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WYOMING , one of the Central Western states of the See also:United States of See also:America, situated between the See also:parallels of See also:latitude 41° and 45° N., and the meridians of See also:longitude 27° and 340 W. of See also:Washington. It is bounded on the N. by See also:Montana, on the E. by S. Dakota and See also:Nebraska, on the S. by See also:Colorado and See also:Utah, and on the W. by Utah, See also:Idaho, and a small southward See also:projection of Montana. The See also:state has a length of about 375 M. E. and W. along its See also:southern border and a breadth of 276 1n. N. and S. It has an See also:area of 97,914 sq. m., of which 320 sq. m. are See also:water See also:surface See also:Physical Features.—The greater portion of the state belongs to the See also:Great Plains See also:Province, which extends from N. to S. across the United States between the tooth See also:meridian and the Rocky Mountains. Within this province are found the See also:Black Hills of S. Dakota, and their W. slopes extend across the boundary into N.E. Wyoming. The N.W. portion of the state is occupied by the S. end of the See also:Northern Rocky See also:Mountain Province; and the N. end of the Southern Rockies extends across the Colorado See also:line into southern Wyoming. The Great Plains in Wyoming have an See also:elevation of from 5000 to 7000 ft. over much of the state, and consist of See also:flat or gently See also:rolling See also:country, barren of See also:tree growth, but often covered with nutritious See also:grasses, and affording pasturage for vast See also:numbers of live stock. Erosion buttes and mesas occasionally rise as picturesque monuments above the See also:general level of the plains, and in the vicinity of the mountains the plains strata, elsewhere nearly See also:horizontal, are See also:bent sharply upward and carved by erosion into " hogback " ridges. These features are well See also:developed about the Bighorn Mountains, an outlying member of the Rockies which boldly interrupts the continuity of the plains in See also:north-central Wyoming. The plains sediments contain important See also:coal beds, which are worked in nearly every See also:county in the state. In the region between the Northern and Southern Rockies, the plains are interrupted by See also:minor Mountain See also:groups, volcanic buttes and See also:lava flows, among which the See also:Leucite Hills and See also:Pilot See also:Butte are prominent examples. Notwithstanding these elevations, this portion of the state makes a distinct break in the continuity of the Northern and Southern Rockies, giving a broad, relatively See also:low pass utilized by the See also:Oregon Trail in See also:early days, and by the See also:Union Pacific railway at a later See also:period. The Black Hills See also:District in the N.E. contains the Little See also:Missouri Buttes and the Mato Tepee (or See also:Devil's See also:Tower), prominent erosion remnants of volcanic intrusions. See also:Local glaciation has modified the higher levels of the Bighorn Mountains, giving glacial cirques, alpine peaks and many mountain lakes' and waterfalls. Several small glaciers still remain about the See also:base of See also:Cloud See also:Peak, the highest See also:summit in the range (13,165 ft.). The Southern Rockies end in broken ranges with elevations of 9000 ft. and over. That portion of the Northern Rockies extending into the N.W. of the state affords the most magnificent scenery. Here is the Yellowstone See also:National See also:Park (q.v.). Just S. of the Park the Teton Mountains, rising abruptly from the low See also:basin of See also:Jackson's Hole to elevations of 1o,00o and 11,000 ft., See also:form a striking feature. In the See also:Wind See also:River Range, farther S.E., are Gannett Peak (13,775 ft.), the highest point in the state, and See also:Fremont Peak (13,720 ft.). In addition to the hot springs of the Yellowstone region, mention should be made of large hot springs at Thermopolis and See also:Saratoga, where the water has a temperature of about 135° F.
Much of the state is drained by branches of the Missouri river, the most important being the Yellowstone, Bighorn and See also:Powder See also:rivers flowing N., and the See also:Cheyenne and North See also:Platte flowing E. The See also:Green river, a See also:branch of the Colorado, flouts S. from the S.W. of the state, while the Snake river rises farther N. and flows W. to the Pacific drainage. S.W. of the centre of the state is an area with no outward drainage, the streams emptying into See also:desert lakes.
