_Report of the joint commission of boundary appointed under the treaty
of Washington of August 9, 1842_.
The undersigned, commissioners appointed under the treaty of Washington
to trace and mark the boundary, as directed by that treaty, between the
British possessions in North America and the United States--that is to
say, James Bucknall Bucknall Estcourt, lieutenant-colonel in the British
army, appointed commissioner by Her Britannic Majesty, and Albert Smith,
appointed commissioner by the President of the United States--having
accomplished the duty assigned to them, do now, in accordance with the
directions of the said treaty, submit the following report and the
accompanying maps, jointly signed, to their respective Governments.
In obedience to the terms of the treaty, the undersigned met at Bangor,
in the State of Maine, on the 1st day of May, 1843, where they produced
and verified the authority under which they each were respectively to
act. They then adjourned, because the weather was not sufficiently open
for taking the field, to the 1st of the following month (June), and
agreed to meet again at that time at Houlton.
Accordingly, they did meet at that place, and began their operations.
It may be desirable to state at the outset that for the sake of
convenience the whole line of boundary marked by the undersigned has
been divided in the mention made of the different portions into the
following grand divisions, viz:
"North line," from the source of the St. Croix to the intersection of
the St. John.
"River St. John," from the intersection of the north line to the mouth
of the St. Francis.
"River St. Francis," from its mouth to the outlet of Lake Pohenagamook.
"Southwest line," from the outlet of Lake Pohenagamook to the Northwest
Branch of the St. John.
"South line," from the Northwest Branch to the parallel of latitude 46°
25' on the Southwest Branch.
"Southwest Branch," from the parallel 46° 25' to its source.
"Highlands," from the source of the Southwest Branch of the St. John to
the source of Halls Stream.
"Halls Stream," from its source to the intersection of the line of
Valentine and Collins.
"West line," from Halls Stream to the St. Lawrence near St. Regis, along
the line of Valentine and Collins.
To return to the narration of operations:
The exploring line of Colonel Bouchette and Mr. Johnson, as directed by
the treaty, was traced from the monument at the source of the St. Croix
to the intersection of the St. John.
The monument found at the source of the St. Croix, as described in the
report of Colonel Bouchette and Mr. Johnson, and the course of their
exploring line, was traced by blazes or marks upon the trees.
An old line, cut out by the assistant surveyors of Colonel Bouchette and
Mr. Johnson, was also found, which terminated about half a mile north
of the South Branch of the Meduxnikeag, where, by records to which the
undersigned referred, they ascertained that it had been abandoned
because of its deviation from the exploring line of Colonel Bouchette
and Mr. Johnson.
After the exploration and re-marking of the north line it was cut out 30
feet wide. The same was afterwards done in all parts where the boundary
passed through woodland. After thus opening the north line it was
surveyed, and iron posts were erected at intervals to mark it.
The general bearing of the line was rather to the west of the meridian
of the monument at the source of the St. Croix. The precise line laid
down by the undersigned was determined by successive courses, of which
each was made to be as long as was convenient, provided it did not pass
out of the opening of 30 feet.
At each angle of deflection an iron monument was erected, and placed
anglewise with the line. Other monuments were erected at the crossing of
roads, rivers, and at every mile, commencing from the source of the St.
Croix. Those which were not intended to mark angles of deflection were
placed square with the line.
At the intersection of the St. John by the north line the river is deep
and broad. The boundary runs up the middle of the channel of the river,
as indicated by the maps, dividing the islands as follows:
No. 1. Ryan's Island................................ United States.
No. 2. King's Island................................ United States.
No. 3. Les Trois Isles.............................. United States.
No. 4. La Septieme Isle............................. United States.
No. 5. Quissibis.................................... Great Britain.
No. 6. La Grand Isle................................ United States.
No. 7. Thibideau's Islands.......................... United States.
No. 8. Madawaska Islands............................ Great Britain.
No. 9. Joseph Michaud's three islands............... United States.
No. 10. Pine Island.................................. Great Britain.
No. 11. Baker's }
Turtle }
Dagle's } islands ........................... Great Britain.
Fourth }
Fifth }
No. 12. Kennedy's Island............................. Great Britain.
No. 13. Crock's }
Cranberry } islands......................... Great Britain.
