Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1900-10-23
MY FIRST SURVEY.


I well remember my hrxt survey,
and valuable experience connected
with 1t, / was hardly more than q
boy at the time, and was spending
a vacation on farm. The country
people knew that I was a student
in a renowned university, and gave
me the credit Of possessing great
deal Of knowledge. l had not been
on the place long before farmer
asked me to survey his wood-lot on
the side Of mountain. He said that
he aid not care for very accurate
survey, for land on the mountain was
not very valuable. He wanted to
know about how many acres there
were in the lot, in order to conclude
a bargain.
remember well his expression as
he picked up bit of straw, put it
in his mouth and looked at me. He
wanted to know "abaout" how much;
and as he pronounced this word forci-
bly,, he really looked as if he thought
that l was not the man to make the
survey.
I was at first not inclined to give
up trouting for surveying; but the
look Of the farmer stirred within me
desire to assert myself. and to prove
to him that the Job he proposed was
as simple to me as digging potatoes
was to him. I therefore told him
l would send for my instruments,
and as soon as they arrived would
survey the lot.
"Send for Instruments he ejacu-
lated. 81 s'posed you could survey
it without instruments"
AT first 1 thought he was disposed
to make fun of me; but looking in
bis clear and honest eyes, could not
detect any look of irony. explained
to him how necessary it would be
to have certain surveying instru-
ments, which endeavored to de-
scribe in popular language.
He listened attentively to my ac-
count of the compass and the plane
table, and after l had finished asked
me a question which showed me that
/ had failed completely to give him
the slightest idea Of how 1 proposed
to survey his land. We made an ap-
poiiltment to visit the lot, and then
/ sent for my instruments.
During the night confess was
troubled by the farmers look and
his remark: 81 s'posed you could
survey it without instruments" His
ideal of me had apparently been
lofty one; and 1 felt that l personi-
fed to him the great university, the
seat of all learning, where men are
taught to achieve results without the
aids which are essential to humbly
educated men.
What could he mean by surveying
without Instruments? A surveyors
chain would be necessary to measure
the length of the sides of the field.
and drawing instruments would be
essential in order to make a map
and to compute the area of the lot.
said to myself 81 will first meas
ure the sides Of the wood-lot, and
then l will measure the distances
from one corner to the other corners
of the field. In this way l can divide
the field into triangles, and with my
drawing instruments l can make
map of it and compute the areas of
the triangles; then, by adding to-
gether all the triangles, l shall have
the area of the lot" Having salts
factorily settled this method of pro-
cedure in my mind, 1 fell asleep.
On the morning appointed he came
for me, and we rode together, in an
old tumble-down wagon, to the foot
of the mountain. l took with me a
surveyors chain and compass, l
noticed that the farmer had spring
balance with him, such as butchers
often use to weigh meat and vege-
tables; and behind the seat of the
wagon was a fiat board about three
feet long by two feet wide.
We left the village road, which
was none Of the smoothest, at pair
Of bars, which were let down by the