See also:Fauna.—Great herds of bison formerly ranged the plains and a few are still preserved in the National Park. The See also: The former See also:fish were introduced from See also:California in 1885. They thrive in the Wyoming streams and rivers and are See also:superior See also:game fish. Specimens of eight and ten pounds See also:weight have been taken by See also:rod and See also:fly fishermen from the Big See also:Laramie river. Other fish native to the See also:waters of the state are the See also:sturgeon, catfish, See also:perch (locally called See also:pike), See also:buffalo fish, flathead and sucker. There is a great variety of birds. Eared grebes and See also:ring-billed gulls breed on the sloughs of the plains, and rarely the white See also:pelican nests about the See also:lake shores. Here, too, breed many See also:species of ducks, the mallard, See also:gadwall, baldpate, three species of See also:teal, See also:shoveler, See also:pin-tail, hooded mergansers, and See also:Canada geese; other ducks and geese are migrants only. Formerly the See also:trumpeter See also:swan nested here. On the plains a few waders breed, as the avocet, western willet and See also:long-billed See also:curlew; but most are birds of passage. At high altitudes the mountain See also:plover is found; the dusky See also:grouse haunts the forests above 8000 ft.; the white-tailed See also:ptarmigan is See also:resident in the alpine regions; and on the plains are found the prairie See also:sharp-tailed grouse and the See also:sage-See also:hen. The See also:turkey-See also:buzzard is found mainly in the plains country. Various See also:hawks and owls are common; the See also:golden See also:eagle nests on the mountain crags and the burrowing See also:owl on the plains. The red-naped sapsucker and Lewis's See also:woodpecker are conspicuous in wooded lands; See also:Nuttall's poor-will, Say's See also:phoebe, the desert horned See also:lark, See also:Bullock's See also:oriole, the yellow-headed See also:blackbird and McCown's longspur are characteristic of the open lowlands. See also:Flora.—See also:Forest growth in Wyoming is limited to the highest mountain ranges, the most important forests being in the Black Hills region in the N.E., on the See also:lower slopes of the Bighorn Mountains, and in the Rocky Mountain ranges of the N.W. of the state, including Yellowstone National Park. The yellow See also:pine is the most important tree in the Bighorns, and small See also:lodge-See also:pole pine makes up the greater See also:part of the N.W. forests. White See also:fir is found above the foothill See also:zone, and heavy growths of cottonwood along the streams in the Bighorn region. The See also:Douglas spruce and Rocky Mountain white pine are common in the forests of the See also:Medicine See also:Bow Mountains, from which much of the native See also:lumber used in the S. of the state is secured. Other trees are the See also:juniper, See also:willow, green ash, See also:box See also:elder, scrub See also:oak, See also:wild See also:plum and wild See also:cherry. Occasional cottonwoods along streams are the only trees on the plains. The common sage See also:brush, See also:artemisia, is the characteristic See also:shrub of the plains where the See also:soil is comparatively See also:free from See also:alkali, and is abundant in the valleys of the arid foothills. Where alkali is See also:present, the plains may be nearly barren, or covered with grease See also:wood and species of atriplex, including the so-called white sage. Grease wood is likewise abundant in the foothills wherever the soil contains alkali. Various species of nutritious grasses See also:cover much of the plains and foothills, and even clothe the apparently barren mountain peaks. See also:Climate.—In the lower Bighorn Valley, summer temperatures rise to 95° or 100°, but at heights of 600o to 7000 ft. on neighbouring ranges, summer temperatures seldom rise above 90°, and frosts may occur at any See also:time Elevations under 6000 ft. have a mean See also:annual temperature of from 40° to 47°, but high mountain areas and See also:cold valleys may have mean temperatures as low as 34° The See also:air is clear and dry, and although temperatures of Too° are recorded, See also:sun-strokes are practically unknown. See also:Winter temperatures as low as -51 ° have been recorded, but these very low temperatures occur in the valleys rather than on the higher elevations. The cold is sharp and bracing rather than disagreeable, on See also:account of the dryness of the air; and the periods of cold See also:weather are generally of See also:short duration. The winter climate is remarkably pleasant as a See also:rule, and outdoor See also:work may usually be carried on without discomfort. The following figures give some.See also:idea of the See also:climatic See also:variations. At Basin, in the Bighorn Valley, the mean winter temperature is 16°, the summer mean 72°. Thayne, on the mountainous W. border of the state, nas a winter mean of 19°, and a summer mean of but 59°; Cheyenne in the S.E., has a winter mean of 27°, and a summer mean of 65°. The percentage of See also:sunshine in the state is high. Precipitation varies in different areas from 8 to 20 in., the See also:average for the state being 12.5 in. Wyoming thus belongs with the arid states, and See also:irrigation is necessary for See also:agriculture. A greater precipitation doubtless prevails on the higher mountains, but See also:trust-worthy records are not available. See also:Spring is the wettest See also:season. The prevailing winds are W. and reach a high velocity on the level plains. Soil.