neteen, he was appointed one of
four military officers in the colonies, with the rank and pay of a
major, $750 a year--a considerable sum at that time.

Troubles had now arisen between the French and the English about the
ownership of lands west of the Alleghany Mountains. The Indians,
regarding the lands as theirs, took part in the disturbance. To protect
her frontiers, Virginia was divided into four districts, each under a
leader, whose duty it was to organize and drill militia. George at once
began to study military tactics and the arts of war. This was
interrupted by a trip to the West Indies with his beloved brother
Lawrence, who was ill of consumption.

They had hardly arrived there when George had a severe attack of
smallpox; though he soon got well, his face was scarred for life. He
wrote home about the beauty of the island, the wonderful trees and
fruits, and his social pleasures--dinners, parties and drives. For the
first time in his life, he attended a theater. He visited the courts of
justice and the fortifications; studied the laws, the soil and the
crops, learning all that could be learned about the island. The trip
resulted in no lasting good for Lawrence, however, for he died the
following summer, beloved and honored by the colonists.

George was only twenty, but Lawrence left Mount Vernon in his charge,
and the care of his wife and little daughter. The farm on the
Rappahannock had been given to George by their father. These two fine
estates, with the property he had bought for himself, made George a
large land owner when still a very young man. The care of all this
property and his military duties kept him busy.

During this time, the trouble with the French had grown more serious.
The English, having settled the eastern sea-coast, claimed the lands to
the west for their settlers. The French claimed the same lands by reason
of having explored them first. The rich country lying west of the
Alleghany Mountains, between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River, was
the region in question. The French were planning to hold it by a line of
forts from the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and near the eastern end of
Lake Erie, they had built two forts.

Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia decided to send a message to the
French commandant, Saint Pierre, warning him to keep off English soil.
He needed someone brave and strong enough to travel in the winter,
through hundreds and hundreds of miles of forests and acro