislative Assem- bly ; and he shall lay off the necessary districts for members of the council and House of Representatives, and all other officers.
"Section 8. And be it further enacted, That no member of the Legislative
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Assembly shall hold or be appointed to any office which shall have been created, or the salary or emoluments of which shall have been increased while he was a member, during the term for which he was elected, and for one year after the expiration of such term; and no person holding a commission or appointment under the United States, except postmasters, shall be a member of the Legislative Assembly, or shall hold any office under the government of said territory.
"Section 9. And be it further enacted, That the judicial power of said terri- tory shall be vested in a Supreme Court, District courts, Probate courts and justices of the peace. The Supreme Court shall consist of a chief justice and two asso- ciate justices, and two of whom shall constitute a quorum, and who shall hold a term at the seat of government of said territory annually, and they shall hold their offices for four years, unless sooner removed by the President of the United States. The said territory shall be divided into three judicial districts and a District Court shall be held in each of the said districts by one of the justices of the Supreme Court, at such time and place as may be prescribed by law; and said judges shall, after their appointments, respectively, reside in the districts which shall be assigned them. The jurisdiction of the several courts herein provided for, both appellate and original, and that of the Probate courts and of the justices of the peace, shall be limited by law : Provided, That justices of the peace shall not have jurisdiction of any matter in controversy when the title or boundaries of land may be in dispute, or where the debt or sum claimed shall exceed one hundred dollars; and the said Supreme and District courts, respectively, shall possess chancery as well as common law jurisdiction and authority for the redress of all wrongs committed against the Constitution or laws of the United States or of the territory affecting persons or property. Each District Court, or the judge thereof, shall appoint its clerk, who shall also be register in chancery, and shall keep his office where the court may be held. Writs of error, bills of exception, and appeals shall be allowed in all cases from the final decisions of said District courts to the Supreme Court under the regu- lations as may be prescribed by law, but in no case removed to the Supreme Court shall trial by jury be allowed in said court. The Supreme Court, or the justices thereof, shall appoint its own clerks, and every clerk shall hold his office at the pleasure of the court for which he shall have been appointed. Writs of error and appeal from the final decision of the Supreme Court shall be allowed and may be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States in the same manner and under the same regulations as from the Circuit courts of the United States, where the value of property or the amount in controversy, to be ascertained by the oath or affirmation of either party, or other competent witness, shall exceed one thousand dollars ; and each of the said District courts shall have and exercise the same jurisdiction in all cases arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States as is vested in the Circuit Court and District courts of the United States ; and the said Supreme and District courts of the said territory, and the respective judges thereof, shall and may grant writs of habeas corpus in all cases in which the same are grantable by the judges of the United States in the District of Columbia ; and the first six days of every term of said courts, or so much thereof as shall be necessary, shall be appropriated to the trial of causes arising under said Constitution and laws ; and writs of error and appeal in all such cases shall be made to the Supreme Court of said territory, the same as in other cases.
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The said clerk shall receive in all such cases the same fees which the clerks of the District courts of Dakota Territory now received for similar services.
"Section 10. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed an attorney for said territory, who shall continue in office for four years, unless sooner removed by the President with the consent of the Senate, and who shall receive the same fees and salary as is now received by the attorney of the United States for the Territory of Dakota. There shall also be a marshal for the terri- tory appointed, who shall hold his office for four years, unless sooner removed by the President with the consent of the Senate, and who shall execute all processes issuing from the said courts when exercising their jurisdiction as Cir- cuit and District courts of the United States; he shall perform his duties, be subject to the same regulations and penalties, and be entitled to the same fees as the marshal of the District Court of the United States for the present Terri- tory of Dakota, and shall, in addition, be paid two hundred annually as compen- sation for extra services.
"Section II. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secretary, chief justice and associate justices, attorney and marshal shall be nominated, and, by and with the consent of the Senate, appointed by the President of the United States. The governor and secretary to be appointed as aforesaid shall, before they act as such, respectively, take an oath or affirmation before the district judge, or some justice of the peace in the limits of said territory duly authorized to administer oaths and affirmations by the laws now in force therein, or before the chief justice or some associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, to support the Constitution of the United States, and faithfully to dis- charge the duties of their respective offices, which said oaths when so taken shall be certified by the person by whom the same shall have been taken; and such certificates shall be received and recorded by the secretary among the executive proceedings, and the chief justice and associate justices, and all other civil officers in said territory, before they act as such, shall take a like oath or affirma- tion before the governor or secretary, or some judge or justice of the peace of the territory, who may be duly commissioned and qualified, which said oath or affirmation shall be certified and transmitted by the person taking the same to the secretary to be recorded by him as aforesaid, and afterwards the like oath or affirmation shall be taken, certified and recorded, in such manner and form as may be prescribed by law. The governor shall receive an annual salary of $2,000 as governor and $1,000 as superintendent of Indian affairs ; the chief justice and associate justices shall each receive an annual salary of $2,500, and the secretary shall receive an annual salary of $1,800. The said salaries shall be payable quarter-yearly at the treasury of the United States. The members of the Legislative Assembly shall be entitled to receive $4 each per day during their attendance at the sessions thereof, and $3 for every twenty miles' travel in going to and returning from the said sessions, estimating the distance by the nearest traveled route. There shall be appropriated annually the sum of $1,000, to be expended by the governor to defray the contingent expenses of the terri- tory. There shall also be appropriated annually a sufficient sum, to be expended by the secretary, and upon an estimate to be made by the secretary of the treasury of the United States, to defray the expenses of the Legislative Assembly, the printing of the laws, and other incidental expenses ; and the secretary of the ter-
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ritory shall annually account to the secretatry of the treasury of the United States for the manner in which the aforesaid sum shall have been expended.
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