Northern Boundary of the United States : THE DEMARCATION OF THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE PORTIONS THEREOF WHICH REQUIRE MORE COMPLETE DEFINITION AND MARKING

91 Pages·1906·5.479 MB·English

by  Chandler P. Anderson

X
CANADIAN
QUESTIONS.
NORTHERN BOUNDARY
OF THE
UNITED
STATES.
THE DEMARCATION OF THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES
AND CANADA, FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC, WITH
PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE PORTIONS THEREOF
WHICH REQUIRE MORE COMPLETE DEFINI
TION AND MARKING.
REPORT PREPARED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BY
CHANDLER P. ANDERSON,
i9oe.
WASHINGTON
I
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
i9oe.

CANADIAN
QUESTIONS.
NORTHERN BOUNDARY
UNITED
STATES.
THE DEMARCATION OF THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES
AND CANADA, FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC, WITH
PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE PORTIONS THEREOF
WHICH REQUIRE MORE COMPLETE DEFINI
TION AND MARKING,
REPORT PREPARED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BY
CHANDLER P. ANDERSON,
iooe.
WASHINGTON
t
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OB-BICE.
1006.

DOCUMENTS
DEPT.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART
I.
The northeastern boundary.
Page.
The boundary through Passamaquoddy Bay 3
From the mouth of the St. Croix River to the St. Lawrence River 8
Negotiations concerning the northeastern boundary question and its final
settlement 13
The re-marking of the boundary between New York and Canada, and pro
posals for re-marking the entire line to the mouth of the St. Croix River.. 20
Arrangements for marking and mapping the boundary between the States
of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, on the one side, and Canada, on
the other 25
PART II.
The boimdaryfrom theintersection oftheforty-fifth parallelandthe St.
Lawrence River to the Lakeofthe Woods.
The portion of this line included in Article VI of the Treaty of 1814 31
The line from the foot of Neebish Rapids to the most northwestern point of
the Lake of the Woods, included in ArticleVII of the Treatyof 1814 35
The settlement of this boundary by the Webster-Ashburton Treatyof 1842... 40
Separate survey by Canada, 1896 45
Free andopen navigationof cerain portionsof the boundarywaters provided
for in the Treaty of 1842 47
Boundary channels apparently can not be dredged by either Govern
ment without the consent of the other 48
Cession of Horse-Shoe Reef in 1850 by Great Britain to the United States 50
The location of the boundary with respect to two islands in Lac la Croix
and an island in the Lake of the Woods 52
Proposals for the more completedefinition and marking of the entire bound
ary from the St. Lawrence at the forty-fifth parallel to the northwest angle
of the Lake of the Woods, by joint action of the two Governments 55
Negotiations by the Joint High Commission in 1898-99 58
Later negotiations 59
The line as shownon the original treatymaps reproducedon modern charts. 61
III
PART III.
The northivestern boundary, from the northwesternmostpointofthe Lake
ofthe Woodsto thePacific Ocean.
Page.
Boundaryeast of the Rocky Mountains 65
Boundary west of the Rocky Mountains to the coast 67
Demarcation of the land boundary west of the Rocky Mountains 68
The boundary marks and monuments 70
The water boundary from the forty-ninth parallelof north latitude where it
strikes the Gulf of Georgia to the Pacific Ocean 75
Surveying and marking the boundary from the Lake of the Woods to the
Rocky Mountains 77
Subsequent negotiations and arrangements for re-marking the line from the
Lake of the Woods to the Pacific Ocean 79
West of the Rocky Mountains 79
East of the Rocky Mountains 82
Several small sections of United States territory separated from the United
States by the boundaryas laid down at the northwest angle of the Lake of
the Woods 83
IV
PART
I.
THE NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY.

