and rattles, or uncouth emigrants that would never speak English, rarely
sleeping in a bed, holding a bear skin a splendid couch, glad of a
resting place for a night upon a little hay, straw or fodder ... this
stripling surveyor in the woods, with no companion but his unlettered
associates, and no implements of science but his compass and chain,
contrasted strangely with his fellows. And yet God had not selected a
Newcastle, nor a monarch of the Hapsburg, nor of Hanover, but the
Virginia Stripling to give to human affairs and as far as events can
depend upon individuals, had placed the rights and destinies of
countless millions in the keeping of the widow's son."

While in the Valley of Virginia the young George Washington learned how
to tell the age of various trees by the thickness of their bark. The
older a tree is, the thicker the bark and it is much rougher and thicker
on the north side of the tree. He learned to know the course of the
winds and to get to the leeward of his game when out hunting for food or
skins. This was done by putting his finger in his mouth and holding it
there until it became warm, then holding it high above his head; the
side which became cold showed him which way the wind was blowing. He
learned that the deer always seeks the sheltered places and the leeward
side of the hills. In rainy weather, they keep in the open woods and on
the highest grounds. He found that the fur or skins of animals are good
in all those months in which an "R" is found in the spelling.

He learned how to track animals, to know the various birds' songs and
cries. He watched the hunters build their camp fires and learned how to
cook his own game.

Front Royal

As most of us know, Charles II lived in such extravagant style and had
such a luxurious court he had difficulty in keeping his bills paid. He
was accustomed to resorting to one scheme after another in order to
raise revenue. At one time he dreamt of great wealth from the Virginia
colony through its tobacco crop--and it did supply him generously with
taxes.

Realizing a lucrative business might be established by trading in furs
with the Indians, Charles ordered Governor Berkeley to send explorers
beyond the mountains. The governor chose a man of whom history records
very little. John Lederer was at one time a Franciscan monk. He
obviously had leanings towards an adventuresome life. In 1761 he set out
for the West, under the compulsion of Governor B