18. Other divisions of the army were soon hurried forward, and during the summer and autumn the Indians were beaten in several engagements. On the 24th of November, the Sioux were decisively defeated by Colonel McKenzie at a pass in the Big Horn Mountains. On the 5th of January, the savages were again overtaken and routed by the forces of Colonel Miles. The remaining bands, under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, being able to offer no further serious resistance, escaped across the border into Canada.
19. In August, 1876, Colorado took her place as the thirty-eighth State of the Union. The population of the "Centennial State" numbered forty-five thousand.
20. The twenty-third presidential election was one of the most exciting and critical in the history of the nation. General Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, and William A. Wheeler, of New York, were chosen as candidates by the Republicans; Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, by the Democrats. The Independent Greenback party presented as candidates Peter Cooper, of New York, and Samuel F. Cary, of Ohio. The canvass began early and with great spirit. The real contest lay between the Republicans and the Democrats. The election was held. The general result was uncertain, and both parties claimed the victory! The election was so evenly balanced; there had been so much irregularity in the elections in South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Oregon; and the power of Congress over the electoral proceedings was so poorly defined, that no certain result could be announced. For the first time in the history of the country, there was a disputed presidency.
The Electoral Commission.
21. When Congress convened in December, the whole question came before that body for adjustment. After much debating it was agreed that the disputed election returns should be referred for decision to a Joint High Commission, consisting of five members chosen from the United States Senate, five from the House of Representatives, and five from the Supreme Court. The Commission was accordingly constituted. The returns of the disputed States were referred to the tribunal; and on the 2d of March a result was reached. The Republican candidates were declared elected. One hundred and eighty-five electoral votes were cast for Hayes and Wheeler, and one hundred and eighty-four for Tilden and Hendricks.