USA > Ohio > History of Ohio; the rise and progress of an American state, Volume One > Part 18
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do it, and he set off with the horses for the lower Shawnee town for that purpose." It should be noted that Old Britain's son did not succeed to the kingship, but that office went to another one known as the Turtle, in Indian language, Mushequanockque.
We have dwelt with some detail upon the Picka- willany event and its accompanying incident of Trent's journey, because it was one of great historic importance for as Winsor remarks, "by this attack the valleys of the Maumee and Miami were delivered from the presence of the pestilent English." He further says, "the legend on Evans' later map says that it was this success which prompted the French to undertake their ambitious scheme of establishing armed posts through- out the Ohio Valley and so finally provoked the armed outbreak under Washington."
The offensive movement was inaugurated by Gover- nor Duquesne who early in the spring of 1753 launched forth from Montreal a force of nearly fifteen hundred men, comprising French Colonial troops, Canadians and Indian attendant bands. This aggregation, so arge and imposing to the native savages that they said he boats for the transportation thereof covered the akes and rivers from Montreal to Presque Isle, was at irst commanded by Marin, an able officer, with one Pean, second in rank. The vanguard of this invading .rmy landed at Presque Isle, where the city of Erie low stands. Here was built a "fort of squared chest- ut logs, and when it was finished they cut a road of everal leagues through the woods to Riviére aux Boeufs, ow French Creek. At the further end of this road hey began another wooden fort and called it Fort
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Le Boeuf." From this latter location, when the water was high, they could descend French Creek to the Allegheny, at which point, the site of Venango Village, a third fort was projected but not erected.
This chain of forts, it is easily seen, would have protected the French passage from Lake Erie to the headwaters of the Ohio. The expedition had expected to proceed down the Ohio, establishing other strong- holds in its wake, but disease made such deadly havoc among the men that some three hundred were retained to garrison the forts built while the rest were sent back to Montreal. The dying Marin, "gruff, choloric and sixty-three," was superseded in the autumn by Legar- deur de Saint-Pierre who made his headquarters at Fort Le Boeuf.
These defiant demonstrations and warlike measures by the French thoroughly aroused both the English provinces and the Ohio Indians who were friendly to the colonies. The Half King Tanacharison hastened from his home at Logstown to Le Boeuf, "with a strong party along with him, to warn the French off their land entirely" or suffer the attacks of the allied tribesmen, but as he afterward related to Washington the doughty Tanacharison was received by Marin "with such contemptuous haughtiness that he went home shed- ding tears of rage and mortification." At the same time (August 1753) Captain William Trent was dis- patched by Governor Dinwiddie as a commissioner to remonstrate against these French encroachments. but Trent got no farther than Logstown where he became alarmed at the threatening condition of affairs He contented himself with carrying out Dinwiddie':
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instructions to examine the site selected by the Ohio Company Commissioners for a fort at the river forks, a location long before suggested by Tanacharison and destined to be the storm center for many years of bit- ter and bloody warfare.
Governor Robert Dinwiddie, really lieutenant gover- nor of Virginia, but acting in place of the titular governor, Lord Albermarle, whose post was a sinecure, realized that the time had arrived for decisive results of some kind; the interests of England, of the Virginia Province and the Ohio Company, in which Dinwiddie himself was a stockholder, demanded prompt action. Dinwiddie determined on one more attempt at evading war by dispatching an emissary to the French forts to demand of the French that they desist from intrud- ing upon the territory of the King of Great Britain.
CHAPTER XI. GEORGE WASHINGTON'S MISSION
F OR his special messenger on this errand Din- widdie chose George Washington.
Certainly Washington needs no introduction to our readers, but for the better understand- ing of his relation to our story, we briefly review some of the phases of his boyhood which bear more or less directly upon his interest and activities in the West, for he was not only the Father of his Country but also the champion of the West and in large sense one of the founders of Ohio.
