Letter from the Secretary of the Interior: Transmitting, in Response to Senate Resolution of January 6, 1882, the Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office Upon the Survey of the United States and Texas Boundary Commission

Author: Samuel Jordan "S J" Kirkwood (1813-1894)

Year: 1882

Publisher: Government Printing Office

Place: Washington, DC

Description:

309 pages with tables, illustrations and 15 folding maps. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6") bound in half leather over marbled boards with gilt lettering to spine housed in a custom enclosure. 47th Congress, Senate Document 70. First edition.

The letter of transmittal is followed by Book 9 of the boundary survey including the field log beginning on 20 January 1859 describing movements of the team along with all of the station markers, chain measurements.

The joint commission of the United States and the State of Texas commenced work together on the Rio Grande, but the Texas commissioner did not remain long in the field on account of personal differences between himself and the United States commissioner. A new Texas commissioner came and assisted the survey of a part of the west boundary, or one hundred and third meridian, west longitude. In the next year, 1860, when the United States commissioner surveyed the north and east boundaries, it does not appear from the records that the Texas commissioner took part in the work, and the United States commissioner did the work without any cooperation.

The east boundary, being part of the lime between Texas and Indian Territory, along the one hundredth meridian, west longitude, had been in part previously established by Jones and Brown, surveyed in 1859, marking the boundary line of certain Indian lands, which boundary by treaty of 22 January 1855, was the one hundredth meridian, or the line between the State of Texas and the Indian country. Said surveyors had marked the one hundredth meridian from the north bank of Red River, north to the Canadian River, and about 19 miles further north, and under instructions issued to the United States commissioner by the Secretary of the Interior, for the survey of the United States and Texas boundary, he was only required to retrace so much of said meridian as had been previously established by surveyors jones and Brown.

No part of the boundary survey has ever been agreed upon or accepted by the two governments as contemplated by in the act of Congress authorizing the survey.

Condition:

Corners gently bumped, light self wear else better than very good in a custom enclosure.