—While some of the more arid districts have soils so strongly alkaline as to be practically unreclaimable, there are extensive areas of fertile lands which only require irrigation to make them highly productive. Alluvial deposits brought down by mountain streams, and strips of floodplam along larger streams on the plains are very fertile and well repay irrigation. Lack of water rather than poverty of soil renders most of the plains region See also:fit for grazing only. In the mountains, ruggedness combines with thin and scattered soil to make these districts of small agricultural value. Agriculture.—The See also:total area in farms in 188o was 124,433 acres, of which 83,122 acres (66.8 %) were improved; in 1900 it was 8,124,536 acres, of which 792,332 acres (9.8 %) were improved. The large increase in unimproved acreage in farms was principally due to the increased importance in sheep-raising. In 1909 Wyoming ranked first among the states in the number of sheep and the See also:production of See also:wool. The number of sheep in 1909 was 7,316,000, valued at $32,190,000, being more than one-eighth in numbers and nearly one-seventh in value of all sheep in the United States. The production of wool in 1909 was 38,400,000 lb of washed and unwashed wool and 12,288,000 lb of scoured wool. The average weight per fleece was 8 lb. The See also:Bureau of See also:Animal See also:Industry of the U.S. See also:Department of Agri-culture has made experiments in breeding range sheep in Wyoming. The total number of neat See also:cattle on farms and ranges in 1910 was 986,000 (including 27,000 milch cows) valued at $26,277,000; horses, 148,000, valued at $12,284,0oo;i mules, 2000, valued at $212,000; and See also:swine, 21,000, valued at $178,000.
In 1909 the See also:hay See also:crop (See also:alfalfa, native hay, See also:timothy hay, &c.) was 665,000 tons, valued at $5,918,000 and raised on 277,000 acres. The cereal crops increased enormously in the See also:decade 1899-1909. The See also:principal cereal crop in 1909 was oats, the product of which was 3,500,000 bushels, grown on See also:Ioo,000 acres and valued at $1,750,000. The See also:wheat crop increased from 4674 bushels in 1879 to 2,297,000 bushels in 1909, grown on 80,000 acres and valued at $2,274,000. The product of See also:Indian See also:corn in 1909 was 140,000 bushels, grown on 5000 acres and valued at $109,000.
See also:Mining.—The development of Wyoming's naturally See also:rich See also:mineral resources has been retarded by inadequate transport and by in-sufficient See also:capital. The value of the state's mineral product was $5,684,286 in 1902 and $9,453.341 in 1908. In 1908 Wyoming ranked twelfth among the states of the Union in the value of its output of bituminous coal. Other mineral products of the state are
The breed of horses in Wyoming has improved rapidly; in 1904, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture See also:purchased eighteen mares and a stallion in See also:hope of improving the See also:American See also:carriage See also:horse, six of the mares were from Wyoming and were principally of See also:Morgan See also:stocks.See also:copper, See also:gold, See also:iron, See also:petroleum, See also:asbestos, soda, See also:silver and See also:lead, See also:gypsum, See also: Coal was first See also:mined. in what is now Wyoming in 1865, probably in connexion with the See also:building of the Union Pacific railway, and the See also:pro-duct in that See also:year was 800 short tons. Thereafter the industry developed steadily and the product in 1908 was 5,489,902 tons, valued at $8,868,157. In 1908 (and for several years before) the largest product of coal (2,180,933 tons) came from Sweetwater county, in the S.W. of the state, and Uinta county (adjoining Sweet-water county on the W.) had the next largest product, 1,380,488 tons. See also:Sheridan county, in the north-central part of the state, See also:Carbon county, in the See also:south-central part and See also:Weston county in the N.E. were the next largest producers. The product of coal to the end of 1908 was 125,000,000 short tons, or 0.029 % of the estimated supply.
The mining product next in value to coal in 1908 was copper, taken chiefly in Carbon county in a zone of brecciated See also:quartzite underlying schist, the original ore being chalcopyrite, with possibly some pyrite, a secondary enrichment, which has produced important bodies of chalcocite in the upper workings, but these are replaced by chalcopyrite at greater See also:depth. The production in 1908 was 2,416,197 lb, valued at $318,938. The gypsum product (from the Laramie plains) in 1908 was 31,188 tons, valued at $94,935.
