![2 Introduction
The probabilistic approach
The probabilistic approach to perception and brain function has its roots in the ad-
vent of information theory, which inspired many psychologists during the 1950’s to
attempt to quantify human perceptual and cognitive abilities using statistical tech-
niques. One of these was Attneave, who attempted to point out the link between the
redundancy inherent in images and certain aspects of visual perception [2]. Barlow
then took this notion a step further, by proposing a self-organizing strategy for sen-
sory nervous systems based on the principle of redundancy reduction [3, 4]—i.e., the
idea that neurons should encode information in such a way as to minimize statistical
dependencies. The alluring aspect of this approach is that it does not require that one
pre-suppose a specific goal for sensory processing, such as “edge-detection” or “con-
tour extraction.” Rather, the emphasis is on formulating a general goal for sensory
processing from which specific coding strategies such as edge detection or contour
integration could be derived.
Despite the elegance of Attneave’s and Barlow’s proposals, their ideas would not
be put seriously to work until much later. 1 Most modeling work in sensory physi-
ology and psychophysics over the past 40 years has instead been dominated by the
practice of attributing specific coding strategies to certain neurons in the brain. This
approach is probably best exemplified by Marr and Hildreth’s classic theory of edge-
detection [11], or the plethora of Gabor-filter based models of visual cortical neurons
that followed [10, 6, 8]. It is also prevalent in the realms of intermediate and high
level vision, for example in schemes such as codons [14], geons [5], and the medial
axis transform [13] for representing object shape. In contrast to the probabilistic ap-
proach, the goal from the outset in such models is to formulate a specific compu-
tational strategy for extracting a set of desired properties from images. Nowhere is
there any form of learning or adaptation to the properties of images. Instead, these
models draw upon informal observations of image structure and they rely heavily
upon mathematical elegance and sophistication to achieve their goal.
Interest in the probabilistic approach was revived in the 1980s, when Simon Laugh-
lin and M.V. Srinivasan began measuring the forms of redundancy present in the nat-
ural visual environment and used this knowledge to make quantitative predictions
about the response properties of neurons in early stages of the visual system [9, 15].
This was followed several years later by the work of Field [7], showing that natu-
ral images exhibit a characteristic power spectrum, and that cortical neurons
are well-adapted for representing natural images in terms of a sparse code (where a
small number of neurons out of the population are active at any given time). Then
drawing upon information theory, as well as considerations of noise and the
power spectrum, Atick [1] and van Hateren [16] formulated efficient coding theories
for the retina in terms of whitening of the power spectrum (hence removing correla-
1. There were some early attempts at implementing these principles in self-organizing net-
works (e.g. [12]), but these fell short of being serious neurobiological models.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-18-320.jpg)
![623 Acre Tract Extending thence No
30° Et
436 poles to a Large
Hickory and Red Oak Fx near John Cozines house thence No
60° Wt
90 Poles to a Large White Oak Fx thence No
7° Et
365 poles to Long
Marsh 420 poles to 2 Red Oaks and W: Oak in a Poyson'd field[15] by
a Road thence No
65° Wt
134 Poles to a W: Oak by ye
sd
Marsh
thence crossing ye
Marsh So
20° Wt
126 poles to another Branch: of
Long Marsh 218 poles to a Red Oak Fx thence No
80° Wt
558 po: to
a Large Red Oak White Oak Fx in a Valley thence S 25° Wt
144
poles to a Black Walnut in a Poysond Field by a Lime stone Rock
thence So
33½° Et
96 to a White Oak thence So
20 Et
316 po. to
three Red Oaks in a Bottom in Wm
Johnstones line thence with
Johnstones So
80° Et
30 po to a Double Hickory Collo
Blackburns
corner 114 po to 3 Hickorys Johnstones corner corner to ye
aforesd
623 Acre Tract thence along ye
lines thereof East 280 poles to 3 Red
Oaks finally along another of the lines thereof S 15° Et
262 po. to ye
beginning
Henry Ashby }
Chainmen.
Richard Taylor }
Robert Ashby Marker.
Wm Lindsy Pilot.
[15] This probably has reference to some pernicious weeds
unfavorable to tillage and injurious to grazing animals, as St.
John's wort. Farmers believe that this, and certain other noxious
weeds which occasionally invade pasture fields, cause sore
mouths and legs in horses and horned cattle and affect the milk
of cows grazing where it grows.
Wednesday 16th
We set out early finish'd about one oClock
then Travell'd up to Frederick Town where our Baggage came to us
we cleaned ourselves (to get Rid of y. Game[16] we had catched y.
Night before) took a Review of y. Town thence return'd to our
Lodgings where we had a good Dinner prepar'd for us Wine Rum
Punch[17] in Plenty a good Feather Bed[18] with clean Sheets
which was a very agreeable regale.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-22-320.jpg)
![[16] This facetious term game, referring to his misfortune the
first night he lodged in the valley, has a touch of humor in it; and
while it is true that Washington was not given to punning or
indulging in witticisms, he was not deficient in imagination or
unappreciative of the exercise of this talent on suitable occasions
by others. He knew that good humor minimized most of the petty
annoyances of life.
[17] The office and art of the surveyor were held in high esteem
by the early settlers. It is, therefore, not surprising that the
people for whom surveys were executed, made special efforts to
give the surveying parties good dinners, even going so far as to
set before them wine and rum punch. I may add here that there
is neither tradition nor record that Washington was ever known to
have been indiscreet from youth to age in the use of wine or
strong drinks.
[18] Feather beds, a great luxury in former times, have nearly
gone out of use among well-to-do people. By the wealthy, as well
as by the laborers, they were once a greatly prized comfort and
often devised by will as valuable inheritances. Hair, cotton and
spring mattresses have displaced them from popular favor, but
clean sheets belong to the category of comforts in even early
times and must be a delight and joy forever.
Thursday 17th
Rain'd till Ten oClock then clearing we reached as
far as Major Campbells one of there Burgesses about 25 Miles from
Town. nothing Remarkable this day nor Night but that we had a
Tolerable good Bed lay on.
Fryday 18th
We Travell'd up about 35 Miles to Thomas Barwicks on
Potomack[19] where we found y. River so excessively high by Reason
of y. Great Rains that had fallen up about y. Allegany Mountains as
they told us which was then bringing down y. melted Snow that it
would not be fordable for severall Days it was then above Six foot
Higher than usual was rising we agreed to stay till Monday we this
day call'd to see y. Fam'd Warm Springs[20] we camped out in y. field
this Night Nothing Remarkable happen'd till sonday y. 20th
[19] Cohongoruton—the Indian name by which the Potomac river
was known to the Six Nations and other tribes of Indians. From its](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-23-320.jpg)
![head-waters, to Point Lookout in the Chesapeake bay, this stream
is the dividing line between Maryland and Virginia.
[20] The Warm Springs, now known as Bath or Berkeley
Springs, were already famed, as Washington notes, in 1747.
They were deservedly popular for many years, but their
remoteness and the difficulty of access to them, with the
competition of other resorts more easily reached, prevented their
receiving the attention which the value of their waters merited. A
settlement sprang up about the springs at an early date, which
finally became a prosperous village under the name of Bath, and
was made the county seat when, in 1820, the county of Morgan
was formed. Washington bought lots here, built a cottage and
stables, and passed summers here with his family. His half-
brother, Lawrence, spent nearly a year at the springs for the
benefit of his health before going to England and later to
Barbadoes. The property-right in the springs is in the state of
Virginia, and is held for the benefit of the public.
Sonday 20th
finding y. River not much abated we in y. Evening
Swam our horses over carried them to Charles Polks in Maryland
for Pasturage till y. next Morning.
Monday 21st
We went over in a Canoe Travell'd up Maryland
side all y. Day in a Continued Rain to Collo
Cresaps[21] right against
y. Mouth of y. South Branch[22] about 40 Miles from Polks I believe y.
worst Road that ever was trod by Man or Beast.
[21] Cresap, Col. Thomas, the founder of the family in America,
was born in Skipton, Yorkshire, England, and at the age of about
fifteen came to America. Some five years later he resided at
Havre-de-Grace, Md., where he married a Miss Johnson.
Removing thence to Wright's Ferry, opposite the town of
Columbia, where he obtained a Maryland title to a 500 acre tract
of land called Peach Bottom, and built himself a small stone
house. The land, however, was on disputed territory, and
claimants under the laws of Pennsylvania finally dispossessed him.
His next move was to a locality in what is now Washington
county, Md., where he located and settled upon a tract of 1,400
acres on the Antietam creek, called Long Meadows, and began
trading with the Indians. After collecting a large lot of furs and
skins he shipped them to England but was financially ruined](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-24-320.jpg)
![evidence of the original power of oratory of the aboriginal
American, it is claimed more in a spirit of literary conceit than of
conviction; however he failed during his life to correct the
injustice done Cresap, although he was repeatedly furnished with
the evidence exculpating Cresap and fixing the barbarous act on
one Great-house. At his home, Col. Cresap dispensed, for his time
and means, a generous hospitality to all callers, in a region
where, as yet, no public houses were to be found. He kept a big
kettle ready suspended to place a fire under, near a spring for the
use of the Indians who often passed his place, and for this reason
they designated him the Big Spoon. Lord Baltimore employed
him to run a survey of the western line of Maryland, and to
ascertain which of the two branches of the Potomac was the
largest. His autograph map of this survey is still preserved in the
archives of the state of Maryland.
[22] The South Branch of the Potomac, of which the Indian name
was Wappotomaka, rises in Pendleton county, West Virginia,
among the spurs of the Alleghany and North mountains, and
meets the North Branch about 20 miles below Cumberland, Md.
The latter branch has been accepted as the dividing line between
Maryland and Virginia, although now known to be neither as long
nor as large as the South Branch. A line drawn due north from the
extreme head-waters of the South Branch would run ten miles to
the west of a parallel line from the head springs of the North
Branch, thus proving the loss by Maryland of this strip of territory,
as well as the region between the two branches, had the South
Branch been taken instead of the North Branch as the main river
referred to in the Royal Charter, and made the line separating the
contiguous colonies. The valley through which the South Branch
flows is broad and its lands very fertile, causing them to be much
sought after for farms by the hardy pioneers in the early days
before the Revolution. It was then familiarly known as the upper
tract of Virginia.
Tuesday 22d
Continued Rain and y. Freshes kept us at Cresaps.
Wednesday 23d
Rain'd till about two oClock Clear'd when we
were agreeably surpris'd at y. sight of thirty odd Indians coming
from War with only one Scalp[23] We had some Liquor with us of
which we gave them Part it elevating there Spirits put them in y.
Humour of Dauncing of whom we had a War Daunce[24] there](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-26-320.jpg)
![manner of Dauncing is as follows Viz They clear a Large Circle
make a Great Fire in y. middle then seats themselves around it y.
Speaker makes a grand Speech telling them in what Manner they are
to Daunce after he has finish'd y. best Dauncer Jumps up as one
awaked out of a Sleep Runs Jumps about y. Ring in a most
comicle Manner he is followed by y. Rest then begins there Musicians
to Play ye
Musick is a Pot half of Water with a Deerskin Streched
over it as tight as it can a goard with with some Shott in it to
Rattle a Piece of an horses Tail tied to it to make it look fine y. one
keeps Rattling and y. other Drumming all y. while y. others is
Dauncing
[23] Scalp—a term applied to the tissues covering the human
head, and embracing all the hairy integuments and flattened
muscles from the back of the skull to the brow above the eyes.
Taking the scalp of an enemy, living or dead, has been held from
remote times as a special sign of victory and token of triumph.
The North American Indians, particularly during the early colonial
wars, took the scalps of their enemies, preserving and exhibiting
them with savage pride and occasionally wearing them as
decorations and trophies. The assembly of Virginia, in 1755,
established a reward of £10 for every scalp of a male Indian
above the age of twelve (Hening's Statutes, vol. VI, p. 551). In
1757 this sum was raised to £15, and £30 more for every scalp
taken within the next two years (Hening, VII, p. 122). Maryland
and Pennsylvania also offered rewards for Indian scalps.
[24] The war dance of the Indians probably had a significance to
their minds not understood by civilized man, and was not to them
the meaningless custom it seems to us. It has frequently been
described and painted by eye-witnesses. In 1857 Virtue, Emmins
Co. copyrighted a very effective engraving of a war dance in the
forest, arranged from Washington's description of it in this
journal.
