ime when he accidentally killed a high spirited horse
when breaking it to the bridle. He finished his schooling when he was
sixteen years old, and would have gone into the British navy if his
mother had consented. She did not, however, so George studied
surveying; and was soon earning considerable sums from this occupation.

He made an excellent surveyor, and his skilful work and unusual
character soon attracted general attention. He was well versed in
military tactics also, and was made a Major in the Virginia militia
before he was twenty. This gave added zest for his military studies and
he set to work to learn strategy under a fierce old Dutch army officer
named Jacob Van Braam. Together they studied maps and fought out
battles with pins and bits of wood until far into the night. George was
also busied with the care of the Washington estate at Mount Vernon,
which was left to him on the death of his half brother, Lawrence
Washington in 1752. Mount Vernon carried with it about five hundred
slaves and dependents, and the young man had his time fully occupied in
riding over its broad acres and managing its affairs.

When George was twenty-one years old a difficult task was assigned to
him that not only proved that he had really entered the estate of
manhood, but also that he was trusted beyond his years. Governor
Dinwiddie of Virginia sent him on a dangerous trip into the wilderness
to warn off the French from English ground and to gain the friendship
of the wild Indians that lived there. The race for land between the
French and English settlers was growing keener and more bitter every
day, and both countries claimed the land that lay between the Allegheny
and the Mississippi rivers. Finally the Governor of Virginia picked
young Washington to go to Venango and warn the French that they were
trespassing,--and also to make ceremonial visits to the Indians to
ensure their friendship to the English in case of war with the French.

To succeed would require shrewdness, good sense, courage and physical
strength--for a long journey through virgin forests would have to be
made and many dangers encountered. Washington took with him a guide and
pioneer named Christopher Gist, and Jacob Van Braam went also to act as
interpreter.

The journey over six hundred miles of desolate wilderness, across
swollen streams, through forest, swamp and over rugged mountain, was
performed so speedily that it would be hard for strong men to duplic