Before returning to losses in WW II in Kentucky, as promised, I'd like to take a look at the old surveyors. I have mentioned before that there was a tremendous amount of confusion after the end of the Revolutionary War when settlers started on their trek to Kentucky which was not even a state at the time. Surveys, land claims - all were confusing. Settlers would accidentally settle on someone else's claim, or build a cabin on land set aside for the Virginia soldiers. Property lines were poorly marked and likely, changed by an eager settler who wanted a piece of land that had already been claimed. Deeds were sometimes lost, mixed up in the recorder's office or never filed at all. The result was many bitter land squabbles, law suits and frustration. To the surveyor, Kentucky presented an awesome and fearful task I'm sure. Due to the physical layout of the land, they weren't facing thousands of acres of flatland ... Kentucky was an area of dense undergrowth, hills, creeks and Native Americans who didn't take too kindly to the white man's encroachment of their hunting grounds. Many wanna-be surveyors just couldn't understand the use of the instruments needed nor have a knowledge of plane geometry. Kentucky established in 1779-80 a land court to handle the conflicting claims and erroneous surveys, but it didn't provide any training for surveyors. Thus, the Virginia survey laws were used in Kentucky until 1794 - two years after statehood. Kentucky after 1792 was more concerned about establishing the true boundaries of the state than worrying about boundaries between settlers. I have written before in a previous tip about the problems and fights over the state boundaries. It is noted in the Kentucky Encyclopedia that "As late as 1990, boundaries were labeled "indefinite" on the topographical maps of the U.S. Geological Society." (page 862). Depending on the education of the surveyor, some surveys are beautifully done, accurate and easy to locate. Others are a nightmare. Some were so vague that for many years the land owners were not certain if they were clearing timberland on their land or their neighbors! Since many of the surveyors had to use trees marked with a slash as a property line, if he called a yellow poplar a white poplar or an oak a maple .... you can see what problem this might cause! Surveyors used as one of their instruments a "Jacob's Staff". This had been used as far back as George Washington and was the main surveying instrument. It was a one-legged staff on which was mounted an open-face brass compass. It could be tilted in order to balance the directional needle. They sighted through twin forks centered by hair-thin wires. It was light-weight, easily set up and taken down and was carried by the assistant surveyor. Distance measurements were taken in terms of "poles" A pole = sixteen and ½ feet long. Looped-wire chains were made up of sixteen inch segments; and the full chain was four poles in length. So, the surveyor had to hire chain carriers who couldn't be a 98 pound weakling! If you will use your imagination, you can easily see the problems with using these chains. (1) with the terrain in which they were working, the chain carriers couldn't just lay the chain out straight on the ground many times. They were going around trees, over brush, up and down hills. (2) the chain was dragged (snagging often I would assume!), and the wear and tear on the chain caused the "joints" or links to wear out and be inaccurate. Another dirty little secret of many of the surveyors in eastern Kentucky was their lack of even trying. Land was so cheap there that they didn't feel it was worth their time to spend much effort on surveying accurately. One surveyor, doing a conscientious job could not survey 500 acres in one day. Yet many of the surveyors did and just added the words which we've all seen so many times: "500 acres more or less". This was a legal protection for them but some surveyors really took advantage of the term! Today's surveyor is a far cry from the old timers. Modern tools, knowledge of the higher math, satellites ... although still a strenuous job, is a far cry from what these old-time surveyors lived through. But I wonder how many present-day surveyors would like to go back in time for a day or so and walk along side the surveying party? Picture for just a moment what it would have been like. The surveyor might have been a big man, attired more like an Indian than a white man. Long heavy britches to protect his legs against the undergrowth. Stout shoes (although some men wore Indian moccasins) to guarantee, hopefully, a steady step. A bag around his neck and shoulders containing his survey books. By his side trod the deputy or assistant surveyor. He might have been a younger man who was in training to become a surveyor himself. Eager, of quick step to keep up with the surveyor, carrying the priceless and scarce surveying tools carefully as they waded creeks, climbed knobs, thrashed through the underbrush. Axes were carried to make the slash marks in the trees or cut back brush so they could find their way. Food was a necessity as they might spend many days in the woods, or they might have relied on their hunting skills. Behind them were the chain carriers. These two men were normally neighbors or friends of the man having the survey done; they wanted to be sure the surveyor didn't stray into their land. Or, if there were no neighbors yet, men who had been hired by the surveyor to drag those painfully heavy chains. They might have plodded silently for miles, stopping only to catch their breath, check the compass or have some vittles. They heard nothing but the call of the birds, the howls of the wild animals, the gentle splashing of the creek ahead. Indians they never heard; they were the masters of silent movement. Ever alert as they walked or rested they sought a glimpse of the enemy. The gear grew heavier every step until they reached what the surveyor had been guaranteed was the beginning of the landowner's property. The settler likely met them there and showed the proof that he had been granted 400 acres of 2nd class land here. How would you have determined where to start? How much is 400 acres when you're staring across virgin timberland? Marking that first tree or piling stones up to make a marker, the men worked through the day. Trees were climbed to get a better view of what lie ahead. Mosquitoes stung. Flies darted around the sweating faces of the men. Rocks, hidden in the underbrush, tripped up the deputy surveyor causing him to sprawl across the rocky ground and blood spurted from his face. His face turned red in shame lest the surveyor felt him not adequate to the task. Indians popping out from behind a tree with tomahawks possibly drawn causing the party to retreat. Rest at night by a campfire with one eye open for danger. But the beauty of what they had seen that day could not be explained on the surveyor's page. Grasses so tall that it came up to the belly of their horses. Streams so pure that they gulped from its crystal goodness. Birds of every variety flying overhead with their encouraging song. Animals standing back from fear of the human form. Trees reaching to the heavens it seemed. They were where no man had gone before. This was, in the early days, their final frontier. I hope this will give the reader a little insight into how it was before mankind flowed in ... it was still. (c) Copyright 5 June 2003, Sandra K. Gorin, All Rights Reserved. sgorin@glasgow-ky.com Col. Sandi Gorin, 205 Clements Ave., Glasgow, KY 42141 (270) 651-9114 Publishing: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/ GORIN worldconnect website: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~sgorin SCKY resource links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html