GUYANA. L. MOUFFLET, explorer and gold digger in Guyana, he - Lot 260

Lot 260
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Estimation :
500 - 600 EUR
GUYANA. L. MOUFFLET, explorer and gold digger in Guyana, he - Lot 260
GUYANA. L. MOUFFLET, explorer and gold digger in Guyana, he left his name to the Moufflet creek. L.A.S. to the astronomer Hippolyte Marié-Davy (1820-1893). 4 pp. in-4. Caïcouchy (French Guiana), Nov. 14, 1889. Interesting letter from this former engineer turned gold digger, written from the depths of French Guiana, on the surveying operations he intends to carry out in relation to celestial declinations, in order to rectify the errors of the map of French Guiana. "I am almost constantly in the interior of the country which is very wooded. From the coast we do not reach our settlements without having done four to five days of canoeing in the river and two to three days of travel on foot []. On the other hand, the humid and hot weather produces the most devastating effect on the best monsters []. My job requires me to make mine plans, to place route surveys, we operate here with a compass and since 1873 the land registry has been content to admit 2° for the declination which is eastern. I have already found in 1879 by 5° latitude and 60° longitude W (approximately) 1°40' by an observation of the polar on the hill []. I would like to find the way by a simple observation to obtain an astronomical meridian". He explains the method that he intends to set up and asks him if it will allow to obtain measurements with an approximation of 5 to 6'. Being obstructed by the tops of the trees, the operation will have to be repeated several times during the year. "Thus our operations can extend from the Oyapoc to the Maroni, that is to say 500 kilometers E-W, then on approximately 250 to 300 kilometers. N-S [] ". He explains that his measurements are complicated by the presence of iron ore which disturbs the compass.
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