While the French and British powers were "scoring" for the opening struggle in the conquest of the Ohio Valley and the Great West, Washington, who was to be the most conspicuous figure in the prelude and the unrivaled hero in the subsequent drama, was a mere boy tramping the almost untrodden backwoods of Virginia and Maryland, expanding his lungs with the mountain air, toughening his muscles with mountain climbing, learning precious lessons from the preceptor, Nature, acquiring the physical prowess, the powers of endurance and self-restraint and the mental alertness that so admirably fitted him for the duties that later crowded thick upon him. George Washington was a typical product of the rough wilderness plus the innate nobility of character and genius of mind with which nature endowed him.
A century before Celoron and Gist traversed Ohio, the Washingtons had left the mother country and settled in Virginia; and their immediate descendants, in the male line, were men of large and powerful physique, resolute and persevering temperament, domi- nant, if not violent, in disposition, not averse to war,
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religious in the Church of England way, thrifty and aristocratic. Into this family came George in 1732, at Wakefield, Westmoreland County, Virginia, his mother, Mary Ball, being the second wife of his father, Augustine Washington, who, at his death in 1743, left large land estates. To Lawrence, elder son by his first wife, Jane Butler, the father bequeathed Mt. Vernon and two thousand five hundred acres, with slaves, iron works, mills, etc. In the event of Law- rence's death without issue, this property was to pass to George. It subsequently so passed. To Augustine, second son by the first wife, the father left the Wake- field estates; small allotments were made respectively to Samuel, John and Charles, younger full brothers of George, and to Betty, his own sister. To George was devised the farm on the Rappahannock and por- tions of land on Deep Run.
Thus George, at the age of eleven, became a landed proprietor with most flattering prospects. Like many of his youthful companions, he might have made a profession of being a "gentleman," which meant going to Oxford for an education, returning to Virginia and spending life in fox-hunting, cock fighting, slave bossing and rum drinking. George was better inclined and better advised. He reserved himself for higher pur- suits. Dame Fortune, ever looking for subjects worthy her favoritism, supplemented his common-sense and high-mindedness. His two half brothers made excel- lent matrimonial alliances. Lawrence married Anne, daughter of William Fairfax, proprietor of Belvoir, a plantation in the neighborhood of Mt. Vernon; Augus- tine won for his bride Anne, daughter and co-heiress
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of William Aylett, Esq., of Westmoreland County. George, for some years after the death of his father, spent his time alternately at Wakefield, the home of Augustine, and at Mt. Vernon, the home of Lawrence. Both these elder brothers were refined and dignified men; the residence of each was the abode of colonial culture and the resort of the best Virginia families. George therefore had unusual opportunities of acquir- ing the sentiments and manners of "good society," but he was early made to understand that he was not to grow up a genteel loafer. He must do something in the aid of his own support and that of his mother.
His brothers looked with disfavor upon the luxurious and loose life of the younger sons of the Virginia planters. Yet to engage in trade or work as a clerk was not to be considered; for the scion of a wealthy family that would not be tolerated. He would lose caste with his class. His respectability must be pre- served, and so the choice of a vocation was the perplex- ing question. Inclination and opportunity combined to open to him the avenue in accord with his aptitude and one that would best qualify him for the lofty stations awaiting him. While abiding with his brother Augustine at Wakefield, he attended the nearby school of Oak Grove, kept by a Mr. Williams. George here discovered little taste for Latin, history or literature, but great fondness for mathematics. With youthful zest he accompanied his teacher when the latter sur- veyed some meadows on Bridge's Creek. It was the realization of his predilection. Working out a mathe- matical problem, staking off the bounds of unmeasured land, tramping the woods in all their primeval splendor,
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offered a mingling of labor and delight that charmed the boy. He would be a surveyor. Moreover it was a gentleman's business, in great demand and incidentally a lucrative one.