Gooseberry }
No. 14. Savage's Island.............................. United States.
No. 15. Wheelock's Island............................ United States.
No. 16. Caton's Island............................... United States.
No. 17. Honeywell's Island........................... United States.
No. 18. Savage and Johnson's Island.................. United States.
No. 19. Grew's Island................................ United States.
No. 20. Kendall's Island............................. Great Britain.
The islands were distributed to Great Britain or to the United States,
as they were found to be on the right or left of the deep channel. There
was but one doubtful case, La Septieme Isle, and that was apportioned to
the United States because the majority of the owners were ascertained to
reside on the United States side of the river.
Monuments were erected upon the islands, marking them for Great Britain
or the United States, as the case may have been.
After leaving the St. John the boundary enters the St. Francis, dividing
the islands at the mouth of that river in the manner shown in the maps.
It then runs up the St. Francis, through the middle of the lakes upon
it, to the outlet of Lake Pohenagamook, the third large lake from the
mouth of the river. At the outlet a large monument has been erected.
In order to determine the point on the Northwest Branch to which the
treaty directed that a straight line should be run from the outlet of
Lake Pohenagamook, a survey of that stream was made, and also of the
main St. John in the neighborhood of the mouth of the Northwest Branch,
and a line was cut between the St. John and the point on the Northwest
Branch ascertained by the survey to be 10 miles in the nearest direction
from it, and the distance was afterwards verified by chaining.
It was ascertained also, in accordance with the provisions of the
treaty, by a triangulation of the country toward the highlands dividing
the waters of the St. Lawrence and of the St. John, that more than 7
miles intervened between the point selected on the Northwest Branch and
the crest of the dividing ridge. A large iron monument was afterwards
erected on the point thus selected, and the space around was cleared and
sown with grass seed. It is a short distance below the outlet of Lake
Ishaganalshegeck.
The outlet of Lake Pohenagamook and the point on the Northwest Branch
designated by the treaty having been thus ascertained and marked, in the
spring of 1844 a straight line was run between them. Along that line,
which passes entirely through forest, monuments were erected at every
mile, at the crossings of the principal streams and rivers, and at the
tops of those hills where a transit instrument had been set up to test
the straightness of the line.
As soon as the parallel of latitude 46° 25' had been determined on the
Southwest Branch, in the early part of the summer of 1844, a straight
line was drawn from the boundary point on the Northwest Branch to a
large monument erected on the left bank of the Southwest Branch where it
is intersected by the parallel of latitude 46° 25'. The line so drawn
crosses the Southwest Branch once before it reaches the parallel of
latitude 46° 25', and at about half a mile distance from that parallel.
There also a large monument has been set up on the left bank.
From the intersection of the parallel 46° 25' the boundary ascends the
Southwest Branch, passes through a lake near its head, and so up a small
stream which falls into the lake from the west to the source of that
stream, which has been selected as the source of the Southwest Branch.
On the Southwest Branch there are two principal forks, at each of
which two monuments have been erected, one on each bank of the river
immediately above the forks and upon the branch established as the
boundary. The maps point out their positions. At the mouth of the small
stream selected as the source of the Southwest Branch a monument has
been erected upon a delta formed by two small outlets. Above those
outlets three other monuments have been placed at intervals upon the
same stream.
Upon the crest of the dividing ridge, very close to the source of the
Southwest Branch, a large monument has been erected. It is the first
point in the highlands, and from it the boundary runs along the crest
in a southerly direction, passing near to the southeastern shore of the
Portage Lake, and so on to a large monument erected on a small eminence
on the east side of the Kennebec road. Thence it passes through a
dwelling house called Tachereau's, which was standing there at the time
the line was run; so, by a tortuous course, it runs to the top of Sandy
Stream Mountain; thence, inclining to the southwest, it runs over Hog
Back the First, as shown in the maps; thence toward Hog Back the Second,
which it leaves on the north side. Further on, at the head of Leech
Lake, there is a stream which divides its waters and flows both into
Canada and into the United States. The boundary has been made to run up
that stream a short distance from the fork where the waters divide to a
second fork; thence between the streams which unite to form that fork,
and then to ascend again the dividing ridge. A monument has been erected
at the fork first mentioned, where the waters divide.
