Daily press. [volume], February 04, 1908, Page 5, Image 5

About Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current

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Peculiar Bon
Some time ago a reader Inquired]
nliout the* reasons for aud tlie history I
<rf certain Irregular boundaries he-|
tween the states, and iKirticulnrly
concerning those of the Yellowstone
Park, thq. "topknot" of Minnesota,
the' "Jogs" In tho line between Mas?
sachusetts and Connecticut, south of
Springfield, acid In Pennsylvania at
Krie, the panhandle of West Virginia
and tl?t> curve which forms the north?
ern boundary of the state of Dein
. ware. The question was asked bow
those irregular ties happened and
whether there were am- Interesting
stories coati'icted with them.
As a rule th?\divlslons between the
states follow natural boundaries, such
mi (he Mississippi. Ohio. Savannah,
Connecticut und Red fivers; ranges of
mountains and watersheds, or arbi?
trary lines dm um by ? surveyors for
certain distances. Bitch as those be?
tween Indiana and Ohio-on ono_slde
and Michigan on the other. If you
will look at tho map you Vfill not ice j
a ccnalderablo difference between the
northern lino of Ohio and that of'In?
diana. One Is a little farther1 north,
than tho ottior and there is a Jloeldedi
Jag where llillsdale county1, comes|
down into Ohio territory. T\hts i?
due to the arbitrary terms of t}l'<> cttv]
aiding act admitting those statics into!
tho Union, it wns evidently intended I
to extend tho line directly fronP Lake
Krie to Lake Michigan, but by\ somej
error the description of the nonthorn
tbundary of Chlo was made diflcent,
from that of the northern b?tjt?'aryi
of Indiana by seyeral miles. k
T'io "topknot" of Mlnnesota'-Wa lit?
tle jog that may up into the 1 Lake
of the Woods?is, due to an ntl'-'mpt
to divido the waters of all the (lakes
lying on the border evenly between
rlie United Staffed ,and Canada!- :?nd
thus wo get one-half <n" the tfraters
of the Lake of the Woods. J
The jog in northwestern pffonisyl
vnnla which gives that stafla acfcss to
Like Krie. iy due to the tor'11''- In
Which the southern boundary )'f 11,0
state of New York is desrribp' ?>>?
the conimissloners. .lames q/llntnn.
Simon Dt-witu and Andrew BIYtptL. ln
17S:?. They were >to run a ll'/'.e west?
ward a certain distance eVU'l then
northward to Lake Krie. Tf""t .lino
jrh?re?f to the northern llmltys of to
said slate be (he western /boundary.
Of Pennsylvania, in 187-1 Mifl' state of]
Virginia ceded all the land? wost of
the Ohio (river to tUc Unit f< d Stares,
?and that river was afterward mnde
the boundary or the statue of Ohio,
whteh left tho panhandle /?tili in the
' territory of Virginia. whicflh was after-;
ward divided into two itljateis of that
name. ./
The Irregularity of the"1 dlvialon be?
tween Virginia and Wes-.t Virginia Is]
due to an attempt to preserve county1
ii&dary Lines
i lines ns originally established.
I The Jog in the northern boundnry
ibf Connecticut, by which about nven
Lty square miles of the territory of
jlliat Mate was given to Mnssaohu
I fetts, involves a long story nnd a con
: trbyersy that continued for many
years. Indeed, this controversy om
j braced the entire line between Com
neotlc?t and Massachusetts, and still
! farther bet ween Massachusetts and
Rhode Island, and it was not settled
I until lSt;0, when a decree of the Ullltv
cd States court fixed a conventional
line whlclt was afterward confirmed
by the legislatures of the three did
! pitting: stales.
Jog in Connecticut's Line.
With reference to tho particular
fjog south of Springfield, in 171" com?
missioners from the province of Mas?
sachusetts bay and the colony of Mas?
sachusetts settled a boundary line by
description and not by survey. By
this decision certain frontier townf
did not extend ns far as was intend?
ed. Then, when the eastern boun?
dary of Ohio was: defined. t(hnt did
not reach the western boundary of
New York.
The West Virginia Panhandle.
