A FARMER'S AMUSEMENTS
No one would ever think of characterizing George Washington as frivolous
minded, but from youth to old age he was a believer in the adage that
all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy--a saying that many an
overworked farmer of our own day would do well to take to heart.
Like most Virginians he was decidedly a social being and loved to be in
the company of his kind. This trait was noticeable in his youth and
during his early military career, nor did it disappear after he married
and settled down at Mount Vernon. Until the end he and Mrs. Washington
kept open house, and what a galaxy of company they had! Scarcely a day
passed without some guest crossing their hospitable threshold, nor did
such visitors come merely to leave their cards or to pay fashionable
five-minute calls. They invariably stayed to dinner and most generally
for the night; very often for days or weeks at a time. After the
Revolution the number of guests increased to such an extent that Mount
Vernon became "little better than a well-resorted inn."
Artists came to paint the great man's picture; the sculptor Houdon to
take the great man's bust, arriving from Alexandria, by the way, after
the family had gone to bed; the Marquis de Lafayette to visit his old
friend; Mrs. Macaulay Graham to obtain material for her history; Noah
Webster to consider whether he would become the tutor of young Custis;
Mr. John Fitch, November 4, 1785, "to propose a draft & Model of a
machine for promoting Navigation by means of a Steam"; Charles Thomson,
secretary of the Continental Congress, to notify the General of his
election to the presidency; a host of others, some out of friendship,
others from mere curiosity or a desire for free lodging.
The visit of Lafayette was the last he made to this country while the
man with whose fame his name is inseparably linked remained alive. He
visited Mount Vernon in August, 1784, and again three months later. When
the time for a final adieu came Washington accompanied him to Annapolis
and saw him on the road to Baltimore. The generous young benefactor of
America was very dear to Washington, and the parting affected him
exceedingly. Soon after he wrote to the departed friend a letter in
which he showed his heart in a way that was rare with him. "In the
moment of our separation," said he, "upon the road as I travelled, and
every hour since, I have felt all the love, respect, and attachment for
you with which length of years, close connextion, and your merits have
inspired me. I have often asked myself, as our carriages separated,
whether that was the last sight I ever should have of you."
It was a true foreboding. Often in times that followed Washington was to
receive tidings of his friend's triumphs and perilous adventures amid
the bloody turmoil of the French Revolution, was to entertain his son at
Mount Vernon when the father lay in the dark dungeons of Olmütz, but was
never again to look into his face. Years later the younger man,
revisiting the grateful Republic he had helped to found, was to turn
aside from the acclaiming plaudits of admiring multitudes and stand
pensively beside the Tomb of his Leader and reflect upon the years in
which they had stood gloriously shoulder to shoulder in defense of a
noble cause.
Even when Washington was at the seat of government many persons stopped
at Mount Vernon and were entertained by the manager. Several times the
absent owner sent wine and other luxuries for the use of such guests.
When he was at home friends, relatives, diplomats, delegations of
Indians to visit the Great White Father swarmed thither in shoals. In
1797 young Lafayette and his tutor, Monsieur Frestel, whom Washington
thought a very sensible man, made the place, by invitation, their home
for several months. In the summer of that year Washington wrote to his
old secretary, Tobias Lear: "I am alone at _present_, and shall be glad
to see you this evening. Unless some one pops in unexpectedly--Mrs.
Washington and myself will do what I believe has not been done within
the last twenty Years by us,--that is to set down to dinner by
ourselves."
Washington was the soul of hospitality. He enjoyed having people in his
house and eating at his board, but there is evidence that toward the
last he grew somewhat weary of the stream of strangers. But neither then
nor at any other time in his life did he show his impatience to a
visitor or turn any man from his door. His patience, was sorely tried at
times. For example, we find in his diary under date of September 7,
1785: "At Night, a Man of the name of Purdie, came to offer himself to
me as a Housekeeper or Household Steward--he had some testimonials
respecting his character--but being intoxicated, and in other respects
appearing in an unfavorable light I informed him that he would not
answer my purpose, but that he might stay all night."
No matter how many visitors came the Farmer proceeded about his business
as usual, particularly in the morning, devoting dinner time and certain
hours of the afternoon and evening to those who were sojourning with
him. He was obliged, in self-defense, to adopt some such course. He
wrote: "My manner of living is plain, and I do not mean to be put out by
it. A glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready, and such as
will be content to partake of them are always welcome. Those who expect
more will be disappointed."
