The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1894-03-02

WtInl0 tn0 4e00o31vA0lA mel 10 to08
me out q tract Of about Afteen HIM.
dred, TITO thousand or more acres,
somewhere IN your nelshborhood,
meaning only by this, that itSmay be
contiguous to your own settlement %
such body of good land can be
found"
A Shrewd Land Dealer.
Few Of those people who revere the
memory Of our first President viii be-
licve that one formed In 30 tine o
mould was ready aud willing to trans.
gross law for his own private gain,
yet the continuation of this same let
ter shows that he was not averse to
doing SO or engaging In any Of the
petty trickery Of a common real estate
jObber when his own perADnAl ends
were concerned.
Here is the cvidence:-"It is posi-.
bic, but do not know that It really
IL the case, that the custom In Penn
sylvania will not admit 20 large a
quantity of land as 1 require to be en-
tered together; IL SO, this may be ar
ranged by making several entries to
the same amount II tho expenses Of
doing 1t are not too heavy"
He does not say exactly how tho
entries were to Ike made, and We have
no information how Crawford went
about the business. 1t Is known, how.
ever. that on the opening Of the land
office Ut the proprietaries for the sale
Of land west of the mountains, Aprll
:. 11GI a piece Of land called '4he
Meadows" amounting to 3.D acres,
was transferred to George Washing
ton; another piece of like amount, or
thcreaboMts. called 1.-The Forks" went
to John Augusta (Auylstlne) Washing.
ton; another called 'I;ear Hills" to
Lawrence Washington; Deer Range"
32 acres. to Thomas Jones; Grab
Tree Run." :s3O ceres. to John Patty:
Spring Rum 3s1 ceres, to William
Atilcl, and "Flatt," 319 acres, to John
Bishop. No further transactions are
recorded, but the reports of the Cen
erals executors in 1902 showed that
they belonged to him.
Bc that us 1t may, Immediately
Washington secured possession he set
about improving the place. He sent
workingmcn to build houses and a
mill ami slaves to work on the plan.
tatton. Remains of some Of these im-
prOvelnents still exist. The visitor to
PerryOp0lis who made his way from
Layton Station, on the YoughiOgheny
Railroad will see the fiOurmilf Wash.
ingt0n built still in operation and prac-
tically In the same condition 1t was
when 1t left his hands more than a
century ago. 1t is located in a ravine
near the town and the machinery IL
still put In motion by water power
derived from Washington Run, which
here makes Its way down steep de-
clivity. A family named Smith are
the present owners. They pride them
selves greatly on Its possession, as we'll
as from the fact that 1t has been in
their hands ever since 1t passed from
the control of its original proprietor.
A Co.tly Venture.
Probably 1t was the construction OF
this building that first wearied Wash.
ingtOn- of his bargain. He always
liked the place and spent considerable
time there, residing the while with
Colonel Simpson, his overseer or s,l-
perfntendent. But before it was fin
islled that mill cost him q lot of mon.
ey.
Although commenced In IVA, sew
cral years passed before it was fairly
completed. No sooner was the work
fairly commenced than the Indians
would become troublesome the Ia
l,orers would get frightened and short
~ desert to the protection of old Red
stone Fort, few miles away. Block
house: wer built in the vicinity of the
mill in the hope that they would rely
on them for protection in case Of at
tack, but the first fresh atr0city Of the
redskins, who were continually raid
ing the frontiers at that time. would
create a new panic. In a few minutes
the whole force would have disappear
ell and not he heard of again until the
fort was reached. Valentine Crawford
who had succeeded his brother rs
Washington's agent, wrote about this
time:@I consider it a pity that the
mill was ever begun in these times"
Finally Washington set about to dis
pose Of the whole business. The Keyo-
lutionary War, then going on, prevent
ei him from giving it the attention it
demanded, SO that it was not until
1889 that lie succeeded in leasing it to
Colonel Isaac Shreve, one Of his old