CARTOGRAPHY of PENNSYLVANIA BEFORE I 8Oo*

CARTOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA BEFORE i 8oo* BEFORE THE ADVENT OF WILLIAM PENN yáNY discussion of the historical cartography of Pennsylvania ¿\ must recognize efforts in mapping that area, in whole or in JL· JL part, before the period of the grant to William Penn. Fol- lowing this premise, we must go back to the World Map of Gerard Kramer, better known under his latin name of Mercator (1512- 1594), published at Duisburg, Germany, in 1569. This gentleman, born in Belgium of German parents, early studied mathematics, history, geography, and the art of scientific engraving, with the result that his whole life was given over to geographical studies and map- making. He, himself, drew and engraved such maps as were published over his name. Three sons grew up to be of great material assistance. The above mentioned World Map embodied all their geographical knowledge, and was the basis of his fame in cosmog- raphy, not only for the information contained, but for his new pro- jection, since known by his name. The part of this map in which we are most interested is the section known as the "East Coast of North America."1 The most impressive feature is the northeast-southwest trend of mountains, a short distance inland from the coast, which are given the name of "Apalchen." Kohl believes this to be the first time the Alleghany Mountains have been shown on any map.2 The distance inland and the general trend of the chain is remarkable, considering that Mercator's only prob- able basis was the reports of the expeditions of Cartier and DeSoto. The latter uses the term "Apalchen" for the mountains in the south, a term Mercator evidently transferred to his own map. * Inasmuch as the French Maps of the western part of the state and of the Ohio Valley constitute a study in themselves, no attempt is made to include them here. They, together with an annotated bibliography of the maps here treated, will be discussed in a future article. 1J. G. Kohl, "History of the Discovery of the East Coast of North America . .," in Collections of the Maine Hist. Soc, 2d ser.; William Willis, ed., Doc. Hist of the State of Maine (1869), I. 384. 2 Ibid., 392. *55 256 HAZEL SHIELDS GARRISON July Here, then, we have, in the middle of the 16th century, the earliest mapping of the Pennsylvania area which has survived in a similar form. The next map to be noticed is the Virginia: Discovered and Described by Qa^tain John Smithy Craven by William Hole, which was printed as ¿Map of Virginia with a Description of the Country, etc. (Oxford, 1612). It is stated by Stevens that the "last thread of the Asiatic line was expunged by Captain John Smith before 1614."3 It is surely apparent that there is not indicated, in any earlier map, any portrayal of the present Chesapeake Bay region that is recognizable as such. Smith claims to have led the exploration of most of the inlets of the bay, indicating the extent of such travels by crosses on his map. He says "In which Mappe observe this, that as far as you see the little Crosses on rivers, mountains, or other places have been discovered} the rest was had by information of the Savages and are set down according to their instructions."4 The part of the Pennsylvania area shown is only the lower Susquehanna, or "Sasquesahanough flu." The cross, indicating the extent of Smith's personal voyages, is only some four or five leagues up the river from the "Chesapeak Bay." The information for the rest of the river, some fifteen leagues further, including a few scattered villages, was probably furnished from the Indians. The source of the river is, of course, incorrect, and was obviously conjecture. The borders of the Susquehanna still remained the legendary home of a giant progeny. Smith's accuracy of topography was unusual and he displays a wealth of knowledge of Indian names and localities.5 The map was so care- fully and accurately detailed that it influenced many other maps up to the period when it was finally displaced by the Fry & Jefferson map of the region in the middle of the 18th century.6 The next notable effort is the work done by Peter Martensson Lindeström (1632-1691), a Swedish engineer who came to New Sweden in 1653, w^h free passage and officer's rank, but no wage, 8 Henry Stevens, Historical and Geographical Notes on the Earliest Discoveries in America, 1453-1530 (1869), *9· 4 The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles. by Captaine John Smith (Richmond, 1819, from the London ed. of 1627), I. 121. 5 For further discussion of this map, see P. Lee Phillips, "Virginia Cartography," in Smithsonian Misc. Coll, (1896), No. 1039. 