After his retirement from the presidency he induced his nephew Lawrence
Lewis to come to Mount Vernon and take over some of the duties of
entertaining guests, particularly in the evening, as Washington had
reached an age when he was averse to staying up late. Lewis not only
performed the task satisfactorily, but found incidental diversion that
led to matrimony.
Every visitor records that the Farmer was a kind and considerate host.
Elkanah Watson relates that one bitter winter night at Mount Vernon,
having a severe cold that caused him to cough incessantly, he heard the
door of his chamber open gently and there stood the General with a
candle in one hand and a bowl of hot tea in another. Doubtless George
and Martha had heard the coughing and in family council had decided that
their guest must have attention.
Washington was a Cavalier, not a Puritan, and had none of the old New
England prejudice against the theater. In fact, it was one of his
fondest pleasures from youth to old age. In his Barbadoes journal he
records being "treated with a play ticket by Mr. Carter to see the
Tragedy of George Barnwell acted." In 1752 he attended a performance at
Fredericksburg and thereafter, whenever occasion offered, which during
his earlier years was not often, he took advantage of it. He even
expressed a desire to act himself. After his resignation and marriage
opportunities were more frequent and in his cash memorandum books are
many entries of expenditures for tickets to performances at Alexandria
and elsewhere. Thus on September 20, 1768, in his daily record of
_Where & how my time is Spent_ he writes that he "& Mrs. Washington & ye
two children were up to Alexandria to see the Inconstant or way to win
him acted." Next day he "Stayd in Town all day & saw the Tragedy of
Douglas playd."
Such performances were probably given by strolling players who had few
accessories in the way of scenery to assist them in creating their
illusions.
In September, 1771, when at Annapolis to attend the races, he went to
plays four times in five days, the fifth day being Sunday. Two years
later, being in New York City, he saw _Hamlet_ and _Cross Purposes_.
On many occasions both in this period of his life and later he went to
sleight of hand performances, wax works, puppet shows, animal shows, "to
hear the Armonica," concerts and other entertainments.
The "association" resolutions of frugality and self-denial by the
Continental Congress put an end temporarily to plays in the colonies
outside the British lines and put Washington into a greater play, "not,
as he once wished, as a performer, but as a character." There were
amateur performances at Valley Forge, but they aroused the hostility of
the puritanical, and Congress forbade them. Washington seems, however,
to have disregarded the interdiction after Yorktown.
He had few opportunities to gratify his fondness for performances in the
period of 1784-89, but during his presidency, while residing in New York
and Philadelphia, he was a regular attendant. He gave frequent theater
parties, sending tickets to his friends. Word that he would attend a
play always insured a "full house," and upon his entrance to his box the
orchestra would play _Hail Columbia_ and _Washington's March_ amid great
enthusiasm.
The _Federal Gazette_ described a performance of _The Maid of the Mill,_
which he attended in 1792, as follows:
"When Mr. Hodgkinson as Lord Ainsworth exhibited nobleness of mind in
his generosity to the humble miller and his daughter, Patty; when he
found her blessed with all the qualities that captivate and endear life,
and knew she was capable of adorning a higher sphere; when he had
interviews with her upon the subject in which was painted the
amiableness of an honorable passion; and after his connection, when he
bestowed his benefactions on the relatives, etc., of the old miller, the
great and good Washington manifested his approbation of this
interesting part of the opera by the tribute of a tear."
Another amusement that both the Farmer and his wife enjoyed greatly was
dancing. In his youth he attended balls and "routs" whenever possible
and when fighting French and Indians on the frontier he felt as one of
his main deprivations his inability to attend the "Assemblies." After
his marriage he and his wife went often to balls in Alexandria, attired
no doubt in all the bravery of imported English clothes. He describes a
ball of 1760 in these terms:
"Went to a ball at Alexandria, where Musick and dancing was the chief
entertainment, however, in a convenient room detached for the purpose
abounded great plenty of bread and butter, some biscuits, with tea and
coffee, which the drinkers of could not distinguish from hot water
sweet'ned--Be it remembered that pocket handkerchiefs served the
purposes of Table cloths & Napkins and that no apologies were made for
either. I shall therefore distinguish this ball by the stile and title
of the Bread & Butter Ball."
