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

by John S. C. Abbott

The treaties made with the Indians in those days, will seldom bear minute investigation. The purchasers were not careful to ascertain the validity, of the title of the chiefs, to the lands which they sold. And many of the chiefs were ready, for a suitable compensation, to sell all their right and title to lands to which they had no claim whatever.

There was a powerful confederacy of tribes living in the vicinity of the great northern lakes, called the Six Nations.[68] By a treaty, in 1768, these chiefs sold to the British crown all the land possessed by them south of the river Ohio. Speculators were rushing in. It was the object of Washington to visit these fertile acres, and affix his seal to such tracts as he might deem suitable to pay off the soldiers’ claim.

It was an enterprise fraught with considerable danger. There was no law in these vast wilds, which were ranged by Indians, and by white men still more savage in character. Several of the tribes in that region remonstrated against the sale. Among these were the powerful Delawares, Mingoes, and Shawnees. They said that the chiefs of the Six Nations had withheld from them their share of the consideration which was paid; and that they were as legitimate owners of those vast hunting grounds as were any chiefs of the Six Nations. They therefore openly avowed their intention of exacting the deficiency, which they deemed due to them, from the white men who should attempt to settle on their hunting-grounds. Thus there had been several robberies and murders, perpetrated by no one knew who. White vagabonds, dressed in Indian costume, could scarcely be distinguished from the Indians themselves. And lawless bands of savages, roving here and there, were the burglars and highway robbers of the wilderness, for whose outrages no tribe could be held responsible.

Washington selected, for his companion, on this expedition, his very congenial friend and neighbor, Dr. Craik.[69] Washington took two of his negro servants to accompany him, and the doctor took one. Thus the party consisted of five persons. All were well mounted. A single led horse carried the baggage of the party. A journey of twelve days conducted them, through this unpeopled wilderness, to Fort Pitt, which, it will be remembered, had been reared on the ruins of Fort Duquesne.

It was the 17th of October, 1770, when they reached the fort. It was garrisoned by two companies of Irishmen. Around the fort a little hamlet had sprung up, of about twenty log houses. It was called the town. These rude dwellings, in comfort but little above the wigwam of the savage, were occupied by a rough, coarse set of men, who had been lured into the wilderness to trade with the Indians. Such was the origin, scarcely one hundred years ago, of the present beautiful city of Pittsburg, with its opulent, refined, and highly cultivated population.

One of these cabins they called a tavern. Nominally, Washington and his companion took up their quarters there. But they were entertained within the fort with all the hospitality that frontier post could afford. Washington met, at the fort, Colonel George Crogan, a man of great renown in frontier adventures. He had reared his hut on the banks of the Alleghany river, about four miles above the fort. Washington visited the colonel, at his spacious and well-guarded cabin. There he met several chiefs of the Six Nations. The fame of Washington had reached their ears. They greeted him fraternally, and assured him of their earnest desire to live in peace with the white men.

Washington and his party, returning to Fort Pitt, left their horses there, and embarked in a large canoe to sail down the beautiful and placid Ohio, as far as the Great Kanawha. Colonel Crogan engaged two Indians attendants and an interpreter to accompany the party, as they floated down the sublime solitudes of this majestic stream. He also, with several other officers, descended the river with them in a canoe, about thirty miles, as far as the Indian village called Logstown. It will be remembered that Washington had held an interview with the Indian chiefs here on a former excursion.[70]

It was the lovely month of October. Nothing can be imagined more beautiful than the luxuriant banks of the Ohio, with their swelling mounds, crowned in their autumnal vesture. It was the favorite hunting season of the Indians. The river valley abounded with game. The roving Indians were alike at home everywhere. They had a taste for lovely scenery. In every cove their picturesque wigwams could be seen. They feasted abundantly upon the choicest viands the forest and river could afford. Often, at night, the picturesque scenery would be illumined, far and wide, by their camp fires, while the echoes of hill and valley were awakened by their boisterous revelry.

Blessed peace reigned; and our voyagers were cordially welcomed and hospitably entertained at all these encampments. As they drifted down the tranquil current, they found themselves in the paradise of sportsmen. Herds of deer were browsing in the rich meadows, and unintimidated by the passage of the boats, were coming down to the waters edge to drink. At times the whole surface of the stream seemed to be covered with water-fowl, of every variety of gay plumage. Flocks of ducks and geese, in their streaming flight were soaring through the air. These skilful sportsmen, without landing, could fill their canoes with game. When night came, selecting some sheltered and attractive spot, they would land, erect their hut, imperious to wind and rain, spread their couch of rushes or fragrant hemlock boughs, build their fires, and, with appetites whetted by the adventures of the day, enjoy as rich a repast as earth can give.

The banks of the Ohio are now fringed with magnificent hotels, and the stream is ploughed with steamers palatial grandeur. But probably no voyagers on that river now can find the enjoyment, which Washington experienced in his canoe, one hundred years ago.