George, then a sturdy lad of sixteen, accepted gladly, and for more than two years he carried it on.

The Fairfax estate extended far into the west, beyond the immediate tidewater district, beyond the fringe of sparsely settled clearings, into the wilderness itself.

The effect of his experience as surveyor lasted throughout George Washington's life.

His self-reliance and his courage never flagged.

Sometimes he went alone and passed weeks among the solitudes; sometimes he had a companion whom he had to care for as well as for himself.