SURVEY AND SUBDIVISION OF INDIAN TERRITORY 115 
the triaiigulation points being marked in a very permanent man- 
ner. The triangulation rests upon a base line measured on the 
track of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railway near Savanna, 
and the astronomical position of this place was determined as 
the initial position. 
The subdivision parties, by which is to be understood the par- 
ties engaged in running the section lines, are grouped, four of 
them being in charge of an experienced surveyor connected with 
the permanent corps of the United States Geological Survey, who 
supervises the work closely and attends to the executive man- 
agement of the outfit, and who, moreover, commonly with the 
aid of an assistant, maps the topography of the area subdivided. 
This latter duty is rendered light by the fact that the surveyor 
in running the lines locates the points of crossing of every stream, 
road, or other natural or artificial feature which he encounters 
in the course of his line. Thus at intervals of a mile or less all 
the features are located and little remains for the topographer to 
do except to sketch these features between these points of 
location. 
The ])rogress made in this survey up to the end of January 
of the present }'ear is set forth in a report which has been made 
to the Secretary of the Interior. It appears from this that in 
the primary triangulation 49 stations have been selected, signals 
built uj)on them and angles measured from them. By means 
of these stations an area of about 10,000 square miles, or aI)out 
five-twelfths of the area of the Territory, excluding the Chicka- 
saw nation, has been controlled. In the subdivison work 11,770 
miles had been run out of an estimated amount of 47,000 miles 
to complete the Territory, or about one-fourth of the entire 
work. Of the above mileage 970 miles are of standard lines — 
that is, standard parallels and correction lines; 1,790 miles are 
exterior lines of townships, 8,770 miles are section lines, and 
the remaining 240 miles are the meander lines of streams. 
The work thus far done completes the subdivision of 128 full 
townships and 20 fractional townships. It is included inainly 
in the western part of the Choctaw nation, embraces all of the 
Seminole country and some of the Creek country, while standard 
lines have been run into the Cln'rokcc nation. The i>rogrc.ss is 
represented upon the sketch map accompanying this paper. 
The mapping of topography has followed closel}' after the 
work of subdivision, and up t<> the date given above an ari?a of 
4,2(X) square miles had been thus mapped. 