The "patahandloV of West Virginia!
was created In tho same way. The I
southern boundnry of Pennsylvania is'
described in tho agrcoment between I
the commissioners of that state andi
Maryland and Virginia, "as commonly'
called Mason and Dlxon's lino to be!
extended due west 5 degrees of longi?
tude -froin the River Delaware for the
southern boundary, and a meridian
drawn from the westcrmi extremity
wore given to Massachusetts because
their Inhabitants had always acted
with tho rest of that colony and de?
sired to continue to do so. In 171?.
when surveying became more com?
mon, and It was discovered that the
verbal boundaries left the towns of
Woodstock, SufRcid, ?nfield nnd Sr/ni
ers In the territory of Massachusetts,
tho legislature of Connecticut appeal?
ed to the crown, who decided in favor
of Connecticut, In IXM commission,
era were appointed to revise the boun?
dary- Then compromise was made"
by which the town cf South wick
should In Includedin the statt? or
Massachusetts nnd the towns or Stif
flcld. Woodstor', Enfiel I, Somers,
Westtleld nnd Crnntly should bo In?
cluded in the state of Connecticut,
i according to the preference of their
Inhabitants. The report of the com
mlsrlc-nors describes the dividing line
between the two states very minute?
ly, and creeps along with it Inch by
inch through many pages, like thh:
"Hrr-?nnlni* nt tho nnrtlvtv-rt cor?
ner of Sufflold on tho west hank of
the Connecticut river, In the center
of a small valley running Into said
river, said. iV>lnt being between a
small butternut tree standing on the!
south and a small crooked wh'to oak
Btpiiding on the north, about two feet
distant from each other?md then!
running north eighty-two degrees for->
ty-llvo minutes west otto chain to a|
stone monument, erected by us thereI
on the since road from Spriitgflold to}
SuOleld, and said course continued |
would pass two feet north of Smith's
house; ? ? ? thence the snmo!
tree with stones about it on the west
sldo of said river, neat' a small fall
and a rock on the east side of said.!
river, stooping towards It; thence the
same course 275 chains to a large
heap of stones between two hemlock
trees; * ? ? thence In the same'
course 110 chains to a Motte monu-j
ment erected by us peiir Rbonszeri
Fletcher's house, etc., rt.?V' J
It would be very difficult for any
out- to trace that line by I hose land?
marks today.
The Delaware Curve.
The northern boundary of Delawaro
The northern' boundary of Deln-I
ware, which is a perfect curve, in-!
volvcs an < ven more Interesting sto-J
ry. which requires many pages to '.ell.'
That state was originally settled by,
Swedes; in 1055 it was surrendered
to the Dutch; in 1GG4 it wan surren?
dered to the English and was taken
posse Li-Ion of by the Duke of York,
to a degree is almost unpairalelled. ]
William Penh, having received a j
Kraut of the province of Pennsylva?
nia, bought the territory comprised j
in the present area of Delaware from'
I the Duke of York, who conveyed it'
1)0 him iu two deeds, dated August ]
| 24, 1682, One of ihese deeds, convey-l
! ed the town* of Newcastle and all the
'? lauds within a twelve-mile circle
around the same. The other deed
i convoyed the remainder of the terri?
tory, including Cape iienlopen and
1 tin- three counties of Newcastle, Kent
and Sussex, according to their pres?
ent boundaries. These boundaries
we>re in dispute, however, until very
recently, when tihcy were fixed by act
of Conprcss and ratified by the states
of Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The slnj'ular boundary line, nltnost
unique in Its circular shape, is exactly
twelve miles from the end of the
horse dike in the center of tin; town
of Newcastle, and was run by Isaac
Taylor of Chester ccunt.y and Thomas
, Pearson of Newcastle. j
Mason and Dixon-s Line.
For generations nils Urns .''lumbered
in obscurity, bolr.? pcrpetluated for a
time In local memory and tradition by
reference to oak and hickory trees, j
blazed or notched by the surveyors,
or by fences which the settlers had
Luilt, as they supposed, upon the ox
act line. Hut year by year these
marks decayed and passed from sight
' until their location became uncertain
j and the subject of a violent dispute
I between William Penn and Lord Hal
tlmore. which continued between
. their heirs and assignees until 17C2.
. when Frederick, Lord Ilnltlmore, and
j the Pe nnsylvania tv.Uhrrhtes employ-.
cd Charles Mason and Jeremiah D!x-|
on, two skillful matin nmtlclnns. and
surveyors, to draw a new line accord?
ing to the original agreement. They
built an observatory for their first
work and marked the lino with suit
ablo stone monuments one mile apart.
Upon these stones were carved the
arms of the CalvertB, whoso contro?
versy had embittered tho neighboring
communities and had caused tho ex?
penditure of many thousands of dob
lars.
That 's th? origin of the famous
Mason and Uixon's line, which sepa?
rated the free soil from the slavo
states and has hern so frequently al?
luded to in the political debates o?
Milt; country.
The boundaries of the Yellowstone'
Park wtre laid as they are In both
Wyoming and Montana In order to
tu-braee within that reservation all
of the igireet: natural curiosities in I
that part of the country. I
?WILLIAM E. CURTIS, In Uie
Washington Star.
right Tf petitions*
Careful Attention Accorded i
to Such Papers by Mem?
bers of Congress.
