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Rh of Dakota territory could not reach them. The United States government could only regard them as being in contempt of law. The excitement had brought there not only thousands of honest men, who hoped to secure



fortunes in the search for gold, but also many hundreds of the most desperate gamblers and criminals in America. The community had to protect itself. The miners met, organized a government, elected officers, established courts, and succeeded in maintaining order to a creditable degree. Of course, in such a community as existed in