welve
hundred acres, now worth millions, for only five hundred bushels
of wheat!

The land had cost him far more than he had received from it. Simpson had
not proved a man of much energy and even had he been otherwise
conditions in the region would have prevented him from accomplishing
much in a financial way, for there was little or no market for farm
produce near at hand and the cost of transportation over the mountains
was prohibitive. During the Revolution, however, Simpson had in some way
or other got hold of some paper currency and a few months before had
turned over the worthless bills to Washington. A century later the
package was sold at auction, and the band, which was still unbroken,
bore upon it in Washington's hand: "Given by Gilbt. Simpson, 19
June, 1784."

At Simpson's Washington was met by a delegation from the squatters on
his holdings on Miller's Run or Chartiers Creek, "and after much
conversation & attempts in them to discover all the flaws they could in
my Deed &c." they announced that they would give a definite answer as to
what they would do when Washington reached the land in dispute.

He drew near the neighborhood on the following Saturday, but the next
day "Being Sunday, and the People living on my Land, _apparently_ very
religious, it was thought best to postpone going among them till
to-morrow." On Monday, in company with several persons including the
high sheriff, Captain Van Swearingen, or "Indian Van," captain of one of
the companies in Morgan's famous rifle corps, he proceeded to the land
and found that, of two thousand eight hundred thirteen acres, three
hundred sixty-three were under cultivation and forty more were in
meadow. On the land stood twelve cabins and nine barns claimed by
fourteen different persons, most or all of whom were doughty
Scotch-Irishmen.

Washington was humane enough to see that they had something to urge in
their behalf and offered to sell them the whole tract at twenty-five
shillings an acre, or to take them as tenants, but they stubbornly
refused his offers and after much wrangling announced their intention to
stand suit. Ejectment proceedings were accordingly brought by
Washington's attorney, Thomas Smith of Carlisle. The case was tried in
1786 before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and resulted in
Washington's favor.

In 1796 Washington sold the tract to a certain Matthew Richey for twelve
thousand dollars, of which three thousand one hundred eighty d