A certain Mr. Christian conducted a dancing school which met at the
homes of the patrons, and the Custis children, John Parke and Martha,
were members, as were Elizabeth French of Rose Hill, Milly Posey and
others of the neighborhood young people. In 1770 the class met four
times at Mount Vernon and we can not doubt that occasionally the host
danced with some of the young misses and enjoyed it.
An established institution was the election ball, which took place on
the night following the choice of the delegate to the Burgesses.
Washington often contributed to the expenses of these balls,
particularly when he was himself elected. No doubt they were noisy,
hilarious and perhaps now and then a bit rough.
Much has been written of the dances by which Washington and his officers
and their ladies helped to while away the tedium of long winters during
the Revolution, but the story of these has been often told and besides
lies outside the limits of this book, as does the dancing at New York
and Philadelphia during his presidency.
There is much conflicting evidence regarding Washington's later dancing
exploits. Some writers say that he never tripped the light fantastic
after the Revolution and that one of his last participations was at the
Fredericksburg ball after the capture of Cornwallis when he "went down
some dozen couple in the contra dance." It is certain, however, that
long afterward he would at least walk through one or two dances, even
though he did not actually take the steps. One good lady who knew him
well asserts that he often danced with Nelly Custis, and he seems to
have danced in 1796 when he was sixty-four. But to the invitation to the
Alexandria assembly early in 1799 he replied:
"Mrs. Washington and myself have been honored with your polite
invitation to the assemblies of Alexandria this winter, and thank you
for this mark of your attention. But, alas! our dancing days are no
more. We wish, however, all those who have a relish for so agreeable and
innocent an amusement all the pleasure the season will afford them."
Nor was he puritanical in respect to cards. From his account books we
find that he ordered them by the dozen packs, and his diaries contain
such entries as "At home all day over cards, it snowing." To increase
the interest he not infrequently played for money, though rarely for a
large amount. "Loo" and whist seem to have been the games played, but
not "bridge" or draw poker, which were then unknown.
From entries in his cash memorandum books it is evident that he loved a
quiet game rather frequently. Thus in his memorandum for 1772 I find the
entry for September five: "To Cash won at cards" £1.5. Four days later
he writes: "To Cash won at Cards at Mrs. Calverts" ten shillings. But on
September 17th he lost £1.5; on September 30th, £2, and on October 5th,
six shillings. Two days later his luck changed and he won £2.5, while on
the seventh he won £12.8. This was the most serious game that I have
found a record of, and the cards must either have run well for him or
else he had unskilful opponents. The following March, when attending the
Burgesses at Williamsburg, he got into a game, probably at Mrs.
Campbell's tavern, where he took his meals, and dropped £7.10.
In one of his account books I find two pages devoted to striking a
balance between what he won and what he lost from January 7, 1772, to
January 1, 1775. In that time he won £72.2.6 and lost £78.5.9. Hence we
find the entry: "By balance against Play from Jany. 1772 to this
date ... £6.3.3." But he must have had a lot of fun at a cost of that
six pounds three shillings and three pence!
It should be remarked here that gaming was then differently regarded in
Virginia from what it is now. Many even of the Episcopal clergymen
played cards for money and still kept fast hold upon their belief that
they would go to Heaven.
The same may also be said of lotteries, in which Washington now and then
took a flier. Many of the churches of that day, even in New England,
were built partly or wholly with money raised in that way. January 5,
1773, Washington states that he has received sixty tickets in the
Delaware lottery from his friend Lord Stirling and that he has "put 12
of the above Sixty into the Hands of the Revd. Mr. Magowan to sell." And
"the Revd." sold them too!
In his journal of the trip to Barbadoes taken with his brother Lawrence
we find that on his way home he attended "a Great Main of cks [cocks]
fought in Yorktown between Gloucester & York for 5 pistoles each battle
& 10 ye. odd." Occasionally he seems to have witnessed other mains, but
I have found no evidence that he made the practice in any sense a habit.
As a counterweight to his interest in so brutal a sport I must state
that he was exceedingly fond of afternoon teas and of the social
enjoyments connected with tea drinking. Tea was regularly served at his
army headquarters and in summer afternoons on the Mount Vernon veranda.
There is abundant evidence that he also enjoyed horse racing. In
September, 1768, he mentions going "to a Purse race at Accotinck," a
hamlet a few miles below Mount Vernon where a race track was maintained.
