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National Geographic : 1893 Feb 08
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178 T. C. Mendenhall-The Alaskan Boundary Survey. at the southernmost extremity of Prince of Wales island, which point was supposed to lie on the parallel 540 40' north latitude; thence, " It shall ascend along the Portland canal until the 50th parallel of north latitude is reached." From this point, in ac cordance with the treaty, it shall follow the line marked by the summits of the range of mountains parallel to the coast until such line meets with the 141st degree of longitude west of Green wich. From this point it shall proceed along the 141st meridian west of Greenwich until the Arctic ocean, or the " frozen ocean," which is the term used in the treaty, is reached. In a supple mentary paragraph it was agreed that all of the island known as the island of the Prince of Wales should belong to Russia, and hence, in virtue of our purchase, to the United States; and also that whenever the summit of the range of mountains referred to before shall be at a greater distance from the coast than ten marine leagues, the limit of the possessions of Russia shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast and never more than ten marine leagues from the shore. It will thus be seen that the boundary line is divided into two parts which differ materially from each other. One of these is that line which proceeds from a point near mount Saint Elias that is to say, the 141st meridian of longitude west from Green wich-and runs directly north to the frozen ocean. This, being an astronomical line, can readily be located by astronomical methods and should give rise to no controversy. That part of the line, however, which separates what is known as southeastern Alaska from the British possessions is by no means simple and easily determined. At the time the treaty was made between Russia and Great Britain the best information available was that contained in Vancouver's map, which was, and in some re spects is still, the best available representation of Bering sea and that part of North America. It seems tolerably certain, however, at the present time that the range of mountains which was as sumed to run parallel to the coast has no real existence, and that it is therefore necessary to fall back upon the second definition of the boundary line-that is, the line which is to run parallel to the windings of the shore and be nowhere more than ten marine leagues from the same. Experience has shown that the longer a question concerning the location of the boundary between two great nations is left unsettled the more difficult it becomes to decide it in a manner satisfactory
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