through the woods so as to strike the Allegany River, and cross it near Shannopins Town, two or three miles above the Fork of the Ohio. The next day an adventure occurred, which is well narrated by Mr. Gist in a diary written by him at the time.

"We rose early in the morning, and set out about two o'clock, and got to the Murdering Town on the southeast fork of Beaver Creek. Here we met with an Indian, whom I thought I had seen at Joncaire's, at Venango, when on our journey up to the French fort. This fellow called me by my Indian name, and pretended to be glad to see me. He asked us several questions, as, how we came to travel on foot, when we left Venango, where we parted with our horses, and when they would be there. Major Washington insisted on travelling by the nearest way to the Forks of the Allegany. We asked the Indian if he could go with us, and show us the nearest way. The Indian seemed very glad, and ready to go with us; upon which we set out, and the Indian took the Major's pack. We travelled very brisk for eight or ten miles, when the Major's feet grew very sore, and he very weary, and the Indian steered too much northeastwardly. The Major desired to encamp; upon which the Indian asked to carry his gun, but he refused; and then the Indian grew churlish, and pressed us to keep on, telling us there were Ottowa Indians in those woods, and they would scalp us if we lay out; but go to his cabin, and we should be safe.

"I thought very ill of the fellow, but did not care to let the Major know I mistrusted him. But he soon mistrusted him as much as I did. The Indian said he could hear a gun from his cabin, and steered us more northwardly. We grew uneasy, and then he said two whoops might be heard from his cabin. We

went two miles further. Then the Major said he would stay at the next water, and we desired the Indian to stop at the next water; but before we came to water, we came to a clear meadow. It was very light, and snow was on the ground. The Indian made a stop, and turned about. The Major saw him point his gun towards us, and he fired. Said the Major, Are you shot?' 'No,' said I; upon which the Indian ran forward to a big standing white oak, and began loading his gun, but we were soon with him. I would have killed him, but the Major would not suf fer me. We let him charge his gun. We found he put in a ball; then we took care of him. Either the Major or I always stood by the guns. We made him make a fire for us by a little run, as if we intended to sleep there. I said to the Major, As you will not have him killed, we must get him away, and then we must travel all night'; upon which I said to the Indian, 'I suppose you were lost, and fired your gun.' He said he knew the way to his cabin, and it was but a little way. Well,' said I, 'do you go home; and, as we are tired, we will follow your track in the morning, and here is a cake of bread for you, and you must give us meat in the morning.' He was glad to get away. I followed him, and listened, until he was fairly out of the way; and then we went about half a mile, when we made a fire, set our compass, fixed our course, and travelled all night. In the morning we were on the head of Piny Creek."

Whether it was the intention of the Indian to kill either of them can only be conjectured. The circumstances were extremely suspicious. Major Washington hints at this incident in his journal. "We fell in with a party of French Indians," says he, "who had lain in wait for us. One of them fired at Mr.

Gist or me, not fifteen steps off, but fortunately missed. We took the fellow in custody, and kept him till nine o'clock at night; then let him go, and walked all the remaining part of the night without making any stop, that we might get the start so far as to be out of the reach of their pursuit the next day, since we were well assured they would follow our track as soon as it was light." No more was seen or heard of them. The next night, at dusk, the travellers came to the Allegany River, a little above Shannopins, where they expected to cross over on the ice; but in this they were disappointed, the river being frozen only a few yards on each side, and a great body of broken ice driving rapidly down the current.

Weary and exhausted they were compelled to pass the night on the bank of the river, exposed to the rigor of the weather, making their beds on the snow, with no other covering than their blankets. When the morning came, their invention was the only resource for providing the means of gaining the opposite shore.

"There was no way of getting over," says Major Washington, "but on a raft; which we set about with but one poor hatchet, and finished just after sunsetting. This was a whole day's work. We next got it launched, and went on board of it; then set off. But before we were half way over, we were jammed in the ice in such a manner, that we expected every moment our raft would sink, and ourselves perish. I put out my setting-pole to try to stop the raft, that the ice might pass by; when the rapidity of the stream threw it with so much violence against the pole, that it jerked me out into ten feet water. But I fortunately saved myself by catching hold of one of the raft logs. Notwithstanding all our efforts we could

not get the raft to either shore, but were obliged, as we were near an island, to quit our raft, and make to it."

This providential escape from most imminent danger was not the end of their calamities. They were thrown upon a desert island; the weather was intensely cold; Mr. Gist's hands and feet were frozen; and their sufferings through the night were extreme. A gleam of hope appeared with the dawn of morning. Between the island and the eastern bank of the river, the ice had congealed so hard as to bear their weight. They crossed over without accident, and the same day reached a trading-post recently established by Mr. Frazier, near the spot where eighteen months afterwards was fought the memorable battle of the Monongahela.

Here they rested two or three days, both to recruit themselves and to procure horses. Meantime Major Washington paid a complimentary visit to Queen Aliquippa, an Indian princess, who resided at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogany Rivers. She had expressed dissatisfaction, that he had neglected this mark of respect on his way out. An apology, seconded by the more substantial token of a present, soothed her wounded dignity, and secured a gracious reception.

Nothing was heard of Vanbraam and his party. Anxious to hasten back, and report to the governor the result of his mission, Major Washington did not wait for them. With Mr. Gist he recrossed the Alleganies to Will's Creek, and thence proceeded with despatch to Williamsburg, where he arrived on the 16th of January, having been absent eleven weeks.

The intentions and movements of the French being now understood, Governor Dinwiddie thought the

occasion demanded prompt and energetic action. He called his Council together, and laid before them Major Washington's journal, and the letter of the French commandant. It was agreed, that the instructions heretofore received from the ministry imposed it as a duty, in case of an invasion of the King's dominions, to repel it by a resort to arms. There was no longer any doubt, that the state of things, anticipated by the ministers, had actually come to pass. It was now time to prepare for the exigency. At the last meeting of the House of Burgesses, the governor had failed in his endeavours to rouse the representatives of the people to a sense of danger, and no funds had been provided for establishing a military force.

Without waiting for the burgesses to convene, the Council advised the immediate enlistment of two hundred men, with directions to march to the Ohio, and build one or two forts there, before the French should be able to descend the river in the spring, as they had threatened to do. An order was issued for raising two companies, of one hundred men each, in the northern counties by voluntary enlistments, or, if that method should prove impracticable, by drafts from the militia. The conduct of Major Washington had hitherto been marked with so much prudence, resolution, and capacity, that he was appointed to the chief command of these troops, apparently by the unanimous voice of the Council.

To make an impression on the minds of the people, and if possible to work them up to some degree of enthusiasm, and excite their indignation against the invaders, Governor Dinwiddie caused Major Washington's journal to be published. It was copied into nearly all the newspapers of the other colonies. In London it was reprinted, under the auspices of the gov