We do not know much of Washington’s father:  if he exerted any special influence on his children we do not know it.  He died when George was eleven years old, and the boy then went to live at the “Hunting Creek Place” with his half-brother Lawrence, that he might attend school.  Lawrence had served in the English navy under Admiral Vernon, and, in honor of his chief, changed the name of his home and called it Mount Vernon.  Mount Vernon then consisted of twenty-five hundred acres, mostly a tangle of forest, with a small house and log stables.  The tract had descended to Lawrence from his father, with provision that it should fall to George if Lawrence died without issue.  Lawrence married, and when he died, aged thirty-two, he left a daughter, Mildred, who died two years later.  Mount Vernon then passed to George Washington, aged twenty-one, but not without a protest from the widow of Lawrence, who evidently was paid not to take the matter into the courts.  Washington owned Mount Vernon for forty-six years, just one-half of which time was given to the service of his country.  It was the only place he ever called “home,” and there he sleeps.

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When Washington was fourteen, his schooldays were over.  Of his youth we know but little.  He was not precocious, although physically he developed early; but there was no reason why the neighbors should keep tab on him and record anecdotes.  They had boys of their own just as promising.  He was tall and slender, long-armed, with large, bony hands and feet, very strong, a daring horseman, a good wrestler, and, living on the banks of a river, he became, as all healthy boys must, a good swimmer.

His mission among the Indians in his twenty-first year was largely successful through the personal admiration he excited among the savages.  In poise, he was equal to their best, and ever being a bit proud, even if not vain, he dressed for the occasion in full Indian regalia, minus only the war-paint.  The Indians at once recognized his nobility, and named him “Conotancarius”—­Plunderer of Villages—­and suggested that he take to wife an Indian maiden, and remain with them as chief.

When he returned home, he wrote to the Indian agent, announcing his safe arrival and sending greetings to the Indians.  “Tell them,” he says, “how happy it would make Conotancarius to see them, and take them by the hand.”

His wish was gratified, for the Indians took him at his word, and fifty of them came to him, saying, “Since you could not come and live with us, we have come to live with you.”  They camped on the green in front of the residence, and proceeded to inspect every room in the house, tested all the whisky they could find, appropriated eatables, and were only induced to depart after all the bedclothes had been dyed red, and a blanket or a quilt presented to each.