Fryday 25th
1748 Nothing Remarkable on thursday but only being
with y. Indians all day so shall slip it this day left Cresaps went up
to y. mouth of Patersons Creek[25] there swam our Horses over
got over ourselves in a Canoe traveld up y. following Part of y. Day
to Abram Johnstones 15 Miles from ye
Mouth where we camped.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-27-320.jpg)
![[25] Paterson Creek rises in Hampshire county, West Virginia, and
empties into the Potomac about twelve miles below Cumberland,
Md. On the old maps of Evans, Hutchins and Lewis, the name is
given as Pattison. There are large tracts of good, arable land
along the valley and bottoms adjacent to this stream. They began
to attract settlements a little before the time Fort Cumberland was
built. Fort Ashby was also erected to protect settlers along this
stream.
Saterday 26 Travelld up ye
Creek to Solomon Hedges Esqr one of
his Majestys Justices of ye
Peace for ye
County of Frederick where
we camped when we came to Supper there was neither a Cloth
upon ye
Table nor a Knife to eat with but as good luck would have it
we had Knives of own.[26]
[26] Knife and fork at table.—Polished nations have usages which,
at first view, appear natural or common to all mankind. This,
however, is not the fact. That there was a period in the history of
our race when the knife and fork were unknown to the furnishings
of the table, cannot well be doubted; and there was even a time
when the table itself was not deemed an essential. At the present
day the idea of eating a meal at table without the accompaniment
of a knife and fork would excite disgust; their absence, however,
in a remote Virginia mountain cabin in 1747-8 as here recorded,
simply shows that they had not been provided nor deemed
essential to the life of a hunter, not an ignorance of their use, as
the two-pronged, iron, table fork was in common use at that
period throughout the settlements in all the American colonies. It
is nevertheless true that the knife and fork now deemed so
necessary at table, are a much more modern convenience than is
generally supposed. The king of Hungary, Coevinus, toward the
close of the fifteenth century, as related by Galeotus Martius, ate
his meat with his fingers as did all the guests at table. In Italy,
the fork was, to a limited extent, in use at this time among the
nobility. In France, at the end of the sixteenth century, forks were
comparatively new at court. The use of the table fork is referred
to in Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour, and in
Hawkins' Youths' Companion, the source of these rules printed
about 1650. The knife is perhaps one of the most ancient of
instruments, it was made of different metals and in a great variety
of forms. The table knife was, however, contemporary with the
fork. According to Chamberlin it was first made in England, in](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-28-320.jpg)
![1563. The use of the fork at table spread to Europe from Venice,
in Italy. In 1608 it was brought to England by Thomas Coryate
who, while traveling, observed its use in Italy and continued it
himself on his return to England. (See his work entitled
Crudities.) It is rather disappointing that neither the Greeks nor
Romans have even a name for the table fork. The flesh fork,
called creagra, with a long handle, for cooks to take meat out of a
boiling pot, was known and used by the Hebrews and the Greeks.
But had the table fork been used by the latter or by the Romans,
some specimens would have been found among those extensive
ruins which have been so carefully explored by modern
investigators. It is known that some articles have been found, the
use of which conjecture assigns to the table, but they are not
forks and the surmise is not generally credited. The Chinese, who
claim to have led the rest of the world in most of the economic
inventions, seem to have overlooked the table fork and do not
even now use it in cutting or conveying food to the mouth but
employ in its stead the chop sticks which, it must be said in
their praise, they use with skill and dexterity. It should be stated
that large bronze forks were used by the Egyptians in presenting
offerings to the gods. It is unpleasant to represent the tables of
our ancestors of a few centuries back as without forks, yet this
certainly was the fact. The silver table fork, which also had its
evolution from two to four prongs, was first manufactured in 1662
by Heylin.
The small knife, formerly worn by gentlemen at their girdles, was
used by them, not only as a weapon of defense, but also as an
article of convenience in cutting their meat. However, the ancient
custom of serving food at table was to have a servant cut meats
and other food into small morsels before distributing it to guests.
The wealthy employed a person whose special duty it was to
carve the meats into proper and convenient pieces and his was
the only knife in the dining hall. When the fork was first
introduced into England, its employment was ridiculed as an
effeminate practice, as may be seen in the plays of Beaumont and
Fletcher, and others where the persons using it are referred to as
your fork-carving-traveler.
Sunday 27th
Travell'd over to y. South Branch attended with y. Esqr
to Henry Vanmetriss[27] in order to go about Intended Work of
Lots[28]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-29-320.jpg)
![[27] Henry Van Metre or Meter.—There was a numerous family of
the Van Meters in Virginia and they were among the earliest
settlers in the valley of the Shenandoah, on the South Branch and
along the upper Potomac. Kercheval, in his History of the Valley of
Virginia, says this family came from New York and New Jersey. It
is evident that they were people of energy and thrift, judges of
good land. At a period antedating the settlements in the valley, it
is stated by this historian that a John Van Meter, a sort of
wandering Indian trader, of New York, accompanied the Delaware
Indians in a war party against the Catawbas; but the Catawbas
anticipating the attack, surprised and defeated the Delawares in a
battle fought near where the present court-house of Pendleton
stands. John Van Meter escaped and returned to New York, but
he was so impressed with the beauty and fertility of the lands on
the South Branch bottom in Hardy county, that he advised his
sons to secure lands and locate there. Of these sons, Isaac
became a man of note and frequently represented Hardy county
in the House of Delegates of Virginia. He was a member of the
Virginia Convention of 1788 which ratified the Federal
Constitution. In 1730, it is a matter of history that John and Isaac
Van Metre, brothers, obtained from Gov. Gooch, of Virginia, a
warrant for 40,000 acres of land to be located west of the
mountains. This warrant, or a part of it, they sold to Joist Hite. A
number of tracts on the original warrant were surveyed in the
vicinity of Shepherdstown. The name of Van Meter is still
frequently met with throughout West Virginia and has its
monument in a stream forming the north-western boundary line
of Jefferson county and emptying into the Potomac, and named
on the maps of Virginia Van Meter's Marsh. A controversy as to
the validity of the Van Metre patent was raised in 1738 by Lord
Fairfax and taken into the courts for adjudication. Lord Fairfax
contending that his grants covered the whole of the western end
of the northern neck, while the holders claimed that the governor,
under authority from the crown, had disposing power. This conflict
as to title was a source of much litigation, and was not finally
settled until after the Revolution, when all the parties to the
original suits were dead.
[28] Lots.—This term, as used by surveyors, indicates portions,
tracts, divisions and subdivisions of land. Each survey, lot or
division when plotted is usually indicated by some name or
device, as a number, a letter, or a symbol. So that each can then
be described and referred to in a deed or an advertisement, and](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-30-320.jpg)
![its location and boundaries be accurately and systematically
defined and described in a book of land records.
Monday 28th
: Travell'd up y Branch about 30 Miles to Mr
James
Rutlidges[29] Horse Jockey about 70 Miles from ye
Mouth
[29] James Rutledge.—Kercheval, in his History of the Valley of
Virginia, says that prominent among the earliest settlers on the
South Branch, before the arrival of the Van Meters, were the
Howards, Coburns, Walkers and Rutledges.
Tuesday 29th
This Morning went out Survey'd five Hundred
Acres of Land went down to one Michael Stumps on ye
So
Fork of
ye
Branch on our way Shot two Wild Turkies[30]
[30] The wild turkey.—This is the largest and finest of our game
birds and, although native to North America, it bears a foreign
name from the following circumstances. Specimens of the living
bird, as well as its eggs, were sent by the early Jesuit missionaries
to the old world on Spanish and Portuguese ships, entering
Europe through Portugal. It was as yet unnamed, and was at first
referred to by writers of that period merely as the Jesuit bird. As
it became known, the demand for the stranger was supplied
chiefly from Turkey where, for some reason, it thrived exceedingly
well, and in time it came to be familiarly spoken of as the
turkey. Gradually becoming tame, and proving to be quite
prolific, it was recognized as a great addition to the luxuries of the
table. Speedily becoming a favorite in every country to which it
was taken, the great forests and game preserves throughout
Europe were gradually stocked with it and it was also raised as a
domestic fowl. To-day the American turkey, derived as stated, is
found wild in all the great forests of the old world, while the
domesticated bird is abundantly raised everywhere in Europe for
the markets. In ancient times, we are told, the choicest game
fowls brought to a feast were pheasants and peacocks. Emigrants
to America brought over with them the domesticated bird to its
native land, but under a borrowed name. Washington, in his
journal, April 7, 1748, records the fact that one of his men that
day had killed a wild turkey weighing 20 pounds. The
domesticated bird, when permitted to attain the age of two or
three years, and being well fed during the winter months, often
reaches the weight of 30 pounds or more. As marking in a degree](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-31-320.jpg)
![the devastation of the late war and the enforced abandonment of
plantations in the section of Virginia adjacent to the city of
Washington, it is a fact worthy of record, that in 1876 the
newspapers chronicled the news that the thickets and pine forests
which were grown up since the armies left were tenanted by wild
deer and turkeys; foxes, etc. And to this day, December 25, 1890,
wild turkeys are brought to the Washington market killed in
Fairfax county, Va., within ten miles of Washington city.—
Gentlemen's Magazine.
March 29th
: 1748 Survey'd for Mr
James Rutlidge ye
following a
piece of Land Beginning at 3 W. O. in ye
Mannor Line[31] by a Path
leading to y. Clay Lick[32] Extending thence No
44° Wt
164 po. to a
White Oak by a Drain at ye
foot of a Mountain thence No
46° Et
487
po. to 2 White Oaks near a Branch call'd Clay Lick Run thence So
44°
Et
164 po. to 2 W: O: a Hickory in ye
Mannor line Finally along ye
Mannor line Reversed So
46° Wt
487 po to y. Beginning
Henry Ashby }
Chainmen
Richard Taylor }
Wm
Duncan Marker
[31] Manor line.—In colonial times there were a number of
manors, or great landed estates, granted under the then existing
laws of England, to persons of note and quality in Virginia and in
some of the other provinces. Holders of such estates enjoyed
special rights and privileges. Manors were formerly called baronies
and entitled the rightful possessor to lordships, and such lord or
baron was empowered to hold domestic courts for redressing
misdemeanors, nuisances and settling disputes among tenants.
Among the manors of limited privileges in Virginia may be
enumerated the manor of Greenway Court, with a domain of
10,000 acres. The great manor of Leeds, which has figured so
extensively in the courts of Virginia, contained 150,000 acres
within the counties of Culpeper, Fauquier and Frederick. The
South Branch manor, in Hardy county, embraced 55,000 acres;
Paterson Creek manor, in Hampshire county, 9,000 acres; and
Goony Run manor, adjoining that of Leeds and lying chiefly in
Shenandoah county, 13,000 acres. Beverley's manor, for the
most part in Augusta county, consisted of 118,411 acres, and](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-32-320.jpg)
![Fairfax manor, in Hampshire, of 10,000 acres. There were still
other manors in different parts of the state. In New York under
the Dutch government the baron or proprietor of the manor lands
was called the patroon.
[32] Clay lick.—Names of places or streams with the word lick
either prefixed or affixed to them, such as Salt lick, Blue lick,
Grass lick, Licking creek, etc., were usually given in
consequence of the presence of some saline matter in the
springs, streams or soil which attracted the wild animals and
caused them to lick for the salt. Hunters in new settlements often
built what they called blinds near these licks in which to conceal
themselves, and waited there for the game to come, as they were
pretty sure to do, almost daily, and at times in considerable
numbers, when they could be readily killed.
Wednesday 30th
This Morning began our Intended Business of
Laying of Lots we began at ye
Boundary Line of ye
Northern 10 Miles
above Stumps run of two Lots returnd to Stumps
The Courses Distances of ye
Several Lots lay'd of on ye
So
Fork
of Wappacomo[33] Began March 30th
. 1748
[33] Wappacomo, also spelled Wappatomaka, was the Indian
name for the South Branch of the Potomac. This stream courses
through a fine valley from its head-springs in Pendleton county,
and has many considerable branches rising among the spurs of
the Alleghany mountains on the one side and the North or
Cacapehon (Capon) mountain on the other, the latter separating it
from the valley of Virginia on the east. The great or most noted
fork of the South Branch is at Morefield in Hardy county.
Washington surveyed much of the land in that section. The young
farmers seeking good lands had come in taken up considerable
tracts and built improvements before surveys were made or any
effort to prove rights from either Lord Fairfax or the governor of
Virginia.
Lot ye
1st
Peter Reeds Begins at a Box Oak Hickory F in y.
