the words "All for Our Country." The scroll 

 is red and the lettering gold. Above the center 

 device is a row of eighteen gold-colored stars 

 arranged in an arc, and below it a row of 

 eighteen silver-colored stars, arranged like- 

 wise. Each star has five points, one point be- 

 ing placed up. On the seal appear a range of 

 mountains with a sun rising behind them, a 

 railroad train passing a bridge, a cabin and 

 team of horses, a plow, and a sickle. 



337. Nebraska's State flag consists of the 

 coat-of-arms or seal on a yellow field. The 

 present seal was adopted in 1867 and is thus 

 described : The eastern part of the circle shows 

 a steamboat ascending the Missouri River; the 

 mechanic arts are represented by a smith with 

 hammer and anvil in the foreground; agricul- 

 ture is pictured by a settler's cabin and sheaves 

 of wheat ; in the background a train of cars is 

 seen heading toward the Rocky Mountains. 

 Around the top of this circle, in capital letters, 

 is the motto, "Equal Before the Law." 



338. Colorado has given considerable atten- 

 tion to its State flag. There was legislation 

 concerning a banner for the Centennial Com- 

 monwealth in 1908, but the present flag dates 

 from 191 1. It consists of one white and two 

 blue stripes of equal width and at right angles 

 to the staff. The width of the flag is two- 

 thirds of its length. At a distance of 1/36 of 

 the total length from the staff end of the flag 

 there is a circular red "C" of the same color 

 as the red in the national flag of the United 

 States. The diameter of the letter is one-sixth 

 the width of the flag; the inner line of the 

 opening of the letter "C" is three-fourths the 

 width of its body or bar, and the outer line of 

 the opening is double the length of the inner 

 line. Completely filling the letter "C" appears 

 a golden disk. Attached to the flag is a cord 

 of gold and silver intertwined, with tassels, 

 one of gold and one of silver. The law creat- 

 ing the flag provides that it shall be used on 

 all occasions when the State is officially or 

 publicly represented with the privilege of use 

 by all citizens on all such occasions as they 

 may deem fitting and appropriate. All pro- 

 visions of the State laws regarding the misuse 

 of the national flag are made applicable to the 

 abuse of the State colors. 



339. North Dakota's flag was adopted in 

 191 1. Its origin is almost entirely unknown. 

 The Blue Book of the State says that it was 

 the flag of the territorial militia, and that it is 

 first remembered at Huron, South Dakota, 

 when it was unfurled at an annual encamp- 

 ment. That authority also states that it is not 

 known who designed the flag, nor is it discov- 

 erable when it Was first used. With its yellow- 

 fringed blue fly charged with a coat-of-arms 

 that borrows the eagle from the national seal, 

 North Dakota follows the example of half of 

 the States in the placing of its arms on a blue, 

 gold-fringed flag. 



340. South Dakota's official flag dates 

 from 1909. The law adopting it says that the 

 State flag shall consist of a field of blue one 

 and two-thirds as long as it is wide, in the 

 center of which shall be a blazing sun in gold, 

 in diameter two-fifths the width of the flag. 

 Above this sun shall be arranged in an arc, in 

 gold letters, the words "South Dakota," and 



below the sun in the arc the words, in gold 

 letters, "The Sunshine State." On the reverse 

 of the blazing sun shall be printed the great 

 seal of the State. The edges of the flag shall 

 be trimmed with a fringe of gold. The staff 

 shall be surmounted by a spear head, to which 

 shall be attached a cord and tassels of suitable 

 length and size. In practice the seal of the 

 State is placed on the obverse side of the flag 

 and the blazing sun on the reverse, which, 

 while following the general principle of flag 

 designing, seems to be the opposite of the in- 

 tent of the law. 



341. Montana's flag was adopted in 1905, 

 the law providing that it shall be of a blue 

 field, with a representation of the great seal of 

 the State in the center and with a gold fringe 

 along the upper and lower borders. This is a 

 copy of the flag borne by the First Montana 

 Infantry, United States Volunteers, in the 

 Spanish-American War, except that the device 

 "First Montana Infantry, U. S. V." is omitted. 

 The seal of the State consists of a brilliant 

 sun setting behind a range of mountains ; in 

 the foreground is a plow and miner's pick and 

 spade. Below the pick and spade is a scroll 

 reading, "Oro y Plata," which means "Gold and 

 Silver." 



342. Washington State has never officially 

 adopted a flag, but the military authorities 

 have provided one with a green field upon 

 which is centered the seal of the State. The 

 vignette of General George Washington is the 

 central figure and beneath it are the figures 

 "1889." Around the vignette is a yellow circle 

 bearing the legend, "The Seal of the State of 

 Washington." 



343. Idaho's laws forbid all military or- 

 ganizations within the State from carrying any 

 other flag or device than the national flag and 

 the flag of the Commonwealth. The latter was 

 authorized by the tenth legislature in 1909, al- 

 though the details of the design were left by 

 the lawmakers to the Adjutant General, it 

 being prescribed only that the banner should 

 have a blue field charged with the name of the 

 State. The dimensions, as well as the addition 

 of the coat-of-arms above the ribbon with its 

 legend "State of Idaho," have since been de- 

 termined upon by the proper authority. The 

 coat-of-arms consists of a circular device 

 within a yellow border, the main feature of 

 which is a moose-crested escutcheon showing 

 a blazing sun rising above three mountain 

 peaks and a river in the foreground. The 

 supporters are a miner with pick and shovel 

 and a woman bearing the scales and the torch 

 of liberty. Beneath the shield appear a sheaf 

 of wheat and two horns of plenty. Above the 

 crest is a scroll of white with the legend in 

 red, "Esto Perpetua" (May she be perpetual). 



344. Wyoming's flag is one of the new- 

 est of the State flags. It was created under a 

 law passed on the last day of January, 1917. 

 That law provides that the width of the flag 

 shall be seven-tenths of its length ; the outside 

 border is red, its width one-twentieth the 

 length of the flag. Next to this red stripe is 

 an inner stripe of white whose w T idth is one- 

 thirtieth the length of the flag. The remainder 

 of the flag is a blue field, in the center of which 

 is a white silhouetted buffalo, the length of 



337 



