father, stood upon a hill
overlooking the beautiful Potomac River. To this lovely home, surrounded
by lawns and stately trees, Lawrence gave the name Mount Vernon, in
honor of the Admiral under whom he had served. George spent as much time
as possible here, where he met many persons of education and refinement.

While he was still a young boy, he wrote out for himself a long list of
rules of politeness and good behavior. He had observed that older people
do not like careless children, who forget the comforts and rights of
others. As a result, he was well liked by his brother's friends. Among
them were often military and naval officers, who told him stories of war
and adventure in foreign lands. When he was fourteen, one of these
officers would have appointed him midshipman in the British navy. He was
eager to go, but his mother needed his help in the management of their
property. So he continued two years more at school, studying
mathematics, engineering and surveying.

The country was then new and wild and there was much work for land
surveyors, whose business it was to measure off boundaries and describe
the positions of rivers, mountains and forests in a piece of land.
George learned to do this so well that by the time he was sixteen, he
was appointed public surveyor of his county. His chief work for the next
three years was on the vast tracts of land owned by Lord Fairfax, the
uncle of Lawrence Washington's wife. Though very young, George was a
great favorite with his lordship, who often took him fox hunting.
George was a bold and skillful horseman and rode well after the hounds.

[Illustration: Surveying]

The estate of Lord Fairfax, lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock
rivers and extending to the Alleghany Mountains, had been given to his
grandfather by King Charles II. These lands had never been settled nor
surveyed. People known as squatters were now moving in and taking
possession of the best places without permission. It became necessary to
have the land surveyed, and these settlers either driven out or made to
pay for certain definite parts. Lord Fairfax knew no one who could do
this so well as George Washington, for he was strong and fair enough to
deal wisely with the rough settlers. It was just what George wanted to
do, and he gladly accepted the offer.

In March, George set out for his first trip into the wilderness. He was
just sixteen years old, and it was his first big undertaking. George
Fa