Cars

62 Number 43, Fall 2002 cartographic perspectives As Winchester continues, we find that this natural-born "revo- lutionary" talent first sprouted when Smith was a young lad in Oxfordshire. Upon the death of his father when he was eight, Smith was brought up on his uncle's farm. He began to notice peculiar stones around the farm, stones that looked like remnants of living creatures. While there were others that had made the same observation, the idea of fos- sils was heresy to late 18 th century England. Nevertheless, he was acutely aware that others silently held the belief that fossils were actually remnants of animals that existed long before the genesis of the world set by the biblical scholar James Ussher. As Win- chester points out, scientists of the late 17 th and 18 th centuries were beginning to erode the certitude of biblical knowledge. This slowly changing atmosphere of scientific inquiry allowed the young Smith to accept and examine the fossils he found in his boyhood home. Smith's study of fossils and their geographical distribution had begun and became the foundation for his great map. While Smith is now credited as the father of modern geology, Winchester 's account characteriz- es Smith as a geographer through and through. The young Smith landed his first job, a surveyor, through his recognized talents for observation and geometry. Smith was schooled in the ways of surveying and cartography, and quickly became respected in the field. In a seemingly pre-des- tined coincidence, his first major job was a commission to survey a path for the Somerset coal canal. Smith's love of fossils had found a practical application, and his new home of Rugborne Farm, Somerset is now christened "the birthplace of geology." It was his geographical training and talent that led Smith to the discoveries that marked the birth of geology on Rugborne Farm. Winchester notes his "uncanny ability to perceive the spatial geometry of the world beneath his feet" (p. 89). While deciding which coalfields to put on the canal, Smith became aware of a possible order to the spatial arrangement of the coal strata. He noticed that the strata above and below the coal layers were remarkably similar across the different mines in the area and began to sketch three-dimensional maps of what he saw and learned from the miners. Smith's major breakthrough was connecting his knowledge of fossils to the stratig- raphy he saw beneath his feet. He found that fossils were a way to make sense of the strata, and most importantly, be able to unmistak- ably map their distribution. Geol- ogy was born, and the map had its key theoretical foundation. Smith's brilliance can be ap- preciated from many different disciplines and trades. He was one of the most influential canal builders of his time, a civil engi- neering whiz. He made a sub- stantial side income draining and irrigating farmers' fields across England, garnering a reputation as a man who could seemingly make water move uphill. More- over, he was quickly becoming a cartographer of note. Smith's ventures into cartographic design arose from a necessity to display three-dimensional geologic strata variations across the land surface. His use, choice, and manipulation of color led to the cartographic principles of geologic maps that are still visible today. Smith de- fined a color for each strata, and many of the color schemes have carried over into modern geologic maps. Smith's cartography was as creative and brilliant as the geol- ogy for which he is more readily known. His original geologic map not only made use of hand-ap- plied color, but he applied the color in a way to be darker where the strata outcrop occurred, then fade in color towards the next outcrop. While Smith excelled in many disciplines, all his work was directed at the creation of the map. The canal building, irriga- tion projects, and cartography were all directed at collecting and manipulating stratigraphic data to produce the map. Smith's desire to produce the map was un- quenchable. He was fully aware of the profoundly important nature of his research, and spent his life's work in pursuit of the map. His extensive travels, professional connections, and cartography began to bring Smith a sizeable income. His post as the head canal digger for the Somerset canal was one that not only brought him in- come, but also respect. He bought a small estate outside Bath, found a wife, and began to share his ideas with newfound friends that made up the upper crust of Bath intellectual society. Just as his work was challenging socially accepted norms, Smith's life was defying his born societal class. His travels now also frequently took him to London, where he acquired another mortgage on a flat. Smith seemed well on his way to the recognition he deserved, and had every indication that his soon to be completed map would be a thriving success. However, the same society that seemingly accepted Smith as one of their own, was the one to disown him, plagiarize him, and relegate him to the debtor 's prison where Winchester began his story. The proximate causes for Smith's demise are many and give this great man an all too human character. He lost his job with the canal company after a tiff with his boss, his wife became ill, and he had two mortgages to pay. However, it is strikingly obvi- ous to the reader, and to Smith himself, that after publishing the map, he should never want for money again. English society

• Cover