“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