First biennial session of legislature un- appropriated for the relief of disabled Con. der new constitution, begins federate soldiers or their widows by the legislature of........ ..1888-89 Southern Inter-State Farmers' Association meets at Montgomery.. Aug. 21, 1889 Rube Burrows, a notorious criminal and murderer, breaks jail and is shot and killed at Birmingham........Oct. 8, 1890 Ex Gov. E. A. O'Neil dies at Florence..... .. Nov. 7, 1890 Eleventh annual convention of American Federation of Labor at Birmingham meets Dec. 14, 1891 Nov. 15, 1876 Act to establish a public-school system; a superintendent of education to be elected every two years, etc. . . . . . .1876-77 John T. Morgan, Democratic Senator, presents credentials in the United States Senate.... .Feb. 27, 1877 Act granting $75 to any resident of the State who lost an arm or leg in the Confederate army... ...1879 George S. Houston qualifies as United States Senator...... ....March 18, 1879 United States Senator George S. Houston dies.. .Dec. 31, 1879 Luke Pryor, Democrat, qualifies as United States Senator under executive appointment to fill vacancy....Jan. 15, 1880 James L. Pugh, United States Senatorelect qualifies.. .Dec. 6, 1880 State treasurer I. H. Vincent absconds, leaving a deficit of about $212,000 January, 1883 State agricultural department goes into operation, with E. C. Betts, of Madison county, as commissioner..... Sept. 1, 1883 Congress grants the State 46,080 acres of land for the benefit of the university April 23, 1884 Foundation of a monument to the Confederate soldiers of the State laid on the grounds of the capitol in Montgomery by Jefferson Davis..... .....April 29, 1886 State agricultural and mechanical college burned; loss, $100,000 June 24, 1887 Lease of convicts in State penitentiary awarded to the East Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company, the convicts to be employed in the Pratt coal-mines near Birmingham... ......1888 Southern inter-State immigration convention, nearly 600 delegates from all the Southern States, meets at Montgomery Dec. 12, 1888 Mardi Gras, Good Friday, and April 26 added to the legal holidays, and $50,000 Four thousand nine hundred and fiftyfive disabled Confederate soldiers apply for pensions, each receiving $26.50 from a fund of $131,362.02 raised by special tax...1892 Conference of colored people at Tuskegee, in the "black belt," to consider the condition of the race; regretting the poverty of the South, and lack of means for education, inability to build school-houses or furnish teachers, etc.; it admitted the friendliness and fairness of the whites, etc. 1892 Two State tickets in the field-Gov. Thomas G. Jones heading Conservatives, and ex-Commissioner of Agriculture R. F. Kolb, the "Jeffersonian Democrats." Two platforms issued; Kolb defeated, charges frauds at the polls..........August, 1892 The State resumes the care of convicts under contract. . . . . . .1893 .1893 Australian ballot authorized. Governor Jones recommends the suppression of lynching by giving the sheriff's greater authority.... ..... Feb. 6, 1893 Many negro miners killed by strikers July 16, 1894 Dispensary law in effect....Jan. 1, 1900 Ex-Senator Luke Pryor dies at Athens Aug. 5, 1900 Tornado at Birmingham, eighteen lives lost, $250,000 property destroyed March 25, 1901 Constitutional convention meets May 22, 1901 New constitution ratified.. Nov. 11, 1901 ALASKA Alaska, formerly Russian America, is west by the Bering Sea and Straits. bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, From the main portion of the Territory on the east by the British possessions, on a narrow strip with a breadth of about 50 the south by the Pacific Ocean, and on the miles extends southeast along the Pacific Congress provides a civil government May 17, 1884 Rev. Sheldon Jackson appointed general agent of education for the Territory April, 1885 A. P. Swineford arrives at Sitka as governor.. .....Sept. 15, 1885 Gold first discovered at Silver Bay, near Sitka, in..... 1887 Expedition sent by the United States coast and geodetic survey to determine the exact boundary between Alaska and coast, and terminates at the confines of British Columbia in 54° 40′ N. lat. From north to south the extreme length is 1,100 miles, and greatest breadth, 800 miles. It contains about 577,390 square miles. The distance between Portland Channel, 52° N. lat. 130° W long., separating the lower part of Alaska from British America and Atoo, the westernmost island of the Aleutian chain, is 2,100 miles. If Atoo be accepted as the western extremity of the United States, San Francisco is nearly its geographical centre of longitude. the British possessions. . . . . . . . June, 1889 Population, 1900, 63,592. Capital, Sitka. This Territory was first discovered by a Russian expedition under command of Bering ...1741 Territory granted to a Russian-American fur company by Emperor Paul..1799 This charter renewed.... 1839 [New Archangel, now Sitka, on the isl and of Sitka, was and is the principal settlement and capital.] ..... Privileges of the fur company expired 1863 Ceded by Russia to the United States for $7,200,000, by treaty signed March 30; ratifications exchanged.....June 20, 1867 Formal possession taken by the United States.... .....Oct. 9, 1867 Alaska made by Congress a military and collection district... 