Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1898-02-26
4 TRIBUTE 10 WASHINGTON.

The following eloquent tribute to the
memory Of Washington was delivered
ut the Hammond school upon Washing
TONS birthday by Mr.. Henry Il. Weav-
er, the wcll.knOwn coal merchant. and
In regarded by good Judges to he the
best Of the many good Orations deliv-
cred In the Chicago public schools upon
tl,nt day:
TO commemorate here to-day the
name and fame Of Washington Il q
privilege and pleasure.
He was the hero Of our forefathers.
lie was the colossus Of American lib
crty.
He gave to that word a new mean.
ing; broader. nObler and grnndcr than
Il had ever known.
Under this glorious flag which was
unfurled by him the nation celebrates
the day that gave him birth.
All nations Of the earth honor him.
All ages will reverence his memory.
Ills life and deeds are cnbalmcd In the
memory Of the people Of every country
where the love Of home ana liberty
prevails.
Across the span Of the century he
joins hands with the great emnnclpn.
| tor, Lincoln. The names are INSOFAR.
able. They stand for the greatest OH
jects In life-the happiness and wei.
fare Of the human race.
The boyhood days Of Washington
were rugged, Industrious and interest.
Ing. In his letters written to his school.
mates. when only Is years Of agc. We
find him In the employ of Lord Fair.
fax, surveying the lands Of the old vir.
glnla company. He describes his OK.
periencc Of camp life In the mountains
among the hostile Indians. Sleeping
with his companions around the camp.
fire with his gun Ivy his side.
All this time he was under the guard.
ianship Of his brother. Lawrence. the
friend Of Fairfax. This brother had
been educated abroad ana had served
AZ an officer In the armies Of Europe.
A few years later and before he was
twenty years Of age he was selected
by the Governor and the Council Of
th6 State Of Virginia to carry important
messages to the fort on Lake Erie. over
200 miles away and through IN unln-
habited country.
This was mission Of great import.
ance, both difficult ana dangerous; but
the good judgment ana intrepid spirit
Of Washington carried II through sue.
cessfully. 1t was on this perilous jour.
ney that he nearly lost his life In the
Allegheny River. On his safe return
he was given tract Of land In the Ohio
company, aud later on was placed at
the head Of the Virginia troops.
1t was Washington who signed the
first grant for the land on which Chi.
cagO stands to-day. ana until within II
few years the Washington family own
cd property not far from where We now
4 stand. ~
It was he who surveyed. mapped and
laid out the overland routes from the
Potomac to the Ohio River down ia
Fort INIT. These roads were used a.
public highways to the West, and I,
was practically these that were adopt
al by the great railroads. The maps
were afterwards used by Jefferson II
his celebrated notes on Virginia.
It was during these early years tina,
Washington made his first ana only
trip out Of the country. which was Il
the East indies with his brother Law
renee. the owner Of the Washington
estates. 1t was probably at this time
that his brother, who was very FOND
Of him, decided to leave his prOpert!
TO him, for on his return We find In the
will of Lawrence Washington that his
brother George was made his sole he'll
and was appointed guardian of the
Washington family.
Lawrence soon after died. and It wal
then that Washington became the own
or Of the Mount Vernon estate. He &c
QuIred a iine military reputation In thu
conflict with the French and Indians
over the possession OF the country now
known as Pennsylvania and Ohio. II
1853 he CALAMITY planted the British
flag. and intrenched his troops on thu
ruins Of old Fort Duquesne-then call
cd the Gateway to the West" OF
that spot has arisen one OF the Creates
industrial ceRters OF the world.-th,
city OF Plttsburg.
The Government presented him will
i've thousand acres of land in the Ohio
Company, which gave him private
estate Of over thirty thousand acres.
In the twenty years preceding thu
revolution Washington became one OF
the leading men Of the country, prOmOt
Ing Its commerce In every direction
possible. He was made Presldeat OF
the Virginia Land Company He made
many journeys to the West ana start
cd settlements ut different points. This
Is the Washington of the early days
Familiar to all Is the call Of the colo
MES In 1715. selecting Washington al
general Of the army Of the revolution
Under the charter oak at Cambridge
he accepted the great trust. and TIT
patriotic soldiers of Bunker Hill wer'
ut once inspired and filled with conf
dence. The electric spark had beef
touched; the country was aroused.
The English army, however, wa