Ode to the Little Guy

Those who started surveying before EDM, GPS, and one man survey crews are well aware of the martial legacy of our profession, made up of Lieutenants, Generals and lots of privates. This is dedicated to the “little guys”, the privates who were so often oppressed to silence. Surveyor Charles Preuss is a little guy’s voice from 182 years ago.

Mr. Preuss’ journal was written in German and pencil, intended for, and shipped to, relatives in Germany. His journal did not return to the U.S. and become available in English until 1958. It was translated by Erwin & Elizabeth Guddle and published as Exploring with Fremont in 1958.

Charles Preuss was 39 when he began his work on Charles Fremont expeditions. Although well studied and experienced in topographical surveys, Mr. Preuss’ poverty and immigrant status placed him at a disadvantage under Fremont. Not to denigrate Fremont, whatever his faults, Fremont was a great man who accomplished much, and deserves much respect, however, we’ll let someone else inflate the balloon that Preuss was so busy deflating.

June 6, 1842, Monday: Our little guy opened his personal journal of Fremont’s first expedition with: “Broke camp and moved 15 miles up the Kansas River. Annoyed by that childish Fremont… What a disorder in this outfit; dirty cooking. To be sure, how can a foolish lieutenant (Fremont) manage such a thing.”

This is my first day of horseback riding. Fortunately, I got a gentle horse. Yet the unaccustomed effort, little though it was, made me quite stiff.

If I could recover at night in a bed it would be all right, but from horse to the hard ground makes it hard to rest ones limbs. The way I feel today I wish with all my heart I had stayed in Washington (DC). Not because of hardships, but because of that simpleton Freemont.

June 8, Wednesday: In the afternoon walked 3 miles ahead to take the altitude of the sun and to make barometric observations. Cloudy at night and no star to be seen; hence we cannot move on tomorrow.

June 12, Saturday: Some of the men try to eat the ox liver raw. I am not yet so hungry that I will gulp down raw meat, which is repulsive to me. Tomorrow, to be sure, it will taste excellent.

June 13, Sunday: It did not taste excellent.

June 16, Wednesday: We moved 16 miles up the Kansas to a better spot for the observations. Have recorded my surveying to date. Our big chronometer cannot stand up under transport by wagon; it will probably have become useless for the finer observations.

June 19, Sunday: No Sunday for us. I don’t even have a clean shirt to wear. To the deuce with washing. Have trapped a large turtle which is being prepared for soup tonight. If our cook, the rascal, will only know how to fix it. Our big chronometer has gone to sleep. That is what always happens when an egg wants to be wiser than the hen. So far I can’t say that I have formed a very high opinion of Fremont’s Astronomical manipulations. We have also started to botanize.

I wish I had a drink.

June 20, Monday: A prairie chicken was shot. If the cook cannot prepare it any better than the turtle, let him gulp it down himself.

July 9, 1842, Saturday: Daily, several people, White and Indian, have been killed there. If our party cannot be increased at the Fort, it would be best to turn back and limit ourselves to the survey of the Platte (River). We are no military expedition to fight the Indians. It would be ridiculous to risk the lives of twenty-five people just to determine a few Longitudes, Latitudes and to find out the elevation of a mountain range.

Oh, if there were a tavern here!

July 20, Wednesday: He (Fremont) has given orders to prepare a seat for me on one of the carts. From there I can, in all comfort – if that word can be used under the circumstances – “copy“ mountains and rivers to my heart’s desire… I should travel with real pleasure if it were not for those damned Indians.

July 25, Monday: A barometer, not the best one though, has gone wrong. The bad road between here and Laramie killed it. We left the large chronometer in Laramie; Fremont succeeded in making it run again, and he was jubilant when he heard again the ticking and the tic-tocking. In comparing we found, however, that every twenty-four hours it went wrong one hour. Oh you American blockheads!

August 17, Wednesday: It was a terrible climb (13,745’ Wyoming Fremont Peak) over rocks and through water… with the first steps I could dig my heels into the snow; then it became harder. I slipped, sat down on my pants, and slid downhill at great speed…Fortunately I could see that the rock towards which I was sailing was not very sharp. When I arrived, I rolled over twice and got away with two light bruises, on my right arm and one on my arse. The pain made me sit still for a few minutes; then I dragged myself to my feet, found my (survey field) book and climbed on slowly.

September 3, Saturday: Just now, our last barometer broke. A small cart with springs would have avoided all that. One learns by experience.

September 6, Tuesday: we have covered 13 miles along the Platte. We now follow exactly the same path by which we came. Although one does not see anything new on the prairie, it would be more interesting to take another route. If we had followed this principal on the entire expedition, we would have been able to gather twice as much geographical and topographical information at the same cost. But we are hurrying home as fast as possible. That is perfectly all right as far as I’m concerned. But if I were the chief, I would’ve tried to discharge my duties with more credit…. If we had returned south via the Arkansas, or north via the Horn and the Yellowstone, we could make an entirely different map. To be sure, it would be only a horse and buggy survey, but good enough, it seems to me, for a country like this if the survey is based on many and on correct astronomical observations.

September 19, 1842 Monday: These days are already getting so short that we make use of all sunlight in traveling. I hardly have time to write down a few words…I cannot write because of all the mosquitoes.

September 24, Saturday: We camped here, close to Wolf River. We live in a princely manner. Corn & Pumpkin mixed with pork and buffalo – that tastes wonderful. I should be damned to touch such a dish in Washington or Baltimore, but honestly, here and now it is magnificent.

September 27 Tuesday: Yesterday noon we marched to this place at Shell Creek (Rogers, Nebraska). Twenty miles, although few astronomical observations could be made. That is just as well. Latitude and longitude of Wolf River we shall easily determine from our log book, like navigators. That makes no difference. We hurried through some important places as if the devil were after us. It depends here, not on the importance of a place, but on the childish whim of a foolish lieutenant.

I find it quite impossible to say anything interesting about this trip and about this country. I see nothing, I know nothing, I think only of my wife, child, bread, and coffee. Also, a little drink passes through my thoughts from time to time, but for some time, only family.

Compiler’s note: Charles Preuss attended three of Fremont’s expeditions, 1st, 2nd and 4th. During the second expedition, to be covered next month, Fremont conformed to Pruess’ suggestion, going four times as far and taking two years to do it in. Three men, Charles Preuss, Jim Bridger and Kit Carson contributed greatly to the success and the raving reviews of Fremont’s expeditions. When Preuss was left behind on the 3rd expedition the record keeping and map making were almost non-existent and the raving reviews disappeared. When Bridger and Carson were left behind on the fourth expedition, 10 men paid for it with their lives.

Let this be a caution to leaders, it is the little guys who make the projects successful. It is the loyalty and diligence of the little guys who make the reputations of the leaders great; we abuse them at our peril.

Chad Erickson PS has been surveying since 1970; using chain and transit for the first four of those. After his Land Surveying degree he performed original G.L.O. township surveys in Alaska. He is licensed and operates boundary survey firms in Idaho and Arizona.