How Did Max Kämper and Ed Bishop Survey Mammoth Cave?

Rick Olson, Bernd Kliebhan & Rick Toomey (2013):
How Did Max Kämper and Ed Bishop Survey Mammoth Cave?

http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=mc_reserch_symp

In May 2018 Rick Olson, Chuck DeCroix, Stan Sides and myself did a survey test in MMC with the equipment Max Kaemper probably used. Among the standard equipment of German artillery officers (like Max) there was a string mounted Hildebrand compass. I could find one in ebay, which we could use for our test.

From Max´s notebook we know that he bought „stick and string“, probably for his survey as well.

Here the results of our Instrument Comparison Survey, May 2, 2018 in Gothic Avenue:

„We performed a ten station survey over 356 feet. Bernd used the Hildebrand, and I used my Suunto set as well as my Disto X2. …
It appears that using a Hildebrand compass from over a century ago, Suunto’s from the past 40 years, and new digital technology Disto X2 has little effect if care is given to instrument technique and station placement. … A more accurate assessment of the relative accuracy of these instruments would require a much longer traverse than 356 feet.“ (Stan Sides)

In this first survey we used stations that appeared level – there was no leveling control. Two days later we did a more complex survey in Elisabeth´s Dome where vertical distances had to be considered. The result: