He did not want to live in a log cabin, or worse yet, a sod hut. When land out here was surveyed, the surveyors usually waited until dark, then using a sextant, much like the ones used at sea to determine a ships location. They would then locate their exact position on a map and work from that. It wasn’t an exact science so sometimes property lines overlapped, but it was generally worked out in time. It was sometimes established by taking a known landmark and working from it, usually a river or mountain was used and there again it wasn’t an exact science. With the surveyor’s report in hand a man could go into the registrar’s office and after paying a small fee the land was registered in his name and from that point on it was his.
