I have recently been reading up on the USGS surveying that was performed in the Indian Territory, circa 1895-1900. It wasn't until recently that I became aware of how obscure some of this surveying was in the "Big Picture" of the PLSS.
If you've worked around Oklahoma you may have run into some "original surveys"
that actually contradict each other. The GLO performed the original PLSS surveys
beginning in the mid 1870's around here. Sometime after 1895 the USGS came back in,
through a Congressional action, and surveyed the area..again.
Here's part of an 1871 GLO Plat:
Here's the same area from the 1899 USGS Plat:
Although technically these should have been considered Dependent Resurveys, they were not. The devil is in the details (notes). Some USGS notes reflect the original accessories and corners were found and destroyed. Some notes found and honored the originals. Some make no mention whatsoever. It makes a bit of difference at times because some of the lands were patented prior to the USGS survey. The BLM officially considers the latest survey to be the current. I did have a few conversations about the USGS surveys with a Mr. Keith Williams. Keith had never heard of them and questioned the authority under which they were performed. I have learned since then that they were indeed "authorized".
Anyway, what I wanted to share with everyone was the tremendous amount of topographical work that was performed in a relatively short period of time. If you're lucky enough to look at a pre-1900 topo quad and compare it to a current quad you might note how close the contours match. Keep in mind the aeroplane was yet to be invented...
I'm realizing that this was more of an engineering undertaking than surveying. Jerry Penry has brought to light that up in his neck of the woods these crews set permanent BMs at or near the township corners (some within a foot or two). As time has passed, the USGS BMs have apparently been honored as the actual corner. While a heinous wrong in a surveying aspect, I guess the corner's location paled in the light of the task of the "great topo".
I read this in a USGS publication and thought you all might enjoy a description of how the contour locations were derived at times; by pacing. And not just any pacing, mind you. Apparently some were reduced to counting mule paces..or, as stated below, counting the revolutions of a rag tied on a buckboard spoke...
enjoy the read:
The contour interval was 50 feet. Where the terrain had
considerable relief, and there were many details to sketch, the
aide dismounted and measured distances by pacing. He was
warned at the outset that distances were not to be obtained
by counting the paces of a mule because that cagey critter
traveled away from camp with a reluctant, shortened step
and towards camp, wherever it might be, with a springy step
several inches longer.
The topographer was constantly busy. With a similar
township plat bearing the line crossings, he drove over the
roads with a buckboard and team of mules. His equipment
consisted of a planetable, tripod, aneroid barometer, and
alidade, but no stadia rod. Setting up at the intersection of
the road with the section line, he traversed parts of the road,
measuring distances by counting the revolutions of a front
buckboard wheel, to which a rag or twig had been tied, and
obtaining elevations by aneroid or by reading a vertical angle
to a chosen spot on the road, to which he had, or would have,
the distance. He surveyed parts of section lines, measuring the
distances by pacing and determining elevations by gradienter
or vertical angles, as a check upon both the line surveys and
the traverses made by the aides. Responsible for the execution
of the work in his allotted territory, he looked to the line
surveyors to set the pace, and when they had completed the
subdivision of a township, or a convenient group of townships,
he directed that camp be moved to a new, selected location.
Unmapped sections left behind required longer rides morning
and evening by the aides.
Over a hundred years ago engineers were messing with our corners and we were out pacing topos...some things never change! :pinch:
> ...because that cagey critter
> traveled away from camp with a reluctant, shortened step
> and towards camp, wherever it might be, with a springy step
> several inches longer.
That sounds like a modern day I man. Reluctant to get out of the truck and set up in the morning but can box it at the speed of light in the afternoon
Yes sir some things never change
barnsick
..is what we use to call horses that plod slowly away from the barn when taken out for a ride. And then break into a trot, or full gallop when you turn back toward the barn...and oats.
PS -Roadhand...I just gotta ask...
is it just me, or does the young lady in your avatar look like she has her pants pulled down to her knees???
barnsick
Yes her socks make it look that way, if you look really really close though you will see that they are indeed socks that compliment her painted on shirt 😉
The horse to barn driving is what annoys me. Accelerate out of the curves, braking into the curves, downshifting VUROOOOOOM...URRRRRR around the next curve.
I drive back to the hotel, no need to do Mach 2.
Dave, I sat at the same table during a team dinner as your niece last week. She is a very pleasant young lady.
Thanks.
They grow up so fast 🙂
> I did have a few conversations about the USGS surveys with a Mr. Keith Williams. Keith had never heard of them and questioned the authority under which they were performed. I have learned since then that they were indeed "authorized".
If I'm not mistaken, they were authorized by the Bogus Method of Independent Resurveys Act of 1895.
I will fall way short of defending Keith, I'll leave that up to him. But Keith has a tremendous amount of knowledge about the BLM and the way it works.
I guess old age has given a lot of us all the charm of the north end of southbound mule...:pinch:
May be offensive to some, but....
I resemble that remark
and agree with it completely.
That method is not limited to just the early mapping.
As late as 1913 the "Foot Traverse" was an acceptable method in certain circumstances.
Per the Topographic Instructions of the USGS 1913
"The method of obtaining distances by foot or animal paces is resorted to in timbered countries and mountainous regions without roads. Careful measurements of the average pace of an animal or a traverseman on a level or slight incline should be made, and a table prepared in hundreths of miles."
It is interesting to me that they used this method in mountainous terrain and calibrated their pace on "level or slightly inclined ground."
In my opinion, given the level of work they were tasked with, it is totally reasonable to utilize pacing. An experienced surveyor probably had a good feeling as to what needed measured and what could be paced.
They did a pretty darn good job and covered a lot of ground.