I * i i
A guaranteed right of the American
people Is rhe right of pot'.tion to the
"l>o\vors that tra," and it is exorcised
more freely, probably, than any oth?
er, writes tho Richmond News-Lea r
er's Washington's correspondent. As a
rule, too. it is exercised with remark?
able discretion and Intlelllgtence, indi?
cating that the American people keep
thoroughly abreast of the times and a
closre watch on their servants in pub?
lic places.
Naturally, more ptlitlons are re?
ceived by 1C10 Congress than by nny
other officials In public life. The pre?
sentation of petitions to the legisla?
tive branch of-tho government is not
! a hbblt, sh few of the prayers re
?eeivotl ever come from the snmo
sources twice; huti Lhierp Ir a contin?
ual flood of them, and utsually they
aro forceful nnd significant,
i Every member of Congress, wheth?
er ho bo in the Hor.so or In the Scn
ati". rc:uls with the greatest enre the
petitions which come bo him. whether
they bo frcm his own Immediate con?
stituents, or from the public general?
ly. Through these petition.-; th ? mem
her Is* able to keep in touch with pub?
lic senl'iment on any tapfetation that
may \ta pending. In" a' ?way, tho peti?
tions enable him to form a more tie
onrato Idea of public sentiment than
, such correspondence as fcio may have
With particular people.
It has boon urged often that pot I
i'tms amount to little or nothing; but
that has bctxii found by the most ex?
perienced members of Congress to be
untrue. In presenting to Uio Senate,
a few yeans ago, a petition which did
not accord with bin views, a senator
declared tUiat it did not only ropre
.?Kau his pi iv.unal views, but that lie
was assured the views .expressed in
Ii did rcprcsent accurately the senti?
ment of the people front whom It
come, (to said that it. was a wjell
l.nown fact that poUUoi)S Wore signed
uy many peojdo merely to get rid 01
tiho.se who presented them and, appar?
ently ax mi oyldVnce of gooii faith, bo
declamt lie would bo willing to cnj'.ier
into an agreement to secure the sli;
natures of two hundred people of the
city of Wa-shington to bang nny s>-n
aior who might he named.
Tliis little sally, provoked undoubt?
edly by pique, created sonio amuse?
ment, but had no effect upon the
average senator's views of petitions
In general It is a fact that members:
ol Congress who u no wifco ke-cp their)
ears tlo the ground on matters of pui>-|
lie Interest through the petitions
which pass through their hanids. Sen
ateirs present ho puMtions which reach
theai In open session and their pur
l>ort Is announced, in the HoUso pe?
titions uro not read, but they go into
the general 'hopper and are referred
ly tho legislative clerks to toe proper
e;omniititf"cr..
It la notable that few petitions ot
tho "ready-made" sort reach Con?
gress. Occasionally, in... times of
acute public interest, in a. pleco of
legislation pending before Congress,
hundreds of petitions are revolved
courlieel iu the (some cmt-rnl terms.
Theso are known to have been Insti?
gated by the same persons or organ?
izations and they ordinarily have no
more effect than has the pouring of
water?on a duck's back. As a rule,
however, petitions represent the con?
victions eif tho people and careful
hoed 1? paid to them by tho members
of Ccat'igrtets.
One of the most remarkable facts
in connection with petitions presented
to Congress is that llfty per cent, of
them aro In opposition to proposed
legldtation. Tins indicates that tin
people are keeping close tab on theii
le^slatoija ohud that they are not lr
sympathy with nny movement for thf
enactment of nv re laws to be place,'
on tho statute books. And woe betidi
anv congressman who dees not pa:
heed to the iietitions he receives.
KD. PACK?Solid.
Suffering and Dollars Saved.
12. S. Loper, of Marllla. N. Y., says:
"I am a carpcnte?r and have had many
severe cuts healed by Bucklen's Ar?
nica Salve. It has saved mo sufforing
nr.d dollars. It Is by far tho best
h-allnq ralvo I have ever found."
Ilcnls burns, sore*, ulcers, fever rores,
eczema and piles. 25c at all drug?
gists.
Sea's Toll fo
Gideon Young, tho statistician of
tho Maritime Exchange, on Broad
strccet, luis completed his annual ta?
ttle of wrecks at sea and ho announc?
ed yesterday that tho year 1907 was
one of the most disastrous to l\fo
and property on tho deep In hin recol?
lection of several decades, AstiVj
from the sinking of the Joy J_,lneV
Larchmbnl In collision with the
BChboner Harry Kuowlton, In Febrii
ary, which disaster cost 134 lives',
:md the destruction of the Great Eas?
tern Railway Coiiipany's steamer Ber?
lin, of tho Hook or Holland, whereby
12S were drowned, the marine recor?
der of the Maritime Exchange sbowB
thni upward of 1,000 persons went to
death in 10 other marine disasters.
