The Washington herald., 1907-08-04

ring in an overhanging rock ANY way,
it would be hard work, and the boatmen
thoroughly earned the ''grog'' literally
supplied with their rations.
Disappointed In His Countrymen.
First in war. first in peace. and first in
the hearts Of his countrymen Washing
ton undoubtedly was century ago, yet
his declining years were embittered by
many sad disappointments in these same
"countrymen." Probably nothing veXed
him more intimately than the failure OF
the Virginians TO follow his lead in the
struggle with New York and Pennsylva-
mia for the rapidly increasing Western
tr.i64 In his opinion, privately and pub
Hcly often expressed. the Potomac offered
the shortest and most direct route Tor
that trade. Georgetown and Alexandria
We're the logical great cities of the il-
turc rear the National Capital
To secure this trade was the aim Of his
life. and for a half century his supreme
effort was devoted 20 that work. Many
times he trod the rough regions Of
the watershed 10 ascertain the easiest
portages. Al his own expense he had
many localities surveyed and mapped.
When ne at last had the charters from
Virginia and Maryland for the improve
ment Of the navigation of the Potomac
and the appropriation Tor the highway 70
connect with the Ohio tributaries he
must have fancied success in sight The
unforeseen physical and financial delays
certainly troubled him greatly. and when
he realized. as he undoubtedly did before
his death. that Virginia was being dis
tanced in the race by her more energetic
rivals. he must have felt that the great
work of his lifetime had failed Of sue
cess.
Valuable Because Near Mntildavilie
Yet in his will he inventories a farm
that from its proximity to Matildaville
AT Great Fails. is valuable, notwithstand-
ing its poor soil. His twenty-four shares
of stock in the Potomac Company he
advises his les7tees TO divide among then
and hold, "thk being a moral certainty
Of q great auh increasing profit arising
/ from them in the course of few years
| The fifty shares given him by the legis-
/ lature Of Virginia he gave TO the Dis
i Llltt OF olGlllDi1 dc 1AA tAl1bff litN-se va q
national university.
Now, a century later. the improvement
of the Potomac navigation has almos
passed from memory. None OF Wash
mgton's biographers has given to thi.
phase of his life its due Importance. ONLY
an occasional one of the many visitor.
/ 10 the beautiful Falls Of the Potomac
! pauses to cast an inquiring glance a
. sF.- in, ha Glad,
and the ruins of the stOne-laid sluice
way and mill "Oh. Washington's ca
nal? Canal boats must have beer
/ mighty small in his day. and he passes
on Rarely a student seeks the Obscur,
path that. correctly followed. leads t
/ the old commodious basin, now cult
waited field. past the tottering ruins o
/ the once handsome stone toll house t.
/ the I'VE locks farther down. three o
| them lined with dressed brown ston
/ from the quarry ten miles above: two o
them blasted through the solid rock of ;
cleft between two towering peaks tha
stand as gigantic guards to this porta
| TO the rushing current below. Peerini
down this fOrbidding gorge one realize
the full import of the old chrOnicler VIII
wrote rarely an accident happens Z
cargo or boat" Forest trees have pushe
their roots down and the stone out, hav
/ insinuated themselves through from tn
inside and seemingly hang in mid-ai
from the walls, rise in groups and singi
from the bed of the canal. Nature ha
taken full possession. Imagination fail
TO picture the old-time scene of life an
| animation.
spot Not Marked.
With the exception of Mount verno
this spot is more Intimately associate
with Washington's everyday life tina
any other. yet there is nothing about tn
place to call the attention Of the touris
to the fact that the ground he tread
has been hallowed by long and clos
association with the Father of his Coun
try. and that these ruins represent tn
first attempt at corporate inland i'm
prOvement Of the communication with tn
Western country.