As the boundary approaches the valley of Spider River it bends to the
southeast, and, by a wide circuit over high and steep hills, it turns
the head of Spider River; thence it bends to the northwest until it
approaches within about 4 miles of Lake Megantic; thence it turns again
south, having the valley of Arnolds River on the right and of Dead River
on the left. It leaves Gasford Mountain in Canada, threads its way over
very high ground between the head of Arnolds River and the tributaries
of the Magalloway; inclines then to the north, so to the west, over very
rocky, mountainous, and difficult country, leaving Gipps Peak in the
United States, and turns by a sharp angle at Saddle Back to the south.
After that it again inclines to the west, and then to the south, and
again to the west, and passes the head of the Connecticut. About 3 miles
and a half east of the head of the Connecticut there is a division of
waters similar to that described near Leech Lake. The boundary runs down
a stream from near its source to the fork where it divides, and then
again follows the dividing ridge. The spot is noted on the map.
After the boundary has passed the head of the Connecticut it runs to the
northwest, descending into very low, swampy ground between the heads of
Indian Stream and the tributaries of the St. Francis. Thus it passes on,
bending again to the south of west, over a high hill, to the source of
Halls Stream.
Iron monuments have been erected at intervals along the highlands from
the source of the Southwest Branch of the St. John to the source of
Halls Stream, the position of each of which is shown upon the maps.
From the source of Halls Stream the boundary descends that river,
dividing the islands, which are, however, merely unimportant alluvial
deposits, in the manner indicated by the maps until it reaches the
intersection of that stream by the line formerly run by Valentine and
Collins as the forty-fifth degree of north latitude.
At that point a large monument has been erected on the right and a small
one on the left bank of the stream. Monuments have also been erected
along the bank of this stream, as indicated on the maps.
The line of Valentine and Collins was explored and found by the blazes
still remaining in the original forest.
Upon cutting into those blazes it was seen that deep seated in the tree
there was a scar, the surface of the original blaze, slightly decayed,
and upon counting the rings (which indicate each year's growth of the
tree) it was found that the blazes dated back to 1772, 1773, and 1774.
The line of Valentine and Collins was run in 1771, 1772, 1773, and 1774.
The coincidence of the dates of the blazes with those of the above line,
confirmed by the testimony of the people of the country, satisfied the
undersigned that the line they had found was that mentioned in the
treaty. Along this portion of the boundary, which is known as the
forty-fifth degree of Valentine and Collins, and which extends from
Halls Stream to St. Regis, there are several interruptions to the blazes
in those parts where clearings have been made, and there the authentic
marks of the precise situation of the old line have been lost. In those
cases the undersigned have drawn the boundary line straight from the
original blazes on the one side of a clearing to the original blazes on
the other side of the same clearing.
It can not be positively stated that the line as it has been traced
through those clearings precisely coincides with the old line, but the
undersigned believe that it does not differ materially from it; nor have
they had the means of determining a nearer or a surer approximation.
Along this line, at every point of deflection, an iron monument has been
erected; also at the crossing of rivers, lakes, and roads. Those which
mark deflections are placed, as on the "north line," anglewise with the
line; all the others are placed square with it. The maps show the
position of each.
On the eastern shore of Lake Memphremagog an astronomical station was
established, and on a large flat rock of granite, which happened to lie
between the astronomical station and the boundary, was cut the following
inscription:
Capt: Robinson.
Ast: Station
422 feet north.
_Meridian_ _Line._
-----------------------------()--------------------------------
Boundary Line
595 feet south
August, 1845.
_British Boundary Commission_
A mark was cut upon the stone, as indicated by the dot upon the meridian
line above, from which these measurements were made.
At Rouses Point a monument of wrought stone was set up at the
intersection of the boundary by the meridian of the transit instrument
used there by Major Graham, and an inscription was cut upon it stating
the latitude and longitude, the names of the observer and his assistant,
the names of the commissioners, and the territories divided.
To mark the position of the instruments used at the following
astronomical stations along the west line, two monuments within a few
feet of each other have been erected at each station, and they have been
placed on the boundary line due north or south of the instrument, as the
case may have been.
The stations are: Lake Memphremagog, Richford, John McCoy's, Trout River.
