the primeval wilderness; but his work was thoroughly and accurately
performed, and his courage, boldness, and fidelity attracted the notice
of men of influence and rank. Through the influence of his friend Lord
Fairfax he was appointed a public surveyor, and for three years he
steadfastly pursued this laborious profession.

A voyage to Barbadoes in 1751 cultivated his habits of clear
observation, and in 1752 his brother's death imposed on him the
responsibility of the estates and the daughter left to his care by his
brother Lawrence.

Young Washington had already, through the influence of his brother, been
appointed major and adjutant-general of one of the military districts of
Virginia. The depredations of the French and Indians on the border had
grown into dangerous aggression, and in 1753 Major Washington was sent
as a commissioner through the wilderness to the French headquarters in
Ohio, to remonstrate. His admirable conduct on this occasion resulted in
his appointment as lieutenant-colonel of the Virginia regiment of six
companies sent to the Ohio frontier; and in this campaign Washington
gained new laurels, surprising and defeating the French. His native and
acquired powers and his varied experience in Indian warfare now marked
him out as a suitable aide to the British General Braddock, who, early
in 1755, arrived with two regiments of English soldiers to operate
against the French and Indians. This was the beginning of the memorable
Seven Years' War.

Washington was now a young man of twenty-three, full of manly vigor and
the spirit of adventure, brave as a lion,--a natural fighter, but
prudent and far-seeing. He fortunately and almost alone escaped being
wounded in the disastrous campaign which the British general lost