The writings of George Washington; being his correspondence, addresses, messages, and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts; with a life of the author, notes and illustrations. By Jared Sparks.

PART 1.] PRIVATE LETTERS. 349
you will obtain it without any costs, or expenses, I hope
you will be encouraged to begin the search in time. I
would choose, if it were practicable, to get large tracts
together; and it might be desirable to have them as near
your settlement, or Fort Pitt, as they can be obtained
of good quality, but not to neglect others at a greater
distance, if fine bodies of it lie in one place. It may be
worthy of your inquiry, to find out how the Maryland
back line will run, and what is said about laying off
Neale's grant. I will inquire particularly concerning the
Ohio Company, that we may know what to apprehend
from them.* For my own part, I should have no objection to a grant of land upon the Ohio, a good way below
Pittsburg, but would first willingly secure some valuable
tracts nearer at hand.
I recommend, that you keep this whole matter a secret, or trust it only to those, in whom you can confide,
and who can assist you in bringing it to bear by their
discoveries of land. This advice proceeds from several
very good reasons, and, in the first place, because I
might be censured for the opinion I have given in respect to the King's proclamation, and then, if the scheme
I am now proposing to you were known, it might give
the alarm to others, and, by putting them upon a plan
of the same nature, before we could lay a proper foundation for success ourselves, set the different interests
clashing, and, probably, in the end, overturn the whole.
All this may be avoided by a silent management, and
the operation carried on by you under the guise of-hunting game, which you may, I presume, effectually do, at
the same time you are in pursuit of land. When this is
fully discovered, advise me of it, and if there appears
but a possibility of succeeding at any time hence, I will
" See APPENDIX, No. VI.
VOL. II. DD