The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-11-15

veys is that WalSarusa creek is spoken
of as river. The later surveys also
refer to Indianola and the Indian trail
between Fort Riley and Fort Leaven-
worth which passed close to that now
lost town.
Surveyors meet with some very funny
experiences.'' said Rogers '.The witness
marks designated by surveyors sometimes
seem quite funny to other people The
specifying of trees and stones seem ht-
morous. One day lawyer came into my
office with a copy of a survey, He said
he thought the man who made the survey
was insane. He thought he must have lost
his mind Why. look here said the law
yer. This survey says to run line from
chestnut hors e The 'gs lawyer lS shook . the
paper in my face A chestnut horse.' he
a horse was going to stand in that spot
a hundred years and allow people to sur
per did read rather funny even to a sur
Veyor. The idea of a horse being a wit
ness mark was humorous but it was east
Iy explained The original survey was
written that the line should be run from
stone in given direction to chestnut
(horse). When the survey was copied the
copyist forgot to put the parenthesis
around the horse which was to designate
the kind of n chestnut tree, so the paper
to be a tree instead of an animal 1t was
a SORT of a horse on the lawyer"
The map in the surveyors office shows
that there is a tract CT land which some
times may be called mo Man 9 Land.
1t Is in d bend in the Kansas river The
bend contains about 600 acres and is own
ed by John r. and Joab Mulvane. Many
years ago they cut a ditch across the
mainland end of the peninsular and the
water of the river. instead of going round
the tortuouS bend, followed the short cut
through the ditch. Water still remains in
the bend part OF the river. but the go
acres are completely surrounded by wa
ter. the water of the Kansas river. The
north side Of the river is Shawnee county
and the south side WabaunSee. The stase
laws proclaim the southern boundary of
Shawnee to be the center of the Kansas
river and the northern boundry of VA
baunsee to be the center of the Kansas
900 acres are completely surrounded by TIE
water of the Kansas river and as .he
counties extend only to the center of the
river, then the Mulvane property may be
neither in Shawnee nor Wabaunsee- In
years to come this may by chance be
question to be decided by the courts:
Where is the Mulvane property? There
may be maritime law questions involved.
A startling condition which demands the
attention of the county surveyor is that
away from some farms and adding II to
others Those who lose land refuse to pay
taxes on what they have lost and those
who gain it are not at all anxious to pay
The Hillyer property on the Granville
road has lost 20 acres In the lass 70 years.
The tract has a frontage of one half mile.
At Menoken there are strong attraetiorS
and 20 acres have been added to farms
near there. The land that is lost from the
HillNer property is made up on the farm
of Scott Kelsey. south of the river, where
land is constantly forming. The kellam
farm. on a bend in the river. is losing land
on the south side and gaining it on the
east side. j. b. Billiard, who owns a large
farm on the river east of town has expand
ed considerable money in having piles
driven and rip rap put in to save his land.