In 1772 he attended the Annapolis races, being a guest of the Governor
of Maryland, and he repeated the trip in 1773. In the following May he
went to a race and barbecue at Johnson's Ferry. George Washington Custis
tells us that the Farmer kept blooded horses and that his colt
"Magnolia" once ran for a purse, presumably losing, as if the event had
been otherwise we should probably have been informed of the fact. In
1786 Washington went to Alexandria "to see the Jockey Club purse run
for," and I have noticed a few other references to races, but I conclude
that he went less often than some writers would have us believe.
Washington was decidedly an outdoor man. Being six feet two inches tall,
and slender rather than heavily made, he was well fitted for athletic
sports. Tradition says that he once threw a stone across the
Rappahannock at a spot where no other man could do it, and that he could
outjump any one in Virginia. He also excelled in the game of putting the
bar, as a story related by the artist Peale bears witness.
Of outdoor sports he seems to have enjoyed hunting most. He probably had
many unrecorded experiences with deer and turkeys when a surveyor and
when in command upon the western border, but his main hunting adventure
after big game took place on his trip to the Ohio in 1770. Though the
party was on the move most of the time and was looking for rich land
rather than for wild animals, they nevertheless took some hunts.
On October twenty-second, in descending the stretch of the Ohio near the
mouth of Little Beaver Creek and above the Mingo Town, they saw many
wild geese and several kinds of duck and "killed five wild turkeys."
Three days later they "saw innumerable quantities of turkeys, and many
deer watering and browsing on the shore side, some of which we killed."
He does not say whether they shot this game from the canoe or not, but
probably on sighting the game they would put to shore and then one or
more would steal up on the quarry. Their success was probably increased
by the fact that they had two Indians with them.
Few people are aware of the fact that what is now West Virginia and Ohio
then contained many buffaloes. Below the mouth of the Great Hockhocking
the voyagers came upon a camp of Indians, the chief of which, an old
friend who had accompanied him to warn out the French in 1753, gave
Washington "a quarter of very fine buffalo." A creek near the camp,
according to the Indians, was an especial resort for these great beasts.
Fourteen miles up the Great Kanawha the travelers took a day off and
"went a hunting; killed five buffaloes and wounded some others, three
deer, &c. This country abounds in buffaloes and wild game of all kinds;
as also in all kinds of wild fowls, there being in the bottoms a great
many small grassy ponds, or lakes, which are full of swans, geese, and
ducks of different kinds."
How many of the buffaloes fell to his gun Washington does not record,
but it is safe to assume that he had at least some shots at them. And
beyond question he helped to devour the delicious buffalo humps, these
being, with the flesh of the bighorn sheep, the _ne plus ultra_ of
American big game delicacies.
The region in which these events took place was also notable for its big
trees. Near the mouth of the Kanawha they "met with a sycamore about
sixty yards from the river of a most extraordinary size, it measuring,
three feet from the ground, forty-five feet round [almost fifteen feet
through], lacking two inches; and not fifty yards from it was another,
thirty-one feet round."
When at home, Washington now and then took a gun and went out after
ducks, "hairs," wild turkeys and other game, and occasionally he records
fair bags of mallards, teal, bald faces and "blew wings," one of the
best being that of February 18, 1768, when he "went a ducking between
breakfast and dinner & killed 2 mallards & 5 bald faces." It is doubtful
whether he was at all an expert shot. In fact, he much preferred chasing
the fox with dogs to hunting with a gun.
Fox hunting in the Virginia of that day was a widely followed sport. It
was brought over from England and perhaps its greatest devotee was old
Lord Fairfax, with whom Washington hunted when still in his teens.
Fairfax, whose seat was at Greenway Court in the Shenandoah Valley, was
so passionately fond of it that if foxes were scarce near his home he
would go to a locality where they were plentiful, would establish
himself at an inn and would keep open house and welcome every person of
good character and respectable appearance who cared to join him.
The following are some typical entries from Washington's _Where & how my
time is Spent_: "Jany. 1st. (1768) Fox huntg. in my own Neck with Mr.
Robt. Alexander and Mr. Colville--catchd nothing--Captn. Posey with us."
There were many similar failures and no successes in the next six weeks,
but on February twelfth he records joyfully, "Catchd two foxes," and on
the thirteenth "catch 2 more foxes." March 2, 1768, "Hunting again, &
catchd a fox with a bobd Tail & cut Ears, after 7 hours chase in wch.
most of the dogs were worsted." March twenty-ninth, "Fox Hunting with
Jacky Custis & Ld. [Lund] Washington--Catchd a fox after 3 hrs. chase."
