32 THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF CECIL COUNTY 



neons, but as civilization advanced and the wealth, of the community 

 increased, the rough outline maps were gradually revised and super- 

 ceded by more exact and satisfactory ones. The history of explora- 

 tion in Cecil county is therefore a record of the gradual accumulation 

 of information which was at first vague and general and has only of 

 late become definite and special. This history will be discussed under 

 the two divisions of geographical research and geological research. 



THE HISTORY OE GEOGRAPHIC RESEARCH. 



The first geographical exploration 1 which was made into the region 

 which is now known as Cecil county was carried on in the summer of 

 1608 by Captain John Smith and a few companions, although the 

 results were not published until 1612-14. The motive which prompted 

 Smith to this enterprise was the exploration of Chesapeake Bay and 

 the adjacent county, so that the examination of Cecil county was only 

 a portion of the work accomplished. His description of the country 

 about the head of the Bay is as follows: 



" From the head of the Bay to the Northwest, the land is moun- 

 tainous, and so in a manner from thence by a Southwest line ; so that 

 the more Southward, the farther off from the Bay are those moun- 

 taines. From which fall certaine brookes which after come to the 

 fine principall navigable rivers. These run from the Northwest into 

 the Southeast, and so into the West side of the Bay, where the fall 

 of every River within 20 or 15 miles one of another." 



In all, Smith spent scarcely a month in his exploration of Chesa- 

 peake Bay, but nevertheless was able to present a remarkably well- 

 proportioned map, considering the difficulties which he encountered 

 and the rough methods of work he employed. This map was used 

 for some time afterwards as a basis of exploration and settlement. 



In 1651, the Farrer map of the environs of Chesapeake Bay and 

 the surrounding country appeared. This map, which was drawn by 

 Virginia Farrer, was distorted so as to prove that " in ten dayes 



1 For illustrations of these early maps and the conditions under which they were 

 made, see Mathews, Maps and Mapmakers of Maryland, Md. Geol. Survey, volume 

 II, 1898, pp. 337-488. 