1870 The North American Commercial Company secures the Alaskan fur-seal rights for twenty years.... . Feb. 28, 1890 Population reported by the census agent, 31,000, consisting of 900 Aleuts, 5,000 Indians, 18,000 Eskimos, 2,300 Chinese, and 4,800 whites.... .Aug. 29, 1891 Great excitement created by the Klondike gold discoveries in the summer of. 1897 Avalanche in the Chilkoot Pass, nearly 200 persons killed.... ... April 3, 1898 Temporary boundary line of Alaska agreed upon with England...Oct. 12, 1899 Civil government for the "District" of Alaska enacted..... ......June 6, 1900 Relief for Cape Nome miners authorized by Congress. ......Aug. 31, 1900 Right of trial by common law jury affirmed.. . April 10, 1905 ARIZONA Arizona, a territory of the United Spaniards from Mexico form settleStates between lat. 31° and 37° N., and ments from Tucson to the Mexican line, between long. 109° and 114° 40′ W. Utah and partly occupy the country for nearly and Nevada lie on the north, on the east 150 years. They are finally driven out by is New Mexico, Mexico on the south, Cali- the Indians before.... ...1821 fornia and Nevada on the west. It con- First hunters and trappers from the tains about 113,916 square miles. It has United States probably visited Arizona eleven counties-Apache, Cochiso, Coconi- in ... mo, Gila, Graham, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, and Yuma. Population, 1880, 40,440; 1890, 59,620; 1900, 122,931. Capital, Phoenix. 1824 All Arizona north of the river Gila is included in cession by Mexico to United States by treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo Feb. 2, 1848 First American settlers were persons on their way to California, who stopped on the Gila to engage in stock-raising...1849 Gadsden purchase brought to the United States all of Arizona south of the Gila First explorations made by Vasquez Coronado, sent from Mexico by Viceroy Mendozo .1540 Spaniards again enter and establish a military post where Tucson now stands 1580 Dec. 30, 1853 Jesuit missionaries on Santa Cruz River, Act of Congress organizing the Terriabout .1600 tory. .Feb. 24, 1863 Gov. John N. Goodwin, in camp at Navajo Springs, formally organizes the territorial government and fixes its temporary seat near Fort Whipple Dec. 29, 1863 First territorial legislature adopts a mining law and the so-called Howell code of general laws; sits Sept. 26-Nov. 10, 1861 Tucson made the capital by a majority of one vote..... ....1867 Arizona a military district by order of General Halleck...... ..October, 1867 Act to establish public schools in the Territory and a board of education and levying a tax of 10 cents on each $100 1868 Major J. W. Powell, for the Smithsonian Institution with a party of ten, in four boats, descends the cañon of the Colorado from Green River to Rio Virgin May-August, 1869 Arizona and southern California made a military department, headquarters at Fort Whipple..... ..1869 Forty citizens and 100 Pápagos from Tucson and vicinity massacre eighty-five Indian prisoners of war (seventy-seven of them women and children) at Camp Grant, and capture thirty, who are sold to the Pápagos as slaves. (One hundred and eight persons were afterwards tried for murder and acquitted)....April, 1871 "Arizona diamond swindle." Excite ment over supposed diamond fields in Arizona; the San Francisco and New York Mining and Commercial Company, with a capital of $10,000,000, formed; Clarence King, United States geologist, finds the field "salted" with rough diamonds from Africa, Brazil, etc......1872 A long war waged by General Crook with hostile Apaches in Arizona ends by surrender of the Tontos, Hualapais and Yavapais in 1873, and other bands in. 1874 Mormon colonists from Utah settle in Apache county...... .March, 1876 Prescott chosen as capital.........1877 Raid of Loco's band of Chiricahua Indians in the valley of the Gila begins April 19, 1883 Acts to establish an insane asylum at Phoenix, a normal school at Tempe, and the University of Arizona at Tucson January-March, 1885 Act providing that no polygamist or bigamist shall vote or hold office January-March, 1885 Congress appropriates $2,000 to repair the ruin of Casa Grande, reserving from settlement the entire site of the ancient city.... ..March 2, 1889 State capital removed from Prescott to Phoenix.... . Feb. 4, 1890 Forty lives lost by broken mining-dam on the Hassayampa River.. Feb. 23, 1890 Friday after Feb. 1 each year made a legal holiday as Labor Day Jan. 19-March 19, 1891 Yuma devastated by flood.. Feb. 27, 1891 Eleven bills submitted to Governor Zulick for approval, March 21, 1889; unsigned, as sixty consecutive days had passed since the organization of the legislature. The territorial Supreme Court declared the session legal for sixty days of actual legislative work, and the bills became laws without the governor's approval......1891 Discovery of a lake forming in Salton Sink... . June 29, 1891 Constitutional convention meets at Phoenix, Sept. 7, and adopts a complete constitution.... .Oct. 2, 1891 Ex-Gov. A. P. K. Safford dies at Tarpon Springs, Fla... ...Dec. 16, 1891 Land reclaimed by irrigation, 343,000 acres up to.. . 1892 [Capable of being reclaimed under the present water development, 1,730,000 acres. Supposed amount that can be reclaimed with water available, 24,000,000 acres.] Indians attack Nogales Aug. 12, are pursued by United States cavalry, three killed, thirty captured......Aug. 17, 1896 New capitol dedicated.... Feb. 14, 1901 Statehood bill defeated in Congress June, 1902 ARKANSAS Arkansas (formerly Arkansaw), a souri bounds it on the north, and the MisSouthwestern State between lat. 33° and 36° 30′ N., and long. 89° 40′ and 94° 42' W. from Greenwich. The State of Mis sissippi River and a small part of the southeast corner of the State of Missouri on the east, Louisiana on the south, and |