Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1914-02-13
GREAT COLLECTION OF MAPS
All TeIA. There Are Abeut aooyooo .
Them In UResO oamS

q u not only tAo largest but
also the most remarkable oonOo1toA
OF maps In the world II owned b. th0
United States government and cared
for In b congressional library. To
the wing set apart for their peUsorvR
ton come the most eminent Of REQ.
grapherS. and hero Commander POary.
discoverer Of the north pole, has dome
some Of his scientific research.
All told. there are about 3o0.o 900
maps In the collection. One room has
huge aliases piled tier upon ter from
the floor to the roof; old-fashioned
ones dating from the beginning OF
atlas making to the up-to-date crea-
lions Of the binders art An expert
is kept continually at work mounting
maps. for many that are purchased
are In q dilapidated condition and
must be mounted or backed" on linen
OF the newest and strongest texture.
The market from which they arc
procured covers the world. From
Greenland to India, from China to
Patagonia, maps are gathered, and
the older they are the more they are
valued. One map Of China IL printed
with the odd designs Of rivers, noun,
tains, trees and men in q tumble of
which the American mind can make
nothing. but possibly to a Celestial
1t is perfectly clear.
Among the most interesting and
most precious are early maps, some
OF them dated prior to the discovery
or America. One of these IL . hand-col-
ored ma made In 1483, Just ten
years before Columbus discovered he
new world. A map made by Cosa, q
companion Of Columbus, aud dated
l5O0, shows an odd-looking continent
meant to represent America. There
are rude drawings scattered about on
his queer picture, most of them at
tempts to show dwellings and people
OF strange aspect. In 1903 q map OF
the new world was engraved for the
first time and It's gr~otesQue outlines
seem pitifully childish under the Rlass
OF the handsome case In which It re-
poses. By its side Is perhaps the
queerest OF all maps. a powderhorn.
on which a map is etched IN brown.
while not far of Is a map made By
one OF the famous pirates Of that day.
a Capt. Bart, who probably used II in
his buccaneering expeditions after
Spanish gold.
A map dated 1897 shows America "a
consisting of Florida mostly, while
Virginia occupies the rest of the con-
tnent almost exclusively. One of Eng.
land In the time Of Queen Elizabeth
and made by saxton is shown In q
fine state Of preservation.
OF revolutionary maps there ara
several dozen, representing different
states or the location or troops ut n
particular time. To this period be-
longs a most interesting relic of Wash.
mgton, which Is q survey of one of his
own farms, every field being accurate.
ly drawn to scale and the number Of
acres 1t contained written clearly ut
the top.
The freak maps attract the most at.
tention from the visitor. They ara
ranged In q case containing about ten
queer specimens Of tho map.makine
art, and all are modern. Perhaps the
most ludicrous Of these ia a wi
representing "All the World Watch.
Ing" showing the outlines Of all the
nations fashioned into faces. but the
characteristic OF each country shows
In Its countenance, and the correct
geographical lines are given. Brazil.
the United States, England, Spain,
Portugal, Norway and Sweden are 90
drawn that their ocean line forms n
human face, with the eyes watching
sharply.