of the commissioners after running, locating, establishing and marking the said line, to make a report setting forth all the facts touching, locating and marking said line; and it shall be the duty of the commissioner of each respective State to forward copies of the joint report to each of their respective legislatures; and upon the ratification of said report by the State of Virginia and the State of Maryland, through their respective legislatures, the said boundary lines shall be fixed and established so to remain forever, unless changed by mutual consent of the two States."

In 1854 the general assembly of Virginia met this action upon the part of the State of Maryland by the passage of an act, which provides:

"Whereas the general assembly of Maryland has passed an act for running and marking the boundary line between that State and the State of Virginia, beginning therefor at the Fairfax Stone on the Potomac River, sometimes called the North Branch of the Potomac River at or near the source and running thence due north to the line of the State of Pennsylvania; and whereas the legislature of Maryland has requested the appointment of a commissioner on the part of this State to act in conjunction with the commissioner of Maryland to run and mark said line: therefore, be it enacted,

"1. That the governor appoint a commissioner who, together with the Maryland commissioner, shall cause the said line to be accurately surveyed, traced and marked with suitable monuments, beginning therefor at the Fairfax Stone, situated as aforeaid, and running thence due north to the line of the State of Pennsylvania."

And the act concludes:

"Upon the ratification of such report by the legislatures of the States of Virginia and Maryland the said boundary line shall be fixed and established to remain forever, unless changed by mutual consent of the said States."

Under these acts of the legislatures of the respective States commissioners were appointed, who made application to the

Secretary of War for the services of an officer of the United States Engineers to aid them in carrying out the purposes of the acts. Upon this application the Secretary of War detailed Lieutenant N. Michler, of the United States Topographical Engineers. As directed in both the acts, Lieutenant Michler commenced his work at the Fairfax Stone, and ran a line northwardly, marking it at certain places. This line intersected the Pennsylvania line at a point about threefourths of a mile west from the northern extremity of the Deakins line, which had been run in 1788, as we have already stated. There was a triangle between the Deakins and Michler lines, having its apex at the Fairfax Stone, and lines diverging thence, until there was a difference of three-fourths of a mile at the base of the triangle at the Pennsylvania line. It appears that the commissioners of the two States differed, the commissioner of Virginia contending that by the act of the legislature, above referred to, that State had not adopted the meridian line from the Fairfax Stone as the boundary. The commissioner of Maryland contended for that meridian line. On March 5, 1860, the legislature of Maryland passed an act adopting the Michler line, commencing at the Fairfax Stone at the head of the North Branch of the Potomac River, and running thence due north to the southern line of Pennsylvania, as surveyed in the year 1859 by commissioners appointed by the States of Maryland and Virginia, and thereafter the State of Maryland provided for the marking of the Michler line.

Virginia did not approve of the Michler line, but in 1887 West Virginia passed an act confirming the line as run by Lieutenant Michler in 1859 as the true boundary line between West Virginia and Maryland, but the act was not to take effect until and unless Maryland should pass an act or acts confirming and rendering valid all the entries, grants, patents and titles from the Commonwealth of Virginia to any person, or persons, to lands situate and lying between the new Maryland line and the old Maryland line heretofore claimed by

Virginia and West Virginia, to the same extent and with like legal effect as though the said old Maryland line was confirmed and established.

The divergence between Michler's line and the line shown on Deakins' map probably arises from the fact that Lieutenant Michler ran a true astronomical line, and that his line is a true north and south line, whereas the Deakins line was probably run with a surveyor's compass, and with less accuracy than the Michler line.

It is the contention of the State of Maryland that Deakins never attempted to run a true north and south line; that he never had any authority from the State of Maryland so to do; and, that in the act confirming the laying out of the lots by Deakins it was especially declared by the State of Maryland that it did not show the true western boundary of the State; furthermore, that the attempts which have been made to trace the Deakins line show that it is not a true north and south line, but a broken. line, having offsets in various places.