6 Justin Winsor, Critical and Narrative History of America, III. 167. 1935 CARTOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA 257 in order "to see the world and gain experience."7 After his arrival, he made himself so useful in many respects as to be placed on the pay roll of the New Sweden Company in July, 1654, with the title of Engineer and Clerk of Court. His first map, that of Fort Chris- tina and the adjoining land, was sent back to the Queen on the ship Ohm, on its return, sometime in 1654. Lindeström thought the map somewhat defective in colors, but "otherwise . correctly drawn." This map is now preserved in the Royal Archives at Stockholm. A little later Lindeström was ordered to the explorations, by boat and horseback, of the region of New Sweden. This was done very care- fully and in considerable detail, extending to the making of many soundings in the Delaware Bay and River, the latter resulting in a chart of the bay and river with very exact sailing directions. The entire work was incorporated [1654] in his map of New Sweden,8 which is the oldest general map of Pennsylvania still existing.9 This map carries unusual detail as to land along the shores of the river and its tributary streams, even to the smallest creek. Much of the vast amount of material gathered by Lindeström on these explorations went into his Çeographia written in later years when illness had incapacitated him for any active work. His map of New Sweden was probably the most important accompanying the account of his ex- periences before the Commercial College of Stockholm in 1657. His calculations of latitude were exact, but in longitude he was in- accurate—a rather common fault of the early explorers, due to the inadequacy of instruments.10 The original manuscript was lost by fire, but an original manuscript copy was discovered and is now in the Royal Archives of Sweden at Oslo. The map was reproduced by Thomas Campanius Holm in his description of the Province of New Sweden in 1702.11 7 Geographia Americae . by Peter Lindeström; Trans, from the Original Manuscript by Amandus Johnson (1925), xix. 8 Nova S<vecia \ Anno i65¢ och 1655 \ Ardenna Novae Sveciae Carta Med \ dess Riviers och Landz Situation, ock \ beskassenhet \ aftagen och till Carts \ ford \ af P: Lind~ strönt, I Ingin: fortif:. The title is that of the first state as given in Lutheri Cathechismus Òfwersatt (1696). 9 Church Cat, IV. 1716. 10 Ibid., 153, note. 11A Short Description of the Province of New Sweden, Now Called by the English, Pennsylvania, In America. Trans, for H. S. P. by Peter S. Du Ponceau from the Swedish original, pub. in Stockholm by J. H. Werner, 1J02 (1834). VOL. LIX.—17 252 JEANNETTE P. NICHOLS July the degree of silver sentiment in each community. Certain textile in- terests gleefully surveyed the political scene and congratulated themselves and the Republican party upon the sapience of Reed.5 It was a great gain for the good cause, so long misrepresented and misunder- stood, that one of the foremost and most influential of the men in the Repub- lican party should have reached wise and patriotic conclusions upon the subject and should have been bold enough to proclaim them. The only true champions of bimetallism are the men who are willing also to stand faithfully by the protective tariff. Each month of that hectic summer the editor of the Textile Record rang the changes on the doctrine that protection and bimetallism belonged together—because Alexander Hamilton introduced them both, because their opposites (free trade and gold monometal- lism), were devised in England to the disadvantage of the United States, because the joint objects of free trade and gold monometal- lism were to injure American industry, cheapen cotton, wool, and food sales to England, and raise the amount of American indebted- ness to that country. American manufacturers can not prosper while American farmers, their best customers, grow poorer. That the mass of the American people desire the joint use of the two metals as standard money, is practically beyond question. They recognize the fact that protection and bimetallism are parts of one cause. So spoke a Philadelphia trade periodical,6 while in New York an- other, the weekly Engineering and ¿Mining Journal, rejoiced, in somewhat more dignified fashion, over each advance registered by the bimetallic cause at home and abroad.7 But the greater the success of the silver-tariff combine, the more agonized grew the protests of editors opposed to them singly and collectively. Western opposition was typified by the editor of the %ocky {Mountain 3\[ews, who de- claimed against the tariff cry as shunting silver off the center of the stage.

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