The Eastern Boundary Argument Using Rankin's Field Notes

I have examined the events of the eastern boundary survey that occurred on September 4th, 1855 from Rankin's (Gould's) second journal and Rankin's corresponding diary in my previous post. Rankin (or more likely Gould, based on handwriting) also recorded the traverse from the post at midpoint Lot 31 to Lot 25/26 (Main Street) in his field notes and that is the focus of this posting. The record from the field notes offers an even more accurate tracing of Rankin's progress that day and proves the eastern boundary without doubt passed through the water of Lake Huron from Lot 25/26 (Main Street) to Lot 31.

In this posting, I would first like to follow Rankin's traverse according to his field notes. I then would like to show INAC/Saugeen Band's spin on the field notes in order for them to match with their claim. I would also like to recreate the shoreline from 1855 based on accretion using the Ontario mapping tool to help visualize my first illustration of Rankin's traverse. Last, I would like to show the Hydrological map and recreate the eastern boundary extension line by comparing the map to the 1855 draft map. This shows both maps have the eastern boundary extension line running through the water 

Without a detailed satellite representation of what the shoreline looked like in 1855, it was very difficult using the Ontario mapping tool to visualize what Rankin did according to his field notes in relation to the shoreline and the eastern boundary. I had to do two things: 1.) refer to what I know for sure and once I did the traverse based on what I know, 2.) recreate the 1855 shoreline with the mapping tool based on accretion. What I know is: The eastern boundary extension line touches the shore at midpoint Lot 31 according to the original treaty instructions and it is Rankin's practice to plant posts well in from the shoreline to keep them from washing away in rough weather. Considering the hydrographic map shows the mid-Lot 31 post 115 feet inland (by scale), I know Rankin planted the post 115 feet inland east of the eastern boundary extension line for reasons already stated above. (Although the post is positioned inland 115 feet, its intended position is the shoreline, to line up with the eastern boundary extension line.)

Rankin records in the field notes that he traversed 14 chains (924 ft.) from the Lot 31 post before he reaches the edge of the lake. From that point he continues along the edge of the lake for 101 chains (6,666 feet) before he leaves the edge of the lake back inland. 

I did not interpret the field note above on my own, I consulted an experts report which some of you may be familiar with. For the 115 feet reference inland from the shore at mid-Lot 31, see page 15 and for the actual survey, refer to page 18. While the information in this posting has basically already been completed, all we have as reference is textual. I feel to really understand Rankin's survey it is important to illustrate it visually. For those familiar with Sauble Beach, the information really hits home when it becomes visual. I also feel that it is significant to be able to establish Lot 25/26 as where water meets land on the eastern boundary line and connect it to all three journals related to the survey on that particular day, September 4, 1855.

Rankin's Traverse According to Field Notes and What I Know for Sure:

The picture below is a close-up of where Rankin left the edge of the lake in Lot 25 after the 6,666 foot traverse and continued inland from the front half of the Gift Bowl.

INAC/Saugeen Claim

The INAC/Saugeen claim states that where the midpoint Lot 31 post was planted, that is what marks the NE corner of the Saugeen Reserve. From that point south, to where the line meets up with the eastern boundary at Lot 25, that is what marks the land boundary from midpoint Lot 31 to Lot 25. That is all well and good if there is no other information, but to support their claim, INAC/Saugeen Band have totally ignored some very real facts.

1. The treaty specifies a "spot on the coast" (we must assume) along the shoreline, not a spot on the coast 115 feet inland from the shoreline.

2.  Rankin actually explained to his superiors that he does not plant posts directly at the shoreline because they wash away. If any of you have seen how rough the lake can be at the shore, how could Rankin's explanation be more logical?

3. Rankin's field notes explain that he walked back in the direction of the lake for 924 feet from the post at lot 31 until he reached the edge of the lake. He did not say he walked in a SW direction until he met the edge of the lake at Lot 25 (Gift Bowl).

4. The eastern boundary is no longer parallel to the western boundary from Lot 25/26 to midpoint Lot 31 once you deviate from the line in a NE direction to match up to the 115 foot inland post.

5. The title page of Rankin's field note for the eastern boundary is explicit: Indian Boundary West Side of Concession D. If Rankin is already at the edge of the lake from midpoint Lot 31 to inside of Lot 25 during his traverse, there is nothing to the west of Concession D except Lake Huron. Land does not exist until he leaves the edge of the lake just inside of Lot 25, where the Gift Bowl is now. The Saugeen Reserve's outline boundary does not include water as is described by Treaty 72: "All that block of land..."

