Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-11-24

to the Allegheny river and a little
further to the westward, but by de-
cree OF the Indians it was brought
abruptly to a stop, and the surveyors
returned to Philadelphia.
In 1S49 desire to test the survey
took shape and the Legislature OF the
three States interested made appropri-
atoms and appointed commissioners &c
perform the work. The survey was
placed in the hands of Colonel Jane:
ID. Graham Of the United States topo
graphical survey. Colonel Graham
went over the work and in the main
corroborated it. He found that the
radius of twelve miles used to estab
lish the arc OF the circle was two feet
and four inches short and that the
tangent point had been placed 157 feet
too far south. The corner stone OF the
three States was reset according to this
survey, and Maryland received 1.S7
acres of land as the result. Since
then there has been no effort seriously
to question the accuracy of the origi.
nal survey.
The milestones used to mark the
boundary were brought from England,
dressed and ready for setting up. The
labor OF transporting them over the
trackless wilderness was found almost
insurmountable and had to be aban-
doned over a part of the line. Where
the posts could not be carried piles OF
stone four feet square and eight feet
high were built in their place, and in
some instances wooden posts were used
on some of the inaccessible hills of
western Maryland. The marking posts
were about twelve inches square and
varied in length from three to five feet.
The stones are oolite and are supposed
to have been quarried near Ports
mouth, England.
The work OF restoring the old mark
ings, and, where they could not be re-
covered. of setting up iron posts, was
intrusted to w. c. Hodgkins OF the
coast geodetic survey. Mr.. Hodgkins
and his assistants had many strange
experiences in their recovery OF some
of the missing stones. Two of the
crownstones. as the fve-mile markers
were called, we're found serving as
doorsteps of the Mutual Rights church,
queer old house of worship on Lick
ing creek near Hancock, Md. The
surveyors replaced them with Mary.
land stone at the church and set them
up again in their original places. 9th
ers were recovered with greater diff
Guilty.
In Washington county, Maryland, a
crownstone was missing, and inquiry
developed the fact that it had been
secured by a io.hunting Balti-
morean and carried away to that city.
1t was found stored away in q cellar
in the monumental city. This stone
was presented to the Pennsylvania
Historical society, and duplicate was
made and sent TO the surveyors to serve
for the missing marker. Near Big
Pool, Nd, six of the original stones
were found built into the walls of
houses, and two were serving the pur.
pose of doorsteps. The surveyors came
to the conclusion that these stones
were a part OF those which were left in
the vicinity because OF the lack of
transportation facilities to carry them
to the points where they were needed.
Legal proceedings had to be resorted to
before these stones could be obtained
At Clear Springs, Nd, one OF the stones
was found set up in front of q place
of business. 1t had been much mu-
tilated, and inquiry developed the fact
that the owner OF the premises had
broken off pieces OF the stone from time
to time and pulverized it to furnish
grit for his chickens.
One of the stones which had not been
removed from its original position, near
Mount st. Mary's college, at Emmetts-
burg, Md, had been broken by relic
hunters until little OF it remained above
ground. One of the crownstones near
Pen Mar, had been religiously protect
ed by the farmers in the locality, and
after the establishment OF the noun
tain resort there, was covered with wire
netting to keep off the relic hunters.
In many places along the line the pc.
culiar white appearance OF the stones
invited vandalism, and the marking
stones had been much broken by small
boys beating them down by throwing
other stones against them.
One of the most celebrated stones
along the line was dubbed "the seces-
sion stone." It stands between Fawn
Grove and Delta, Pa. 1t is said that
during the week of the fall of Fort
Sumter, the letter "M" OH the south
side of the stone was obliterated, and,
according to the local tradition, the
Pennsylvania half Of the stone could
no longer endure the letter "M," the
inhabitants of that region supposing
that Maryland would pass into the
Southern Confederacy.
Mason and Dixon's line became ia.
NOUS as the boundary between the
free and slave States in the bitter
controversies which antedated the civil
war. Henry Clay frequently referred
to it as such in his speeches in Con.
gress. To this day it is the popular.
line between the North and
South Of the country.