November twenty-second, "Went a fox huntg. with Lord Fairfax & Colo.
Fairfax & my Br. Catchd 2 Foxes." For two weeks thereafter they hunted
almost every day with varying success. September 30, 1769, he records:
"catchd a Rakoon."
On January 27, 1770, the dogs ran a deer out of the Neck and some of
them did not get home till next day. The finding of a deer was no
uncommon experience, but on no occasion does the chase seem to have been
successful, as, when hard pressed, the fugitive would take to the water
where the dogs could not follow. January 4, 1772, the hunters "found
both a Bear and a Fox but got neither."
Bear and deer were still fairly plentiful in the region, and the fact
serves to indicate that the country was not yet thickly settled, nor is
it to this day.
In November, 1771, Washington and Jack Custis went to Colonel Mason's at
Gunston Hall, a few miles below Mount Vernon, to engage in a grand deer
drive in which many men and dogs took part. Mason had an estate of ten
thousand acres which was favorably located for such a purpose, being
nearly surrounded by water, with peninsulas on which the game could be
cornered and forced to take to the river. On the first day they killed
two deer, but on the second they killed nothing. No doubt they had a
hilarious time of it, dogs baying, horsemen dashing here and there
shouting at the top of their voices, and with plenty of fat venison and
other good cheer at the Hall that night.
Washington's most remarkable hunting experience occurred on the
twenty-third of January, 1770, when he records: "Went a hunting after
breakfast & found a Fox at Muddy hole & killed her (it being a Bitch)
after a chase of better than two hours & after treeing her twice the
last of which times she fell dead out of the Tree after being therein
sevl. minutes apparently well." Lest he may be accused of nature faking,
it should be explained that the tree was a leaning tree. Occasionally
the foxes also took refuge in hollow trees, up which they could climb.
The day usually ended by all the hunters riding to Mount Vernon,
Belvoir, Gunston Hall, or some other mansion for a bountiful dinner.
Mighty then were the gastronomic feats performed, and over the Madeira
the incidents of the day were discussed as Nimrods in all ages are
wont to do.
Being so much interested in fox hunting, our Farmer proceeded, with his
usual painstaking care, to build up a pack of hounds. The year 1768 was
probably the period of his greatest interest in the subject and his
diary is full of accounts of the animals. Hounds were now, in fact, his
hobby, succeeding in interest his horses. He did his best to breed
according to scientific principles, but several entries show that the
dogs themselves were inclined blissfully to ignore the laws of eugenics
as applied to hounds.
Among his dogs in this period were "Mopsey," "Taster," "Tipler," "Cloe,"
"Lady," "Forester" and "Captain." August 6, 1768, we learn that "Lady"
has four puppies, which are to be called "Vulcan," "Searcher," "Rover,"
and "Sweetlips."
Like all dog owners he had other troubles with his pets. Once we find
him anointing all the hounds that had the mange "with Hogs Lard &
Brimstone." Again his pack is menaced by a suspected mad dog, which
he shoots.
The Revolution broke rudely in upon the Farmer's sports, but upon his
return to Mount Vernon he soon took up the old life. Knowing his bent,
Lafayette sent him a pack of French hounds, two dogs and three bitches,
and Washington took much interest in them. According to George
Washington Custis they were enormous brutes, better built for grappling
stags or boars than chasing foxes, and so fierce that a huntsman had to
preside at their meals. Their kennel stood a hundred yards south of the
old family vault, and Washington visited them every morning and evening.
According to Custis, it was the Farmer's desire to have them so evenly
matched and trained that if one leading dog should lose the scent,
another would be at hand to recover it and thus in full cry you might
cover the pack with a blanket.
The biggest of the French hounds, "Vulcan," was so vast that he was
often ridden by Master Custis and he seems to have been a rather
privileged character. Once when company was expected to dinner Mrs.
Washington ordered that a lordly ham should be cooked and served. At
dinner she noticed that the ham was not in its place and inquiry
developed that "Vulcan" had raided the kitchen and made off with the
meat. Thereupon, of course, the mistress scolded and equally, of course,
the master smiled and gleefully told the news to the guests.
Billy Lee, the colored valet who had followed the General through the
Revolution, usually acted as huntsman and, mounted on "Chinkling" or
some other good steed, with a French horn at his back, strove hard to
keep the pack in sight, no easy task among the rough timber-covered
hills of Fairfax County.