There are extensive deposits of petroleum and natural See also:gas, which have become of commercial importance. Oil has been found in eighteen different districts, the See also:fields elds being known as follows:—The See also:Carter, See also:Hilliard, Spring Valley and Twin See also:Creek in Uinta county; the Popo Agie, See also:Lander, Shoshone, Beaver and a part of Dutton in Fremont county; the Rattlesnake, Arrago, Oil Mountain and a part of Dutton, Powder river and See also:Salt Creek in Natrona county; part of Powder river and Salt Creek in See also: There is a great variety in the grades of See also:oils produced in the state, ranging from the heavy asphaltic oils of the Popo Agie and Lander fields to the high-grade See also:lubricants and superior See also:light products obtained from the wells in the Douglas, Salt Creek and Uinta county fields. Natural gas in quantity has been found in the Douglas See also: See also:Limestone occurs in thick formations near Lava Creek, and in the valley of the See also:East See also:Fork of the Yellowstone river; also near the summit of the Owl Creek range, and in the Wind River range. Gold was discovered on the Sweetwater river in 1867, and placer and See also:quartz deposits have been found in almost every county in the state. Sulphur has been found near See also:Cody and Thermopolis. Irrigation.—The irrigable area of Wyoming is estimated at about 6,200,000 acres, lying chiefly in Bighorn, Sheridan and Johnson counties in the N.W. of the state, and in Laramie, Albany and Carbon counties in the S.E., though there are large tracts around the See also:head-waters of the Bighorn river, in Fremont county in the See also:west-central part, along the North Platte river and its tributaries in Converse county in the central part, and along the Green river and its tributaries in Sweetwater and Uinta counties in the S.W. Under the See also:Carey See also:Act and its amendments See also:Congress had in 1909 given to the state about 2,000,000 acres of desert See also:land on See also:condition that it should be reclaimed, and in that year about 800,00o acres were in See also:process of reclamation, mostly by private companies. Settlers intending to occupy such lands must satisfy the state that they have entered into contracts with the irrigating company for a sufficient water-right and a perpetual See also:interest in the irrigation See also:works. The principal undertaking of the Federal See also:government is the Shoshone project in Bighorn county. This provides for a storage See also:reservoir, controlled by Shoshone See also:dam on Shoshone river, about 8 m. above Cody; a See also:canal diverting water from Shoshone reservoir See also:round the N. of Shoshone dam and covering lands in the vicinity of Cody, Corbett, Eagle See also:Nest and Ralston; a dam at Corbett about 16 m. below the reservoir diverting water to Ralston reservoir and thence to lands in the vicinity of Ralston, See also:Powell, See also:Garland, See also:Mantua and Frannie, and a dam on the Shoshone river near Eagle Nest diverting water into a canal covering the lands of the Shoshone River Valley. This project was authorized in 1904; it will affect, when completed, 131,900 acres, of which in 1909 about 1o,000 acres were actually under irrigation. Near Douglas, in Converse county, there is a reinforced See also:concrete dam, impounding the waters of Laprele Creek, to furnish water for over 30,000 acres, and See also:power for transmitting See also:electricity. There are large irrigated areas in Johnson and Sheridan counties. Forests.—The woodland area of Wyoming in 1900 was estimated at 12,500 sq. m. (13% of the area of the state), of which the United States had reserved about 3500 sq. m. in the Yellowstone National Park and 5207 sq. m., chiefly in the Bighorn Mountains in the N., and the Medicine Bow Mountains in the SE. of the state. The saleable See also:timber consists almost entirely of yellow pine, though there is a relatively small growth of other conifers and of hard-wood trees.
