George Washington; or, Life in America One Hundred Years Ago.

by John S. C. Abbott

Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, hearing of these encroachments, as he regarded them, decided to send a commissioner across the Alleghanies, to one of these posts, with a double object in view. One, and the avowed object, was to remonstrate, in the name of Great Britain, against this trespass, as he pronounced it, upon British territory. The other, and the true object, was to ascertain the number, strength, and position of the French garrisons, and to survey a route by which an army might be sent for their capture.[14]

It was indeed a perilous enterprise; one from which the boldest spirit might recoil. The first garrison which could be reached was on the Ohio river, about one hundred and twenty miles below the point where Pittsburg now stands. Here the French were erecting a strong fortress, to which the Indians resorted for trade. There was an intervening wilderness, from the settlements in Virginia, to be traversed, of pathless forests, gloomy morasses, craggy mountains, and almost impenetrable thickets, of nearly six hundred miles. Bands of savages, on the war-path or engaged in the hunt, were ever ranging these wilds. Many were exasperated by wrongs which they themselves had received, or of which they had heard, inflicted by the white men. The Indians, in all these north-western regions, had welcomed the French as brothers; and truly fraternal relationship existed between them. And they had nearly all learned to hate the English, who have never succeeded in winning the love of any people.

In such a journey, one must depend entirely, for subsistence, upon the game which could be taken. There was danger of being crippled by a strain or a broken bone, and of thus perishing, beyond the reach of all aid. There was no little danger from the tomahawk of the savage. It was also probable that the French officers would not allow the commissioner, whom they would regard as a spy, to return to the English colonies with information so valuable to their foes. Principles of justice and mercy have never had much control in military affairs. It would be very easy for the French so to arrange matters, that a band of savages should massacre and plunder the party of the commissioner, in the depths of the forest, under such circumstances that it would necessarily be regarded as merely a savage outrage.

There was no one to be found willing to expose himself to such hardships, and his life to such risks. At length George Washington, who was then but twenty years and six months old, came forward and volunteered his services. It was universally regarded, by the community, as an act of great heroism. Governor Dinwiddie, a blunt and sturdy Scotchman, eagerly accepted his proffered services. As he grasped the hand of the youthful Washington, he exclaimed:

“Truly you are a brave lad. And if you play your cards well, you shall have no cause to repent of your bargain.”

The sobriety and dignity of character of Washington were such, that no one thought of accusing him of boyish fool-hardiness. And he had such experience in the deprivations and perils of the wilderness, that it could not be questioned that he fully understood the nature of the enterprise in which he had engaged.

On the 14th of November, 1753, Washington set out, from Williamsburg, Virginia, on this perilous expedition. His party consisted of eight men, two of them being Indian guides. The storms of winter were rapidly approaching. Already the crests of the mountains were whitened with snow. The autumnal rains had swollen the brooks into torrents. Warmly clad in furs, the party did not fear the cold. With their axes they could speedily rear a camp, which would shelter them from the fiercest storm. Wood was abundant; and the most dreary of midnight scenes may be enlivened by the blaze of the camp fire.

In such a shelter, before such a fire, with choice cuts of venison, the fattest of nature’s poultry, and delicious trout fresh drawn from the brook, these hardy adventurers, accustomed to the woodman’s lodging and the woodman’s fare, could enjoy the richest of repasts, and all the comforts of the warm and bright fireside.

Many days were passed, full of incidents, romantic adventures, and hair-breadth escapes, when the barriers of the Alleghanies were safely surmounted, and the explorers, winding their way through the defiles, descended into the fertile and grand valley beyond. The Indian guides conducted them by a route which led to the upper waters of the Monongahela river. This stream, flowing toward the north, meets the Alleghany, which takes its rise near the great lakes. This union forms the Ohio.

Upon this solitary stream the Indians constructed birch canoes, and the little party paddled down, through sublime solitudes, a distance of nearly three hundred miles, to the mouth of the river, where Pittsburg now stands. The voyage occupied eight days. Occasionally they passed a small cluster of Indian wigwams. Silently the impassible children of the forest gazed upon them as they passed, offering no molestation. There was something truly awe-inspiring in the silence of the wilderness. No voice was heard. No blow of axe or hammer sent its reverberations to the ear. There was no report of the musket to break the solemn stillness. The arrow of the hunter, in its flight through the air, gave forth no sound.