Mr. Williams arranged that George be permitted to further inform himself by attending upon Mr. James Genn, the official surveyor of Westmoreland County. After some years' residence with Augustine at Wakefield, George took final leave of school and transferred his home to that of Lawrence at Mt.Vernon, when it was definitely to be decided what he should do for a life calling. He could easily have made his own choice, but he was only fifteen and the elder brother was the arbiter. The father-in-law of Lawrence, William Fairfax, was cousin to and business agent of Thomas, Lord Fairfax of Fairfax County, one of the largest land proprietors in the Virginia colony, his ; estates numbering a million five hundred thousand acres. His vast domain lay between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers and extended over the Blue Ridge Mountains, comprising, among other lands, a great portion of the Shenandoah Valley. At Mt. Vernon Lord Fairfax was a frequent and welcome guest, and there he came in contact with George Washington. A great friendship sprang up between the wealthy, scholarly, blasé bachelor lord of sixty and the young boy, just entering his teens and wrestling in his earnest, frank, enthusiastic way with the problems that con- fronted him on the threshold of life. Lord Fairfax approved the boy's selection of surveying as a pro- fession. It was honorable and profitable. He could at once set up the apprentice in business in the opening
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of his lordship's vast lands. So choice and chance made George Washington a surveyor.
Through the influence of his benefactor, Lord Fair- fax, George was made a surveyor of the county of Culpepper and a little later William and Mary College gave him a surveyor's commission. It was in the spring of 1748 that the young surveyor with George Fairfax, James Genn, a pack horse and servants, entered upon his first important service. Through the melting snows and the swollen streams they wended their way through the Ashby's Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley, near where the river of that romantic name joins the Poto- mac. What a magnificent scene met the enchanted gaze of the youthful surveyor-a grand panorama of delectable hills and expanding valley cleft with the winding river, and all clad in the white cloak of winter and overhung with the azure arch of heaven. It was Washington's introduction to the splendors of Nature. He describes in his diary of that trip, the joy of out- door life, the giant trees, the sweeping streams, camping in the wilds of the forest, sleeping in the open air on the ground with leaves for a bed and a bear skin for wrappings; shooting the wild game for food and his "agreeable surprise at ye sight of thirty Indians com- ing from war with only one scalp."
On this journey he learned how the French were looking with jealous eyes to the western world and how a struggle was on between them and his country. Washington's words were brief but methodical, show- ing "that keen observation of Nature and men and daily incidents which he developed to such good pur-
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pose in after life." It was a rough and tumble life, but a priceless preparatory school for the future hero of Valley Forge and Yorktown. He states in his first journal that he was to survey certain lands for the Ohio Company, but there was no word that he really did so. For several years the industrious surveyor pursued his profession, mostly in the employ of Lord Fairfax. In 1751 he accompanied Lawrence to the Barbadoes Island whither the elder brother went in search of health. But the voyage was unavailing, and returning to Mt. Vernon, Lawrence there died in July, 1752. It was the same year that George was summoned to Williamsburg, the seat of the Virginia Government, and by Governor Robert Dinwiddie appointed Adjutant General of the Northern Division of the Virginia Militia, with the rank of major, on pay of one hundred and fifty pounds a year. He was thus preferred over many older candidates because of his sobriety, faithfulness and the proven evidence that he carried an old head on young shoulders. In appear- ance he easily passed for thirty, though he was but nineteen. Governor Dinwiddie told the young major of his interest in the Ohio Company and the coming struggle between France and England for the Ohio Valley. The chain of forts established by the French from Lake Erie to the Ohio must be broken in twain. Virginia must send an envoy to present the claims of the Colonies to the Ohio Valley and to warn the French that further advances by them would be met by force of arms.
According to the instructions given Washington by the Virginia governor the former was forthwith to
WASHINGTON A SURVEYOR.
George Washington, at the age of sixteen, as a surveyor for Lord Fairfax in the Shenandoah Valley. A reproduc- tion of an engraving from the original painting by Chapell.
