40 National Geographic Magazine. 
The new nation began her existence under extraordinary cir- 
cumstances. With only an experimental form of government, 
she was to develop a vast region of unknown resources ; but © 
happily imbued with the belief that “knowledge is power,” it 
was not long before systematic efforts were put forth to learn 
the wealth we had and how it might be utilized. The congress 
of the confederation provided the first act in 1785, for the 
organization of the land surveys and land parcelling system, that 
title to the unoccupied territories in the west might be securely 
vested in the individual. We have record of the stimulus this 
act gave to the settlement of a large territory, and raised the 
demand for surveys in the still further west, developing the 
geography of a vast region that has since become the home of 
millions of people. The original act was amended as early as 
1796, and since then has frequently been added to in the effort to 
meet the new conditions evolved in the rapid development of 
the country. Other great regions were explored by the army, 
sometimes under special acts, until finally we had learned with 
some degree of reliability, the general adaptability of our whole 
territory. The discovery of the great mineral wealth of the 
west, and the improved means of communication afforded by 
the construction of continental railways, however, imposed new 
conditions and it was found more detailed information would be 
necessary to meet the demands of the increasing population. 
We thus reached another stage where expeditions equipped for 
scientific investigation were organized, and through their labors 
brought us knowledge of still greater value ; and to-day we see 
these merged into one body in the geological survey, whose 
special duty is the scientific exploration and study of our great 
territory. 
While this had been passing in the interior, bringing life to 
unoccupied regions, the districts on the coast that had long been 
settled, were also struggling with new problems. The material 
progress of the civilized world, and the pressure from the regions 
behind them that had been recently peopled, demanded greater 
commercial facilities. Early in the century, almost coincident 
with the establishment of the land surveys, provision had been 
made for the survey of the coasts, and although through various 
causes it was not vigorously prosecuted until a third of the cen- 
tury had passed, when the time came for its economic use in 
meeting the new conditions imposed by the general progress of 