Manufactures.—Wyoming's manufacturing See also:industries are relatively unimportant. In the period 1900–1905 the value of factory pro-ducts increased from $3,268,555 to $3,523,260; the amount of capital invested, from $2,047,883 to $2,695,889, and the number of establishments from 139 to 169; the average number of employees decreased from 2060 to 1834. In the same period (1900-1905), the value of the products of See also:urban' establishments decreased from $1,332,288 to $1,244,223, and the amount of capital invested in-creased from $871,531 to $988,615; but the value of the products of rural establishments increased from $1,936,267 to $2,279,037, and the capital invested from $1,176,352 to $1,707,274. The values of the products of the principal industries of the state in 1905 were: See also:car and general See also:shop construction and See also:repairs by See also:steam railway companies, $1,640,361; lumber and timber products, $426,433; See also:flour and grist See also: The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy was building in 1910 a new line from the N.W. to connect with the Colorado & Southern line at Orin Junction, passing through Douglas. When completed to Orin Junction this will be a main through route from the Mexican Gulf to the N.W. Pacific See also:coast. There are also several shorter See also:railways in the state, and various See also:stage lines reach the more inaccessible regions. See also:Population.—The population in 1870 was 9118; in 1880, 20,789; in 189o, 60,705; in 1900, 92,531; in 1910, 145,965. The See also:density of the population was o•6 per sq. m. in 1890 and 1.5 per sq. m. in 191o, there being in this year only one state with a smaller average number of inhabitants to the sq. m., namely See also:Nevada, with 0.7. Of the total population in 'goo, 88,o51, or 96.2%, were whites; 1686 were See also:Indians; 94o were negroes; 461 were See also:Chinese and 393 were See also:Japanese. The Indians are all taxed. They belong to the See also:Arapaho and Shoshoni tribes.' 'The Wind River See also:Reservation, under the Shoshoni School, is in the central part of the state. 'There were 17,415 See also:foreign-See also:born in the state in 1900, of whom 2596 were See also:English, 2146 Germans, 1727 Swedes, 1591 Irish, 1253 Scotch and 1220 Finns. Of the 41,993 persons of foreign parentage (i.e. having either or both parents of foreign See also:birth) in that year 4973 were of English, 4571 of See also:German, and 4482 of Irish parentage, i.e. on both the See also:father's and the See also:mother's See also:side. Of the 75,116 See also:horn in the United States, ' That is, those in the two municipalities (Cheyenne and Laramie) having a population in 1900 of more than 8000. ' The See also:Report of the See also:Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1909 gives 854 Arapaho and 816 Shoshoni under the Shoshoni School.19,507 were natives of Wyoming, 6112 were born in See also:Iowa, 5009 in Nebraska, 4923 in See also:Illinois, 4412 in Missouri and 3750 in Utah. Among the numbers of religious denominations in 1906 the See also:Roman Catholics, with 10,264 communicants, had the largest membership, followed by the Latter-See also:day See also:Saints, or See also:Mormons, with 5211 communicants (21.8% of the total See also: General elections are held biennially, in even-numbered years, the first Tuesday after the first See also:Monday in November, and each new See also:administration begins the first Monday in the, following January.
Executive.—The See also:governor is elected for a See also:term of four years. He must be at least See also:thirty years of age, and have resided in the state for five years next preceding his election. If the See also:office becomes vacant the secretary of state becomes acting governor; there is no See also:lieutenant-governor. The governor, with the concurrence of the See also:Senate, appoints the See also:attorney-general, the state engineer and the members of several boards and commissions. He has the power to See also:veto bills, to
See also:pardon, to See also: All bills for raising a See also:revenue must originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose amendments. The governor has three days (Sundays excepted) in which to veto any See also:bill or any See also:item in an See also:appropriation bill, and a two-thirds vote of the members elected to each house is required to override his veto. .ludiciary.—The administration of See also:justice is vested principally in a supreme See also:court, district courts, justices of the See also:peace and municipal courts. The supreme court consists of three justices who are elected by the state at large for a term of eight years, and the one having the shortest term to serve is See also:chief justice. The court has original See also:jurisdiction in quo warranto and See also:mandamus proceedings against state See also:officers and in habeas corpus cases, general appellate jurisdiction, and a superintending See also:control over the inferior courts. It holds two terms annually, at the capital, one beginning the first Monday in See also:April and one beginning the first Monday in See also:October. The state is divided into four judicial districts, and in each of these a district See also:judge is elected for a term of eight years. The district courts have original jurisdiction in all actions and matters not expressly vested in some other court and appellate jurisdiction in cases arising in the lower courts. Justices of the peace, one of whom is elected biennially in each See also:precinct, have jurisdiction in See also:civil actions in which the amount in controversy does not exceed $200 and the See also:title to or boundary of real See also:estate is not involved, and in criminal actions less than a See also:felony and in which the See also:punishment prescribed by See also:law does not exceed a fne of $too and imprisonment for six months. Each incorporated See also:city or See also:town has a municipal court for the trial of offences arising under its ordinances. Local Government.