On a hunting day the Farmer breakfasted by candlelight, generally upon
corn cakes and milk, and at daybreak, with his guests, Billy and the
hounds, sallied forth to find a fox. Washington always rode a good horse
and sometimes wore a blue coat, scarlet waistcoat, buckskin breeches,
top boots and velvet cap and carried a whip with a long thong. When a
fox was started none rode more gallantly or cheered more joyously than
did he and as a rule he was in at the death, for, as Jefferson asserts,
he was "the best horseman of his age, and the most magnificent figure
that could be seen on horseback."
The fox that was generally hunted was the gray fox, which was indigenous
to the country. After the Revolution the red fox began to be seen
occasionally. They are supposed to have come from the Eastern Shore, and
to have crossed Chesapeake Bay on the ice in the hard winter of 1779-80.
Custis tells of a famous black fox that would go ten or twenty miles
before the hounds and return to the starting-point ready for another run
next day. After many unsuccessful chases Billy recommended that the
black reynard be let alone, saying he was near akin to another sable
and wily character. Thereafter the huntsman was always careful to throw
off the hounds when he suspected that they were on the trail of the
black fox. This story may or may not be true; all that I can say is that
I have found no confirmation of it in Washington's own writings.
Neither have I found there any confirmation of the story that Mrs.
Washington and other ladies often rode out to see the hunts. Washington
had avenues cut through some of his woods to facilitate the sport and
possibly to make the riding easier for the ladies. Upon the whole,
however, I incline to the opinion that generally at least Martha stayed
at home visiting with lady friends, attending to domestic concerns and
superintending the preparation of delectable dishes for the hungry
hunters. I very much doubt whether she would have enjoyed seeing a
fox killed.
The French hounds were, at least at first, rather indifferent hunters.
"Went out after Breakfast with my hounds from France, & two which were
lent me, yesterday, by Mr. Mason," says the Farmer the day of the first
trial; "found a Fox which was run tolerably well by two of the Frh.
Bitches & one of Mason's Dogs--the other French dogs shewed but little
disposition to follow--and with the second Dog of Mason's got upon
another Fox which was followed slow and indifferently by some & not at
all by the rest until the sent became so cold it cd. not be followed
at all."
Two days later the dogs failed again and the next time they ran two
foxes and caught neither, but their master thought they performed better
than hitherto, December 12th:
"After an early breakfast [my nephew] George Washington, Mr. Shaw and
Myself went into the Woods back of the Muddy hole Plantation a hunting
and were joined by Mr. Lund Washington and Mr. William Peake. About half
after ten O'clock (being first plagued with the Dogs running Hogs) we
found a fox near Colo Masons Plantation on little Hunting Creek (West
fork) having followed on his Drag more than half a Mile; and run him
with Eight Dogs (the other 4 getting, as was supposed after a Second
Fox) close and well for an hour. When the Dogs came to a fault and to
cold Hunting until 20 minutes after when being joined by the missing
Dogs they put him up afresh and in about 50 Minutes killed up in an open
field of Colo Mason's every Rider & every Dog being present at
the Death."
Eight days later the pack chased two foxes, but caught neither. The next
hunt is described as follows:
"Went a Fox hunting with the Gentlemen who came here yesterday with
Ferdinando Washington and Mr. Shaw, after a very early breakfast.--found
a Fox just back of Muddy hole Plantation and after a Chase for an hour
and a quarter with my Dogs, & eight couple of Doctor Smiths (brought by
Mr. Phil Alexander) we put him into a hollow tree, in which we fastened
him, and in the Pincushion put up another Fox which, in an hour and 13
Minutes was killed--We then after allowing the Fox in the hole half an
hour put the Dogs upon his Trail & in half a Mile he took to another
hollow tree and was again put out of it but he did not go 600 yards
before he had recourse to the same shift--finding therefore that he was
a conquered Fox we took the Dogs off, and came home to dinner."
[Illustration: The Flower Garden, By permission of the Mount Vernon
Ladies' Association]
Custis asserts that Washington took his last hunt in 1785, but in the
diary under date of December 22, 1787, I find that he went out with
Major George A. Washington and others on that day, but found nothing,
and that he took still another hunt in January, 1788, and chased a fox
that had been captured the previous month. This, however, is the last
reference that I have discovered. No doubt he was less resilient than in
his younger days and found the sport less delightful than of yore, while
the duties of the presidency, to which he was soon called, left him
little leisure for sport. He seems to have broken up his kennels and to
have given away most or all of his hounds.