The State of Maryland insists that the evidence shows that a number of old grants made prior to the Deakins survey would extend west of the boundary line, as shown either by Deakins or Michler. It is the contention of the State of Maryland that when these grants were made she indicated a line further to the west than either of these lines, and that the ancient grants of large tracts of land show that fact. But the evidence contained in this record leaves no room to doubt that after the running of the Deakins line the people of that region knew and referred to it as the line between the State of Virginia and the State of Maryland. Lieutenant Michler in the frank and able report filed with his survey, recognizes, this situation, for he says:

"The meridian as traced by me last summer differs from all previous lines run; some varying too far to the east, others too far to the west. The oldest one, and that generally adopted by the inhabitants as the boundary line, passes to

the east; and from measurements made to it I found that it was not very correctly run. The surveyor's compass was used for the purpose, and some incorrect variation of the needle allowed. Owing to the thick and heavy growth of timber, it is utterly impossible to run a straight line through it without first opening a line of sight. It could only be approximately done.

"When north of the railroad, and the nearer the Pennsylvania line is approached the settlements and farms become more numerous; and if the meridian line is adopted as the boundary, it will cause great litigation, as the patents of most of the lands call for the boundary as their limits. On the Pennsylvania boundary the new line is about three-quarters of a mile west of the old; on the railroad-feet; at Weill's field, 85 feet; on the northwestern turnpike, about 40 feet, and on the backbone, about 20 feet."

These recitals from Lieutenant Michler's report, if the record were lacking in other evidence, would leave little doubt that there was an old boundary line, generally adopted, and that the adoption of the true meridian line, which Lieutenant Michler ran, would cause great litigation because of the acquiescence of the people in the old boundary line, the Deakins line.

The report of the committee of the Maryland Historical Society, an exhibit in this case, contains a history of the boundary dispute, and it is therein said:

"The provisional line of 1787, or 'Deakins line,' as it was called, had long done duty as a boundary; and as the State granted no lands beyond it, it came to be looked upon-despite the emphatic protest of the assembly of 1788, as the true boundary line of the State. In process of time the marks became obliterated, and conflicts of title and litigation arose between the holders of Maryland and the holders of Virginia patents for lands in the debatable territory. So in May, 1852, the Maryland legislature passed an act reciting these facts and requesting the governor to open a correspondence with

the governor of Virginia about the matter; and authorizing him to appoint a commissioner, if the legislature of Virginia would also appoint one, which joint commission should run and mark a line due north from the Fairfax Stone, which line, when ratified by both legislatures, should be the boundary between the States."

The State of Maryland has herself, in sundry grants,. recognized this old line. In a grant by the State of Maryland for a tract called "Maryland," dated January 23, 1823, among other calls is this one: "Running thence south thirty-six degrees west, eighty-six perches to the Virginia and Maryland line, as run under the directions of Francis Deakins at the time of laying out the lots to the westward of Fort Cumberland, and thence running," etc.

In the Deakins description of the first lot north of the Fairfax Stone the following language is used in describing military lot No. 1101:

"Beginning at a bounded maple marked 1100, standing one mile north from a stone fixed by Lord Fairfax for the head of the North Branch of the Poutomack River, and running north 89 perches; east, 89 perches; south, 89 perches; then to the beginning, containing 50 acres."

This record leaves no doubt as to the truth of the statement contained in the report of the committee of the Maryland Historical Society, that the Deakins-line, before the passage of the act under which the Michler line was run, had long been recognized as a boundary and served as such. Even after the Michler line was run and marked the testimony shows that the people generally adhered to the old line as the true boundary line. There are numerous Virginia grants and private deeds of land given in the record, which call for this old Maryland line as the boundary.

The testimony shows that the people living along the Deakins line worked and improved the roads on the Virginia side, as a general rule, up to this line. Correspondingly, Maryland worked the roads on the other side of this line. On the