"Yes; but who is it?"
"I am unable to answer."
"But we must find him," continued the governor. "The time has fully come for Virginia to defend the rights of Great Britain."
"There can be no doubt about that," replied Mr. Gist; "but who will endure the hardships and risk his life on a mission to the Ohio is more than I can tell."
A writer says of the project: "It was indeed a perilous enterprise; one from which the noblest 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, and of which they had heard, inflicted by the white men. The Indians in all these northwest regions had welcomed the French as brothers, and truly fraternal relationship existed between them; and they had nearly all learned to hate the English.... 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 commissioners, in the depths of the forest, under such circumstances that it would necessarily be regarded as merely a savage outrage."
In these circumstances, Governor Dinwiddie found it difficult to secure a responsible party to accept the commission. He offered it to certain men in whom he had great confidence, but all of them declined. At length, however, Major Washington, as we will call George now, waited upon the governor, and surprised him by saying:
"I have come, Governor Dinwiddie, to offer my services as commissioner to Ohio. If you consider me competent for the position, I will accept it, and do the best I can."
"Certainly you are competent for this business," answered the governor, "and you are as brave as you are competent. It is a perilous undertaking, and may cost you your life."
"I understand that," responded the major; "and I have come to this decision after weighing well the difficulties and dangers. My occupation as surveyor has inured me to hardships, and given me some acquaintance with Indian life and character."
"That is true," remarked the governor, who was familiar with young Washington's success in surveying, as well as with his knowledge of military affairs, "and that experience will be of great value on such a mission as this. I will appoint you commissioner at once, with full powers to plan and perform the expedition."