[23] Township 25 N. Range 2 W. Willamette Meridian. CHAINS. South 10' East, on a true line between sections 5 and 6, 40 06 Set a post for quarter section corner, from which A Hickory, 20 in dia. bears N. 18 E. 27 links dist. 80.06 The corner to sections 5, 6, 7, 8. Land rolling, and 2d rate, Timber, Oak, Hickory, Sugar-Tree, and Ash; undergrowth, same and Hazel. February 18th, 1854. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. The quality of the land in this Township is considerably above the common average. There is a very fair proportion of rich bottom land, chiefly situated on both sides of Chickeeles River, which is navigable through the Township for steamboats of light draft, except over the rapids in section 8. These rapids are 37 chains long; estimated fall about 10 feet. The uplands are generally rolling, good 1st and 2d rate land, and well adapted for cultivation. Elk River is a beautiful stream of clear water, running through the Southern part of the Township, and emptying into Chickeeles River, in section 31. There is a fine mill-seat on this stream in section 22. Timber, chiefly Oak, Beech, Hickory, Hackberry, and Sugar-Tree, and is very equally distributed over the Township, except in the prairie embracing parts of sections 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, and 16. The town of Williamsburg was laid out by Samuel Williams, some two years since, on the right bank of Chickeeles River, a little below the foot of the rapids. It now contains sixteen houses, and others are being built; has a good landing in front, with a ferry, and has the appearance of thrift and prosperity. There are several good quarries of stone (principally lime) along the Chickeeles and Elk Rivers, which will afford inexhaustible quantities of excellent building materials. On the line between sections 1 and 12, I discovered gold dust and auriferous quartz, and in section 17, on the left bank of Chickeeles River, opposite Williamsburg, a valuable coal bank. There are three settlements-one on the N. W. quarter of section 10, one on the N. W. quarter of section 15 and N. E. quarter of section 16, and the other on the N. E. quarter of section 23 and N. W. quarter of section 24. A valuable salt spring was discovered crossing the South Boundary of section 31, running N. W.; also the remains of an Indian village on the left bank of Chickeeles River, in section 30. Fossil remains on the West bank of a small lake in section 26, and ancient works on the 1-" bank of Elk River, in the N. E. quarter of section 27 LIST OF NAMES. A list of the names of the individuals employed to assist in running, measuring, or marking the lines and corners described in the foregoing field notes of Township No. 25 North of the base line of Range No. 2 West of the Willamette meridian, showing the respective capacities in which they acted : PETER LONG, Chainman. HENRY FLAGG, Compassman. We hereby certify that we assisted Robert Acres, deputy surveyor, in surveying the exterior boundaries and subdividing Township number twenty-five North of the base line of Range number two west of the Willamette meridian, and that said Township has been in all respects, to the best of our knowledge and belief, well and faithfully surveyed, and the boundary monuments planted according to the instructions furnished by the Surveyor-General. PETER LONG, Chainman. GEORGE SHARP, Axman. ADAM DULL, Axman. Subscribed and sworn to by the above-named persons, before me, a Justice of the Peace for the county of tory] of day of in the State [or Terri186. HENRY DOOLITTLE, Justice of the Peace. I, Robert Acres, deputy surveyor, do solemnly swear that, in pursuance of a contract with surveyor of the public lands of the Unitted States in the State [or Territory] of bearing date the 186, and in strict conformity to the laws of the United States and the instructions furnished by the said SurveyorGeneral, I have faithfully surveyed the exterior boundaries [or subdivision and meanders, as the case may be] of Township number twenty-five North of the base line of Range number two West of the Willamette meridian, in the aforesaid, and do further solemnly swear that the foregoing are the true and original field notes of such survey. ROBERT ACRES, Deputy Surveyor. Subscribed by said Robert Acres, deputy surveyor, and sworn to be fore me, a Justice of the Peace for Territory] of this day of county, in the State [or 186 . HENRY DOOLITTLE, Justice of the Peace. To each of the original field books, the Surveyor-General will append his official approval, according to the following form, or so varied as to suit the facts in the case: SURVEYOR-GENERAL'S OFFICE AT 186 . day of The foregoing field notes of the survey of [here describe the survey], executed by Robert Acres, under his contract of the 186, in the month of 186, having been critically examined, the necessary corrections and explanations made, the said field notes, and the surveys they describe, are hereby approved. A. B. Surveyor-General. To the copies of the field notes transmitted to the seat of government, the Surveyor-General will append to each township the following certificate: I certify that the foregoing transcript of the field notes of the survey of the [here describe the character of the surveys, whether meridian, base line, standard parallel, exterior township lines, or subdivision lines, and meanders of a particular township] in the State [or Territory] has been correctly copied from the original notes on file in of this office. A. B. Surveyor-General. DIAGRAM. Town. No. 25 N. Range No. 2 W. Willamette Meridian. 30.00 43 3 2 4 3 2 A37,7039.92 A39 $24399548906A3 371A99A40.03 A 40,06 A40.09 A40.12|| A-40.12;A43.09 A42.06 A 1003 A24.68 3 2 A 8 5 16 4307/0 A40. A40. 480. Sec. 4 423J4 17.40E 80.06 60.65 8 440 12.27 N54°W.77. Daniel Reeds Claim 39.33 7/7°49′E Goldy Dust 8000 3 Sec 7677.90 640 Acres •36°E 80. 2 30.48 40. Sec 9 4-52606 34.921 80 + 640 160 4952 40. 80:20 79.86 $26.91 A 160 79.90 8020 640 79.94 Sam Williams Claim 31.7378°E77.68. 433.77 31.60 25.30 10.85 a 34 14: 17.3 32.20 7 8 37.23 3430 540 40 Sec 19 561.41 9 32.88 Sec 20 5365.84 Met 38.93 44 06 40 40 13.72 21 22.74 160 3 Clear Lake Sec 22 7 a 563.8745 Lake 36.27 8 a 3 30.381 31.061 47.50 α 6 Stanet Sec 29 39.81 a 200 4577.39 39 co 31,00 26.83 34.10 160. 8006 200 River Ancient Works 450 79.90 17:40'E 25.94 40. (118) THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PUBLIC SURVEYS NOT TO BE CHANGED. Congress, as early as the year 1805, laid down certain general principles in regard to the unchangeableness of the lines and corners established by government surveyors, which have continued operative down to the present time, and are still in full force. These principles are contained in the second section of an act entitled "An act concerning the mode of Surveying the Public Lands of the United States," approved February 11th, 1805, and are as follows, to wit: 1st. "All the CORNERS marked in the surveys returned by the Surveyor-General, shall be established as the proper corners of sections or subdivisions of sections which they were intended to designate; and the corners of half and quarter sections, not marked on said surveys, shall be placed as nearly as possible equidistant from those two corners which stand on the same line." 2d. "The BOUNDARY LINES actually run and marked in the surveys returned by the Surveyor-General, shall be established as the proper boundary lines of the sections or subdivisions for which they were intended; and the length of such lines as returned by the Surveyor-General aforesaid, shall be held and considered as the true length thereof." Experience has demonstrated the wisdom of this enactment; no law ever passed by Congress has contributed so much to prevent disputes in regard to boundaries of the public lands. Considering the extent of territory over which the public surveys have been extended, embracing whole states now thickly settled with people, and affecting interests involving many thousands of dollars, cases of litigation growing out of disputed boundaries are surprisingly rare. The law referred to enunciates the unvarying rule, that |