“Yes. You see, I am surveying this tract of land.”

“Oh, then you are Mr. George Washington, the public surveyor?” cried Dave.

“I am.”

CHAPTER VI
GEORGE WASHINGTON THE SURVEYOR

At the time Dave Morris first met George Washington, the future President of the United States and “Father of His Country,” as he has affectionately been called, was about nineteen years of age. He was tall, well proportioned, muscular and athletic and showed well the advantages of his temperate mode of living. His eyes were blue and penetrating, and his face, while not severe, showed a quiet reserve and a dignity that made him what he soon after became—a natural leader of men.

It was on the 22d day of February, 1732, that George Washington first saw the light of day, in an old family homestead on Bridges Creek, near where that stream empties into the Potomac river. The homestead was an old-fashioned affair, with sloping roofs coming almost to the ground and with a wide and substantial chimney at each end. It had come into the possession of Colonel John Washington, the future President’s great grandfather years before, and upon the colonel’s death had been left in the family. It was a beautiful spot, but in later years was allowed to go to decay.

The father of the future President was named Augustine, and he was married twice. By his first marriage he had a son Lawrence, of whom we shall hear more later, and several other children. His second marriage was to Mary, the daughter of Colonel Ball, and by this he had George and three other sons and two daughters. Thus it will be seen that the Washington family was quite an extensive one.

George was still a small boy when his father gave up the homestead at Bridges Creek, and moved to a place opposite Fredericksburg, on a bit of rising ground bordering the Rappahannock. The family were well to do, and, as was the custom of many rich folk, Lawrence, the oldest son, was sent to England to be educated. But George had no such advantage, and his first schooling was obtained at a modest country school of the neighborhood, kept by a Mr. Hobby, who was both schoolmaster and parish sexton.

At school George proved a quick and diligent scholar, and there are still preserved some of his copy and other books in which he wrote and ciphered, showing a neatness and orderliness which followed him all through life. He even wrote out for himself a series of Rules of Conduct, which are to-day models of etiquette. He was a champion runner, jumper and swimmer, and many anecdotes have been told showing how he won contests, and how he brought to grief the bully of the school. In those days the wars with the Indians were fresh in the public mind, and Washington with his school fellows played Indians and soldiers, with wooden guns and rude bows and arrows of their own making. Once such play ended in a grand fight that became real, and then Washington did his best to separate the contestants. After the fight was over the schoolmaster called the boys together and asked for an explanation. Each of the boys took his own part, declaring the others in the wrong. In despair the teacher called on Washington, and asked what he knew of the matter. At once Washington stood up and spoke like a lawyer in court, giving the details with great clearness and showing how one was about as much to blame as another, and pleading that the boys be forgiven all around, as they had not meant to make the fight real when they started. The school teacher agreed to let the matter drop if the boys would promise to fight no more, and this the lads did, and separated with a cheer for Washington and with their general good feeling restored.

When Lawrence Washington returned from England, a well educated and highly polished young man of twenty-one, the mother country was having a great deal of trouble with Spain, who had interfered with her commerce on the high seas. This led to the raising of some troops for a campaign in the West Indies, and George’s elder brother obtained a captain’s commission and served under Admiral Vernon and General Wentworth for nearly two years. This service filled George, who was but eight years old, with military fervor, and he forthwith organized the schoolboys into a military company and drilled them on the green—the foundation stone of his great military leadership of the future.