Lot 18th Jeremiah Osborne's Begins at a Sycamore on ye Fork & extending No 80 Et 215 po. to a Chesnut Oak thence South 280 po to a W: O near a Hickory Corner to Lot ye 14th thence along the line thereof to ye Fork thence down ye Several Meanders of ye Fork to ye Beginning
Wednesday 6th Last Night was so Intolerably smoky that we were obliged all hands to leave ye Tent to ye Mercy of ye Wind and Fire this day was attended by our afored Company untill about 12 oClock when we finish'd we travell'd down ye Branch to Henry Vanmetris's on our Journey was catch'd in a very heavy Rain we got under a Straw House untill ye Worst of it was over & then continued our Journey
April 6th
Lot 19 Begg: at a Spanish Oak corner to Lot 18th & Runing thence No 23 Wt 350 po to 3 W: O thence So 36 Wt 164 po 94 to ye Low G: to 2 Locust Trees on ye Fork
Lot ye 20th Begg at 2 Locusts on ye Fork Corner to Lot 19th & Runing along ye Line No 36 Et 164 po to 3 W: O thence No 23 Wt 250 po 3 Red Oaks in ye Manner line thence Down ye Manner line
Thursday 7th Rain'd Successively all Last night this Morning one of our men Killed a Wild Turkie that weight 20 Pounds we went & Survey'd 15 Hundred Acres of Land & Return'd to Vanmetris's about 1 o'Clock about two I heard that Mr Fairfax was come up & at 1 Peter Casseys about 2 Miles of in ye same Old Field[39] I then took my Horse & went up to see him we eat our Dinners & walked down to Vanmetris's we stayed about two Hours & Walked back again and slept in Casseys House which was ye first Night I had slept in a House since I came to ye Branch
[39] Old Fields and Wild Meadow.—There were many small, timberless tracts of land on the mountains and in the great valleys of Virginia and Pennsylvania, in regions which were generally, prior to the occupation and the clearing up of the country by the white man, densely covered with trees. Large tracts of such timberless land existed in the region now embraced within the counties of Berkeley, Jefferson and Frederick. Strange as it may appear some of this kind of land within the history of the settlement of the valley became covered with young forest timber. In some respects these openings resembled the treeless prairies of the west. No satisfactory explanation of this frequently observed condition has ever been given. Many of these meadows were the favorite pasturing grounds of the large game and were, therefore, of special interest to the hunter. Clearfield county, Pa., it is believed, got its name from the fact that there were within its territory extensive natural clear fields and meadows.
Fryday 8th we breakfasted at Casseys & Rode down to Vanmetris's to get all our Company together which when we had accomplished we Rode down below ye Trough in order to Lay of Lots there we laid of one this day The Trough is couple of Ledges of Mountain Impassable running side & side together for above 7 or 8 Miles & ye River down between them you must Ride Round ye back of ye Mountain for to get below them we Camped this Night in ye Woods near a Wild Meadow where was a Large Stack of Hay after we had Pitched our Tent & made a very Large Fire we pull'd out our Knapsack in order to Recruit ourselves every was his own Cook our Spits was Forked Sticks our Plates was a Large Chip as for Dishes we had none
Saterday 9th Set ye Surveyor[40] to work whilst Mr Fairfax & myself stayed at ye Tent our Provision being all exhausted & ye Person that was to bring us a Recruit disappointing us we were oblige to go without untill we could get some from ye Neighbours which was not till about 4 or 5 oClock in ye Evening we then took our Leaves of ye Rest of our Company Road Down to John Colins in order to set off next Day homewards
[40] From the expression, "set the surveyor to work," as well as the language used in the record on the 12th of March, that "Mr. James Genn the surveyor came to us and traveled over the Blue Ridge, etc.," with other expressions at a later date of similar import in the journal and in other documents, it is rendered almost certain that George Washington was, from the first, employed by Lord Fairfax, not as a surveyor, merely, but rather in the capacity of a skilled director of other surveyors, and as the confidential adviser in the division and sale of his lordship's lands.