Boundary line about 20 po. above a Large Spring on ye
West side ye
Fork in a Hollow of ye
Mountains and extending thence No
65° Et
320
Po. to a White O: and Hickory on ye
Mountain side thence So
60° Et](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-33-320.jpg)
![po to ye
Fork thence No
86 Wt
38 xing ye
Fork 78 xing it again and
100 Po: to a R: O on ye
mountain Side thence S 30 Wt
262 Po to ye
Begg
[April 1st
]
Lot ye
6th
Anthony Regar Begins at a Red Oak on a Mountain side
Corner to Lot ye
5th
and extending thence along ye
sd
Line So
86 Et
100 po. to an Ash thence with another of ye
sd
lines So
60 Et
154 po:
to a white Oak by a Run thence No
30 Et
256 po to 3 pines on a Hill
side thence No
60 Wt
200 po: to ye
Low Grounds 320 po to a Poplar
standing in ye
Fork thence to ye
Begg
Lot ye
7th
Harmon Shoker Elias Cellars Begins at a Poplar
standing on ye
So
Fork Corner to Lot ye
6th
Running along ye
Line
So
60 Et
244 po to a Pine on a Hill side thence N 30 Et
262 po by 2
Marked Pines thence No
60 Wt
46 po to ye
Low G: 140 to ye
Fork and
244 po to a Stone on ye
side of a Mountain thence to ye
Beging
S 30
Wt
Lot ye
8th
Vacant[34] Beginning at a Rock corner to lot 7 Running
along ye
Line thereof So
60 Et
244 po by 2 Pines thence No
35 Et
266
po. to 3 Chesnut Oaks on a Steep Hill side thence No
55 Et
54 po. to
ye
Low Grounds 80 po. to ye
Fork 190 po to ye
farr Edge of ye
Low
G: 244 po. to a Chesnut Oak on ye
Mountain side thence to ye
Begining
[34] Vacant—this term, as used by surveyors, indicates that the
tract of land so designated is neither claimed by an actual
occupant or occupied by virtue of any official record. Many of the
settlers on the lands of Lord Fairfax selected their farms and
made improvements without any legal survey, warrant or title,
other than a tomahawk blaze for a boundary mark, trusting that
the actual owner of the land would recognize the improvement
and occupant's claim and deal justly by them. These tomahawk
claims were respected by the actual settlers, had a market value
among land speculators and were admitted, to a certain extent,
as evidence of rights in the courts.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-35-320.jpg)
![Sunday 3d
Last Night was a much more blostering night than ye
former we had our Tent Carried Quite of with ye
Wind and was
obliged to Lie ye
Latter part of ye
night without covering there came
several Persons to see us this day one of our Men Shot a Wild Turkie
Monday 4th
this morning Mr
Fairfax left us with Intent to go down
to ye
Mouth of ye
Branch we did two Lots was attended by a great
Company of People Men Women Children that attended us
through ye
Woods as we went showing there Antick tricks I really
think they seem to be as Ignorant a Set of People as the Indians
they would never speak English but when spoken to they speak all
Dutch[35] this day our Tent was blown down by ye
Violentness of ye
Wind
[35] Dutch.—As early as 1730 there was a considerable
settlement in the Shenandoah valley, of German immigrants and
their descendants, who had first settled in Pennsylvania and then
removed to, and taken up lands in, the valley of Virginia. They
selected, chiefly, the good limestone lands with their centers of
population near the head-waters of the Opequon creek, in
Shenandoah, and the south-western part of Frederick county.
They were all Protestants in religion. The town of Woodstock was
originally and exclusively settled by Germans. The bill for its
incorporation was reported to the House of Burgesses of Va., by
Col. George Washington in 1761. For many years the German
language was exclusively spoken in their settlement, and German
customs and religious observances were retained with tenacity,
their remoteness and seclusion securing to them almost perfect
freedom from innovations. The Revolution found them patriotic
supporters of the colony as against the pretensions of Great
Britain. It was in the town of Woodstock, Shenandoah county,
that Maj.-Gen. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, minister of the
Lutheran church, dressed in his uniform and with his sword
buckled on, preached a farewell sermon in 1776, to a
sympathizing and patriotic congregation, and the next day
marched as colonel at the head of his German regiment, known
subsequently as the 8th Virginia, to join the Continental army.
Such names of places as Strasburg, Hamburg, Mecklenburg, the
latter now known as Shepherdstown, etc., perpetuate the fact](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-37-320.jpg)
![that many of the earliest settlers in that section were German.—
See Kercheval, p. 158.
April 4d
Lot ye
13 Vacant Begins at 2 Sycamores and a White Wood Tree
standing on ye
fork Corner to Lot 12th
Running along ye
Line So
65
Et
280 po. to 2 pines thence No
25 Et
228 Po. to a Spanish Oak
thence No
65 Wt
206 to ye
Low G: 248 po to ye
Fork 280 to a Rock
Stone on ye
Mountain Side thence to the Beginning S 25 Wt
228
poles
Lot 14th
James Simson's Begins at a Rock Stone on ye
Mountain
Side Corner to Lot ye
13th
Runs thence So
65 Et
280 pole to a
Spanish Oak thence No
25 Et
228 pole to a Large Hickory in a Vally
thence No
65 Wt
108 to ye
Low G: 180 pole to ye
Fork 280 pole to 3
Red Oaks on ye
Mountain side near a Spring Branch thence to ye
Beginning S 25 Wt
228 pole this Lot I survay'd.
The Courses of ye
Fork from Lot 14th
Down to ye
Mannor Line
Beginning at 2 Red Bud Trees[36] a Black Walnut on ye
West side
ye
Fork Running Down ye
Several Courses of ye
Fork No
9 Et
19 po
No
34 Wt
12 po No
15 Et
22 po No
39 Et
24 po No
12 Et
23 po No
17
Wt
66 po N 6 Et
42 po opposite to Henry Harris's house No
26 Wt
20
po West 32 op Phillip Moors house bears No
86 Wt
No
23 Wt
48 po to
a Blazed Tree[37] from here Phillip Moors house bears So
54 Wt
No
6
Wt
33 po No
28 Et
26 po No
73 Et
28 po No
7 Wt
85 po to a blazed
tree No
45 Wt
24 po. ye
Widow Wolfs[38] house bears So
52 Wt
about
60 po. No
65 Wt
27 po So
84 Wt
18 po. S 50 Wt
14 po S. 19 W 20 po
No
67 Wt
22 po. No
28 Wt
23 po. So
78 Wt
29 po No
71 Wt
25 po. No
39 Wt
19 po No
3 Wt
24 po. xx No
60 Wt
20 po No
39 Wt
20 po No
8
Et
46 po to an Ash black Walnut White Walnut in ye
Mannor Line
on ye
sd
fork thence So
36 Wt
along ye
Mannor Line 320 poles to 2
W: O a R: O.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-38-320.jpg)
![[36] The Red Bud or Judas tree.—A common tree that grows wild
in the United States. In botany it is known as the Cercis
Canadensis, and often grows to the height of 30 feet or more. It
flowers in April, clothing its limbs in a reddish-purple bloom for a
week or ten days before its leaves appear, and from this
circumstance it is popularly called red bud.
[37] Blazed trees.—These are surveyors' marks made on trees to
proclaim and identify certain routes or lines. The blaze is made
by removing with an axe a strip of the outer bark of a tree or
sapling, for about a foot in length and well into the inner bark. In
the future growth of the tree a lighter color marks the cicatrix
which rarely ever wholly disappears. Surveyors, to distinguish
corner trees in a survey, not only blaze the sides of the tree in the
direction their lines run but cut three small notches through the
bark which will remain distinct during the life of the tree.
[38] Widow Wolf.—There was a Fort Wolf on Stony creek a few
miles south-west of Woodstock, erected by the Germans at an
early period in the settlement of the valley; there is also a marsh
or creek named Wolf's marsh, which empties into the Shenandoah
about twelve miles above Ashby's Ferry. Possibly these were so
called from the name of this widow's husband.
Tuesday 5th
We went out did 4 Lots we were attended by ye
same Company of People yt
we had ye
day before
April ye
5th
1748
Lot ye
15th
Phillip Moore Beginning at Lot ye
14th
on ye
Fork
Running down ye
Meanders to ye
first Blazed Tree a Black Oak on ye
Fork thence So
69 Wt
80 to ye
Edge of ye
Low G: 226 po to a
Spanish Oak thence So
41 Et
296 po. to a White Oak on a Mountain
side thence No
40 Et
38 po to 3 Red Oaks on a Mountain side near a
Spring Branch this Lot very good
Lot ye
16th
and 17th
Widow Wolfs and Henry Sheplars a Black
Smith by trade Begins at a Black Walnut on ye
Fork Runs So
17 W
76 po to a Red Oak Hickory 90 po Crossing ye
Road about 20 po:
above ye
house 226 po to 2 W: O thence No
41 Wt
96 po to 2 White](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-39-320.jpg)
![Oaks in ye
Mannor line to ye
River the line of ye
16th
Lot from ye
2
W: O S 41 Et
Lot 18th
Jeremiah Osborne's Begins at a Sycamore on ye
Fork
extending No
80 Et
215 po. to a Chesnut Oak thence South 280 po
to a W: O near a Hickory Corner to Lot ye
14th
thence along the line
thereof to ye
Fork thence down ye
Several Meanders of ye
Fork to ye
Beginning
Wednesday 6th
Last Night was so Intolerably smoky that we were
obliged all hands to leave ye
Tent to ye
Mercy of ye
Wind and Fire
this day was attended by our afored
Company untill about 12 oClock
when we finish'd we travell'd down ye
Branch to Henry Vanmetris's
on our Journey was catch'd in a very heavy Rain we got under a
Straw House untill ye
Worst of it was over then continued our
Journey
April 6th
Lot 19 Begg: at a Spanish Oak corner to Lot 18th
Runing thence
No
23 Wt
350 po to 3 W: O thence So
36 Wt
164 po 94 to ye
Low G:
to 2 Locust Trees on ye
Fork
Lot ye
20th
Begg at 2 Locusts on ye
Fork Corner to Lot 19th
Runing along ye
Line No
36 Et
164 po to 3 W: O thence No
23 Wt
250
po 3 Red Oaks in ye
Manner line thence Down ye
Manner line
Thursday 7th
Rain'd Successively all Last night this Morning one of
our men Killed a Wild Turkie that weight 20 Pounds we went
Survey'd 15 Hundred Acres of Land Return'd to Vanmetris's about
1 o'Clock about two I heard that Mr
Fairfax was come up at 1
Peter Casseys about 2 Miles of in ye
same Old Field[39] I then took
my Horse went up to see him we eat our Dinners walked down
to Vanmetris's we stayed about two Hours Walked back again and
slept in Casseys House which was ye
first Night I had slept in a
House since I came to ye
Branch](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-40-320.jpg)
![[39] Old Fields and Wild Meadow.—There were many small,
timberless tracts of land on the mountains and in the great valleys
of Virginia and Pennsylvania, in regions which were generally,
prior to the occupation and the clearing up of the country by the
white man, densely covered with trees. Large tracts of such
timberless land existed in the region now embraced within the
counties of Berkeley, Jefferson and Frederick. Strange as it may
appear some of this kind of land within the history of the
settlement of the valley became covered with young forest timber.
In some respects these openings resembled the treeless prairies
of the west. No satisfactory explanation of this frequently
observed condition has ever been given. Many of these meadows
were the favorite pasturing grounds of the large game and were,
therefore, of special interest to the hunter. Clearfield county, Pa.,
it is believed, got its name from the fact that there were within its
territory extensive natural clear fields and meadows.
Fryday 8th
we breakfasted at Casseys Rode down to Vanmetris's
to get all our Company together which when we had accomplished
we Rode down below ye
Trough in order to Lay of Lots there we laid
of one this day The Trough is couple of Ledges of Mountain
Impassable running side side together for above 7 or 8 Miles ye
River down between them you must Ride Round ye
back of ye
Mountain for to get below them we Camped this Night in ye
Woods
near a Wild Meadow where was a Large Stack of Hay after we had
Pitched our Tent made a very Large Fire we pull'd out our
Knapsack in order to Recruit ourselves every was his own Cook our
Spits was Forked Sticks our Plates was a Large Chip as for Dishes we
had none
Saterday 9th
Set ye Surveyor[40] to work whilst Mr
Fairfax myself
stayed at ye
Tent our Provision being all exhausted ye
Person that
was to bring us a Recruit disappointing us we were oblige to go
without untill we could get some from ye
Neighbours which was not
till about 4 or 5 oClock in ye
Evening we then took our Leaves of ye
Rest of our Company Road Down to John Colins in order to set off
next Day homewards](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-41-320.jpg)
![[40] From the expression, set the surveyor to work, as well as
the language used in the record on the 12th of March, that Mr.