The boundary along the west line, though very far from being a straight
line, is generally about half a mile north of the true parallel of
latitude 45° from Halls Stream to Rouses Point. At about 28 miles west
of Rouses Point it, however, crosses that parallel to the south until it
reaches Chateaugay River, where it bends northward, and, crossing the
parallel again about 4 miles east of St. Regis, it strikes the St.
Lawrence 151 feet north of 45°. At that point a large monument has been
erected on the bank of the St. Lawrence. Two large monuments have also
been erected, one on either side of the river Richelieu near Rouses
Point.
No marks of the old line were to be found about St. Regis. It was
therefore agreed to run a line due west from the last blaze which should
be found in the woods on the east side of St. Regis. That blaze occurred
about 1 mile east of the St. Regis River.
The maps, which exhibit the boundary on a scale of 4 inches to 1 statute
mile, consist of 62 consecutive sheets of antiquarian paper as
constructed by the British and of 61 as constructed by the American
commission. A general map has also been constructed on a scale of 8
miles to 1 inch by the British and of 10 miles to 1 inch by the American
commission, upon which the before-mentioned sheets are represented.
The following portions of the boundary have been laid down by the
British commission, on detached maps, on a scale of 12 inches to 1 mile,
which have been signed by both commissioners:
Grand Falls of the St. John, including the intersection of that
river by the north line; islands of the St. John; the outlet of Lake
Pohenagamook; the turning point of the boundary on the Northwest Branch
of the St. John; the intersection of the Southwest Branch by the
parallel of latitude 46° 25'; the source of the Southwest Branch; the
source of Halls Stream; the intersection of Halls Stream by the west
line; Rouses Point; St. Regis; Derby.
But similar maps have not been prepared by the American commission,
because during the interval between the finishing of the maps of the
British commission and those of the American it was thought that the
maps already constructed upon a scale of 4 inches to 1 mile represented
the boundary with sufficient clearness and accuracy.
The astronomical observations were begun at the Grand Falls early in
June, 1843, and were carried up the St. John River to the Northwest
Branch by a chain of stations, which, together with the results
obtained, are tabulated in the appendix accompanying this report.
From the valley of the St. John an astronomical connection was made with
Quebec, and thence to Montreal, and so to Rouses Point. From Rouses
Point a connection was obtained with Cambridge University, near Boston.
The astronomical stations on the west line were: Intersection of Halls
Stream by the west line, Lake Memphremagog, Richford, Rouses Point, John
McCoy's, Trout River, St. Regis.
Latitude was also obtained at an astronomical station established for
the purpose at the head of the Connecticut.
Volumes containing the astronomical observations of both commissions are
herewith submitted. From them it will be observed that the results for
absolute longitude obtained by the British and American astronomers do
not agree. It being a difference in no way affecting the survey of the
boundary line, the undersigned do not feel called upon to attempt to
reconcile it. The data upon which those results are based may be seen
in the volumes of observations accompanying this report.
In the appendix will be found, in a tabular form, the following:
An abstract of the survey of the boundary along the north line; an
abstract of the survey of the boundary along the southwest line; an
abstract of the survey of the boundary along the south line; an abstract
of the survey of the boundary along the highlands; an abstract of
the survey of the boundary along the west line; the position of the
monuments erected on the Southwest Branch of the St. John and on Halls
Stream; the distribution of the islands of the St. John and the
monuments on them; the guide lines and offsets run by each commission
for the survey of the highlands; the azimuths of verification for the
survey of the highlands; the latitudes and longitudes obtained from the
astronomical observations; the comparative longitudes obtained, and the
methods used for the purpose.
Upon comparing the maps of the two commissions it will be seen that the
American commission numbers two monuments more than the British. Those
are to be found, one on the "Fourth Island," in the river St. John, and
the other on the highlands between the source of the Southwest Branch of
the river St. John and the Kennebec road.
On the maps of the British commission representing the "west line" the
name of the town of "_Derby_" has been improperly placed north of the
line instead of south of it. Also, on the same maps the direction of
Salmon River, near the western extremity of the "west line," has been
incorrectly laid down from the boundary line northward. A direction has
been given to it northeasterly instead of northwesterly.
The above two corrections the British commissioner is authorized to make
on his maps after his return to England.
