"I imagine that the mountains which they went through were much like these, except that rains and snow had made them almost impassable. The party pushed on, however, and early in December arrived at the first French outpost. The French captain gave a feast in their honor, in the course of which he drank so much wine that it made him talkative. He began to brag of what the French were going to do. He said that they were going to take possession of the entire Ohio Valley. The young American scout kept his head clear and afterward wrote down in a book all that he had heard. "Then Washington set out again, and after four more days of weary travel they came to the French fort on the west fork of French Creek, about fifteen miles south of Lake Erie. There he delivered his message, and after a great deal of delay received a sealed reply. "While pretending to be friendly, the French did their best to win the Indian guides away from Washington. They plied them with liquor and with presents, so much so that the young scout had a hard time in starting them toward home. He succeeded finally in getting away. They first went up the creek in boats as far as an Indian village, called Venango; then set out by land. Soon their pack horses became so jaded that Washington used his saddle horse for a pack horse and walked. After three days of that, he and Gist took their packs on their shoulders, their guns in their hands, and started out alone, on a short cut to the Ohio River. "You will find the story in any history. At one time a treacherous Indian guide wheeled suddenly and shot at Washington, but did not hit him. The two men quickly overpowered the savage, and Gist was for killing him. Young Washington would not permit that, so they did the next best thing. They took his gun away and sent him home, making him think that they would follow in the morning. Instead of that, they left their campfire burning and traveled all night and all the next day, to get as far away from the spot as possible. At last they reached the Alleghany River, which they hoped to find frozen. There was open water, however, and they were forced to build a raft. All they had to work with was one hatchet, like Skinny's, I mean Gabriel's. On the way across, a cake of ice struck the raft and threw Washington into the river." "Gee, I'll bet that it was cold," said Skinny. "It was, but Washington clung to the raft and finally, in a half-frozen condition, drifted against an island, where the two men camped that night. In the morning they found ice cakes so wedged in that they were able to walk ashore. "January 16, in the dead of winter, Washington succeeded in reaching Williamsburg, and delivered the French commander's letter to Governor Dinwiddie. Soon after that came the French and Indian war, which I am sure you know all about, in which France lost all her American possessions except the great tract west of the Mississippi, which Napoleon later sold to President Jefferson.