6. The Copway Road Amendment has already dealt with the Saugeen boundary dispute on September 27, 1855 and has corrected it to allow for a 9 1/2 mile Saugeen Reserve shoreline which ends at Lot 25/26.

The picture below illustrates the INAC/Saugeen Band claim.

No matter how many reports or arguments are put forth, INAC/Saugeen Band will never be able to erase the extension line of the Saugeen eastern boundary from Lot 25/26 (Main Street) to Lot 31 that is clearly running through the water of Lake Huron on the 1855 draft map. No matter how much one would like to buy into the Saugeen Band's argument this is one of their major stumbling blocks followed by the Copway Road Amendment Theory which makes all discussion about Lot 25/26 to midpoint Lot 31 being part of the Saugeen Reserve irrelevant.

Recreating the 1855 Shoreline Based on Accretion

To recreate the shoreline, I measured the distance from the eastern boundary extension at midpoint Lot 31 to the shore using the Ontario Mapping Tool and moved the eastern boundary line to the west the same distance at it's origin in the south to make it parallel. I am not claiming this is 100% accurate science by any means, but I think that it gives us the best idea of what the shoreline looked like in 1855 in relation to the eastern boundary using modern technology. To be clear, I am not suggesting the eastern boundary moves to the west, I am just establishing the same straight line the east boundary represents at the shore. See illustration below.

The most notable mistake with this attempt to recreate the 1855 shoreline using todays technology, is Rankin would have crossed back from the edge of the lake inland 334 feet south from where he actually did in 1855. However, this margin of error is fairly minimal and the shore representation is very close to accurate. See illustration below.

From this outcome, I decided to create an even more accurate representation of the eastern boundary extension line in relation to the shoreline. I moved the eastern boundary extension line more to the east to line it up with where Rankin crossed from the edge of the lake back inland at the south end. See illustration below.

It is hard to deny the result. It is impressive to see that if you follow Rankin's traverse 160 years later at the shoreline today, all of the eastern boundary extension line would still be in the water from midpoint Lot 31 to inside of Lot 25. I would suggest that the eastern boundary extension line was quite close to the shore for the first 924 feet of Rankin's traverse. Probably not as close as what is shown here, but this is not an exact science. It makes sense that Rankin would cross to the edge of the lake at its closest point from the Lot 31 post on his first 924 feet to establish the line. In this example, to show how the NE corner of the Saugeen Reserve was established, I also continued the next 13 chains (858 feet) of Rankin's traverse from where he returned inland at the Gift Bowl. The northern part of the Saugeen Reserve is quite obvious. 

The Hydrographic Survey Map Comparison

By comparing the 1856 Hydrographic Survey map to the 1855 draft map, I was able to add the eastern boundary extension line by locating where it ends at the Sauble River and then running it through at the shore to the west of the post at Lot 31. I rotated the hydrograpic map to a closer orientation that we are used to seeing when viewing a map of Sauble Beach, however, it is still on a bit of an angle. If the map was to continue, it is obvious that the eastern boundary line would enter Lake Huron directly west of the Lot 31 post at the shore. These are two different surveys by two different surveyors from the years 1855 and 1856. They both show the eastern boundary extension line following the same path through the water from midpoint Lot 31 south. I added the eastern boundary extension line on the Hydrographic Survey Map, but once there, it is identical to Rankin's 1855 draft map.

If you followed my previous post, I showed the 177 chains they traversed from the Sauble River that Gould recorded on September 4th which left them at the front awning of the Gift Bowl at the end of the day. The record from this posting from Rankin's field notes, leaves them just a few more feet back on the Gift Bowl. Given that there will be a margin of error in my location of the post for Rankin's notes and the starting point at the Sauble River for Gould's notes, I would say that somewhere in the front portion of the Gift Bowl is where they located the NE corner of the Saugeen Reserve. This was most likely extended the approximate 100 feet further north to Main Street to make for clean boundary lines and access to the road. 

The significance of Rankin's field notes and the Hydrographic Survey/Rankin 1855 draft map comparison, is that it proves the eastern boundary extension line from Lot 25/26 (Main Street) to Lot 31 is most definitely in the water. It also shows that both Gould's and Rankin's records are in sync with how the NE corner of the Saugeen Reserve was located; just a few feet south of the north border of Lot 25 at the Gift Bowl.