Mapping the North American plains

Jo~o~~al of’ Historical

Geograpll~‘,

10, 1 ( 1984)

75 76

Conference reports Mapping the North American plains

The Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln organized a two-day symposium on 28 and 29 April 1983 on mapping the North American plains. The symposium commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Prince Maximillian expedition to the plains and also celebrated the publication of volume I, an atlas, in a new edition of the papers of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The meeting was attended by eighty cartographic historians. Altogether thirteen papers, grouped into seven sessions, examined maps drawn by different techniques ranging from native American through government survey to late nineteenth century commercial publications. The keynote address was given by John 1,. Allen, who spoke on “Patterns of promise: mapping the plains and prairies 1800&1860”. His broad review provided a philosophical framework in which to place many later papers. Having demonstrated that the plains were well mapped before they were well travelled and settled. he explained that some maps were based more on hope and promise than on what was actually there. He also argued that the mind only sees what it knows, and unfamiliar landscapes were often represented in the light of knowledge of other places. Pike’s map of the southern plains was the first map to be ordered officially and the first to be reasonably accurate: Pike’s great contribution to map-making, indeed, to exploring the plains was to shrink the extent of the region to approximately its correct size+ about half that formerly depicted. Native American map-making was the subject of two papers. G. Malcolm Lewis’s “Indian maps: their place in the history of plains cartography” assessed the value of Indian map-making for later European cartographers. A vast number of Indian maps were not preserved because they were prepared for short-term uses and even if drawn on hides or wood their chances of survival were very small. Features of importance to an Indian group -rivers, lakes and so on-might be exaggerated in scale, distances might be measured in journey times as so many nights or moons, and some idea of direction might be indicated, not from a north point, but from a point of reference familiar to a particular people. Much information on maps compiled by westward-moving American mapmakers and explorers seems to have been derived from Indian sources. For example. Collot’s map of the Missouri (1826) includes symbols for Indian villages way beyond the limits explored by contemporaries. A paper by James Rondaexamined the extent to which the Lewis and Clark expedition made use of Indian cartography. Ronda suggested that Indians provided “in their own way” maps of areas which Lewis and Clark visited. Indian contributions were translated into some official maps, Indian concepts of distance being interpreted so that villages, streams, hills and other features could be located correctly. The rest of the first day was devoted to discussing maps of the great expeditions. W. Raymond Wood focused his attention on the Missouri river and its mapping both before and after Lewis and Clark. He reminded the audience that Marquette and others explored various parts of the area and produced maps: for example, an original map by La Salle is now lost but maps drawn from it have survived. Journals kept by four members of the Lewis and Clark expedition have survived yet only one includes a map. The otherjournals provide much additional information of use to map-makers. During the post-Lewis and 030%

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Clark period maps gradually improved in accuracy. Almost all maps were designed to serve commercial interests-initially for fur traders, then for steam-boat operators, later for railroad promoters and, at all times, accurate surveys were required for land sales to ranchers and speculators. Gary Moulton discussed William Clark’s actual mapping of the Great Plains between 1804 and 1806. Jefferson did not specifically ask Clark to map the plains but to collect accurate, scientific information, yet all but two of the 129 maps in the atlas of the expedition may be attributed to Clark. Clark had no training as a cartographer and recorded mostly distances travelled and compass directions. He used experience gained in mapping the plains in later mapping the Rockies and areas further west. No maps were made on the return journey. Ralph Ehrenberg’s paper traced the development of government mapping both in the prairies and on the plains after the Civil War, when the federal government was hurrying to obtain accurate surveys so that westward-moving pioneers could take up officially surveyed homesteads and westwardpushing railroads could be allotted accurately measured land grants. An examination of Stephen Long’s contribution to plains cartography was undertaken by Roger Nichols and this paper brought the first day’s sessions to an end. On Friday morning Richard Ruggles reviewed the mapping of the Canadian plains, referring in particular to cartography undertaken by the Hudson Bay Company. The region was mapped unsystematically by some 160 men between 1670 and 1879 and during these two centuries about 4,800 manuscript maps of various parts of Prince Rupert Land were drawn, about two-thirds of which are extant; in addition, some 500 segment maps or journey sequences are preserved in journals. The Hudson Bay Company failed to recruit explorers who could use surveying instruments other than compasses but they succeeded in hiring artists who could sketch. The company requested that a copy of each map be sent to the governor in London, a second copy being kept at York factory. Not until the late eighteenth century did the company appoint a full-time surveyor, Philip Turner, as mapmaker. Before that, few of the company’s staff were sufficiently motivated or encouraged to map and sketch observations of their wide-ranging travels. A paper by Silvio Bedini described the scientific equipment, whose cost amounted to nearly 8”; of the total costs of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Jefferson took a personal interest in what instruments were taken and how they were used and the success of the expedition enabled him to obtain further support from Congress for scientific research. Karen Pearson discussed methods of printing, lettering and colouring maps published in the era of Great Plains settlement. Walter Ristow reviewed the work of commercial companies engaged in Great Plains cartography, showing how much of their output was based on exploratory maps drawn by westward-probing expeditions. The problem of mapping land quality in the Canadian prairies was discussed by James Richtik. Although the Canadian government recognized the need for an accurate classification of soils for the guidance of farmers and administrators, surveyors were hampered by a lack of adequate instructions in the classification to be adopted and they failed to relate soil characteristics to the needs of farmers. In some areas, surveyors attempted to evaluate soils while snow lay on the ground. Ronald Grim looked in detail at how the General Land Office mapped the plains in Kansas and Nebraska. C. Barton McIntosh concluded that not all original land surveys carried out by the Land Offtce were accurate and considerable problems and conflicts arose from inaccuracies. Poor surveying techniques. tardiness by survey teams and other defects necessitated re-survey in some areas. as for example, in parts of the sandhill region in Nebraska. The papers, many beautifully illustrated, offered plenty of material for thought and debate. Question periods were lively and the size of the group enabled discussion to continue long after paper sessions were over. The Center for Great Plains Studies and its Director, Brian Blouet, earned the gratitude of all present for organizing such a stimulating and smooth-running meeting and for making two days so enjoyable. Birkheck College, London

JOHN

F. DAVIS