Let us take the opportunity of saying a word about Virginia. The Allegheny Mountains divide the State into three regions: the mountainous and romantic one, with the celebrated Natural Bridge, where Cedar Creek dashes along between perpendicular walls of stone 250 feet below the rock arch; that portion farther eastward with a sandy, marshy, flat coast; and the arable, rolling, western portion bounded by the Ohio River. In the greater part of it the soil is truly luxuriant. There is fine grazing for sheep, as well as cattle. One sees maples, oaks, plantains, nut and tulip trees, lindens, elms, ash, magnolia, chestnut, cherry, and plum trees overgrown with wild grape and other vines in the beautiful forests, and there is no lack of fish and game.
Lord Fairfax had not dreamed that Virginia could be so beautiful; and how delightful the task of reclaiming a section of this virgin soil in the midst of the primeval forest seemed to him! How empty and purposeless the pleasures of the city compared with the delights of life and labor in the cultivation of the wilderness! He was never tired of admiring the estate of his cousin. He no doubt had the same feelings as Chateaubriand under the same circumstances, to which he has given utterance in the following words: “What a fascinating mixture of social and natural life reigned there! By the side of a cypress wood, charming residue of the impenetrable wilderness, was a nascent vegetation; ears of corn trembled in golden waves around the roots of a fallen oak; full sheaves, daughters of a single Summer, stood upon the site of the ancient forest; thick columns of smoke rose from the burning woods and floated away over the fertile fields, while the plough slowly cut its way through the roots of the ancient trees. Surveyors were carefully staking out the boundaries of the new estate; the wild birds had deserted their nests, the dens of wild beasts were converted into roomy cabins, and every blow of the woodman’s axe was a prophecy of the blessings which were soon to rest upon these fields.”
So the venerable but still vigorous Lord Fairfax resolved to settle down in the neighborhood and never to return to England. For a time he lived at Belvoir on the estate of his cousin. We must not conceal the fact that in spite of his enthusiasm for a planter’s life, Lord Fairfax had not forgotten to inquire whether the fox was a native of the American forests. He was passionately fond of fox hunting, and if his question had not received a favorable answer, it is more than likely that his newly awakened love for America would soon have waned. However, foxes were very numerous amongst the forest animals of this region, a circumstance which lent fresh charm to the country. But there was still another consideration. On a fox hunt one must have at least one companion; but where should he find a horseman who could in some degree compare with the former dashing cavalry officer, especially in this hilly region, covered with thickets which had never been penetrated by a human being? The reader may perhaps, ere this, have had an inkling that our George may have been a most welcome hunting companion for the grizzled lover of the hunt. And it was so. Lord Fairfax kept horses and dogs in the English style, and when the hunting season began George rode out into the woods with him every morning, and they seldom returned without trophies.
The nobleman had seen but a small portion of his extensive Virginia estate, neither had he any intention of riding through the wilderness to inspect it all, but he determined to have it surveyed, especially as he learned that people had already settled on certain portions of it without having any right to do so. Therefore he considered it very necessary to have it surveyed, so that in future the relations of settler to proprietor might be regulated according to law. Thus he was anxious to find a capable person to undertake the business. Whoever did so must, besides having a knowledge of the business, be conscientious and reliable, and must possess not a little courage. The matter was thoroughly discussed by Lord Fairfax, William Fairfax, and Lawrence Washington. The latter was able to show calculations and surveys which George had made shortly before this on his own property. The result of the conference was that Lord Fairfax felt perfect security in confiding the survey to our George, who had just completed his sixteenth year. He had taken it for granted that George would not refuse, and he was not mistaken. It is evident that the commission was very flattering to George, and that the execution of it was calculated to perfect him in his profession. In addition to this he was to receive a considerable sum of money for the work which he would have been glad to do for its own sake. His diary tells us that he was to receive a doubloon for every full day’s work, which is about $7.50 in our money. He first went home to get his mother’s permission to undertake the business. Every ambitious youth will appreciate what his feelings were, how his heart glowed at the thought of telling his mother of this honor which had befallen him and which was to be, in every way, so profitable.
Chapter III
Three Years in the Wilderness
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.
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
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.