The boy was then just turned fifteen, and seems to have rebelled from
the humdrum life of the plantation. He was at the restless age, and
his naturally adventurous disposition sought a more active outlet.
This proved to be surveying--a profession then greatly in demand.
There were great tracts of wilderness in Virginia still inhabited by
Indians and infested by wild animals, which had never heard the sound
of the woodman's axe. These tracts had been included in grants from
the King, but their boundaries had never been exactly determined. To
make such surveys was a task requiring both skill and courage.
Washington was naturally an exact and painstaking boy. He now applied
himself to geometry and trigonometry; and at the ripe age of sixteen
was ready to sling his somewhat crude surveyor's instruments across his
shoulder and subdue the wilderness. It promised excitement and
adventure--and the work was well paid.
Washington was even then a strapping big fellow, tall and muscular, and
nearly six feet in height. He afterwards exceeded this height, but at
sixteen there were naturally some hollows which remained to be filled
out. He is described as having a well-shaped, active figure,
symmetrical except for the unusual length of his arms, indicating great
strength.
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