James Genn the surveyor came to us and traveled over the Blue
Ridge, etc., with other expressions at a later date of similar
import in the journal and in other documents, it is rendered
almost certain that George Washington was, from the first,
employed by Lord Fairfax, not as a surveyor, merely, but rather in
the capacity of a skilled director of other surveyors, and as the
confidential adviser in the division and sale of his lordship's lands.
Sunday 10th
We took our farewell of ye
Branch travell'd over
Hills and Mountains to 1 Coddys on Great Cacapehon about 40 Miles
Monday 11th
We travell'd from Coddys down to Frederick Town
where we Reached about 12 oClock we dined in Town and then went
to Capt
Hites Lodged
Tuesday 12th
We set of from Capt. Hites in order to go over Wms
Gap[41] about 20 Miles and after Riding about 20 Miles we had 20 to
go for we had lost ourselves got up as High as Ashbys Bent[42] we
did get over Wms
Gap that Night and as low as Wm
Wests in
Fairfax[43] County 18 Miles from ye
Top of ye
Ridge This day see a
Rattled Snake ye
first we had seen in all our Journey
[41] Williams' Gap, in the Blue Ridge, is on a line nearly due east
from Winchester. It derived its name from a Mr. Williams, who
kept a ferry over the Shenandoah river on one of the roads from
Winchester into Loudoun and Fairfax counties. This name still
attaches to the gap and appears on the early maps of Virginia. It
is a notable fact that all or most of the important gaps through
mountain passes in the United States were well worn buffalo
paths and Indian trails when first visited by white men.
[42] Ashby's Bent is supposed to have reference to the great
bend and extensive bottom lands of the Shenandoah, just above
which was located Captain Ashby's ferry across that river.
Washington uses this term in 1770 to describe a large tract of
bottom land on the Ohio which he acquired.
[43] Fairfax county, in which Mount Vernon is located, was
created out of Prince William county by the Assembly of Virginia
in 1742.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-42-320.jpg)
![Wednesday ye
13th
of April 1748
Mr
Fairfax got safe home and I myself safe to my Brothers[44]
which concludes my Journal[45]
[44] Major Lawrence Washington, proprietor of Mount Vernon,
was the second child and oldest surviving son of Augustine and
his first wife Jane (Butler) Washington, born at Pope's Creek,
Westmoreland county, Va., in 1718, and died at his residence,
Mount Vernon, 26th July, 1752. He was the half-brother of the
illustrious George Washington and great-grandson of the
emigrant, Col. John Washington, who came to Virginia about
1657. It is a matter of tradition that Lawrence was at about the
age of 15 sent to England to be educated, and leaving college he
received a captain's commission to serve in a regiment raised in
Virginia to take part in the expedition against Carthegenia, 1740-
42, under the command of Admiral Vernon.
The expedition failed of its purpose, and Major Lawrence
Washington returned to Virginia in the fall of 1742. He shortly](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-43-320.jpg)
![pulmonary trouble had progressed too far to be arrested, and
after spending some five months on the Island, and finding
himself declining he returned home and died in July, 1752. His
marriage had been blessed by four children, three of whom had
died, his surviving child, Sarah, was still an infant at the time of
her father's death. After providing in his will for his wife he left
Mount Vernon to his daughter, but in the event of her death
without heirs it was to go to his beloved brother George, who
was also named as one of his executors. This daughter Sarah died
within a year, and George inherited Mount Vernon before he was
21 years of age. A few years after Lawrence Washington's death,
his widow married George Lee, brother to the father of Arthur and
Richard Henry Lee, patriots in the Revolution.
[45] The note book which contains this journal of Washington's
includes also other memoranda, such as notes of surveys, drafts
of juvenile letters, verses, etc., all of which are of interest for the
glimpses they give of the character and early life of their author,
and are copied with literal exactness and given with the journal
and surveys.
The Mannor how to Draw up a Return when Survey'd for His
Lordship or any of ye
Family
March ye
15th
1747-8
Then Survey'd for George Fairfax Esqr. Three Thousand twenty
Three Acres of Land lying in Frederick County[46] on Long Marsh
Joyning Thomas Johnstones Land and bounded as follows
[46] Frederick county, Virginia, was formed by Act of Assembly in
1738, out of Orange county at the same time that Augusta county
was created. The boundaries of Frederick county were
measurably well defined; to Augusta, however, was left all the
western territory belonging to Virginia, much of it at that time an
unexplored wilderness. This immense area has since been divided
and now forms four great and independent states of the Union,
namely, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. Frederick county, by
a return of the effective militia made to the governor of Virginia in
1777, had but 923 men. The total population of the town of
Winchester at that time was 800 and a fraction.—Kercheval.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-45-320.jpg)
![Beginning at (A) Three Hickorys Corner Trees to Thomas
Johnstones Land Extending thence along his S 13 Wt
One Hundred
Seventy two Poles to (B) a Locust Johnstones Corner thence along
another of his Lines S 34 Et
150 po. to (C) a White Oak another of
his Corners thence So
75 Et
186 po to (D) a large Hickory thence
No
58 Et
160 po xing a Spring Run to (E) three Red Oak Fx on a
Ridge thence No
30 Et
436 po to a Hickory an Red Oak Fx at (F)
thence No
60 Wt
90 po to (G) a Large White Oak Fx thence No
7 Et
420 po xing Long Marsh to (H) two Red Oaks and a W: O: Fx in a
Bottom in ye
aforesd
Thomas Johnstones line finally along his line So
80 Et
one Hundred fourteen Poles to ye
Beginning Containing Three
Thousand twenty three Acres.
pr
James Genn
Henry Ashby }
Chain men
Richard Taylor }
Robert Ashby Marker.
Wm. Lindsey Pilot.
N. B. The Distances in ye
above Writing ought to be Written in
Letters not in figures only I have done it now for Brevity sake[47]
[47] At this place in the journal three leaves, six pages, have been
torn out. The edges left show that they had been written upon by
Washington. The next record of a survey in the hand-writing of
Washington is signed by him with the name of James Genn, as is
also the incomplete plot of a survey here reproduced from the
original by tracing; whether it is a study from field notes by James
Genn or an actual survey by Washington himself does not appear.
The paper upon which it is drawn and the style of the hand-
writing, place it as of a date current with the added records of
1747-8.
The Courses Distances of the Following Plat is as follows viz
beginning at A and running thence No
30 Et
436 poles thence N 60
Wt
90 pole thence No
7 Et
365 pole to Long Marsh 420 to the end
of the Course thence N 65 Wt
134 pole thence So
20 Wt
126 poles](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-46-320.jpg)
![crossing Long Marsh to a Branch thereof commonly calld Cates
Marsh 218 pole to the end of the Course thence N 80 Wt
558 pole
thence S 25 Wt
144 pole thence S 33½ Et
96 pole S 20 Et
316 pole
thence S 80 Et
114 pole thence East 280 pole thence S 15 Et
262 to
the Beginning Survey'd by
James Genn
The Courses of the Town of Alexandria[48]
[48] Alexandria, Virginia.—This seems to be a brief record of the
course and distances of a survey by Washington of the shore-line
of the town of Alexandria before the river bank was improved or
altered by the building of wharves and the grading of streets. It is
probable that these lines were run in the winter when the river
was closed with ice.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-47-320.jpg)
![S 84½ Et
3 Chain
S 52 Et
4 C 17 L
S 24 E 5 C 9 L to the Point at a sml
Hickory stump above the
Landing Place
S 70 E 1 C 25 L
S 45 E 3 C 18 L
Dear Sir
I should receive a Letter or Letters from you by the first and all
oppertunetys with the greatest sense or mark of your esteem and
affection whereas its the greatest Pleasure I can yet forsee of having
in fairfax to hear from my Intimate friends and acquaintances I hope
you in Particular will not Bauk me of what I so ardently Wish for[49]
[49] This appears to have been a study for a letter to some
youthful companion. Even to the close of his life it was the habit
of Washington, in writing important letters and papers, to make
rough drafts of them as a study. However, in copying them off, he
frequently changed expressions and amplified their contents as
his judgment approved. The original drafts of many of his letters
are preserved in the Department of State at Washington and
illustrate this fact. Hence the transcripts in his letter-book are not
always true copies of either his drafts or his original autograph
letters. These drafts were kept by him as memoranda, rather than
as exact copies. It is also probable that there are many drafts
preserved of letters which were never actually sent. In some
cases he endorses this fact upon drafts of letters.
Dear Friend John
[50]
As its the greatest mark of friendship and esteem you can shew to
an absent Friend In often Writing to him so hope you'l not deny me
that Favour as its so ardently wish'd and desired by me its the
greatest pleasure I can yet forsee of having in fairfax to hear from
my friends Particularly yourself was my affections disengaged I
might perhaps form some pleasures in the conversasion of an
agreeable Young Lady as theres one now Lives in the same house](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-49-320.jpg)
![with me but as that is only nourishment to my former affecn
for by
often seeing her brings the other into my remembrance whereas
perhaps was she not often (unavoidably) presenting herself to my
view I might in some measure eliviate my sorrows by burying the
other in the grave of Oblivion I am well convinced my heart stands
in defiance of all others but only she thats given it cause enough to
dread a second assault and from a different Quarter tho I well know
let it have as many attacks as it will from others they cant be more
fierce than it has been I could wish to know whether you have taken
your intended trip downwards or not if you with what Success as
also to know how my friend Lawrence drives on in his art of
courtship as I fancy you may both nearlly guess how it will
respectively go with each of you
[50] Dear Sir, Dear Friend John, and Dear Friend Robin.—These all
seem to be studies or drafts of letters, which may have been
impersonal or possibly to his youthful school-fellows and
companions in Westmoreland and Stafford counties. It would be
idle to speculate as to whom they were intended, in the absence
of more definite information. They are in no wise remarkable,
except as evidences of Washington's life-long habit of making
memoranda, drafts and studies of his letters.
Dear Friend Robin
As its the greatest mark of friendship and esteem absent Friends
can shew each other in Writing and often communicating their
thoughts to his fellow companions makes me endeavour to signalize
myself in acquainting you from time to time and at all times my
situation and employments of Life and could Wish you would take
half the Pains of contriving me a Letter by any oppertunity as you
may be well assured of its meeting with a very welcome reception
my Place of Residence is at present at His Lordships where I might
was my heart disengag'd pass my time very pleasantly as theres a
very agreeable Young Lady Lives in the same house (Colo
George
Fairfax's Wife's Sister[51]) but as thats only adding Fuel to fire it
makes me the more uneasy for by often and unavoidably being in
Company with her revives my former Passion for your Low Land](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-50-320.jpg)
![Beauty[52] whereas was I to live more retired from yound Women I
might in some measure eliviate my sorrows by burying that chast
and troublesome Passion in the grave of oblivion or etarnall
forgetfulness for as I am very well assured thats the only antidote or
remedy that I ever shall be releivd by or only recess that can
administer any cure or help to me as I am well convinced was I ever
to attempt any thing I should only get a denial which would be only
adding grief to uneasiness
[51] The young lady indicated was Miss Mary Cary, the daughter
of Colonel Wilson Cary, of Ceeleys Hampton, Elisabeth City county,
Va. For 34 years Mr. Cary was collector of customs for the lower
James river district, and a man of large wealth and aristocratic
notions. He had four daughters: Sarah, who married George W.
