The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-10-05
Historical Researches that QuiIp
made as Il Bohemian.
MASON AND DIXON.
CHAPTER XNX.-CoSrrNuEp.

LATITUDE OF PHlLADELFHIA-T II ] u
JOURNEY soUTuwARD-THEY TRACE AN
EXPERIMENTAL LINE-THE LINE STONES
A TERRIBLE SNOW sToRM-TuEY Run
THE DUE WEST LINE AND THE DUE NORTH
LINE FROM THE TANGENT PoINT-THEY
SET THE STONE At THE TANGENT AND
OTHER PoINTs-THEY FINISH THE WEST
LISE-THEY Run THE WEST LINE EAST
WARD To THE DELAWARE RIvER-THE
STONE At THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF
THE COUNTY Is LosT-THE LEGISLATURES
OF THE THREE STATES TAKE MEASURES
TO ASCERTAIN THE SITE OF THE MISSING
CORNER sToSE-TnEY FIND a FEW mac
CURACIEs IN THE CIRCULAR LINE.
Charles Mason and jeremiah Dixon were
eminent mathematiciaus and astronomers.
The former had been sent to India by the
British Government to observe the transit
of Venus, which occurred in 1863, but the
vessel in which he sailed having been cap
tured by French cruiser, he appears to
have been put on shore at the Cape of Good
Hope, at which he performed the work he
otherwise would have done in India. These
men appear to have been eminently quail
fled for the work they were employed to
perform, the best evidence of which is the
accurate manner in which it was done.
They landed at Philadelphia on Novem
Der 18th, 1868, and at once went to work TO
ascertain the latitude of the southern part
of that city, in order to determine the loca-
ton of the due east and west line. which
was to divide the two provinces and which,
by the terms of the agreement, was To be
run at the distance of fifteen English stat
ute miles south of the southern part of that
city. They followed the instructions which
the commissioners had given to their prede-
ccssors, and kept two copies OF daily jour
nal. one OF which is in the Land Office at
Annapolis; the other one is in possession
of the Historical Society Of Pennsylvania.
The copy belonging to the Historical So
ciety was found some years ago in Nova
Scotia, and was purchased for the sum of
five hundred dollars.
These Journals were kept upon the ord-
nary foolscap paper in use at that time
Each page has column upon the lcft-hand
side Of it, in which is entered the date of
each day of the years they were at work
running the lines. These dates are each
preceded by the astronomical sign used by
astronomers to designate the ruling planet
upon that day, which served the purpose
of verifying the correctness of the dates in
an admirable manner. Opposite the date
is entered a short account of each days
work, which was signed by each of them.
The first entries in their journal are as
follows: "l763, November 18th, arrived in
Philadelphia; 10th, attended meeting of
the commissioners appointed to settle the
bounds of Pennsylvania; 18th, wrote to his
Excellency Horatio Sharp, ESD, Governor
Of Mary land, signifying our arrival at Phila-
delphia.'
Immediately before the first date is the
character used to designate the planet Mars,
while the characters used to represent Mcr-
curry and Jupiter precede the two following
dates. The two astronomers had some kind
of building erected in Philadelphia, which
they used as an observatory. 1t was no
doubt rIde and temporary structure, for
it cost but little, and was completed and in
use in nine days after they landed. But
rude and fragile as it was, it was probably
the first structure of the kind erected in
the United States. In this building they
set up their sector on the 18th, and their
| inst OS,h aud Fn,pi
| that they had received no damage while be-
ing transported across the Atlantic Ocean.
The point determined upon as the most
southern part of Philadelphia was an old
house on the north side of South street,
then called Cedar street. They were en-
gagged in determining the latitude of this
point until the early part of January, 1864,
and ascertained it 10 be 80 80 30. !" north,
which varies but little from the latitude of
| the same place as determined by modern
astronomers. Having completed their work
! in Philadelphia they took down the obser-
vatory and placed it and some of their
equipments in three wagons, and having
packed the telescope and some other fra
| gile articles in their beds and placed them
on the springs of an old fashioned two
wheeled chair, they started westward to
the forks of Brandywinc for the purpose
of ascertaining by means of astronomical
observations point in the same parallel of
latitude as the old house South street.
They reached their destination in due
time, aud having regretted their obServa-
tory, proceeded To ascertain the location of
the required points. which occupied them
till the LIST of the ensuing March. They
then employed axmen and proceeded 10
clear cistd, in order To trace aud measure
the line fifteen miles south, which they
completed on the l2th of the following
April. This line terminated in Mill Greek
hundred, near Muddy Run, in what is now
New Castle county, Delaware. After veri-
flying their work and making the necessary
preparations, they repaired TO New Castle,
from which place they set out on the 18th
of June, 1861, for the middle point in the
line across the peninsula. They travelled
in wagons, and were four days i'll reaching
their destination.
The middle point in the peninsular line,
As we'll as the northwest end Of the radius
having been already located by their predc-
cessors they at once proceeded to run an,
other experimental line with a view Of
ultimately locating the tangent line. This
occupied them until the 2jth of August,
when they had produced the line eighty
one miles, which they supposed reached
north of the tangent point. This line was
afterwards proved to be tcJ far west to
strike the twelve mile circle, and they At
once proceeded to make the calculation pro
paratory to measuring the offsetts and re-
tracing the line, which they did with such
accuracy that, when they reached the pc
ninsular line, they were only two feet two
inches west of the middle point. This was
their third effort to locate the tangent line,
and though it was failure, the two astrono
mcrs, without manifesting any symptoms of