The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-02-28
THE DODGE CITY Of
THE YIRGInIAM COLONY
Continued From Twenty-F1rst Page)

4
| to go up country and survey the west line
/ Of his little empire. The lad went, be-
| came strong and Muscular and was
| strengthened in mind as well as in body.
| More than third of century afterward
when this lad made the barons old friend,
| CORVALLIS, surrender at Yorktown Thorn
as of Cameron, the Sixth Lord Fairfax,
grandson of Lord Culpepper and cousin OF
the General of Cromwelrs army. said:
Well, it is time for me to go now, and
| laid down and died at the age of SO. a her
| nit in the woods living and sleeping with
! his dogs for forty years. The lad who
rowed to Belvoir third of century be-
/ fore was George Washington. The baron
/ sleeps in the churchyard at Winchester.
| He sleeps in peace, not even hearing the
sounding hoofs of that horse that bore
/ into the town, seventy years afterward.
| the son of an Irish peasant, famed in song
| and story-Phil Sheridan.
| Lord William Fairfax and Deborah
/ Clark, the first master and mistress of
| Belvoir. died in due time and are buried
at the old mansion. The estate descended
TO nephew and he, with his bride, went
| to England, where they died. Crossing
the ocean they saluted a westbound YES
! sci and went OMIT was the vessel that
carried the tea that was dumped into the
/ sea in Boston Harbor. George Washing
ton took care of their property until he
was called by the Continental congress to
! take the position Of commander and chief
of the Revolutionary army. Bryan. Wash
! ington's pastor at Alexandria. became the
I >f,yl,f ], ord E-ir hut fha M
! the revolutionists cancelled the original
! grant of the Second James to Lord Gull
! pepper and the Fairfax house in Virginia
! ended. Soon afterward Belvoir Mansion
was burned and only the walls and Chin
neys stood. Here in 1912 Commodore Per-
I ry had his headquarters and when Adj
miral Gordon was retreating from Alexan-
/ dria he took a farewell shot at Perry and
/ succeeded only in levelling the chimneys
/ and gables of Belvoir, the only monument
| to the royal sway of England then eX
| listing on the Potomac. 1t is strange that
| all that now remains at Belvoir, in con-
/ tinuous succession from the strong house
Of the Fairfax's, are the descendants of
some daffodils planted by the fair hand
| of Deborah Clark one hundred and sew
enty years ago-a striking example of the
uncertainty of human glory and forcible
reminder of the airy character of human
pride.
But daffodils are not the only things
that thrive in Virginia. 1t was a grand
soil for democracy. To illustrate, 1 will
take you to Custom hall near by. George
Mason lived here. neighbor to the Fair
fax's He had no education to start with.
Z ha
reached middle life, ne was one OF the
strongest and most useful men in Virginia.
II was he who inoculated Thomas Jeffer-
son with the germs of the best democratic
philosophy and Patrick Henry, James
Madison and even the great Washington
himself were indebted to him for lessons
that contributed to their Immortality. He
was the mentor of James Monroe and
among his other pupils in political phil
osophy was John Randolph of Roanoak.
His seat. Gunston Hall, is a massive build
ing, with fine Doric columns of stone,
and although built one hundred and for
ty-six years ago is in a splendid state of
preservation. He was the author of the
bill of rights of Virginia and although not
a soldier his name is in history as
George. the Patriot" His two sons,
George and Thomas, of Holm Hall, an
other venerable Potomac seat, were in
the Revolutionary army, a descendants
name is perpetuated in the Mason and
Dixon line. another descendent was a
United States senator. another was a
minister TO France and still another-a
great grandson-is Fitzhugh Lee, who was
consul at Havana when the war with
-
also figured in the Confederacy--in the
Trent affair-although he himself was OPP
posed to slavery, and like Washington
and jefferson, freed his bond servants.
George, the Patriot, was the fifth in
line of descent from Charles Mason of the
Cromwell revolution who baked at the
beheading of Charles the First and, in
consequence, had to fee to America to
escape the wrath of the Round Heads.
Gunston Hall had a manor OF 1000 acres
and it is famed even unto this day in the
traditions of the neighborhood for its
elaborate hospitality. 1t is inspiring to
see this noble hall and to reflect on the
associations that cling to it.
After leaving Gunston Hall by boat,
one comes into Broad Bay, and Mount
Vernon comes in sight. This Broad Bay
was once the scene of a great disaster.
President Tyler and distinguished COM
pany Of cabinet officers. statesmen, and
ladies' went down the river on the Prince
ton man-of-war. There was convivality
In the state room. Some one said: Let
us salute the mansion of the father Of
his country" and all were willing. Hold
on. gentlemen" said Miss Wckliff.'
and hear my toast. Here is to the flag
of the United States. the only thing
American that will bear stripes" Presi-
dent Tyler then gave a toast and a gen
eral rush was made TO see the great gun
"Peacemaker" fired Just then Colonel
Walker began to sing the old song Of
.'Seventy-Six.' and the President said to
the Secretary Of State Upshur that
he would hear the song. Within a few
minutes boom went the Peacenaker.
Il exploded. and there were killed Secre-
tary Upshur. Governor Gilmer Of Vir-
ginia. Commodore Kennon and some 9TH
ers. The President escaped because he
remained below to hear the song Of his
son-in-law few months after that
President Tyler married Miss Gardiner.
the daughter Of one OF the victims
The first white man to set foot on this
upper Potomac soil. was Captain John
Smith OF Pocahontas fame That was in
TO US in Kansas-and yet white men trod
the soil Of Kansas sixty-five years before
their footsteps were heard in Virginia.
Before forgetting that Sunday morning
space in the Eagle is valuable 10 the