To avoid unnecessary delay in making their joint report, the undersigned
have attached their signatures to the maps, although the lettering
of some of the astronomical stations upon the maps of the American
commission, as well as the alterations before mentioned in the maps of
the British commission, are yet to be made; but in the maps of both the
boundary has been laid down accurately and definitively, and the
undersigned engage that it shall not be altered in any respect.
In conclusion the undersigned have the honor to report that the line of
boundary described in the foregoing statement has been run, marked, and
surveyed, and the accompanying maps faithfully constructed from that
survey.
The undersigned take leave to add that the most perfect harmony has
subsisted between the two commissions from first to last, and that no
differences have arisen between the undersigned in the execution of the
duties intrusted to them.
Signed and sealed in duplicate, at the city of Washington, this 28th day
of June, A.D. 1847.
J.B. BUCKNALL ESTCOURT, [SEAL.]
_Lieutenant-Colonel, Her Britannic Majesty's Commissioner_.
ALBERT SMITH, [SEAL.]
_United States Commissioner_.
NOTE.--The astronomical computations of the American commission not
being completed, and it being unnecessary to defer the signing of the
report on that account, the American commissioner engages to transmit
them, with any other papers or tables not yet finished, as soon as they
shall be so, to the British commissioner, through the American minister
resident in London, to whom, upon delivery of the documents, the British
commissioner will give a receipt, to be transmitted to the American
commissioner.
J. B. BUCKNALL ESTCOURT,
_Lieutenant-Colonel, H.B.M. Commissioner of Boundary_.
ALBERT SMITH,
_United States Commissioner_.
WASHINGTON, _August 18, 1842_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to its
ratification, a treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation with the
Republic of Texas, negotiated at the seat of Government of the United
States between the Secretary of State, duly empowered for that purpose,
and the chargé d'affaires of that Republic.
In forming the first commercial treaty between the two Governments an
anxious desire has been felt to introduce such provisions as should
promote the interests of both countries. The immediate proximity of
Texas to the United States and the consequent facility of intercourse,
the nature of its principal agricultural production, and the relations
which both countries bear to several large rivers which are boundaries
between them, and which in some part of their course run within the
territories of both, have caused peculiarities of condition and
interests which it has been necessary to guard.
The treaty provides that Texas shall enjoy a right of deposit for such
of her productions as may be introduced into the United States for
exportation, but upon the condition that the Executive of the United
States may prescribe such regulations as may be necessary for the proper
enjoyment of the privilege within our territory. It was thought no more
than reasonable to grant this facility to the trade of Texas, under such
conditions as seem best calculated to guard against abuse or
inconvenience.
The treaty further provides that raw cotton may be imported from either
country into the other free of duties. In general it is not wise to
enter into treaty stipulations respecting duties of import; they are
usually much better left to the operation of general laws. But there are
circumstances existing in this case which have been thought to justify a
departure from the general rule, and the addition of it to the number of
instances, not large, in which regulations of duties of imports have
been made the subject of national compact.
The United States consume large quantities of raw cotton, but they are
exporters of the article to a still greater extent. Texas, for the
present at least, exports her whole crop. These exportations are, in
general, to the same foreign markets, and it is supposed to be of no
considerable importance to the American producer whether he meets the
Texan product at home or abroad.
On the other hand, it is thought that a useful commercial intercourse
would be promoted in several ways by receiving the raw cotton of Texas
at once into the United States free of duty. The tendency of such a
measure is to bring to the United States, in the first instance, Texan
cotton ultimately destined to European markets. The natural effect of
this, it is supposed, will be to increase the business of the cities of
the United States to the extent of this importation and exportation,
and to secure a further degree of employment to the navigation of the
country. But these are by no means all the benefits which may be
reasonably expected from the arrangement. Texas, at least for a
considerable time to come, must import all the manufactured articles
and much of the supplies and provisions necessary for her use and
consumption. These commodities she will be likely to obtain, if to be
had, in the markets of the country in which she disposes of her main
annual product. The manufactures of the North and East, therefore, and
the grain and provisions of the Western States are likely to find in
Texas a demand, increased by whatever augments intercourse between the
two countries, and especially by whatever tends to give attraction to
the cities of the United States as marts for the sale of her great and
principal article of export.
As a security, however, against unforeseen results or occurrences,
it has been thought advisable to give this article of the treaty a
limitation of five years.