—A board of three commissioners is elected in each county, one for four years and one for two years at each biennial election. It has the care of the county property, manages the county business, builds and repairs the county buildings, apportions and orders the levying of taxes, and establishes the election precincts. The other county officers are a treasurer, a clerk, an attorney, a surveyor, a See also:sheriff, a See also:coroner and a superintendent of See also:schools, each elected for a term of two years. A justice of the peace and a See also:con-See also:stable are elected for and by each precinct. Cities and towns are incorporated under general See also:laws. See also:Miscellaneous Laws.—A married woman may hold. acquire, See also:manage and convey property and carry on business independently of her See also:husband. When a husband or a wife See also:dies intestate one-half of the property of the deceased goes to the survivor; if there are no See also:children or descendants of any See also:child three-fourths of it goes to the survivor; if there are no children or descendants of any child and the estate does not exceed $1o,000 the whole of it goes to the survivor. The causes for a See also:divorce are See also:adultery, incompetency, conviction of a felony and See also:sentence to imprisonment therefor after See also:marriage, conviction of a felony or infamous clime before marriage provided it was unknown to the other party, habitual See also:drunkenness, extreme See also:cruelty, intolerable indignities, neglect of the husband to provide the common necessaries of See also:life, See also:vagrancy of the husband and pregnancy of the wife before marriage by another See also:man than her husband and without his knowledge. The See also:plaintiff must reside in the state for one year immediately preceding his or her application for a divorce unless the parties were married in the state and the applicant has resided there since the marriage. Neither party is permitted to marry a third party until one year after the divorce has been granted. The See also:desertion of a wife or of children under fifteen years of age is a felony punishable with imprisonment for not more than three years nor less than one year. The See also:homestead of a house-holder who is the head of a See also:family or of any resident of the state who has attained the age of sixty years is exempt, to the value of $1500, or 16o acres of land, from See also:execution and See also:attachment arising from any See also:debt, See also:contract or civil See also:obligation other than taxes, See also:purchase See also:money or improvements, so long as it is occupied by the owner or his or her family, and the exemption inures for the benefit of a widow, widower or minor children. If the owner is married the homestead can be alienated only with the consent of both husband and wife. The family See also:Bible, school books, a See also:lot in a burying-ground and $500 See also:worth of See also:personal property are likewise exempt to any See also:person who is entitled to a homestead exemption. A day's labour in mines and in works for the reduction of ores is limited to eight See also:hours except in cases of emergency where life or property is in imminent danger. The See also:sale of intoxicating liquors is licensed only in incorporated cities and towns. Charities and Corrections.—The state charitable and penal institutions consist of the Wyoming General See also:Hospital at Rock Springs, with one branch at Sheridan and another branch at Casper; the Big Horn Hot Springs at Thermopolis, the Wyoming State Hospital for the Insane at Evanston, the Wyoming See also:Home for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic at Lander, the Wyoming Soldiers' and Sailors' Home near Buffalo, and the State Penitentiary at Rawlins. The general supervision and control of all these institutions is vested in the Board of Charities and Reform, consisting of the governor, the secretary of state, the treasurer, the auditor, and the superintendent of public instruction; the same officers also constitute the Board of Pardons. Convicts other than those for life are sentenced to the penitentiary for a maximum and a minimum term, and when one has served his minimum term the governor, under rules prescribed by the Board of Pardons, may See also:release him on See also:parole, but he may be returned to See also:prison at any time upon the See also:request of the Board of Pardons. See also:Education.