Fairfax, of Belvoir; Mary, who married in 1754, Edward Ambler
of Jamestown; Anna, who married Robert Carter Nicholas; and
Elizabeth, who married Rev. Bryan, 8th Lord Fairfax. Col. Cary had
also one son Wilson Miles Cary, who was a member of the
Convention of Virginia in 1776. Some writers have confounded
him with his father. Bishop Meade in his Old Churches and
Families of Virginia, accepts traditions which other writers claim
are authenticated by documents, preserved by the Ambler family,
and accordingly his account credits the story that Washington, in
his youth, was an ardent admirer of Miss Mary Cary, and solicited
leave of Col. Cary to address his daughter, but was refused. (See
Meade, vol. i, 108.) This draft of the letter addressed to Dear
Friend Robin, was probably made in the spring of 1748, when
Washington was in his seventeenth year. In it, he playfully avows
an admiration for the lowland beauty and, at the same time,
admits the agreeableness of the young lady in the house with
him at Belvoir. Mr. Edward Ambler, educated at Cambridge,
England, was collector for York river and a burgess for
Jamestown. He died in 1768 in his thirty-fifth year and was buried
at Jamestown; his widow survived him until 1781. Mrs. Ambler
with her children and her sister, Mrs. Fairfax, were occasionally
guests at Mount Vernon, as Washington's diaries show. I am
inclined to believe that while it is true that Washington
entertained a high regard for the Cary family and particularly the
ladies, there is nothing but the lightest gossip to create an
inference that there ever was even an incipient affair of the heart
between either of the Misses Cary and Washington.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-51-320.jpg)
![[52] Lowland beauty.—Who this object of Washington's early
admiration was, if she had a veritable existence, is not positively
known. Irving, followed by Everett and others, accepts the
tradition, or rather surmises, that this sobriquet referred to Miss
Lucy Grymes of Westmoreland county, who in 1753 married Henry
Lee, Esq. Their son was the gallant General Henry Lee,
Lighthorse Harry, of the Revolution. Some recent writers, affect
to believe that this draft of a letter is conclusive that there was a
real love affair but that Betsy Fauntleroy, of Fredericksburg, Va.,
was the person referred to, and have published a letter purporting
to have been addressed by Washington to William Fauntleroy, Sr.,
Esq., in Richmond, enclosing one to Miss Betsy, who, it is made to
appear, had also refused Washington's addresses. Letters and
traditions of this character should be received with caution, for
while vague reports and surmises of an affair of the heart may be
dilated upon in a bantering way among friends of the parties
where there is little or no foundation for the allegation, yet they
should be subjected to scrutiny and some positive evidence
adduced before they are accepted as historical facts.
Dear Sally
This comes to Fredericksburg fair in hopes of meeting with a
speedy Passage to you if your not there which hope you'l get shortly
altho I am almost discouraged from writing to you as this is my
fouth to you since I receiv'd any from yourself I hope you'l not make
the Old Proverb good out of sight out of Mind as its one of the
greatest Pleasures I can yet foresee of having in Fairfax in often
hearing from you hope you'l not deny it me
I Pass the time of much more agreeabler than what I imagined I
should as there's a very agreeable Young Lady lives in the same
house where I reside (Colo
George Fairfax's Wife Sister) that in a
great Measure cheats my sorrow and dejectedness tho not so as to
draw my thoughts altogether from your Parts I could wish to be with
you down there with all my heart but as it is a thing almost
Impractakable shall rest myself where I am with hopes of shortly
having some Minutes of your transactions in your Parts which will be
very welcomely receiv'd by Your](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-52-320.jpg)
![Dear Sir—It would be the greatest Satisfaction
Memorandom[53] to have my Coat made by the following
Directions to be made a Frock with a Lapel Breast the Lapel to
Contain on each side six Button Holes and to be about 5 or 6 Inches
wide all the way equal and to turn as the Breast on the Coat does to
have it made very Long Waisted and in Length to come down to or
below the bent of the knee the Waist from the armpit to the Fold to
be exactly as long or Longer than from thence to the Bottom not to
have more than one fold in the Skirt and the top to be made just to
turn in and three Button Holes the Lapel at the top to turn as the
Cape of the Coat and Bottom to Come Parrallel with the Button
Holes the Last Button hole in the Breast to be right opposit to the
Button on the Hip[54]
[53] The minuteness of detail is very characteristic of the writer.
While Washington was observant of the proprieties of life and of
good taste in dress, there was not the least leaning to
foppishness. But it was a principle with him to have whatever he
bought, consonant with good taste and of the best quality.
[54] At this point in the book there are 18 blank pages.
Dear Richard
The Receipt of your kind favour of the 2d
of this Instant afforded
me unspeakable pleasure as I am convinced I am still in the Memory
of so Worthy a friend a friendship I shall ever be proud of Increasing
you gave me the more pleasure as I receiv'd it amongst a parcel of
Barbarians and an uncooth set of People the like favour often
repeated would give me Pleasure altho I seem to be in a Place
where no real satis: is to be had since you receid my Letter in
October Last I have not sleep'd above three Nights or four in a bed
but after Walking a good deal all the Day lay down before the fire
upon a Little Hay Straw Fodder or bearskin whichever is to be had
with Man Wife and Children like a Parcel of Dogs or Catts happy's
he that gets the Birth nearest the fire there's nothing would make it
pass of tolerably but a good Reward a Dubbleloon is my constant
gain every Day that the Weather will permit my going out and some](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/39071-250425114331-c9bd7868/85/Probabilistic-models-of-the-brain-Perception-and-neural-function-Rajesh-P-N-Rao-53-320.jpg)
Probabilistic models of the brain Perception and neural function Rajesh P. N. Rao
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- 5. Probabilistic models of the brain Perception and neural function Rajesh P. N. Rao Digital Instant Download Author(s): Rajesh P. N. Rao, Bruno A. Olshausen, Michael S. Lewicki ISBN(s): 9780585437125, 0585437122 Edition: illustrated edition File Details: PDF, 3.25 MB Year: 2002 Language: english
- 7. Probabilistic Models of the Brain
- 8. Neural Information Processing Series Michael I. Jordan and Sara A. Solla, editors Advances in Large Margin Classifiers Alexander J. Smola, Peter L. Bartlett, Bernhard Schölkopf, and Dale Schuurmans, eds., 2000 Advanced Mean Field Methods: Theory and Practice Manfred Opper and David Saad, eds., 2001 Probabilistic Models of the Brain: Perception and Neural Function Rajesh P.N. Rao, Bruno A. Olshausen, and Michael S. Lewicki, eds., 2002
- 9. Probabilistic Models of the Brain: Perception and Neural Function Edited by Rajesh P. N. Rao Bruno A. Olshausen Michael S. Lewicki A Bradford Book The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England
- 10. c 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed and bound in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Probabilistic models of the brain: perception and neural function / edited by Rajesh P. N. Rao, Bruno A. Olshausen, Michael S. Lewicki p. cm. (Neural information processing series) “A Bradford book.” Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-262-18224-6 (hc.: alk. paper) 1. Brain–Mathematical models. 2. Neurology–Statistical Methods. I. Rao, Rajesh P. N. II. Olshausen, Bruno A. III. Lewicki, Michael S. IV. Series. DNLM: 1.Brain Mapping–methods. 2. Models, Neurological. 3. Models, Statistical. 4. Neurons–physiology. 5. Visual Perception–physiology. WL 335 P9615 2002 QP376.P677 2002 612.8’2’011–dc21 2001042806
- 11. Contents Preface ix Introduction 1 Part I: Perception 1 Bayesian Modelling of Visual Perception 13 Pascal Mamassian, Michael Landy, and Laurence T. Maloney 2 Vision, Psychophysics and Bayes 37 Paul Schrater and Daniel Kersten 3 Visual Cue Integration for Depth Perception 61 Robert A. Jacobs 4 Velocity Likelihoods in Biological and Machine Vision 77 Yair Weiss and David J. Fleet 5 Learning Motion Analysis 97 William Freeman, John Haddon, and Egon Pasztor 6 Information Theoretic Approach to Neural Coding and Parameter Estimation: A Perspective 117 Jean-Pierre Nadal 7 From Generic to Specific: An Information Theoretic Perspective on the Value of High-Level Information 135 A.L. Yuille and James M. Coughlan 8 Sparse Correlation Kernel Reconstruction and Superresolution 155 Constantine P. Papageorgiou, Federico Girosi, and Tomaso Poggio Part II: Neural Function 9 Natural Image Statistics for Cortical Orientation Map Development 181 Christian Piepenbrock
- 12. vi 10 Natural Image Statistics and Divisive Normalization 203 Martin J. Wainwright, Odelia Schwartz, and Eero P. Simoncelli 11 A Probabilistic Network Model of Population Responses 223 Richard S. Zemel and Jonathan Pillow 12 Efficient Coding of Time-Varying Signals Using a Spiking Population Code 243 Michael S. Lewicki 13 Sparse Codes and Spikes 257 Bruno A. Olshausen 14 Distributed Synchrony: A Probabilistic Model of Neural Signaling 273 Dana H. Ballard, Zuohua Zhang, and Rajesh P. N. Rao 15 Learning to Use Spike Timing in a Restricted Boltzmann Machine 285 Geoffrey E. Hinton and Andrew D. Brown 16 Predictive Coding, Cortical Feedback, and Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity 297 Rajesh P. N. Rao and Terrence J. Sejnowski Contributors 317 Index 321
- 13. Series Foreword The yearly Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) workshops bring together scientists with broadly varying backgrounds in statistics, mathematics, computer sci- ence, physics, electrical engineering, neuroscience and cognitive science, unified by a common desire to develop novel computational and statistical strategies for infor- mation processing, and to understand the mechanisms for information processing in the brain. As opposed to conferences, these workshops maintain a flexible format that both allows and encourages the presentation and discussion of work in progress, and thus serve as an incubator for the development of important new ideas in this rapidly evolving field. The Series Editors, in consultation with workshop organizers and members of the NIPS Foundation Board, select specific workshop topics on the basis of scientific ex- cellence, intellectual breadth, and technical impact. Collections of papers chosen and edited by the organizers of specific workshops are built around pedagogical intro- ductory chapters, while research monographs provide comprehensive descriptions of workshop-related topics, to create a series of books that provides a timely, author- ative account of the latest developments in the exciting field of neural computation. Michael I. Jordan, Sara A. Solla
- 15. Preface A considerable amount of data has been collected over the past several decades on the cellular, physiological, and anatomical properties of the brain. However, with the exception of a few notable early efforts, it is only in recent years that concerted attempts have been made to link the distinctive properties of the brain to concrete computational principles. In our view, an especially promising computational ap- proach has been the use of probabilistic principles such as maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference to derive efficient algorithms for learning and perception. Our enthusiasm for this approach is based in part on some of its recent demonstrated successes, for example: The application of efficient coding algorithms to natural signals has been shown to generate receptive field properties similar to those observed in the nervous system. The instantiation of these algorithms in the form of ”analysis-synthesis” loops has suggested functional models for the reciprocal feedforward-feedback connections between cortical areas. The theory of Bayesian belief propagation in probabilistic networks has yielded robust models for perceptual inference and allowed for a functional interpretation of several intriguing visual illusions and perceptual phenomena. This book presents a representative sampling of some of the current probabilis- tic approaches to understanding perception and brain function. The book originated from a workshop on Statistical Theories of Cortical Function held in Breckenridge, Col- orado, as part of the Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) conference in De- cember, 1998. The goal of the workshop was to bring together researchers interested in exploring the use of well-defined statistical principles in understanding cortical structure and function. This book contains chapters written by many of the speak- ers from the NIPS workshop, as well as invited contributions from other leading re- searchers in the field. The topics include probabilistic and information theoretic mod- els of perception, theories of neural coding and spike timing, computational models of lateral and cortico-cortical feedback connections, and the development of receptive field properties from natural signals. While books with the words “brain” and “model” (or any of its cognates) in their title abound, one of the attributes that we feel sets the present book apart from many of its predecessors is its emphasis on the use of well-established probabilistic princi- ples in interpreting data and constructing models. A second unique attribute is the
- 16. x Preface attempt to present within a single volume both top-down computational models and bottom-up neurally-motivated models of brain function. This allows the similarities between these two types of approaches to be appreciated. To facilitate these connec- tions, chapters containing related topics have been cross-referenced by the authors as much as possible. The introductory chapter provides an overview of the field and summarizes the contents of each chapter. A list of open problems and contentious issues is included at the end of this chapter to encourage new researchers to join in the effort and help infuse new ideas and techniques into the field. We expect the book to be of interest to students and researchers in computational and cognitive neuroscience, psychology, statistics, information theory, artificial intel- ligence, and machine learning. Familiarity with elementary probability and statistics, together with some knowledge of basic neurobiology and vision, should prove suffi- cient in understanding much of the book. We would like to thank Sara Solla, Michael Jordan, and Terry Sejnowski for their encouragement, the reviewers of our book proposal for their comments, and the NIPS workshops co-chairs for 1998, Rich Zemel and Sue Becker, for their help in organizing the workshop that was the seed for this book. We are also grateful to Michael Rutter, formerly of MIT Press, for his role in initiating the project, Bob Prior of MIT Press for seeing the project through to its completion, and Sergio Lucero for his excellent work in assembling the chapters in L A TEX.
