20 THE LOG OF A TIMBER CRUISER 
baseline, for upon this would depend our route and 
the manner in which we would approach and cruise 
the various divisions of the range. This baseline, 
we learned, was simply a surveyed line running from 
the nearest established section corner to the camp 
where we were to begin work. This accounted in 
great part for our stop at Kingston, where the only 
known corner for miles around was located. After 
carrying the baseline to the first camp it would fol- 
low the ridges or canyon bottoms—wherever the go- 
ing was easiest—according to whatever plan Frazer 
devised in regard to the general scheme of our work. 
The baseline, Frazer said, would be plotted out on 
township plats, carried for the purpose by the in- 
strument man, each day as we went along. Since it 
was to be tied in with the section corner at King- 
ston it would—assuming accurate computation—en- 
able us to ascertain our exact location as regards 
section and township at any time, and all other work 
would be carried on with reference to it as a guide. 
The outfit used in carrying forward the baseline, 
we found, consisted of a plane table, an alidade and 
a stadia rod. The plane table was a flat, smooth 
plane of wood an inch thick and about two feet 
square, which screwed onto a heavy wooden tripod 
with spike-tipped legs. The alidade, which when in 
use was to be set upon the plane table instead of 
upon a tripod of its own, turned out to be an instru- 
ment like a telescope with several mysterious look- 
ing little attachments in the form of thumbscrews 
