The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-02-21

which he had performed the work. 1t
reflects great credit upon his faithful
ness and efficiency.
REPORT
OF Paul AIcCombs, chief engineer,
special surveyor for the state to es-
tablish the south boundary of the
Texas & Pacific railway reservation
west of 103 meridian;
80 His Excellency the Governor of Texas,
John Ireland, Chairman State Land Board
Honored Sir-In compliance with
instructions received from the CON-
missioner of the general land Office, a
copy whereof is hereto attached, dated
September Il, 1883, have made a sur
vey of the Texas & Pacific railway
reserve lying west OF Pecos river and
extending south from the thirty-sec-
ond parallel OF latitude a distance of
eighty miles: full and complete copy
Of the field notes of the survey
and platt of the land surveyed is
herewith submitted as part of this re-
port. | will here state that my work
was performed with a complete
transit, made by Aloe s. Co., st. Louis
"a new instrument. The measure
mentS were made with five hundred
foot steel ribbon, by Young & Sons,
Philadelphia.
My lines were strictly transit lines,
run with fore and rear flags" and de-
pendent on the angles Of the horizon
tai circle for its accuracy-using the
needle simply to obtain a north and
south line" to start from.
The distances were noted down by
three persons, viz: the front chain
man, the rear chairman and myself
ca n in separate book. Wherever
the elevation and depression of the
land was appreciable, 1 observed its
angle with the yerticle arc to the
transit, noted it in my field book, cal
culated the allowance to be made, and
so made it each time.
Upon arriving on the ground and
making preliminary examination, l
decided to adopt the old adobe
stage stand at Van Horne's Well as
the initial point of my survey.
Then 7 began my. line to Crow
Springs, at the northeast corner o.
said old stage stand, near Van Horns
Well, in FL Paso county, Texas.
Thence l ran a general course n. n. E.
to a point opposite the northeast eX-
tremity of the CariZa mountains;
thence n. n. W.. just missing the n.
f. point of the Diabolo mountains, to
point nearly south Of Cow Springs;
thence north to intersection of Doun-
Diary of New Mexico, passing within
one hundred and eighty-five feet of
the old stage stand at Cow Spring. l
then ran line from monument No.
II, due east to intersection of my line,
one thousand and tifty-seYen varas.
This monument L found to be north
AS, ISL YRS; west 1880 yrs from cor
ner No. 2 of my line opposite Van
Horns Well. Monument No. 16 is to
the west of this monument and
plainly visible. These monuments
we're erected by the U. S. Bou Diary
Commission from "adobe" bricks,
probably taken from the old stage
stand aforesaid. They are in a fair
state OF preservation.
These monuments being placed in
line east and west by the commission
needle to be twelve degrees east
Q2o El.
Cloudy weather prevented my tax
ing an observation to determine the
variation.
At VanHorn station, on the Texas
& Pacific railway, made an observa-
ton of Polaus at its western elouga-
ton on October II, 1883, and found
the variation of needle to be 11.0Oo
east.
This variation L used in starting
from course No. 2. opposite Van
Horns well. After leaving the stage
stand at Van Horns well (where we
obtained water from man in the
hills) the water we had was obtained
from the "tule," or canebrakes. This
water was runpleasantly alkali and
saline, tmPregnated with the gypsum
found scattered on the ground in
abundance after passing the point
of CariZa mountains.
Upon examination OF the Guada-
lupe mountains where the 32d parallel
crosses them, L found it to be imprac-
ticable to cross them at that point,
hence returned to a point on my line
about twenty miles south of said
boundary, and ran ]iue thence to the
intersection Of the 32d parallel and
Delaware creek, between monuments
Nos. % and 90, one on each bank of
the creek.
These monuments were in the last
stage of decay and barely recogniza-
bic, save by their position and the
slabs of stone bearing initials of New
Mexico and Texas. They were origi-
nally merely mounds of earth capped
with these slabs, and deundation has
almost demolished them.
The general direction of this line
was Z. n. E., running near Guadalupe
spring in Guadalupe Pass, at the foot
of FL Captain or Guadalupe Peak;
near Pine spring on the east slope, and
Independence spring, six miles east of
Pine spring. These springs afford
pure. fresh water, which sinks into
the ground few feet from their
source.
About twenty-five miles east of Ell
Captain my line crossed Delaware
creek at the old stage stand. few
hundred yards to the west of which
was a bold, clear springIthe head
waters of the Delaware. From this
point to the boundary of New Mexico
this creek is beautiful, clear, run
ming stream, slightly akali.
About half mile west of the stage
stand Is very strong sulphur spring,
in the creek bed.
From all the information obtaina-
BILE, the nearest water south of Della
ware creek was at some holes in Sal
ditto creek, about 90 miles S. S E. from
head waters of the Delaware.
After completing my line to monu-
ment % aforesaid, [ returned to cor
ner "a of my line. about two miles s.
w. from said head waters; thence ran
a line about S. s. E.. TO the south
of the I. s. 2. r. r. reserve
on the east side Of the Apache noun
tainS, the north point of which is
known as Gomez peak.
Reaching point that was eighty
miles. or 152,054 varas south of the
of New Mexico, 1 erected
three stone monuments about three
feet high each, two hundred and fifty
feet part, in a line due east and west
this is the south boundary Of the re-
serve.
From the first of these monuments
L made a connection with the n. w.
corner of section 80, township 10,
block 56, of surveys made by Jacob |
Kuechler, Esq. On this line we found |
water holes at Saldito creek; next at |
San Martin springs, on the Texas & |
Pacific railway. l could find no water |
or spring corresponding to San Mar
tin spring as laid down on the map in |
the gen eral land office.
From San Martin spring to the
south boundary east of Apache noun |
fains there are signs of wat.r all |
along in the canons of this range,
though none in the valley near my
ino