es of Colorado, Nevada, Dakota, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana
were organized, and Nevada was admitted as a State. Immediately after
the war, Nebraska was admitted and Wyoming was organized as a Territory.
In the Centennial Year (1876) Colorado became a State. In 1889 and 1890
North and South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming were
admitted as States. In the latter year Oklahoma was carved out of the
Indian Territory. Utah with its Mormon population was kept waiting at
the doors of the Union until 1896. Oklahoma became a State in 1907;
Arizona and New Mexico were admitted in 1912.

In Montana as elsewhere in these days of great sectional bitterness,
there was much political strife; and this no doubt accounts for an
astonishing political event that now took place. Henry Plummer, the most
active outlaw of his day, was elected sheriff and entrusted with the
enforcement of the laws! He made indeed a great show of enforcing the
laws. He married, settled down, and for a time was thought by some of
the ill-advised to have reformed his ways, although in truth he could
not have reformed.

By June, 1863, the extraordinarily rich strike in Alder Gulch had been
made. The news of this spread like wildfire to Bannack and to the Salmon
River mines in Idaho as well, and the result was one of the fiercest
of all the stampedes, and the rise, almost overnight, of Virginia City.
Meanwhile some Indian fighting had taken place and in a pitched battle
on the Bear River General Connor had beaten decisively the Bannack
Indians, who for years had preyed on the emigrant trains. This made
travel on the mountain trails safer than it had been; and the rich
Last Chance Gulch on which the city of Helena now stands attracted a
tremendous population almost at once. The historian above cited lived
there. Let him tell of the life.

"One long stream of active life filled the little creek on its
auriferous course from Bald Mountain, through a canyon of wild and
picturesque character, until it emerged into the large and fertile
valley of the Pas-sam-a-ri... the mountain stream called by Lewis and
Clark in their journal 'Philanthropy River.' Lateral streams of great
beauty pour down the sides of the mountain chain bounding the valley....
Gold placers were found upon these streams and occupied soon after the
settlement at Virginia City was commenced.... This human hive, numbering
at least ten thousand people, was the product of ninety days. Into