Lot 19 Begg: at a Spanish Oak corner to Lot 18^{th} & Runing thence
N^o 23 W^t 350 po to 3 W: O thence S^o 36 W^t 164 po 94 to y^e Low
G: to 2 Locust Trees on y^e Fork
Lot y^e 20^{th} Begg at 2 Locusts on y^e Fork Corner to Lot 19^{th}
& Runing along y^e Line N^o 36 E^t 164 po to 3 W: O thence N^o 23
W^t 250 po 3 Red Oaks in y^e Manner line thence Down y^e Manner line
Thursday 7^{th} Rain'd Successively all Last night this Morning one
of our men Killed a Wild Turkie that weight 20 Pounds we went &
Survey'd 15 Hundred Acres of Land & Return'd to Vanmetris's about 1
o'Clock about two I heard that M^r Fairfax was come up & at 1 Peter
Casseys about 2 Miles of in y^e same Old Field[39] I then took my
Horse & went up to see him we eat our Dinners & walked down to
Vanmetris's we stayed about two Hours & Walked back again and slept
in Casseys House which was y^e first Night I had slept in a House
since I came to y^e Branch
[Footnote 39: Old Fields and Wild Meadow.--There were many small,
timberless tracts of land on the mountains and in the great valleys
of Virginia and Pennsylvania, in regions which were generally,
prior to the occupation and the clearing up of the country by
the white man, densely covered with trees. Large tracts of such
timberless land existed in the region now embraced within the
counties of Berkeley, Jefferson and Frederick. Strange as it
may appear some of this kind of land within the history of the
settlement of the valley became covered with young forest timber.
In some respects these openings resembled the treeless prairies of
the west. No satisfactory explanation of this frequently observed
condition has ever been given. Many of these meadows were the
favorite pasturing grounds of the large game and were, therefore,
of special interest to the hunter. Clearfield county, Pa., it is
believed, got its name from the fact that there were within its
territory extensive natural clear fields and meadows.]
Fryday 8^{th} we breakfasted at Casseys & Rode down to Vanmetris's
to get all our Company together which when we had accomplished we
Rode down below y^e Trough in order to Lay of Lots there we laid of
one this day The Trough is couple of Ledges of Mountain Impassable
running side & side together for above 7 or 8 Miles & y^e River
down between them you must Ride Round y^e back of y^e Mountain for
to get below them we Camped this Night in y^e Woods near a Wild
Meadow where was a Large Stack of Hay after we had Pitched our
Tent & made a very Large Fire we pull'd out our Knapsack in order
to Recruit ourselves every was his own Cook our Spits was Forked
Sticks our Plates was a Large Chip as for Dishes we had none
Saterday 9^{th} Set ye Surveyor[40] to work whilst M^r Fairfax &
myself stayed at y^e Tent our Provision being all exhausted & y^e
Person that was to bring us a Recruit disappointing us we were
oblige to go without untill we could get some from y^e Neighbours
which was not till about 4 or 5 oClock in y^e Evening we then took
our Leaves of y^e Rest of our Company Road Down to John Colins in
order to set off next Day homewards
[Footnote 40: From the expression, "set the surveyor to work," as
well as the language used in the record on the 12th of March, that
"Mr. James Genn the surveyor came to us and traveled over the Blue
Ridge, etc.," with other expressions at a later date of similar
import in the journal and in other documents, it is rendered almost
certain that George Washington was, from the first, employed by
Lord Fairfax, not as a surveyor, merely, but rather in the capacity
of a skilled director of other surveyors, and as the confidential
adviser in the division and sale of his lordship's lands.]
Sunday 10^{th} We took our farewell of y^e Branch & travell'd over
Hills and Mountains to 1 Coddys on Great Cacapehon about 40 Miles
Monday 11^{th} We travell'd from Coddys down to Frederick Town
where we Reached about 12 oClock we dined in Town and then went to
Cap^t Hites & Lodged
Tuesday 12^{th} We set of from Capt. Hites in order to go over
W^{ms} Gap[41] about 20 Miles and after Riding about 20 Miles we
had 20 to go for we had lost ourselves & got up as High as Ashbys
Bent[42] we did get over W^{ms} Gap that Night and as low as W^m
Wests in Fairfax[43] County 18 Miles from y^e Top of y^e Ridge This
day see a Rattled Snake y^e first we had seen in all our Journey
[Footnote 41: Williams' Gap, in the Blue Ridge, is on a line nearly
due east from Winchester. It derived its name from a Mr. Williams,
who kept a ferry over the Shenandoah river on one of the roads
from Winchester into Loudoun and Fairfax counties. This name still
attaches to the gap and appears on the early maps of Virginia. It
is a notable fact that all or most of the important gaps through
mountain passes in the United States were well worn buffalo paths
and Indian trails when first visited by white men.]
[Footnote 42: Ashby's Bent is supposed to have reference to the
great bend and extensive bottom lands of the Shenandoah, just
above which was located Captain Ashby's ferry across that river.
Washington uses this term in 1770 to describe a large tract of
bottom land on the Ohio which he acquired.]
[Footnote 43: Fairfax county, in which Mount Vernon is located, was
created out of Prince William county by the Assembly of Virginia in
1742.]