- 17. Introduction Each waking moment, our body’s sensory receptors convey a vast amount of infor- mation about the surrounding environment to the brain. Visual information, for ex- ample, is measured by about 10 million cones and 100 million rods in each eye, while approximately 50 million receptors in the olfactory epithelium at the top of the nasal cavity signal olfactory information. How does the brain transform this raw sensory information into a form that is useful for goal-directed behavior? Neurophysiologi- cal, neuroanatomical, and brain imaging studies in the past few decades have helped to shed light on this question, revealing bits and pieces of the puzzle of how sensory information is represented and processed by neurons at various stages within the brain. However, a fundamental question that is seldom addressed by these studies is why the brain chose to use the types of representations it does, and what ecological or evolutionary advantage these representations confer upon the animal. It is difficult to address such questions directly via animal experiments. A promising alternative is to investigate computational models based on efficient coding principles. Such models take into account the statistical properties of environmental signals, and attempt to explain the types of representations found in the brain in terms of a probabilistic model of these signals. Recently, these models have been shown to be capable of accounting for the response properties of neurons at early stages of the visual and auditory pathway, providing for the first time a unifying view of sensory coding across different modalities. There is now growing optimism that probabilistic models can also be applied successfully to account for the sensory coding strategies employed in yet other modalities, and eventually to planning and executing goal- directed actions. This book surveys some of the current themes, ideas, and techniques dominat- ing the probabilistic approach to modeling and understanding brain function. The sixteen chapters that comprise the book demonstrate how ideas from probability and statistics can be used to interpret a variety of phenomena, ranging from psy- chophysics to neurophysiology. While most of the examples presented in the chap- ters focus on vision, this is not meant to imply that these models are applicable only to this modality. Many of the models and techniques presented in these chapters are quite general, and therefore are applicable to other modalities as well.
- 18. 2 Introduction The probabilistic approach The probabilistic approach to perception and brain function has its roots in the ad- vent of information theory, which inspired many psychologists during the 1950’s to attempt to quantify human perceptual and cognitive abilities using statistical tech- niques. One of these was Attneave, who attempted to point out the link between the redundancy inherent in images and certain aspects of visual perception [2]. Barlow then took this notion a step further, by proposing a self-organizing strategy for sen- sory nervous systems based on the principle of redundancy reduction [3, 4]—i.e., the idea that neurons should encode information in such a way as to minimize statistical dependencies. The alluring aspect of this approach is that it does not require that one pre-suppose a specific goal for sensory processing, such as “edge-detection” or “con- tour extraction.” Rather, the emphasis is on formulating a general goal for sensory processing from which specific coding strategies such as edge detection or contour integration could be derived. Despite the elegance of Attneave’s and Barlow’s proposals, their ideas would not be put seriously to work until much later. 1 Most modeling work in sensory physi- ology and psychophysics over the past 40 years has instead been dominated by the practice of attributing specific coding strategies to certain neurons in the brain. This approach is probably best exemplified by Marr and Hildreth’s classic theory of edge- detection [11], or the plethora of Gabor-filter based models of visual cortical neurons that followed [10, 6, 8]. It is also prevalent in the realms of intermediate and high level vision, for example in schemes such as codons [14], geons [5], and the medial axis transform [13] for representing object shape. In contrast to the probabilistic ap- proach, the goal from the outset in such models is to formulate a specific compu- tational strategy for extracting a set of desired properties from images. Nowhere is there any form of learning or adaptation to the properties of images. Instead, these models draw upon informal observations of image structure and they rely heavily upon mathematical elegance and sophistication to achieve their goal. Interest in the probabilistic approach was revived in the 1980s, when Simon Laugh- lin and M.V. Srinivasan began measuring the forms of redundancy present in the nat- ural visual environment and used this knowledge to make quantitative predictions about the response properties of neurons in early stages of the visual system [9, 15]. This was followed several years later by the work of Field [7], showing that natu- ral images exhibit a characteristic power spectrum, and that cortical neurons are well-adapted for representing natural images in terms of a sparse code (where a small number of neurons out of the population are active at any given time). Then drawing upon information theory, as well as considerations of noise and the power spectrum, Atick [1] and van Hateren [16] formulated efficient coding theories for the retina in terms of whitening of the power spectrum (hence removing correla- 1. There were some early attempts at implementing these principles in self-organizing net- works (e.g. [12]), but these fell short of being serious neurobiological models.
- 19. Introduction 3 tions from signals sent down the optic nerve) in space and time. This body of work, accumulated throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s, began to build a convincing case that probabilistic models could contribute to our understanding of sensory cod- ing strategies. Part II of this book contains eight recent contributions to this area of inquiry. The probabilistic approach has also been applied beyond the realm of sensory cod- ing, to problems of perception. In fact, the idea that perception is fundamentally a problem of inference goes back at least to Hermann von Helmholtz in the nineteenth century. The main problem of perception is to deduce from the patterns of sensory stimuli the properties of the external environment. What makes this problem espe- cially difficult is that there is ambiguity at every stage, resulting from lack of informa- tion, inherent noise, and the multitude of perceptual interpretations that are consis- tent with the available sensory data. Even something as simple as the interpretation of an edge can be complicated: Is it due to a reflectance change on the object? Is it a shadow that arises from the object’s 3-dimensional structure? Or does it represent an object boundary? Determining which interpretation is most likely depends on inte- grating information from the surrounding context and from higher level knowledge about typical scene structure. The process of inference is perhaps most compellingly demonstrated by the famous Dalmatian dog scene (reproduced in Figure 7.1), in which the luminance edges pro- vide little or no explicit information about the object boundaries. Like a perceptual puzzle, each part of the image provides clues to the best interpretation of the whole. The question is how to combine these different sources of information in the face of a considerable degree of uncertainty. One framework for addressing these problems in the context of perceptual processing is that of Bayesian Inference (Szeliski, 1989; Knill and Richards, 1996). What makes Bayesian inference attractive for modeling perception is that it pro- vides a general framework for quantifying uncertainty and precisely relating what one set of information tells us about another. In Bayesian probability theory, uncer- tainty is represented by probability distribution functions, and Bayes’ rule specifies the relation between the distributions (and therefore the uncertainties) and the ob- served data. A discrete distribution might represent uncertainty among a set of dis- tinct possible interpretations, such as the probability of a word given a sound. A continuous distribution represents uncertainty of an analog quantity, such as the di- rection of motion given a time-varying image. By quantitatively characterizing these distributions for a given perceptual task, it is then possible to make testable predic- tions about human behavior. As we shall see in the chapters of Part I of this book, there is now substantial evidence showing that humans are good Bayesian observers. Contributions of this book The chapters in this book fall naturally into two categories, based on the type of ap- proach taken to understand brain function. The first approach is to formulate proba-
- 20. 4 Introduction bilistic theories with a predominantly top-down point of view—i.e., with an emphasis on computational algorithms rather than the details of the underlying neural ma- chinery. The goal here is to explain certain perceptual phenomena or analyze com- putational tractability or performance. This has been the predominant approach in the psychology, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence communities. Part I of the book, entitled Perception, comprises eight chapters that embody the top-down approach to constructing probabilistic theories of the brain. The second approach is the formulate theories of brain function that are moti- vated by understanding neural substrates and mechanisms. The goal of such the- ories is twofold: (a) to show how the distinctive properties of neurons and their specific anatomical connections can implement concrete statistical principles such as Bayesian inference, and (b) to show how such models can solve interesting problems such as feature and motion detection. Part II of this book, entitled Neural Function, presents eight such models. The first three chapters of Part I present an introduction to modeling visual percep- tion using the Bayesian framework. Chapter 1 by Mamassian, Landy, and Maloney serves as an excellent tutorial on Bayesian inference. They review the three basic components of any Bayesian model: the likelihood function, the prior, and the gain function. Likelihood functions are used to model how visual sensors encode sen- sory information, while priors provide a principled way of formulating constraints on possible scenes to allow unambiguous visual perception. Gain functions are used to account for task-dependent performance. Mamassian, Landy, and Maloney illus- trate how Bayesian models can be investigated experimentally, drawing upon a psy- chophysical task in which the observer is asked to judge 3D surface structure. They show how the assumptions and biases used by the observer in inferring 3D structure from images may be modeled in terms of priors. More importantly, their work pro- vides a compelling demonstration of the utility of the Bayesian approach in designing and interpreting the results of psychophysical experiments. This approach is carried further in Chapter 2 by Schrater and Kersten, who ex- plore the Bayesian approach as a framework within which to develop and test pre- dictive quantitative theories of human visual behavior. Within this framework, they distinguish between mechanistic and functional levels in the modeling of human vision. At the mechanistic level, traditional signal detection theory provides a tool for inferring the properties of neural mechanisms from psychophysical data. At the functional level, signal detection theory is essentially extended to pattern inference theory, where the emphasis is on natural tasks and generative models for images and scene structure. Drawing upon examples in the domain of motion processing and color constancy, Schrater and Kersten show how ideal observers can be used to test theories at both mechanistic and functional levels. Jacobs then uses the Bayesian approach in Chapter 3 to explore the question of how observers integrate various visual cues for depth perception. Again, the emphasis is on evaluating whether or not observers’ cue integration strategies can be characterized as “optimal” in terms of Bayesian inference, in this case by using an
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- 22. 623 Acre Tract Extending thence No 30° Et 436 poles to a Large Hickory and Red Oak Fx near John Cozines house thence No 60° Wt 90 Poles to a Large White Oak Fx thence No 7° Et 365 poles to Long Marsh 420 poles to 2 Red Oaks and W: Oak in a Poyson'd field[15] by a Road thence No 65° Wt 134 Poles to a W: Oak by ye sd Marsh thence crossing ye Marsh So 20° Wt 126 poles to another Branch: of Long Marsh 218 poles to a Red Oak Fx thence No 80° Wt 558 po: to a Large Red Oak White Oak Fx in a Valley thence S 25° Wt 144 poles to a Black Walnut in a Poysond Field by a Lime stone Rock thence So 33½° Et 96 to a White Oak thence So 20 Et 316 po. to three Red Oaks in a Bottom in Wm Johnstones line thence with Johnstones So 80° Et 30 po to a Double Hickory Collo Blackburns corner 114 po to 3 Hickorys Johnstones corner corner to ye aforesd 623 Acre Tract thence along ye lines thereof East 280 poles to 3 Red Oaks finally along another of the lines thereof S 15° Et 262 po. to ye beginning Henry Ashby } Chainmen. Richard Taylor } Robert Ashby Marker. Wm Lindsy Pilot. [15] This probably has reference to some pernicious weeds unfavorable to tillage and injurious to grazing animals, as St. John's wort. Farmers believe that this, and certain other noxious weeds which occasionally invade pasture fields, cause sore mouths and legs in horses and horned cattle and affect the milk of cows grazing where it grows. Wednesday 16th We set out early finish'd about one oClock then Travell'd up to Frederick Town where our Baggage came to us we cleaned ourselves (to get Rid of y. Game[16] we had catched y. Night before) took a Review of y. Town thence return'd to our Lodgings where we had a good Dinner prepar'd for us Wine Rum Punch[17] in Plenty a good Feather Bed[18] with clean Sheets which was a very agreeable regale.
- 23. [16] This facetious term game, referring to his misfortune the first night he lodged in the valley, has a touch of humor in it; and while it is true that Washington was not given to punning or indulging in witticisms, he was not deficient in imagination or unappreciative of the exercise of this talent on suitable occasions by others. He knew that good humor minimized most of the petty annoyances of life. [17] The office and art of the surveyor were held in high esteem by the early settlers. It is, therefore, not surprising that the people for whom surveys were executed, made special efforts to give the surveying parties good dinners, even going so far as to set before them wine and rum punch. I may add here that there is neither tradition nor record that Washington was ever known to have been indiscreet from youth to age in the use of wine or strong drinks. [18] Feather beds, a great luxury in former times, have nearly gone out of use among well-to-do people. By the wealthy, as well as by the laborers, they were once a greatly prized comfort and often devised by will as valuable inheritances. Hair, cotton and spring mattresses have displaced them from popular favor, but clean sheets belong to the category of comforts in even early times and must be a delight and joy forever. Thursday 17th Rain'd till Ten oClock then clearing we reached as far as Major Campbells one of there Burgesses about 25 Miles from Town. nothing Remarkable this day nor Night but that we had a Tolerable good Bed lay on. Fryday 18th We Travell'd up about 35 Miles to Thomas Barwicks on Potomack[19] where we found y. River so excessively high by Reason of y. Great Rains that had fallen up about y. Allegany Mountains as they told us which was then bringing down y. melted Snow that it would not be fordable for severall Days it was then above Six foot Higher than usual was rising we agreed to stay till Monday we this day call'd to see y. Fam'd Warm Springs[20] we camped out in y. field this Night Nothing Remarkable happen'd till sonday y. 20th [19] Cohongoruton—the Indian name by which the Potomac river was known to the Six Nations and other tribes of Indians. From its
- 24. head-waters, to Point Lookout in the Chesapeake bay, this stream is the dividing line between Maryland and Virginia. [20] The Warm Springs, now known as Bath or Berkeley Springs, were already famed, as Washington notes, in 1747. They were deservedly popular for many years, but their remoteness and the difficulty of access to them, with the competition of other resorts more easily reached, prevented their receiving the attention which the value of their waters merited. A settlement sprang up about the springs at an early date, which finally became a prosperous village under the name of Bath, and was made the county seat when, in 1820, the county of Morgan was formed. Washington bought lots here, built a cottage and stables, and passed summers here with his family. His half- brother, Lawrence, spent nearly a year at the springs for the benefit of his health before going to England and later to Barbadoes. The property-right in the springs is in the state of Virginia, and is held for the benefit of the public. Sonday 20th finding y. River not much abated we in y. Evening Swam our horses over carried them to Charles Polks in Maryland for Pasturage till y. next Morning. Monday 21st We went over in a Canoe Travell'd up Maryland side all y. Day in a Continued Rain to Collo Cresaps[21] right against y. Mouth of y. South Branch[22] about 40 Miles from Polks I believe y. worst Road that ever was trod by Man or Beast. [21] Cresap, Col. Thomas, the founder of the family in America, was born in Skipton, Yorkshire, England, and at the age of about fifteen came to America. Some five years later he resided at Havre-de-Grace, Md., where he married a Miss Johnson. Removing thence to Wright's Ferry, opposite the town of Columbia, where he obtained a Maryland title to a 500 acre tract of land called Peach Bottom, and built himself a small stone house. The land, however, was on disputed territory, and claimants under the laws of Pennsylvania finally dispossessed him. His next move was to a locality in what is now Washington county, Md., where he located and settled upon a tract of 1,400 acres on the Antietam creek, called Long Meadows, and began trading with the Indians. After collecting a large lot of furs and skins he shipped them to England but was financially ruined
- 25. through the capture of the vessel by the French. Unable to repay money he had borrowed from Mr. Dulany, of Maryland, he gave up to him his land, and moved farther west, built a cabin a few miles above the junction of the north and south branches of the Potomac, on the Maryland side, at a place which became known as Old Town, but which he called Skipton, the name of his Yorkshire birthplace. This frontier spot became his permanent residence, where he eventually owned a large body of land on both sides of the Potomac. From his familiarity with the Indians and their habits and character, he was enabled to carry on with great advantage his trade with them and in time became the most important frontiersman of his day in Maryland. He took part with the Washingtons, Lee, Mason and others in the formation and early operations of The Ohio Company, and in all matters of dealing with the Indians and prospecting for wild lands was the Company's chief dependence. With the aid of Namacolin, a noted Indian hunter, he laid out the first road over the Alleghany mountains to the head-waters of the Ohio. Gen. Braddock's expedition, and later the National road, followed nearly the same route. The attention attracted to the Ohio region through this Company's explorations, made it increasingly important to both England and France to possess and control the lands beyond the Ohio. This vigilance precipitated the war that drove out the French and secured to England and America the vast dominion known as the Northwest. Col. Cresap's literary acquirements were small, but he had a vigorous mind, strong common sense, and was not deficient in practical self-education. He was one of the surveyors of Prince George's county which, at that period, embraced all the western part of Maryland. January 1, 1745, he surveyed for Gov. Thomas Bladen Walnut Bottom just below the mouth of Wills creek. He frequently represented his county in the Legislature and being noted for his clear understanding, sound judgment, firmness and courage, was esteemed one of the best legislators his county ever had. He was of medium stature, firmly set, of sound constitution, and lived to the uncommon age of 105 or 106. He was twice married, the second time at the age of 80; by his first wife he had five children; three sons, Daniel, Thomas and Michael, and two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth. Captain Michael Cresap was the person upon whom Thomas Jefferson fixed the stigma of the murder of the relatives of Logan. Jefferson having transmitted the pathetic speech of the Indian chief to the Abbe Raynal as an
- 26. evidence of the original power of oratory of the aboriginal American, it is claimed more in a spirit of literary conceit than of conviction; however he failed during his life to correct the injustice done Cresap, although he was repeatedly furnished with the evidence exculpating Cresap and fixing the barbarous act on one Great-house. At his home, Col. Cresap dispensed, for his time and means, a generous hospitality to all callers, in a region where, as yet, no public houses were to be found. He kept a big kettle ready suspended to place a fire under, near a spring for the use of the Indians who often passed his place, and for this reason they designated him the Big Spoon. Lord Baltimore employed him to run a survey of the western line of Maryland, and to ascertain which of the two branches of the Potomac was the largest. His autograph map of this survey is still preserved in the archives of the state of Maryland. [22] The South Branch of the Potomac, of which the Indian name was Wappotomaka, rises in Pendleton county, West Virginia, among the spurs of the Alleghany and North mountains, and meets the North Branch about 20 miles below Cumberland, Md. The latter branch has been accepted as the dividing line between Maryland and Virginia, although now known to be neither as long nor as large as the South Branch. A line drawn due north from the extreme head-waters of the South Branch would run ten miles to the west of a parallel line from the head springs of the North Branch, thus proving the loss by Maryland of this strip of territory, as well as the region between the two branches, had the South Branch been taken instead of the North Branch as the main river referred to in the Royal Charter, and made the line separating the contiguous colonies. The valley through which the South Branch flows is broad and its lands very fertile, causing them to be much sought after for farms by the hardy pioneers in the early days before the Revolution. It was then familiarly known as the upper tract of Virginia. Tuesday 22d Continued Rain and y. Freshes kept us at Cresaps. Wednesday 23d Rain'd till about two oClock Clear'd when we were agreeably surpris'd at y. sight of thirty odd Indians coming from War with only one Scalp[23] We had some Liquor with us of which we gave them Part it elevating there Spirits put them in y. Humour of Dauncing of whom we had a War Daunce[24] there
- 27. manner of Dauncing is as follows Viz They clear a Large Circle make a Great Fire in y. middle then seats themselves around it y. Speaker makes a grand Speech telling them in what Manner they are to Daunce after he has finish'd y. best Dauncer Jumps up as one awaked out of a Sleep Runs Jumps about y. Ring in a most comicle Manner he is followed by y. Rest then begins there Musicians to Play ye Musick is a Pot half of Water with a Deerskin Streched over it as tight as it can a goard with with some Shott in it to Rattle a Piece of an horses Tail tied to it to make it look fine y. one keeps Rattling and y. other Drumming all y. while y. others is Dauncing [23] Scalp—a term applied to the tissues covering the human head, and embracing all the hairy integuments and flattened muscles from the back of the skull to the brow above the eyes. Taking the scalp of an enemy, living or dead, has been held from remote times as a special sign of victory and token of triumph. The North American Indians, particularly during the early colonial wars, took the scalps of their enemies, preserving and exhibiting them with savage pride and occasionally wearing them as decorations and trophies. The assembly of Virginia, in 1755, established a reward of £10 for every scalp of a male Indian above the age of twelve (Hening's Statutes, vol. VI, p. 551). In 1757 this sum was raised to £15, and £30 more for every scalp taken within the next two years (Hening, VII, p. 122). Maryland and Pennsylvania also offered rewards for Indian scalps. [24] The war dance of the Indians probably had a significance to their minds not understood by civilized man, and was not to them the meaningless custom it seems to us. It has frequently been described and painted by eye-witnesses. In 1857 Virtue, Emmins Co. copyrighted a very effective engraving of a war dance in the forest, arranged from Washington's description of it in this journal. Fryday 25th 1748 Nothing Remarkable on thursday but only being with y. Indians all day so shall slip it this day left Cresaps went up to y. mouth of Patersons Creek[25] there swam our Horses over got over ourselves in a Canoe traveld up y. following Part of y. Day to Abram Johnstones 15 Miles from ye Mouth where we camped.
- 28. [25] Paterson Creek rises in Hampshire county, West Virginia, and empties into the Potomac about twelve miles below Cumberland, Md. On the old maps of Evans, Hutchins and Lewis, the name is given as Pattison. There are large tracts of good, arable land along the valley and bottoms adjacent to this stream. They began to attract settlements a little before the time Fort Cumberland was built. Fort Ashby was also erected to protect settlers along this stream. Saterday 26 Travelld up ye Creek to Solomon Hedges Esqr one of his Majestys Justices of ye Peace for ye County of Frederick where we camped when we came to Supper there was neither a Cloth upon ye Table nor a Knife to eat with but as good luck would have it we had Knives of own.[26] [26] Knife and fork at table.—Polished nations have usages which, at first view, appear natural or common to all mankind. This, however, is not the fact. That there was a period in the history of our race when the knife and fork were unknown to the furnishings of the table, cannot well be doubted; and there was even a time when the table itself was not deemed an essential. At the present day the idea of eating a meal at table without the accompaniment of a knife and fork would excite disgust; their absence, however, in a remote Virginia mountain cabin in 1747-8 as here recorded, simply shows that they had not been provided nor deemed essential to the life of a hunter, not an ignorance of their use, as the two-pronged, iron, table fork was in common use at that period throughout the settlements in all the American colonies. It is nevertheless true that the knife and fork now deemed so necessary at table, are a much more modern convenience than is generally supposed. The king of Hungary, Coevinus, toward the close of the fifteenth century, as related by Galeotus Martius, ate his meat with his fingers as did all the guests at table. In Italy, the fork was, to a limited extent, in use at this time among the nobility. In France, at the end of the sixteenth century, forks were comparatively new at court. The use of the table fork is referred to in Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour, and in Hawkins' Youths' Companion, the source of these rules printed about 1650. The knife is perhaps one of the most ancient of instruments, it was made of different metals and in a great variety of forms. The table knife was, however, contemporary with the fork. According to Chamberlin it was first made in England, in
