young washington was tall and of athletic build, which, together with his manner, made him seem older than he was. it did not occur to any one to treat the sixteen-year-old youth like a boy. his principal qualities were earnestness, decision, candor, and modesty. in the spring of 1748 he set out on his surveying expedition, accompanied by the twenty-two-year-old george, son of william fairfax, and a negro, all three on horseback. at that time the beautiful chain of the blue ridge mountains formed the western boundary of inhabited virginia. the little party was obliged to traverse these in order to reach the territory which they were to survey. the tops of the mountains were still covered with snow and ice, while spring had already sown the valleys with flowers. they had to ride over rocky passes and through thickets to reach their destination. the greatest difficulty they encountered was in crossing the mountain torrents, swollen by the melting snows, but courage and resourcefulness helped them to surmount all obstacles. crossing a pass, they at last reached the chief valley of virginia, which is nearly twenty-five miles broad and very beautiful. the clear river which flows through it was called “the daughter of the stars” by the indians, because of its loveliness.
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george outdid himself in glowing descriptions of the region in his diary, but from the moment when real work began there is not a trace of such descriptions to be found in the book. from that time he lived only for his work. as it was seldom that the little company chanced upon the hut of a squatter, george and his companions spent most of their nights around a campfire in the forest. their food consisted, for the most part, of wild turkeys. a fork-shaped stick was the spit and a chip of wood the plate. of course george had to expect and be prepared to meet with indians, so that he and his companions had armed themselves. it was natural that the indians should not be very friendly to the settlers. they looked upon the country as their property and upon the white squatters as interlopers and robbers. there was much cruelty practised on both sides. fairly considered, one must admit that the indians had shown themselves incapable of any kind of communal development, and it would have been a pity for such an enormous territory, immensely rich in some portions, to have remained in the sole possession of a race which was incapable of civilization and which probably never numbered over one hundred thousand people. in contrast to the indians, the increase of the europeans was extraordinary. in his own peculiar but essentially just manner, this was once commented upon by an indian chief, called by the americans “little turtle,” in a speech to the whites. it is a strange and incomprehensible thing about the white people. scarcely two generations have passed since you set foot on our soil, and already you cover it like a swarm of insects, while we aborigines, who have lived here no one knows how long, are almost as few in number as the deer which we hunt. to be sure, you palefaces know how to make use of a piece not much bigger than my hand. on a patch only fifteen or twenty times as great as this room, a white man will raise enough food to keep him for a full year. he takes another bit of land grown with grass and herbs and raises his cattle upon it, which supply him with milk and meat. we red men, on the contrary, need immense territories, for the deer which we kill and which scarce provides us with food for two days, needs a great region in which to attain its proper growth. and when we have killed two or three hundred deer, it is the same as though we had destroyed all the grass and woods on which they subsisted. the white men spread out like oil on a blanket, while we melt away like snow in the spring sunshine, and if we do not soon adopt new ways, it will be impossible for the race of red men long to survive. but the indians showed themselves incapable of learning “new ways.”
washington among the indians
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george, who had seen no indians heretofore, met a band of about thirty warriors one day. one of them carried the scalp of an enemy, as a pennant, in front of the procession. it would have gone hard with the little company if the indians had attacked them, which would no doubt have happened if they had shown any signs of fear. a small present of liquor procured them the spectacle of a war dance. the indians kindled a fire in the midst of an open space and seated themselves in a circle around it. then the chief began to extol their deeds of valor, his voice and gestures becoming more and more animated. the warriors sat with bowed heads, as in a dream. suddenly, as though awakened by the glowing description of their heroic deeds, a warrior sprang up and began a curious, wild dance. one after another followed his example, until most of them were leaping about the blazing fire, emitting frightful cries and seeming more like demons than human beings. music was not lacking for this spectacle. one savage drummed on a deerskin, which was stretched over a kettle half filled with water, and another played upon an instrument made of a hollow gourd, which contained a number of pieces of shot and was decorated with a horse’s tail.
36
the survey was completed and in little more than a month’s time george arrived at mount vernon, where he gave an account of his work to lord fairfax and received the acknowledgment of his complete satisfaction. young washington had, with the accomplishment of this piece of work, taken his diploma, so to speak, as a surveyor. his reputation was established, and before he was seventeen he received the appointment as public surveyor, and his work, from this time, was officially accepted by the public authorities of virginia. he received orders from many quarters and for three years devoted himself to his growing business. we may know how conscientiously he did his work from the fact that down to this day, in virginia, the surveys are relied upon which are officially recorded under his name. lord fairfax immediately made arrangements for the cultivation of a beautiful portion of his large property on the other side of the blue ridge. he laid out a gentleman’s estate of ten thousand acres of pasture and farm lands, which he called greenway court.
37
the greater part of the three years george spent in the beautiful but lonely forest. what a contrast this is to the enervating life of many youths in our great cities! the grand impressions of nature strengthened and steeled him in body and mind. the solitude of the woods stimulated him to dwell upon the noblest thoughts and emotions. in the intervals of work he spent more or less time with his step-brother, lawrence’s father-in-law, and lord fairfax. association with these men of fine breeding kept his manners from deteriorating in spite of his life in the wilderness. it is not surprising that he gained confidence in himself through his work and because of the confidence with which it was accepted by every one else. and the labor of these three years was of still greater advantage to him in another way, which he did not appreciate until later. how could the young surveyor dream that before long he should be traversing the same region as a soldier! it is always most important in the conduct of a war to know the configurations of the country well. as an engineer washington had surveyed his future theatre of war and carefully noted down his observations.
