run as the southern boundary of the State of Pennsylvania, and the first line running east and west should begin at the same point, and extend through the whole Territory."

The townships were to be designated by numbers from south to north, beginning each range with number one; and the ranges were to be distinguished by numbers from east to west, the first range extending from the Ohio river to Lake Erie. The first seven of these series of townships constitute what was called "the seven ranges."

The first law passed by the Federal Congress in regard to surveying the public domain was approved May 18th, 1796, and applied to "the territory northwest of the river Ohio and above the mouth of the Kentucky river."

The second section of said act provided for dividing such lands as had not already been surveyed or disposed of, "by north and south lines run according to the true meridian, and by others crossing them at right angles, so as to form townships of six miles square," etc. It was also provided that "one-half of said townships, taking them alternately, should be subdivided into sections containing, as nearly as may be, 640 acres each, by running parallel lines through the same each way at the end of every two miles, and marking a corner on each of said lines at the end of every mile."

An act amendatory of the above, approved May 10th, 1800, directed that "the interior lines of townships intersected by the Muskingum, and of all the townships lying east of that river, which had not before been actually subdivided into sections, should also be run and marked in the manner prescribed by the said act for running and marking the interior lines of townships directed to be sold in sections of six hundred and forty acres each." And in all cases where the exterior lines of the townships thus to be subdivided exceeded or fell short of six miles,

the excess or deficiency was to be added to or deducted. from the western or northern tier of sections. Said act also provided that the northern and western tiers of sections should be sold as containing only the quantity expressed on the plats, and all others as containing the complete legal quantity.

The two acts last named form the original basis of the present system of subdivisional surveys, as illustrated in succeeding pages. Sundry modifications and additions have from time to time been incorporated by subsequent acts of Congress.

An act "regulating the grants of land appropriated for military purposes," etc., approved June 1st, 1796, provided for dividing the "Virginia military tract" in the State of Ohio into townships of five miles square, each to be subdivided into quarter townships containing 4000 acres. By the 6th section of an act amendatory of said act, approved March 1st, 1800, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to subdivide said quarter townships (then called sections) into lots of 100 acres each, bounded as near as practicable by parallel lines, 160 perches in length and 100 perches in width.

It will be borne in mind that these subdivisions were made by protraction merely, upon the plats in the office of the Secretary of the Treasury; and afterwards, when a sufficient number of lots to warrant it had been located, an actual survey was made in the field. In some instances, when these lots came to be surveyed, they could not be made to correspond with the plats; fractional lots, which appeared on the plats, were crowded entirely out of the township by actual survey. A knowledge of this fact will explain difficulties which are sometimes met with in the districts thus divided.

The 1st section of the act, approved March 26th, 1804, made it the duty of the Surveyor-General to cause the public lands north of the river Ohio, and east of the

river Mississippi, to be surveyed in townships six miles square, and divided in the same manner as provided by law in relation to the lands northwest of the river Ohio and above the mouth of the Kentucky river.

THE BOUNDARIES AND CONTENTS OF SUBDIVISIONS.

The extent of the public domain to be divided into suitable tracts for settlers rendered some fixed laws necessary in regard to the boundaries and contents of the subdivisions. This subject early engaged the attention of Congress, and the following law relating thereto was passed and approved February 11th, 1805, to wit:

"AN ACT concerning the mode of surveying the public lands of the United States.

"SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the boundaries and contents of the several sections, half sections, and quarter sections of the public lands of the United States, shall be ascertained in conformity with the following principles, any act or acts to the contrary notwithstanding:

"1. All the corners marked in the surveys returned by the SurveyorGeneral, or by the surveyor of the land south of the State of Tennessee, respectively, 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 the said surveys, shall be placed as nearly as possible equidistant from those two corners which stand on the same line.

"2. The boundary lines actually run and marked in the surveys returned by the Surveyor-General, or by the surveyor of the land south of the State of Tennessee, respectively, 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 either of the surveyors aforesaid, shall be held and considered as the true length thereof. And the boundary lines which shall not have been actually run and marked as aforesaid, shall be ascertained by running straight lines from the established corners to the opposite corresponding corners; but in those portions of the fractional townships where no such opposite corresponding corners have been or can be fixed, the said boundary lines shall be ascertained by running from the established corners due north and south, or east and west, lines, as the case may be, to the watercourse, Indian boundary line, or other external boundary of such fractional township.

"3. Each section, or subdivision of section, the contents whereof shall have been, or by virtue of the first section of this act, shall be returned by the Surveyor-General, or by the surveyor of the public lands south of the State of Tennessee, respectively, shall be held and considered as con

taining the exact quantity expressed in such return or returns; and the half sections and quarter sections, the contents whereof shall not have been thus returned, shall be held and considered as containing the onehalf or the one-fourth part respectively of the returned contents of the section of which they make part."

By "An act providing for the division of certain quarter sections in future sales of the public lands," approved February 22d, 1817, it is provided that from and after the first day of September of that year, "in every case of the division of a quarter section" (of the sections designated by numbers 2, 5, 20, 30, and 33), "the partitions shall be made by a line running due north and south." In all other respects the same laws to prevail as in the case of other public lands.

"An act making further provision for the sale of the public lands," approved April 24th, 1820, provides that from and after the first day of July following, "in every case of the division of a quarter section, the line for the division thereof shall run north and south, and the corners and contents of half quarter sections which may thereafter be sold, shall be ascertained in the manner and on the principles directed and prescribed by the second section of the act of February 11th, 1805."

"An act supplemental to the several laws for the sale of the public lands," approved April 5th, 1832, provides that from and after the first day of May following, "in every case of a division of a half quarter section" (in all the public lands of the United States) "the line for the division thereof shall run east and west, and the corners and contents of quarter-quarter sections, which may thereafter be sold, shall be ascertained, as nearly as may be, in the manner and on the principles directed and prescribed by the 2d section of the act of February 11th, 1805; and fractional sections containing fewer, or more than 160 acres, shall in like manner, as nearly as may be practicable, be subdivided into quarter-quarter sections, under such rules and regulations as may be pre scribed by the Secretary of the Treasury."

The act of February 11th, 1805, has never been suspended or repealed, and consequently is still in full force. It annulled all previous acts or parts of acts in conflict with its provisions. No single act regarding the public lands ever passed by Congress is equal in importance to this, and yet it is imperfecly understood in the land states. From this law we derive the rules for subdividing sec. tions laid down in these pages.

SUBDIVIDING OF SECTIONS.

Only the exterior lines of sections are actually run and marked in the field by the United States deputy, and the only corner boundaries of legal subdivisions established by him are the section corners and intermediate half-mile corners on the exterior of the section.

Sections are divisible into quarters containing 160 acres each, half-quarters containing 80 acres, and quarter-quarters of 40 acres each, and government disposes of the public lands by these subdivisions; but when purchasers or settlers desire to have the boundaries of these tracts established and marked on the ground, it is done by a county or other private surveyor.

The manner of subdividing sections has been the subject of much perplexity to surveyors, and even to state legislators. The original corners established by the government surveyor must form the basis of all such subdivisions, and as these corners were sometimes established out of their proper positions, various plans for subdividing sections in such cases have been devised, with the view to correct the error in the original survey.

The legislatures of at least three of the public land states have passed laws upon this subject, each differing from the others, and all in conflict with the law of Congress. These laws must, in time, prove a fruitful source of litigation and vexatious annoyance to the land owners, and ought to be corrected as speedily as possible, and made to conform to the United States law.

It must be borne in mind that the boundaries of the public lands established by the government surveyors are unchangeable. This subject is treated of more fully in a preceding chapter, to which reference is made in this connection. The following rules will enable the surveyor to divide the section into its legal subdivisions in conformity with the law of Congress: