GEORGE WASHINGTON.

CHAPTER I.

WASHINGTON IN TRAINING FOR GREAT EXPLOITS-SAVES BRITISH ARMY FROM ANNIHILATION—

BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT.

66 DON'T want any advice from a little colonel of militia!" Thus thundered General Edward Braddock, commanding the English and

American force which, in 1756, sought to drive the French and Indians from what was then the extreme unsettled western section of the North American Continent.

Braddock was on his way to capture Fort Duquesne-where the city of Pittsburg now stands.

This insult was directed at George Washington, then twenty-four years of age, who begged the British general not to lead his men to certain death.

Braddock looked with contempt upon the young officer who presumed to know more about war than a veteran who had been fighting for thirty years.

"But Indian fighting is different from regular warfare, General," persisted Washington.

"You will answer me, sir, when so ordered," was the brutal reply.

A tightening of the closed lips and a fiery glance from the eyes of the brilliant young Colonial officer showed the strong spirit within. Washington said not another word. He merely saluted respectfully and withdrew. Washington's heart was heavy, for he knew the stubborn Braddock was. leading his little army to ruin.

There never was a trap laid for men of Braddock's stamp into which they failed to walk. They are good men from the shoulders down, and Washington knew it well.

Braddock was brave enough, his courage having been tried more than once on the field of battle, and it seemed ridiculous to him that a few hundred redskins should have bothered the head of His Majesty, the beloved King George III.

Washington took the matter seriously, and cautioned his men to keep

a sharp lookout. He had fought the savages more than once; he knew what good shots they were; also their cunning, treachery and skill in trapping unsuspecting whites, and he felt that the fate of the great majority of the English soldiers was sealed.

Had it not been for the coolness and bravery of the "little colonel of militia" and the gallant native-born Americans, hardly a man of Braddock's army would have returned to tell the story.

Braddock did not know that to send regular troops against the wily red men of the West, without first examining every bush, tree and rock on the way, was only ordering them out to be shot.

Added to this was the fact that the men were slain without any chance whatever to defend themselves.

Hundreds of Braddock's men were killed by an unseen enemy. The British regulars closed up their ranks after each murderous fire from the dense brush and undergrowth by the roadside, but they only shot aimlessly into the trees in reply. Finally, terrorized by the rain of death from a foe they could not locate, they broke and ran for their lives.

BRITISH HUDDLED LIKE SHEEP.

The British were like a lot of sheep huddled together in a pen, waiting for the butchers to come along and cut their throats.

It was not a battle, but a massacre, and General Braddock fully realized, before he died, how foolish he had been.

The British had never seen anything like this before, and afterwards first looked where they were going.

Washington and his Americans, by adopting the Indian method of fighting, drove the savages away.

The latter had great fun in picking off the British, but when they had to face the long-barreled rifles of Washington's hunters and trappers-well, it was different.

Those frontiersmen could shoot the eye out of a squirrel as far as they could see it; they could handle their rifles with a skill and quickness that were marvelous.

The Indians were fine marksmen, but they dreaded a conflict with the American "sure-shots," as they called them.

On the 8th of July, 1756, Braddock's army had arrived near Fort Duquesne. The neighboring country had been reconnoitered to determine upon a plan of attack.

The fort stood on the same side of the Monongahela with a deserted camp beyond Great Meadows, but there was a narrow pass between them of about two miles, with the river on the left and a very high mountain on the right, and quite impassable for carriages.

The route determined on was to cross the Monongahela by a ford immediately opposite to the camp; proceed along the west bank of the river for about five miles, then recross by another ford to the eastern side and push on to the fort. The river at these fords was shallow, and the banks were not steep.

According to the plan of arrangement, Lieutenant-Colonel Gage, with the advance, was to cross the river before daybreak, march to the second ford, and, recrossing there, take post to secure the passage of the main force. The advance was to be composed of two companies of grenadiers, one hundred and sixty infantry, the independent company of Captain Horatio Gates and two six-pounders.

Washington, who had already seen enough of regular troops to doubt their infallibility in wild bush fighting, and who knew the dangerous nature of the ground they were to traverse, ventured to suggest that on the followday the Virginia rangers, being accustomed to the country and to Indian warfare, might be thrown in the advance.

The proposition drew the angry reply from the general, above quoted. Early on the morning of July 9th, before daylight, Colonel Gage crossed with the advance, followed at some distance by Sir John St. Clair, quartermaster-general, with a working party.

A party of about thirty savages rushed out of the woods as Colonel Gage advanced, but were put to flight before they had done any harm.

TROOPS LOOKED IN FINE FORM.

By sunrise the main body turned out in full uniform. The officers were perfectly equipped. All looked as if arrayed for a fete, rather than a battle.

Washington, who was weak from recent sickness, mounted his horse and joined the staff of General Braddock, who was scrutinizing everything with the eye of a martinet. As it was supposed the enemy would be on the watch for the crossing of the troops, it had been agreed that they should do it in the greatest order, with bayonets fixed, colors flying, and drums and fifes beating and playing.

They made a gallant appearance as they forded the Monongahela and wound along its banks and through the open forests, gleaming and glit