streams had swollen
into torrents. He was clad in a buckskin hunting shirt, with
leggings and moccasins of the same material, the simple garb of
a backwoodsman, in perfect keeping with the wildness of the scenes
he had to encounter. In his broad leathern belt were stuck a
long hunting-knife and an Indian tomahawk. As he rode his horse,
he frequently carried in his left hand his useful compassstaff.'"

"'The enterprise upon which Washington had entered was one of
romance, toil, and peril. It required the exercise of constant
vigilance and sagacity. Here and there in the wilds ran narrow
trails through dense thickets, over craggy hills, and along the
banks of streams; but when they might lead the young surveyor
into the camps of squatters or Indians, no one could tell.'"

As the Scout Master stopped again, he found the boys listening
with breathless interest, and he guessed that many of them were
following the explorations of Washington in imagination.

"This next paragraph," he said, "reminds me of some of our own
experiences on a hike. Listen: 'My companions and I,' wrote
Washington in his journal on April eighth of that year, 'camped
in the woods; and after we had pitched our tent and made a large
fire we pulled out our knapsacks to recruit ourselves. Every
one was his own cook. Our spits were forked sticks, our plates
were large chips. As for dishes, we had none.'"

"I shall read only two more brief paragraphs:"

"'Washington's success as a surveyor for Lord Fairfax called the
attention of the Virginia authorities to him and to the unusual
accuracy of his surveys. As a consequence, he was appointed public
surveyor, deriving a discipline therefrom which was of great service
to him in his later career. By making him an able civil engineer,
it laid the foundation of his future eminence in a military capacity.
And by making him known to the principal landholders of the State,
it led to his appointment, at the age of nineteen, to the office
of adjutant-general, with the rank of major. This gave him the
charge of a district, with the duty of exercising the militia,
inspecting their arms, and superintending their discipline.'"

"That is all, boys," concluded the Scout Master, rising and closing
the volume. "But as we take up our course in surveying, with the
additional interest of its geological significance, we may like to
remember that we are following in the footsteps of no less a man
than George Wash