Imperial Valley press., 1939-03-02

| turned IN fleld notes and maps Du
neglected to set up markers to b,
used in laying out townships ant
sections. A variance of approximate
ly 220 feet to the mile, historians
record, resulted in series of excess
strips of land. These strips coult
not be shown on the new maps bu
they were filed on and settlers livet
on them, maps or no maps.
No Titles
In order to rectify the mistake,
made in the survey of 1856, tn,
government ordered a resurvey IL
1902. The work was finished in 1901
but rejected by the government
Land then was Withdrawn from
final entry and proof and no set.
tier could get title to his property
Settlers started to protest to the
government in 1905 but it was no,
until 1909 that new survey finally
was accepted officially.
Blackburn, on a visit to FL Cen.
tro this week, pointed to one OF hi.
maps bearing the date 1899. HIT
designated many points where town.
snip and section lines fail to NEE
accordingly to the best rules lait
down for good maps. Some of the
sections are two miles from north
to south boundaries when they
strictly speaking, are supposed tc
be only one mile across. Others are
q mile and three-qualters from
east to west boundaries, Black
burn declared, and pointed to the
masses of jagged black lines to
prove his point. He explained that
sections should not be permitted to
exist in such proportions.
Even the resurvey did not rectify
the mistakes of the 1856 surveyors
and, in Blackburn,S opinion, leave
many messy looking spot on the
maps from the surveying records.
No Sandhill Survey
The sandhills never have beer
surveyed, Blackburn declared, or if
they have he cannot find records
to use in his map making business
He expressed the opinion that any
alleged survey of the great heaps
OF shifting sand in eastern Imperial
county are merely gueSses. His
maps show the section lines stop
ping on the west side of the dunes
and beginning again on their east
ern side.
Judgingi from the records he has
at his disposal, government surveys
and all, Blackburn declared the
northeast corner of county never
was reSurveyed. And the original
survey made by the 1856 surveyors
must have been poorly done, he in
sisted, or so many strange things
could not be shown on the maps.
The Colorado river in it's old days
OF free wandering and bank break
ing could not have done so many
peculiar things to the face of Moth
er Earth.
In Both States
Away up in the northeast tip
of the county in an area where
many residents of the county never
have been for perfectly logical rea-
sons such as almost inaccessible
roads, the map shows Arizona lane
in California and California land in
Arizona.
Blackburn is perectly willing to
leave the assessing and tax collect
ing problems created by these con-
ditions to these better fitted to
handle them. He has his map prob
lens to keep him busy
A Pin In Arizona
Near the place where the Milpi-
tas wash approaches the boundary
between Imperial county and Ari-
zona, long, slim finger of Califor-
MIA land pokes into a large slice OF
Arizona. This little strip of land is
600 feet wide and a mile long. 1t
IS surrounded On three sides by
Arizona and hooked to California
by an infiniteSimal little pinch. 1t
sounds incredible but Blackburn's
new maps show it plainly.
In the same area bit of AriZo-
ma scarcely a mile in extent spills
over into California.
Poor GueSSes
While the Colorado river was a
wild one in its youth and ran ram
pant, Blackburn does not blame
The river for ell the strange things
IN north eastern Imperial county
He limited that early surveyors
tried to save themselves time and
effort by guessing a bit at some Of
the more isolated spots.
A map makers nightmare exists
on the Colorado near the south
eastern tip of Imperial county.
There is one little strip of land
that lies in Arizona part of the
time and in California the rest Of
the time. The changing moods o.
the stream add it and take it away
from the two states with no regard
for the trouble this Inconsistency
causes.
Make II Interesting
IF it were not for such strange
upsets,' Blackburn said. map max
ing would be dull work. We study
the records and surveys and make
cur maps accordingly. Map makers
like the maps to be tidy with all
lines meeting properly but there
Is more interest in mapping areas
that are different from the general
run, such as Imperial county,