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.HOYIVAUZ A VIOTOTIHZAT
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Alegado d gaitrisq Isnigio ont mont grivsigne us to noit Te ata tos In his +
journal that he was to survey cert lands for Olio Company, but there was no word that be re did so. For several years the industrious surve pursued his profession, mostly in the employ of I Fairfax. In 175r he accompanied Lawrence fo Barhocker Tiland whither the elder brother wen search of Sollde Bub Tue voyage was unavz abd rellirolar to ME Vemon, Lawrence there di! July, Lyg2. IL was the same vear that George summoned to Williamsburg, the seat of the Vil Govemment, and by Governor Robert Dinw appointed Adjutant General of the Northern Div of the Virgime Militia, with the rank of major, on of one hundred and fifty pounds a year. He was preferred over many older candidates because i sobriety, faithfulness and the proven evidenci be carried an old head on young shoulders. In a ance he casily passed for thirty, though he wa nineteen Governor Dinwiddie told the young of his interest in the Ohio Company and the o struggle between France and England for the Valley. The chain of luru zitablished by the Fo from Lake Erie to the Gaio minit be broken in Virginia muel send an envoy to present the claus the Colonies to the Ohio Valley and to warn the | that further advances by them would be met by of arms.
According to the instmotions given Washingis the Virginia goverpor the former was forthe
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repair to Logstown and having there informed himself where the French forces had posted themselves, there- upon proceed to such place and deliver the governor's letter to the chief commanding French officer and secure an answer thereto. That letter set forth that the lands of the River Ohio were so notoriously known to be the property of the Crown of Great Britain that it was a matter of equal concern and surprise for the Virginia governor to learn that French soldiers were erecting fortresses and making settlements upon that river, within his British Majesty's dominion. He had therefore sent George Washington, one of the adjutant generals of the forces of this dominion, to complain of the encroachments and of the injuries done to the subjects of Great Britain, in violation of the law of nations. It was his duty, Dinwiddie wrote, to "Require your peaceable departure and that you would forbear prosecuting a purpose so interruptive of the harmony and good understanding which His Majesty is desirous to continue and cultivate with the most Christian (French) King."
Washington kept a daily journal of this embassy, a journal that was to become a famous document, containing his first lessons in statesmanship.
Leaving (October 30, 1753) Williamsburg, the pro- vincial capital of Virginia, Washington proceeded to Fredericksburg, where he secured Jacob Van Braam, a Dutch fencing master and an old soldier, as his French interpreter and John Davidson as his Indian nterpreter. At Will's Creek, the store-house station of the Ohio Company, he engaged Christopher Gist as his guide and hired as his servitors Barney Currin
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and John McGuire, Indian Traders, and Henry Stewart and William Jenkins. Gist also kept a journal of this journey, which was preserved and has been fre- quently reprinted. With baggage and pack horses the party reached, at the mouth of Turtle Creek on the Monongahela River, the residence of John Frazier, a well-known Indian trader, who had been driven out of the Venango village by the French. Here Washing- ton learned of the death of the French General Marin, and of the return home of most of the French troops. The party passed on to the Forks which Washington "spent some time in viewing" and thought "extremely well fitted for a fort as it had absolute command of both rivers." At the village of Shingiss, they called on the Delaware chief of that name and invited him to accompany them to Logstown, which invitation he willingly accepted. At Logstown, where a stay of four days was made, Washington held many councils with the Half King Tanacharison, also Monakatoocha, alias Scarocooyadi, or Scarouady, an Oneida chief and the next in command, and other chiefs and sachems of the mixed tribes friendly to the English. All being in readiness the party, including Tanacharison, Jeska- kake, an old Shannoah sachem, White Thunder, keeper of the speech belts, and an Indian hunter, set out for Venango, "an old Indian town, sixty miles from Logs- town." On arriving at Venango, Washington beheld "with anger and shame" the French flag flying over the quarters of the commandant, the wily Captain Joncaire, who received the English party with al. French etiquette and courtesy, inviting them to dinner At this hospitality Washington reports the wine flowed
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TTE
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freely and the French tongues were indiscreetly loosened, while Washington soberly and attentively listened. He writes "they told me that it was their absolute design to take possession of the Ohio, and by G-d, they will do it and keep it." The English, they admitted, could raise more men, but their opera- tions were so slow and dilatory, that they could not interfere with any undertakings of the French, who had an undoubted right to the Ohio River from the discovery of La Salle. Joncaire made presents to the Indians of the Washington party "and applied liquour so fast that they were soon rendered incapable of the business they came about, notwithstanding the warn- ing which was given them."
