And as Washington watched their savage antics, he little dreamed how soon he himself would be fighting with Red Skins.
When his surveying was finished, he returned home to make his report. Lord Fairfax was delighted with his careful work and fine maps. In fact, to-day the surveys Washington made when a boy, stand unquestioned; they are so perfect.
Roughing it in the Shenandoah Valley was not the last of Washington’s adventures in the Wilderness. He was appointed public surveyor. For the next three years, he spent a great deal of time in the wilds, with settlers, frontiersmen, trappers, and Indians.
He grew to be over six feet tall, and remarkably strong and rugged. He overcame difficulties and faced dangers through pluck and perseverance.
He became a Colonel of a Virginia regiment. He acquired military training and widened his knowledge of handling all sorts of men.
What he learned about Indian warfare and life in the forests and in the Wilderness, taught him the caution and knowledge which he showed while guarding the retreat of what was left of Braddock’s troops.
So his adventures while a boy in the Valley, and his experiences as a young man roughing it on the frontier, fighting with Indians, carrying messages through the Wilderness, and serving as a soldier,—all prepared Washington to become the Liberator of our Country.
WASHINGTON’S MOTHER
Molly Ball of Virginia, Molly Ball with hair like flax and cheeks like mayblossoms,—as she is described in the fragment of a quaint old letter,—married Augustine Washington of Virginia, and became the mother of George Washington.
Washington was like his mother in qualities of character. He had her strength of will, love of truth, firm purpose, high sense of duty, dignity, and reverence.