—The administration of the common school system is vested in the state superintendent of public instruction, county superintendents and district boards. Whenever 10o freeholders request it, the county commissioners must submit to the voters of a proposed high school district the question of establishing a high school district, and each precinct giving a majority vote for It constitutes a part of such a district for establishing and maintaining a high school. All children between seven and fourteen years of age must attend a public, private or parochial school during the entire time that the public school of their district is in session unless excused bythe district board. The common schools are maintained with the proceeds of school taxes and an annual income from school funds which are derived principally from lands. At the head of the educational system is the University of Wyoming (1886), at Laramie (q.v.) ; it is governed by a board of trustees consisting of its See also:president, the superintendent of public instruction, and nine other members appointed by the governor with the concurrence of the Senate for a term of six years. It is maintained with the proceeds from funds derived principally from lands and with a university tax amounting in 1909 to one-half mill on a See also:dollar. See also:Finance.—The principal See also:sources of revenue are a general property tax, a tax on the See also:gross receipts of See also:express companies, a tax on the gross products of mines, an See also:inheritance tax, a See also:poll tax and the sale of liquor licences. Railways, See also:telegraph lines and mines are assessed by the state board of equalization, which consists of the secretary of state, the treasurer and the auditor. Other property is assessed by the county assessors. The county commissioners constitute the county board of equalization. A commissioner of See also:taxation who is appointed by the governor with the concurrence of the Senate for a term of four years exercises a general supervision over all tax officers and the boards of equalization. By a law enacted in 1909 county commissioners are forbidden to See also:levy a tax which will yield more than so % in excess of that raised the preceding year. The constitution limits the state tax for other than the support of educational and charitable institutions and the See also:payment of the state debt and the interest thereon to four See also:mills on the dollar; the county tax for other than the payment of the county debt and the interest thereon to twelve mills on the dollar; the tax of an incorporated city or town for other than the payment of its debt and the interest thereon to eight mills on the dollar. The constitution also forbids the creation of a state debt in excess of 1 % of the assessed value of the taxable property in the state; of a county debt in excess of 2 % of the assessed value of the taxable property in the county; or of a municipal debt for any other purpose than obtaining a water supply in excess of 2 %, unless for building See also:sewerage, when a debt of 4% may be authorized. Wyoming entered the Union with a bonded indebtedness of $320,000. This has been reduced as rapidly as the bonds permit, and on the 30th of See also:June 1910 the debt was only $140,000. See also:History.—See also:Spanish historians have claimed that adventurers from the Spanish settlements in the S. penetrated almost to the Missouri river during the first half of the 17th See also:century and even formed settlements within the present limits of Wyoming, but these stories are more than doubtful. The first white men certainly known to have traversed the region were Sieur de la Verendrye and his sons, who working down from Canada spent a part of the year 1743–1744 examining the possibilities of the See also:fur See also:trade. Apparently no further See also:French explorations were made from that direction, and the See also:transfer of Canada from See also:France to Great See also:Britain (1763) was followed by lessened interest in exploration. The expedition of Meriwether Lewis and See also: 2 See See also:Francis See also:Parkman, The Oregon Trail (See also:Boston, 1849).
Mormon See also:migration passed along the trail in 1847—1849, and in 1853 fifty-five Mormons settled on Green river at the trading See also:post of See also: Congress in 1867 appointed a See also:commission to arrange a peace, but not until 1868 (29th April, at Fort Laramie) were any terms agreed upon. The posts on the Montana trail were abandoned, and the Indians agreed to remove farther E. and to cease attacking trains, not to oppose railway construction, &c. The territory N. of the Platte river and E. of the Big-horn Mountains was to be reserved as an Indian hunting ground and no white men were to See also:settle on it without the consent of the Indians. Gold was discovered on the Sweetwater river in 1867, and a large inrush of population followed. This unorganized territory E. of the Rocky Mountains was a part of Dakota, and in January 1868 Carter (later Sweetwater) county was erected. Farther E. Cheyenne was laid out by the Union Pacific Railroad (See also:July 1867), a city government was established in See also:August, See also:newspapers began publication, and Laramie county was organized before the arrival of the first railway See also:train on the 13th of November 1867. About six thousand persons spent the winter in Cheyenne, and disorder was checked only by the organization of a vigilance See also:committee. Almost the same scenes followed the laying off of Laramie in April 1868, when 400 lots were sold during the first See also:week and Soo habitations were erected within a fortnight. Albany and Carbon counties were organized farther W. in the same year. A bill to organize the Territory of Wyoming had been introduced into Congress ih 1865, and in x867 the voters of Laramie county had chosen a delegate to Congress. He was not permitted to take a seat, but his presence in Washington hastened See also:action, and on the 25th of July 1868 the act of Congress establishing a Territory with the present boundaries was approved by President See also:Andrew Johnson. The portion