When Washington got the Indians sufficiently sober to travel, accompanied by La Force, commissary of the French stores, and three other soldiers, the party moved on to La Boeuf. According to the diary of Washington, Fort La Boeuf consisted of four houses, in form of a hollow square, the bastions of which were made of piles driven in the ground, standing more than twelve feet above it, and sharp at the top, with port- holes for cannon and loop-holes for small arms to fire through. There were several barracks without the fort, for the soldier's dwellings, covered, some with bark and some with boards. About a hundred soldiers exclusive of officers garrisoned the fort. At this fort the provincial boy messenger met "the elderly gentle- men, with the air of a soldier," Legardeur de Saint Pierre, a tried officer and explorer who had recently returned from a trip to the far west in which he had reached the Rocky Mountains. He was a shrewd and
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plausible schemer of the Machiavellian type. While the French officers were consulting over the contents of Dinwiddie's letter, Washington with soldierlike qualities was quietly taking notes of the size, strength and contents of the fort. There was much diplomatic sparring and busy intrigues in which the French tried to induce the Indians to desert the English. French liquor was plentiful and Saint Pierre assured Washing- ton that the country belonged to the French and that no Englishman had a right to trade upon the waters of the Ohio. Receiving Saint Pierre's sealed reply to Dinwiddie's letter, Washington and his party began their return, most tedious and dangerous owing to the season of the year, the month of December. The cold was severe, the streams frozen over, the ground covered with snow, the trees and underbrush coated with ice; the travelers were often compelled to unload and carry their canoes by land and ply their way as best they could through almost impassible woods and swamps. At Venango, on the return, Washington parted with the Logstown Indians, put himself in an Indian hunting dress and prepared to continue on foot, his horses, jaded and worn, being hardly able to carry the packs. Shortly thereafter the Major, as Gist called Washing- ton, put the cavalcade in charge of Van Braam and then with the necessary papers and traveling kit on his back, with only Gist as a companion, he pushed on by the shortest route possible for his destination. While passing, on the way to Shannopin's Town, a place called Murdering Town, the two travelers fell in with a party of French Indians, "who laid in wait for us." One of these offered to act as guide and was
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accepted. He kept doggedly ahead, leading the way, when on emerging from a clump of woods the Indian guide suddenly turned, deliberately levelled his gun and fired at Washington. But the young adjutant general was destined for a great career, his time had not come, and that miraculous charm of life which he ever bore, protected him. This incident Washington barely men- tions in his diary, but Gist gives a full account in his journal and says that he wished to instantly kill the murderous savage, but Washington humanely pre- vented the justifiable act. The Indian guide was simply dismissed.
A day or two later while attempting to cross the Allegheny River on an improvised raft of logs, Wash- ington fell between the jammed cakes of ice in the cold water some ten feet deep and barely saved himself by clinging to one of the raft logs which floated to a nearby island. Half frozen in his water-soaked clothes Washington, with his companion, found his way to John Frazier's, where they remained several days. At the mouth of the Youghiogheny River, the travelers called upon Queen Aliquippa, "who expressed great concern that we had passed her in going to the fort." Washington appeased her for the past neglect by presenting the Queen with a watch coat and a bottle of rum, "which latter she thought was much the better present of the two." Arriving at Gist's home on the Monongahela, the travelers separated and Washington, having purchased a horse, continued alone, reaching Williamsburg January 16, 1754. It was Washington's nitial diplomatic experience and his first acquaintance with the Ohio country, and adds Irving "It is an expedi-
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tion that may be considered the foundation of his fortune for from that moment he was the rising hope of Virginia."
Washington's journal of this memorable embassy was on his return submitted to the Virginia House of Burgesses, ordered printed and was copied into nearly all the newspapers of the other colonies, sent to London and there published under the auspices of the British Government. Numerous reprints have been made and edited by many historical writers. Our study of it is from the copy published in full in The Olden Time; a monthly publication, long since discontinued, devoted to the production of documents relating to the early exploration and settlement of the country around the head of the Ohio. This journal at once made the young Virginian adjutant general famous throughout the colonies and in the mother country. George Washington, who had so courageously and sagaciously performed the delicate duty of this mission was the international hero of the hour.
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