The record-union., 1897-08-05

subsequent researches and calculations
usually show that his doubts were Well
founded"
TO ILLUSTRATE THE METHODS
Employed by the Government in making
the maps of States, Mr.. Cotton showed a
large bundle, made up of hundreds or
sheets, each representing six square
miles of territory. These sheets were
copies made from the United States sur
veys of the State of Dakota. Each sheet
| contained thirty-six squares, and in
these squares the ponds, pools. rills,
rivers, lakes and all natural features
were shown. In order to make from
these hundreds of slips map of the
State of Dakota, the pieces must be
properly put together by the mapmaker
and then, by means of information
| gained from many sources, the cities,
/ villages, railroads and, if needs be, the
post roads. are filled in. The offices OF
| the various County Clerks are drawn
upon, the oldest inhabitants are inter-
viewed old libraries are ransacked and
everything pertaining to the territory in
question is carefully studied and
!
! furnished usually by the engineers de-
partments of the various roads.
! THAT IS ONE FEATURE"
Said Mr. Cotton which We must watch
carefully. The average railroad corpor-
alton will insist on having its engineer
| draw a line straight from one point to
| another to indicate it's roadbed, and will
endeavor by that means to show that
the line is an exact air line between the
! two points, and that to travel on it the
passengers must necessarily make the
distance in the shortest time possible.
| Investigation often shows, however,
that the roads take large curves and
make great sweeps, and, unless the map
| maker gains correct information, his
work will go to the public with the rail-
road misrepresented.
| For locating towns and villages
much correspondence must take place
| With POStmaSterS and other officials,
and it takes months to secure informa-
| ton and compile the data collected.
One of the popular methods employed
| by map-makers when laying out a map
in which small details are necessary
is to send a self addressed postal card
!
State, asking him to mark, after GER
tain line above a diagram representing
! the town in which his Post Office is
situated, the number of his township
and the range in which the Post Office
is located. From the information which
is returned to the map maker by these
| fourth class Pcstmasters much of the
smaller details on the large maps is
| gained
MAPS FROM OBSERVATION.
Making maps from actual observation
| is almost a matter of impossibility, if
| the evidence of the best men in that
! line may be taken Mr.. Cotton says
that he has made maps of all countries
in the world for the last fifty-fve years,
and has never made any except from
information gained otherwise than from
| personal observation. He has never
been further West than St. Louis, but
still tells with pride that when the Off
cial map of Salt Lake was published its
! location on the map of Utah did not
correspond with the place which he had
given it, Investigation proved that the
published map was wrong, and that he,
thousands of miles from the lake, had
located it properly
In connection with this l am re-
minded of visit which General John
| c. Fremont made to me in 1857. He
came to my office one day, and, in the
course of conversation, I told him that
| I had discovered an error in his pub
lished report and explained to him that
by working diligently 1 had discovered
that the mouth of the Kansas River
was not where he had placed it, and
proved it to him so effectually that
when he went away he told me that
| If he were to make a map he would
accept my figures. In regard to maps
made from balloons, about which much
was written during the Franco Prus-
sian war, map-makers have little to say
except that if any We're produced from
attitudes they could not be looked up
ON as trustworthy and would always be
| considered as novelties more than prac-
tical working maps.
Il have done my share of
BATTLE FIELD MAPS
Mr. Cotton said and have made them
under great difficulties. There can be
no doubt that the Tribune had the
most trustworthy maps during the time
| of the Civil War and, as l had the good
fortune to make most of them, 1 like
to refer to them now. / usually re-
evening, and many a time after the