A total of 120 ? members of 'the
French battleship Lena were killed In
an explosion which destroyed JJutt
ship at Toulon March 22. NVhon lme
Pacific Mull Navigation Company's
steamer Hautlngo .foundered off Chile
In June, 'JO passengers nnd crew went
down with 1 her. The steamer San
Pedro sank the steamer Columbia off
Point Delgado, Cal.. July 22 and 110
found watery graves. The Kaplan, 'a
Turkish steamer, foundered Novem?
ber 21 and drowned 112. Sixty lost
their lives through the slaking of the
Sultnn In the Black Sea, January 24.
The Hong-Hing, a Chlnest steamer,
drowned 120 when she roundored.
The wreck of the Great Northern
Steamship Company's steamer Dako?
ta, March 3, cost the Insurance com'
panics more than $3,500,000. The list
of vessel that went away and never
arrived Is an appalling one toX^vcn
phlpplng men who aro accustomed to
seo the word "mirslng" Chalked aftor
the name of a ship on tho blackboards
of the Exchange. Thoso that turned
into the port of missing ships during
the year are tho Nicaragua, with n
ci'ew of 40; the Dulverton, With 2;
Arthur Sewell, with 32; Adolph Obig,
with 28; tho Theodore, formerly a
Cunnrd steamer, with 19; tho. UautOjL
with 23; Ormsny, With 21: Daniel,
vlth 24; Slberton. with 27; Mnrle,
vlth 23; Netherby, with 21; Guiana
vith 20, and half a dozen Krenc.h tlsh
ng vessels, the latter with scores of
.uen.
The Norwegian steamer Froysdate
was worth $f>5.000 before shb strand
sd on the Maine coast. She sold for
?$180 to n Junk dealer three days nf?r
she struck. The old sailor supersti?
tion as to a bride on board bringing
misfortune held good In the caao of
the L. A. von Romondt, which was
nlundoncd in a slnkins condition Oc.
tober 10, The Viking, with tho bride
of her captain making her first soy
age at pea. was run into by the ship
Atlas off Cape Horn and the captain
and bride wore lost.
Tlte list shows that the elements!
p Year 1907
linvo no respect for names supposed
to be entitled to special considera?
tion. The Archangels, Guardian An?
fiel; Gnlllee and IjOo XII were lost.
Tho R: P. Ghaso was wrecked on Jor?
dan's Delight, a reef in Maine. The
steamer Ohio was lont in Port Safe?
ty, The Dart was destroyed by strik?
in? Holy Island. There were two
Glad Tidings wrecked.
Some flno ships were burned at
sea. Among them were tho steamers
Thornhill. Hllverslup, Mllos, Thistle,
Sophia, Fortunatas, tho latter worth
,300,000, and tho Tnlfu Marti.
Warships sent some of tho craft to
their last account. The French cruis?
er Kleber ran into and sank tho -Hu
ponia; drowning seven of the latter's
crew. 'The British cruiser Assistance
saqk tho Mario. Regular liners, too,
sent some fine vessels to the bottom.
The lied Star liner Vaderland ram?
med tho steamer tyn worth Castle )u
Itho ICrtKllsh Channel, drowning three.
Tho Loyland Liner Wlnlfredlan sank
the Ellen F. Gleasou. The Whlto Stfcr
Liner Romance sent tho Natalie B.
Nlckenson to the bottom. The Joy
Liner TennoBseo sank the "ttyrd'n?ff,
drowning five.
Somo of the steamers lost by foun?
dering or being abandoned were the
Neptune ' Liner Tnmplco, with
000 worth of copper among her car?
go; Clavering, with 29 Uvea; Y6ofo,
witm 15 lives; Jabba, Lucifer, and th.i
Hazel Branch. Th? number of sui?
cides In wrecks wn's. unusually large.
Never rode on Train or Trolley Car.
Miss Mary A. Egg'Jv one of Allen
town's oldest women, died suddenly
today, after having lived more th^n
fifty years wt'iltin a block of a rail?
road and for fifteen yeans close to
an elec'a-lo railway, but without over
haviug ridden on n steam train .or
troliey-.car.
8hb'would ,havo been ninety years
old tomorrow, but'never cared to in
dulgo in the pleasures of a ride on a
steam road or trolley lino, alDaouga
often urged to break tho rulo that
.fho had established.
Disappointed In a love affair In her
ssirlho.id days, ?bo refused many sub
sequent offers of marriago and re
madned single all her days.?Allen
town Dispatch to. Philadelphia North
Amotlcan. - ?
Want of employment, is increasing
in the, aalpbulldilng IndusM-y in Scot*
land. Ono of tho-. Greenlack R^p
yonls has ben closed. On tho tipp*'"
branches of tho Cdydo thero is a
?re>at Dck of employment, and fresh
work. ii -urgently necessary.