THE NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY.
THE BOUNDARY THROUGH PASSAMAQUODDY BAY.
The international boundary through Passamaquoddy Bay is
defined by the following treaty provisions:
In Article II of the Provisional Treaty of 1782 and in Article II
of the Treaty of Peace of 1783 the boundary line is carried down
the middle of the St. Croix River to its mouth, and from that point
to the Atlantic its course is left to be determined under the general
provision which refers to the boundaries of the United States as
"Comprehending all islands within twenty leagues of any part
of the shores of the United States, and lying between lines to be
drawn due east from the points where the aforesaid boundaries be
tween Nova Scotia on the one part, and East Florida on the other,
shall respectively touch the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean;
excepting such islands as now are, or heretofore have been, within
the limits of the said province of Nova Scotia."
It will be observed that this provision gives no description of the
course of the boundary line from the mouth of the St. Croix River
to the sea. Apparently, the intention was that the line should be a
water line passing among the islands so as to leave, if possible, all
of the British islands on one side and the American islands on the
other. The location of the line, therefore, depended upon the
nationality of the several islands in the bay, many of which were
claimed by both Governments. The situation was further compli
cated by the fact that the identity of the River St. Croix was in
dispute.
This feature of the question was settled by the Commissioners
appointed under the provisions of Article V of the Treaty of 1794 to
"decide what river is the River St. Croix intended by the
treaty."
The Commissioners determined upon the river now known as the
St. Croix, which constitutes a portion of the present boundary.
The efforts made by the two Governments to settle the owner
ship of the disputed islands in the bayresulted in the negotiation in
1803 and again in 1807 of treaties fixing the line, but in each case
the treaty failed of ratification.
The treaty negotiated in 1803 by Rufus King, on the part of the
United States, and the Right Honorable Robert Banks Jenkinson
(commonly called Lord Hawkesbury), on the part of Great Britain,
was amended by the Senate by striking out Article V, relating to
the boundary west of the Lake of the Woods, and ratifications were
not exchanged in consequence.
This treaty provided for the boundary in Passamaquoddy Bay as
follows:
"ARTICLE i. The line hereinafter described shall and hereby is
declared to be the Boundary between the Mouth of the River St.
Croix and the Bay of Fundy, that is to say, a line beginning in the
middle of the Channel of the River St. Croix at its Mouth (as the
same has been ascertained by the Commissioners appointed for that
Purpose) thence through the middle of the Channel between Deer
Island on the East and North, and Moose Island and Campo-Bello
Island on the West and South, and round the Eastern Point of
Campo-Bello Island to the Bay of Fundy. And the Islands and
Waters northward and eastward of the said Boundary together with
the Island of Campo-Bello situate to the southward thereof are
hereby declared to be within the Jurisdiction, and part of His Maj
esty s Province of New Brunswick; and the Islands and Waters
southward and westward of the said Boundary, except only the
Island of Campo-Bello, are hereby declared to be within the Juris
diction, and Part of Massachusetts, one of the said United States."
A similar attempt was made by Messrs. Monroe and Pinkney in
1807, but their treaty failed by reason of other causes. (Moore s
International Law Digest, Vol. V, p. 717, sec. 834, Webster-Ashburton
Treaty.) This treaty, as proposed by Messrs. Monroe and Pinkney,
was inclosed in their letterof April 25, 1807, and is entitled: "Addi
tionaland explanatory articles, signed the day of 1807,
,
to be added to the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation be
tween His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America,
signed at London, the 3ist dayof December, 1806." The provision
relating to the line through Passamaquoddy Bay is as follows:
"ARTICLE i. The line hereinafter described shall, and is hereby
declared to be, the boundary between the mouth of the river St.
Croix and the Bay of Fundy; that is to say, a line beginning in the
middle of thechannel of the river St. Croix, atits mouth, as the same
has been ascertained by the commissioners appointed for that pur
pose; thence through the middle of the. channel, between Deer
Island, Marvel island, and Campo Bello island on the east, and
Moose island, Dudley island, and Frederick island on the west; and
round the south point of Campo Bello island to the Bay of Fundy;
and the islands and waters eastward of the said boundary are hereby
declared to be within the jurisdiction and part of His Majesty s
province of New Brunswick, and the islands and waters westward
of the said boundary are declared to be within the jurisdiction and
part of Massachusetts, one of the said United States; notwithstand
ing which, a full and entire right of navigation is reserved to the
United States in the channel between Deer island on the east and