The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-28
A FAMOUS BOUNDARY
REMARKED.
Survey of Mason and DixOn's Line
COMPLETED.


Completed.
Philadelphia letter in New York Post.
Mason and Dixon's line has just been
surveyed for the first time since the
scientists whose names it commemor-
ates traced it, 14O years ago. The
work now completed was done under
the direction of a joint commission rep
resenting Pennsylvania and Maryland.
This line, which became historic as the
division between the slave states and
the free states was originally marked
by stones or other designations placed
one mile apart. But in the course of
time many of the markers disappeared,
and disputes as to local boundaries
arose. Pennsylvania and Maryland
each appropriated IS, 900 for new sur
vey of the line, and work was begun
in April, 1901, W. G. Hodgkins of the
United States Coast and Geodetic Sur
vey being in charge of the corps Of en-
gineers.
AS was the case with most of the
land grants made by the British crown
in the seventeenth century, William
Penn and Lord Baltimore found that
their respective provinces of Pennsyl-
Tapped each other. For fifty years
much lawlessness prevailed along the
border because of the boundary dis
putes, and the settlers did not know to
whom they owed allegiance. Finally,
in 1850, the proprietaries of the two
provinces employed Charles Mason and
Jeremiah Dixon, two celebrated astron-
omerS of London, to fix the boundary
line. They began work in 1853. In
June, 1866, when the party had reached
the top of the Little Allegheny Noun
tains, 100 miles from the starting point,
the Indians assumed threatening at
titude. Although the surveyors seemed
to be peaceable, the red men could not
understand why the palefaces should
cut this road through the forest, or
why some of them spent much of the
night in gazing at the stars through
brass cylinders. Finally the Indians
forbade further progress. Then at a
cost of $500 a council of the Six Ma
tons was convened in New York, in
June, 1867, and permission was secured
to continue the work. The council sent
a party of braves to act as escort to
Mason and Dixon, and the survey was
resumed; but in September when the
Monongahela was reached, the Indians
grew restless, and Mason and Dixon
were obliged to abandon their task
twenty-four miles from their goal. In
1873 other engineers completed that part
of the line between Pennsylvania and
what was then Virginia, but is now
West Virginia.
Mason and Dixon were both elected
members of the American Philosophical
Society. They returned to England
and later were sent to the Cape of
Good Hope to observe the transit of
Venus. Dixon died in England in 1777
but Mason came to Philadelphia, where
he died in 1887.
1t is the portion of Mason and Dix
on's line that extends as far as the
western limits 70 Maryland. which has
just been reSurveyed. Some of the
original boundary stones were found
to be still in place. They had been
chiselled in England from limestone
and weigh 500 pounds each, being four
and one-half feet high and one foot
square. On one side is the letter "P,"
and on the other the letter M" Every
fifth stone bore the coast of arms of
the tro proprietaries.
Mr.. Hodgkin'S men endeaVored to
trace the stones that were missing, and
succeeded in recovering large num-
Der. Some were doing duty as door
steps, some were in bakeovens, one
served as a curbstone in Clearspring,
Md, and two had been used in build
ing church along the national pike.
The old markers in many instances
bore curious Inscriptions, some carved
by soldiers of the Federal and Con-
federate armies during the campaigns
of the Civil War. Every one of these
stones that could be secured was plac-
ed in position on the boundary line.
II broken, the pieces were clamped to-
gether, to guard against future re-
moval.
In few localities a half-dozen or
more of these stones were found in
proximity. This leads to the belief
that possibly they were not put to
actual use as boundary markers. 1t
is known that the fun number of
stones required by Mason and Dixon
was imported. but in conveying them
westward through the forests, so many
difficulties were encountered. it is sup
posed, that a portion of the consign-
ment was abandoned along the road;
and in the course of years settlers
found these stones useful for a va
riety of purposes other than that for
which they were intended. This the
DRY is substantiated by the fact that
the western part of Mason and Dixon's
line was found to be marked princi-
pally by mounds or wooden posts, few
stones being discovered.
Sufficient of the original stones were
recovered to mark the entire line, with
the execution of about seventy-five
miles. Where none Of the old mark
ers was available. new marble mon
uments were erected
During the survey many interesting
stories came TO light in connection
with Mason and Dixon's line. In Hart
ford county. Maryland where one of
the stones was found to be broken II
is generally believed by the people
that the stone was suddenly severed
on the day when South Carolina Sc
ceded from the Union