of the Territory E. of the Rocky Mountains was taken from Dakota and that W. from Utah and Idaho. and included parts of the three great additions to the original territory of the United States. That portion E. of the mountains was a part of the See also:Louisiana Purchase (1803), the W. portion above 42° was a part of the Oregon country, and that S. of that parallel came by the Mexican cession of 1848. The first governor, John A. See also: After a long and arduous contest in Wyoming, Montana and Dakota, which lasted from 1874 to 1879, and during which General See also:George A. See also:Custer (q.v.) and his command were killed in 1876 on the Little Bighorn in Montana, the Indians were thoroughly subdued and confined to reservations. The settlers in Wyoming shared the general antipathy to the Chinese, common to the western country. On the and of September 1885 the miners at Rock Springs attacked about 400 Chinamen who had been brought by the railway to work in the mines, killing about fifty of them and See also:driving the See also:remainder from the district. Governor See also:Warren summoned Federal troops and prevented further destruction of life and property. The Territory increased in population and more rapidly in See also:wealth, owing chiefly to the large profits in cattle raising, though this prosperity suffered a check during the severe winter of 1886—1887, when nearly three-fourths of the range cattle died of exposure. Agitation for statehood increased, and on the 3oth of September 1889 a constitution was formed which was adopted by the people in November of the same year. The Constitution, which continued the Territorial See also:provision of full suffrage for women, met the approval of Congress, and on the loth of July 1890 Wyoming was formally admitted as a state. Since See also:admission the progress of the state has been steady. Extensive irrigation projects have made available many thousand acres of fertile land, and much more will be subjected to cultivation in the future as the large ranges are broken up into smaller tracts. In some sections a system of dry-farming, by which the scanty rainfall is protected from evaporation by deep ploughing and mulching the soil, has proved profitable. The transition of the principal stock-raising industry from large herds of cattle to small, and the utilization of the ranges for sheep grazing almost exclusively covered a period of over twenty years preceding 1910, during which time many conflicts occurred between range cattle-owners and sheep flockmasters over the, use of the grazing grounds. The settler also, who selected his home-See also:stead covering watering places to which the range cattle formerly had free See also:access, came into conflict with the cattlemen. Some of these small settlers owned no cattle, and subsisted by stealing calves and unbranded cattle (mavericks) belonging to the range cattlemen. In parts of the state it became impossible to get a See also:jury composed of these small squatters to convict anybody for stealing or killing cattle, and so See also:bad did this become that, in 1892, certain cattlemen formed a small See also:army of mounted men and invaded the central part of the state with the avowed intention of killing all the men generally considered to be stock thieves, an See also:episode known as the Johnson County See also:Raid. This armed See also:body, consisting of over fifty men, surrounded a See also:log See also:cabin and shot down two of the supposed cattle " rustlers," the latter defending themselves bravely. The country round was roused and large numbers of settlers and others turned out and besieged the cattlemen, who had taken See also:refuge in some See also:ranch buildings. Their See also:case was becoming desperate when a See also:troop of Federal cavalry arrived, raised the See also:siege, and took the cattlemen back to Cheyenne as prisoners. They were subsequently held for See also:murder, but were finally released without trial. Since that time experience has proved that the grazing ranges of the state are better suited to sheep than cattle, the former being much more profitable and better able to stand the cold on the open range. While many cattlemen have been driven out of business by the encroachments of sheep, the majority of the present flockmasters were range cattle owners in the past and have changed to the more profitable occupation. At the present time serious collisions between sheep and cattle owners are rare. There are still many cattle in the state, but they are divided up into small herds, no longer depending upon the open range for a See also:precarious subsistence during the winter, but are sheltered and fed during winter storms on the hay ranches. The breeds of cattle are far superior now to the old range stock, so that it pays to take care of them; many thousands are fed during the winter on alfalfa hay. See also:GOVERNORS OF WYOMING
Territorial.
John A. Campbell 1869-1875
John M. See also:Thayer 1875-1878
John W. Hoyt 1878-1882
William See also:Hale . 1882-1885
Francis E. Warren . 1885-1886
George W. See also:Baxter (acting). . 1886-1887
See also: 188 _ 90 State. Republican 1890 Francis E. Warren . . See also:Amos W. See also:Barber (acting) . 1890-1892 J. E. See also:Osborne . Dem.-Populist 1892-1895 W. A. See also:Richards . Republican 1895-1899 De Forest Richards „ 1899-1903 Fenimore See also:Chatterton 1 (acting) . „ 1903-1905 See also:Bryant B. See also:Brooks 1905-1911 J. M. Carey . Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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