an
grown old in diplomatic service, but Washington completed his mission
successfully, and at last set out to retrace his steps home.

Now they had much more difficulty with the Indians and with the
elements. Some of their guides turned traitors, and they had to watch
their arms by night and day. Ceaseless vigilance had to be used, and
time and again the little band had to make forced marches and change
their course on the spur of the moment to throw off bands of pursuing
savages. When they reached the banks of the Alleghany River they found
that it was only partly frozen over and that great quantities of broken
ice were driving down the channel in the middle.

Washington knew that a band of hostile Indians was at his heels, and he
had to plan some way of crossing the Alleghany. He decided to build a
raft, but had only one poor hatchet with which to construct it. The men
set to work with this, and labored all day, but night came before the
raft was finished. As soon as they could they launched it and tried to
steer it across with long poles. When they reached the main channel the
raft became jammed between great cakes of ice, and it seemed as if they
would all be swept down-stream with it. Washington planted his pole
against the bottom of the stream and pushed with all his might, in hopes
of holding the raft still until the ice should have gone by. Instead the
current drove the ice against his pole with such force that he was
jerked into the water and only saved himself from being swept down the
roaring channel by seizing one of the logs.

They found it impossible to reach shore. The best they could do was to
get to an island near which the raft had drifted. Here they passed the
night, exposed to extreme cold, in great danger of freezing; but in the
morning the drift ice was found so tightly wedged together that they
were able to cross over on it to the opposite bank of the Alleghany.

This was but one of many adventures that befell the little party on its
homeward way. Through all kinds of dangers Washington led his men, and
finally he had the satisfaction of bringing the expedition safely back
to Williamsburg, where he gave the governor a full report of his
remarkable mission. It was practically the first expedition of its kind
in Virginian history, and the story of it soon spread far and wide
through the Old Dominion.

Everywhere men spoke of the remarkable skill the young man had shown in
dealing with fickle In