, 1870-04-15
fY1oN oUK owNpoK4EsrumpxNT,J

tne Government F1inting Office hae made il
pots16le to toss In there heap OF disconne.t-
60 ana W -digeated matter, much Of which is
~ entirely lost ~ diamonds buried in soae
muddy Efazilixn river.
OPEN yoER K1B.
Let Us search ont Of this report come points
aneetang ouf mighty land syetem.
Qut o. the seventeen STATES admitted to the
Chlon since our Independence, naarly niue
nave been fully surveyed. Only two States
west Of illinois have been completely mnxs-
u1ed cut, and their land archives tsansferrrtl
70 the stAto authorities, namely: Iowa snd
alassouE. This ahovs us how new We a1e vet
a an empire. The stakes are not driven which
define the desezt from the government,
The whole Of this loose pohhc domain ia d.
Nasa INTO fifteen surveying departments,
each with = Surveyor General fnt ia gos-
e11or, and he .nd his ANAL army Of deputies
otc Is n the daya Of The carly Vod, d,-by tho
ooe thousand persons constitute this Ittte
army OF suIreynn- Every day, while ~ 70
About our business, wfanglng over corner
loss, neso$ahng mortgages, and hagglne
over land by INC foot, this ARMY o{
50 nan5 consultations, IN tle bjne @
desert, and il bualy laying out the
fu11h Of men. and tho forms Of eunpirea- vet
to be- II !ou should go into New 4esico az
AIizonA, after long and lonely trzrcl, you
might, ai Last come to csztain posts, blazed
actors bad been 1t eorns moossfpus xorf III
these lonely and uninhshited plaees. Follow
ing ont your investigations, you would And
that these marks were apparently parts Of
some general system OF mathematical survey
ing, and Il last you would reach some ceutYs1
place in the highest Adtoda.-so that it could
be seen from al the country rnrnd,-which
seemed TO be the i1itiai point ind focus Of all
these indicated testimonials Now therr are On
tho immense pubhc domam Of the country bat
W. !, s.4 = S.~,Asx
tnaks the leE to the whole land nvrtem- E1ch
OF these pointA + where parallel otlAtitude
crosses IN Arbitrary meridian. Every A7e.
section. and toFnship, which Is to b An m
hAbited component Of our nstson sone day, Ia
l.id out BY that basis And thAt meridian. And !
their point Of intersection is the landsiuans |
pole star, whereby he knows his position on |
the vast expanse Of the country, For eishtE- |
torr years this h2s bseo the American eystem |
q surrey; and III tho maFA, plans. charts, md
tndtcaa q tho surveJa arc deposited II the
General Land Othce IN Washington, and 1u- |
plieate Is kept 1t the Office Of the particular
Surveyor General hAFins charge of the district |
80 mapped out, Numbered, md registered
TCxSI THINGS Rnz 1H1sKkns.
1t Is i popular error that ths Goysnnent |
poseeeeee lsnd IN Te!ss- Texas came IN ~ an |
State and poesessoT of her whole |
territory, as truly Is did the thirteen colonies.
/ curious featrrc Of the public domain il |
The fact thAt large Gties Aro being built upon
il under law, such Aa Helena, in Montana,
which has population Of eight thousand, and /
" annual bcanesa Of twenty five mili::ssas Of /
iollArs. These towns zre entered By the /
Probate Jndee or Mayor for the intahitaats. /
The United Stxtea feceiyiog but \ do1lar And |
quAEter An ac7e, and then the Judge or AAyox |
executes deed 10 each lot-hnldet. Thirteen
Lho1satd towns md cities haye been hid out !
apon the public domain since tho land ssstam |
began, and under the towpsite acts Of 1867 aud \
1868 application fur these dtss ts adjudicated
By the General Land Commissioned, Hrrn |