Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1872-01-25
For the Advertiser.

Mr.. EDITOR: The Aiken Tribune, Of
Dec, 2Sd, 1871, contains an article signed
"R. + c." under the caption "The Sur
vey of the New County line.' This ac-
count states that the surveyors, after
some delay i'll finding the starting point,
"started for the termination point, the
mouth of Foxes Creek upon Savannah
River" We are informed that they cross
ed sundry hucklcberry pond swamp>,
passed near several Churches, crossed
certain roads and certain creeks at GER
tain places, passed little Inc right Of
this mans house, leaving him a little
way in the new County, and little
to tho left Of another mans house
leaving him little way in Edgefield
County, and finally striking the head Of
Foxes Creek, crossing it twice, and
F" from dense swamp emerged upon
the banks OF Savannah River, thirty-fivc
and-a-half miles from the starting point"
And like recital recounts the progress
of the corps of Surveyors from North
Edisto River to the head Of Thinkers
Creek in Barnwell. This is the whole
thing, and simply amounts to this, Il
speak only of the line through Edgefield)
that they began at the beginning, and
ended at the end Of the line, after travel
ing thirty five and-a-half miles, or that
tho new County line through Edgefeld
has been run. But hoW was it run? The
pro blem to be solved was this: What
bearing would run n straight line, Of
unknown length, between two given
points, neither Of which could be seen
from the other? How did they do it?
Upon this point, and by far the most in
teresting and important point in the
whole affair, the said account gives us
notinformation whatever. BY what pro-
cess did they calculate the bearing of the
line, to be run from the intersection. OF
the old Edgeiield and Lexington line
with the south prong of Chinquapin
Falls Creek, and the mouth of Foxes
Creek OH Savannah River? What is the
bearing of that line? Did they run the
entire line through from point to point,
with the same bearing with which they
started? II not, at what point did they
change it, and what was the change?
How often was the bearing changed, and
what were the chang~-? The account
leads us to infer that the line was run but
once. If the bearing that would run
straight line from one point to the other,
(the distance between them being un
known and each invisible from the other
so as to run it accurately straight apon
the first trial, was tho result of calcula-
ton, it would afford us great satisfaction
to know ho,c it was done. If it was guess
work, it was a most extraordinary guess,
scarcely within the range Of possibility.
If the bearing were changed one or more
times between the two points, then the
line is crooked one; and consequently
ii the line were run straight between the
two termini it would in all probability
leave some who ere nearly on the line,
as now run, on side different from that
on which they have been placed, and
thus change their County citizenship.
The bare announcements of the fact that
the survey was begun and finished, does
not exactly satisfy the demands of the
mind; but it wants to know
the modus operandi. And we hope "R.
L. c." will give us n more scientific, and
more satisfactory, account
of "The survey of the New County line"
Q.