Later he acquired a pair of "tarriers" and took enough interest in them
to write detailed instructions concerning them in 1796.
Washington's fishing was mostly done with a seine as a commercial
proposition, but he seems to have had a mild interest in angling.
Occasionally he took trips up and down the Potomac in order to fish,
sometimes with a hook and line, at other times with seines and nets. He
and Doctor Craik took fishing tackle with them on both their western
tours and made use of it in some of the mountain streams and also in the
Ohio. While at the Federal Convention in 1787 he and Gouverneur Morris
went up to Valley Forge partly perhaps to see the old camp, but
ostensibly to fish for trout. They lodged at the home of a widow named
Moore. On the trip the Farmer learned the Pennsylvania way of raising
buckwheat and, it must be confessed, wrote down much more about this
topic than about trout. A few days later, with Gouverneur Morris and Mr.
and Mrs. Robert Morris, he went up to Trenton and "in the evening
fished," with what success he does not relate. When on his eastern tour
of 1789 he went outside the harbor of Portsmouth to fish for cod, but
the tide was unfavorable and they caught only two. More fortunate was a
trip off Sandy Hook the next year, which was thus described by a
newspaper:
"Yesterday afternoon the President of the United States returned from
Sandy Hook and the fishing banks, where he had been for the benefit of
the sea air, and to amuse himself in the delightful recreation of
fishing. We are told he has had excellent sport, having himself caught a
great number of sea-bass and black fish--the weather proved remarkably
fine, which, together with the salubrity of the air and wholesome
exercise, rendered this little voyage extremely agreeable."
Our Farmer was extremely fond of fish as an article of diet and took
great pains to have them on his table frequently. At Mount Vernon there
was an ancient black man, reputed to be a centenarian and the son of an
African King, whose duty it was to keep the household supplied with
fish. On many a morning he could be seen out on the river in his skiff,
beguiling the toothsome perch, bass or rock-fish. Not infrequently he
would fall asleep and then the impatient cook, who had orders to have
dinner strictly upon the hour, would be compelled to seek the shore and
roar at him. Old Jack would waken and upon rowing to shore would inquire
angrily: "What you all mek such a debbil of a racket for hey? I wa'nt
asleep, only noddin'."
Another colored factotum about the place was known as Tom Davis, whose
duty it was to supply the Mansion House with game. With the aid of his
old British musket and of his Newfoundland dog "Gunner" he secured many
a canvasback and mallard, to say nothing of quails, turkeys and
other game.
After the Revolution Washington formed a deer park below the hill on
which the Mansion House stands. The park contained about one hundred
acres and was surrounded by a high paling about sixteen hundred yards
long. At first he had only Virginia deer, but later acquired some
English fallow deer from the park of Governor Ogle of Maryland. Both
varieties herded together, but never mixed blood. The deer were
continually getting out and in February, 1786, one returned with a
broken leg, "supposed to be by a shot." Seven years later an English
buck that had broken out weeks before was killed by some one. The
paddock fence was neglected and ultimately the deer ran half wild over
the estate, but in general stayed in the wooded region surrounding the
Mansion House. The gardener frequently complained of damage done by them
to shrubs and plants, and Washington said he hardly knew "whether to
give up the Shrubs or the Deer!" The spring before his death we find him
writing to the brothers Chickesters warning them to cease hunting his
deer and he hints that he may come to "the disagreeable necessity of
resorting to other means."
George Washington Custis, being like his father "Jacky" an enthusiastic
hunter, long teased the General to permit him to hunt the deer and at
last won consent to shoot one buck. The lad accordingly loaded an old
British musket with two ounce-balls, sallied forth and wounded one of
the patriarchs of the herd, which was then chased into the Potomac and
there slain. Next day the buck was served up to several guests, and
Custis long afterward treasured the antlers at Arlington House, the
residence he later built across the Potomac from the Federal City.
Upon the whole we must conclude that Washington was one of the best
sportsmen of all our Presidents. He was not so much of an Izaak Walton
as was one of his successors, nor did he pursue the lion and festive
bongo to their African lairs as did another, but he had a keen love of
nature and the open country and would have found both the Mighty Hunter
and the Mighty Angler kindred spirits.