- 29. 1563. The use of the fork at table spread to Europe from Venice, in Italy. In 1608 it was brought to England by Thomas Coryate who, while traveling, observed its use in Italy and continued it himself on his return to England. (See his work entitled Crudities.) It is rather disappointing that neither the Greeks nor Romans have even a name for the table fork. The flesh fork, called creagra, with a long handle, for cooks to take meat out of a boiling pot, was known and used by the Hebrews and the Greeks. But had the table fork been used by the latter or by the Romans, some specimens would have been found among those extensive ruins which have been so carefully explored by modern investigators. It is known that some articles have been found, the use of which conjecture assigns to the table, but they are not forks and the surmise is not generally credited. The Chinese, who claim to have led the rest of the world in most of the economic inventions, seem to have overlooked the table fork and do not even now use it in cutting or conveying food to the mouth but employ in its stead the chop sticks which, it must be said in their praise, they use with skill and dexterity. It should be stated that large bronze forks were used by the Egyptians in presenting offerings to the gods. It is unpleasant to represent the tables of our ancestors of a few centuries back as without forks, yet this certainly was the fact. The silver table fork, which also had its evolution from two to four prongs, was first manufactured in 1662 by Heylin. The small knife, formerly worn by gentlemen at their girdles, was used by them, not only as a weapon of defense, but also as an article of convenience in cutting their meat. However, the ancient custom of serving food at table was to have a servant cut meats and other food into small morsels before distributing it to guests. The wealthy employed a person whose special duty it was to carve the meats into proper and convenient pieces and his was the only knife in the dining hall. When the fork was first introduced into England, its employment was ridiculed as an effeminate practice, as may be seen in the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher, and others where the persons using it are referred to as your fork-carving-traveler. Sunday 27th Travell'd over to y. South Branch attended with y. Esqr to Henry Vanmetriss[27] in order to go about Intended Work of Lots[28]
- 30. [27] Henry Van Metre or Meter.—There was a numerous family of the Van Meters in Virginia and they were among the earliest settlers in the valley of the Shenandoah, on the South Branch and along the upper Potomac. Kercheval, in his History of the Valley of Virginia, says this family came from New York and New Jersey. It is evident that they were people of energy and thrift, judges of good land. At a period antedating the settlements in the valley, it is stated by this historian that a John Van Meter, a sort of wandering Indian trader, of New York, accompanied the Delaware Indians in a war party against the Catawbas; but the Catawbas anticipating the attack, surprised and defeated the Delawares in a battle fought near where the present court-house of Pendleton stands. John Van Meter escaped and returned to New York, but he was so impressed with the beauty and fertility of the lands on the South Branch bottom in Hardy county, that he advised his sons to secure lands and locate there. Of these sons, Isaac became a man of note and frequently represented Hardy county in the House of Delegates of Virginia. He was a member of the Virginia Convention of 1788 which ratified the Federal Constitution. In 1730, it is a matter of history that John and Isaac Van Metre, brothers, obtained from Gov. Gooch, of Virginia, a warrant for 40,000 acres of land to be located west of the mountains. This warrant, or a part of it, they sold to Joist Hite. A number of tracts on the original warrant were surveyed in the vicinity of Shepherdstown. The name of Van Meter is still frequently met with throughout West Virginia and has its monument in a stream forming the north-western boundary line of Jefferson county and emptying into the Potomac, and named on the maps of Virginia Van Meter's Marsh. A controversy as to the validity of the Van Metre patent was raised in 1738 by Lord Fairfax and taken into the courts for adjudication. Lord Fairfax contending that his grants covered the whole of the western end of the northern neck, while the holders claimed that the governor, under authority from the crown, had disposing power. This conflict as to title was a source of much litigation, and was not finally settled until after the Revolution, when all the parties to the original suits were dead. [28] Lots.—This term, as used by surveyors, indicates portions, tracts, divisions and subdivisions of land. Each survey, lot or division when plotted is usually indicated by some name or device, as a number, a letter, or a symbol. So that each can then be described and referred to in a deed or an advertisement, and
- 31. its location and boundaries be accurately and systematically defined and described in a book of land records. Monday 28th : Travell'd up y Branch about 30 Miles to Mr James Rutlidges[29] Horse Jockey about 70 Miles from ye Mouth [29] James Rutledge.—Kercheval, in his History of the Valley of Virginia, says that prominent among the earliest settlers on the South Branch, before the arrival of the Van Meters, were the Howards, Coburns, Walkers and Rutledges. Tuesday 29th This Morning went out Survey'd five Hundred Acres of Land went down to one Michael Stumps on ye So Fork of ye Branch on our way Shot two Wild Turkies[30] [30] The wild turkey.—This is the largest and finest of our game birds and, although native to North America, it bears a foreign name from the following circumstances. Specimens of the living bird, as well as its eggs, were sent by the early Jesuit missionaries to the old world on Spanish and Portuguese ships, entering Europe through Portugal. It was as yet unnamed, and was at first referred to by writers of that period merely as the Jesuit bird. As it became known, the demand for the stranger was supplied chiefly from Turkey where, for some reason, it thrived exceedingly well, and in time it came to be familiarly spoken of as the turkey. Gradually becoming tame, and proving to be quite prolific, it was recognized as a great addition to the luxuries of the table. Speedily becoming a favorite in every country to which it was taken, the great forests and game preserves throughout Europe were gradually stocked with it and it was also raised as a domestic fowl. To-day the American turkey, derived as stated, is found wild in all the great forests of the old world, while the domesticated bird is abundantly raised everywhere in Europe for the markets. In ancient times, we are told, the choicest game fowls brought to a feast were pheasants and peacocks. Emigrants to America brought over with them the domesticated bird to its native land, but under a borrowed name. Washington, in his journal, April 7, 1748, records the fact that one of his men that day had killed a wild turkey weighing 20 pounds. The domesticated bird, when permitted to attain the age of two or three years, and being well fed during the winter months, often reaches the weight of 30 pounds or more. As marking in a degree
- 32. the devastation of the late war and the enforced abandonment of plantations in the section of Virginia adjacent to the city of Washington, it is a fact worthy of record, that in 1876 the newspapers chronicled the news that the thickets and pine forests which were grown up since the armies left were tenanted by wild deer and turkeys; foxes, etc. And to this day, December 25, 1890, wild turkeys are brought to the Washington market killed in Fairfax county, Va., within ten miles of Washington city.— Gentlemen's Magazine. March 29th : 1748 Survey'd for Mr James Rutlidge ye following a piece of Land Beginning at 3 W. O. in ye Mannor Line[31] by a Path leading to y. Clay Lick[32] Extending thence No 44° Wt 164 po. to a White Oak by a Drain at ye foot of a Mountain thence No 46° Et 487 po. to 2 White Oaks near a Branch call'd Clay Lick Run thence So 44° Et 164 po. to 2 W: O: a Hickory in ye Mannor line Finally along ye Mannor line Reversed So 46° Wt 487 po to y. Beginning Henry Ashby } Chainmen Richard Taylor } Wm Duncan Marker [31] Manor line.—In colonial times there were a number of manors, or great landed estates, granted under the then existing laws of England, to persons of note and quality in Virginia and in some of the other provinces. Holders of such estates enjoyed special rights and privileges. Manors were formerly called baronies and entitled the rightful possessor to lordships, and such lord or baron was empowered to hold domestic courts for redressing misdemeanors, nuisances and settling disputes among tenants. Among the manors of limited privileges in Virginia may be enumerated the manor of Greenway Court, with a domain of 10,000 acres. The great manor of Leeds, which has figured so extensively in the courts of Virginia, contained 150,000 acres within the counties of Culpeper, Fauquier and Frederick. The South Branch manor, in Hardy county, embraced 55,000 acres; Paterson Creek manor, in Hampshire county, 9,000 acres; and Goony Run manor, adjoining that of Leeds and lying chiefly in Shenandoah county, 13,000 acres. Beverley's manor, for the most part in Augusta county, consisted of 118,411 acres, and
- 33. Fairfax manor, in Hampshire, of 10,000 acres. There were still other manors in different parts of the state. In New York under the Dutch government the baron or proprietor of the manor lands was called the patroon. [32] Clay lick.—Names of places or streams with the word lick either prefixed or affixed to them, such as Salt lick, Blue lick, Grass lick, Licking creek, etc., were usually given in consequence of the presence of some saline matter in the springs, streams or soil which attracted the wild animals and caused them to lick for the salt. Hunters in new settlements often built what they called blinds near these licks in which to conceal themselves, and waited there for the game to come, as they were pretty sure to do, almost daily, and at times in considerable numbers, when they could be readily killed. Wednesday 30th This Morning began our Intended Business of Laying of Lots we began at ye Boundary Line of ye Northern 10 Miles above Stumps run of two Lots returnd to Stumps The Courses Distances of ye Several Lots lay'd of on ye So Fork of Wappacomo[33] Began March 30th . 1748 [33] Wappacomo, also spelled Wappatomaka, was the Indian name for the South Branch of the Potomac. This stream courses through a fine valley from its head-springs in Pendleton county, and has many considerable branches rising among the spurs of the Alleghany mountains on the one side and the North or Cacapehon (Capon) mountain on the other, the latter separating it from the valley of Virginia on the east. The great or most noted fork of the South Branch is at Morefield in Hardy county. Washington surveyed much of the land in that section. The young farmers seeking good lands had come in taken up considerable tracts and built improvements before surveys were made or any effort to prove rights from either Lord Fairfax or the governor of Virginia. Lot ye 1st Peter Reeds Begins at a Box Oak Hickory F in y. Boundary line about 20 po. above a Large Spring on ye West side ye Fork in a Hollow of ye Mountains and extending thence No 65° Et 320 Po. to a White O: and Hickory on ye Mountain side thence So 60° Et
- 34. 300 Po: Crossing ye Fork at 106 P: to 2 Spanish Oaks and W: O on ye Top of a Hill thence So 65 Wt 96 to a White Oak on ye Top of a Hill thence So 45 Wt 114 po. to a W: O on a Run thence So 13 Wt 148 to a Pine thence S 45° Wt 28 po. to 2 R == O: bushes in ye Boundary line thence along y. same to ye Beginning Lot the 2d Begins at a W: O Hickory on a Mountain side Corner to Lot ye 1st extending ye Line So 60° Et 300 po. to 2 Spanish Oaks and W: O on a Hill thence No 30′ Et 214 po to 2 W: O near a Branch thence No 60° Wt 244 po to y. So Fork 300 po. to a Ledge of Rocks on a Mountain side thence So 30 Wt 214 to ye Beginning. Thursday 31st Early this Morning one of our Men went out with ye Gun soon Returnd with two Wild Turkies we then went to our Business run of three Lots returnd to our Camping place at Stumps March 31st Lot the 3d Begins at Ledge of Rocks corner to Lot 2d extendth thence along ye sd line So 60 Et 300 po to 2 W: O near a Branch thence No 30 Et 214 po to a Pine on a Hillside near a Run thence No 60° Wt 78 to y. Bottom Ground 202 po. to ye River and 244 po. to a Pine by a Rock on y. Mountain side thence to ye Beginning S. 30 Wt 224 P. Lot 4th this Lot survey'd myself Beginning at a Pine by a Rock on a mountain side Corner to Lot 3d Running the sd line So 60° 244 Poles to a Pine on a Hill side near a Run thence No 30° Et 262 Po to 2 Chesnut Oaks and a Pine thence No 60° Wt 98 Pole to ye Low Grounds 164 to ye Fork and 244 P. to a R: O on a Rock thence So 30 Wt 262 Po to y. Beginning Lot 5th Begins at a Red O on a Rock Corner to Lot 4th extendeth thence So 60 Et 244 Poles to 2 Chesnut Oaks a Pine thence No 30 Et 262 Po. to a W: O by a Run thence No 60 Wt 154 po to an ash 108
- 35. po to ye Fork thence No 86 Wt 38 xing ye Fork 78 xing it again and 100 Po: to a R: O on ye mountain Side thence S 30 Wt 262 Po to ye Begg [April 1st ] Lot ye 6th Anthony Regar Begins at a Red Oak on a Mountain side Corner to Lot ye 5th and extending thence along ye sd Line So 86 Et 100 po. to an Ash thence with another of ye sd lines So 60 Et 154 po: to a white Oak by a Run thence No 30 Et 256 po to 3 pines on a Hill side thence No 60 Wt 200 po: to ye Low Grounds 320 po to a Poplar standing in ye Fork thence to ye Begg Lot ye 7th Harmon Shoker Elias Cellars Begins at a Poplar standing on ye So Fork Corner to Lot ye 6th Running along ye Line So 60 Et 244 po to a Pine on a Hill side thence N 30 Et 262 po by 2 Marked Pines thence No 60 Wt 46 po to ye Low G: 140 to ye Fork and 244 po to a Stone on ye side of a Mountain thence to ye Beging S 30 Wt Lot ye 8th Vacant[34] Beginning at a Rock corner to lot 7 Running along ye Line thereof So 60 Et 244 po by 2 Pines thence No 35 Et 266 po. to 3 Chesnut Oaks on a Steep Hill side thence No 55 Et 54 po. to ye Low Grounds 80 po. to ye Fork 190 po to ye farr Edge of ye Low G: 244 po. to a Chesnut Oak on ye Mountain side thence to ye Begining [34] Vacant—this term, as used by surveyors, indicates that the tract of land so designated is neither claimed by an actual occupant or occupied by virtue of any official record. Many of the settlers on the lands of Lord Fairfax selected their farms and made improvements without any legal survey, warrant or title, other than a tomahawk blaze for a boundary mark, trusting that the actual owner of the land would recognize the improvement and occupant's claim and deal justly by them. These tomahawk claims were respected by the actual settlers, had a market value among land speculators and were admitted, to a certain extent, as evidence of rights in the courts.
- 36. Fryday April ye 1st 1748 This Morning Shot twice at Wild Turkies but killd none run of three Lots returned to Camp Saterday April 2d Last Night was a blowing Rainy night Our Straw catch'd a Fire yt we were laying upon was luckily Preserv'd by one of our Mens awaking when it was in a we run of four Lots this Day which Reached below Stumps April 2d Lot ye 9th Begining at Chesnut Oak on ye Mountain side corner to Lot 8th Running along ye Line thereof So 55 Et 244 po to 3 Chesnut Oaks on a Steep Side thence No 35 Et 262 po to 2 Chesnut Oaks a White Oak thence No 65 Et 80 to ye Low G: 126 po to ye Fork 244 po to a Hickory at ye Foot of the Mountain thence to ye Beginning So 35 Wt 262 po this Lot is very Good Lot 10th Michael Calb Liveron Begining at a Hickory Corner to Lot ye 9th Runing along ye Line So 55 Et 244 Pole to 2 Chesnut Oaks thence No 35 Et 262 po to 2 pines a spanish Oak on ye Top of a Hill thence No 55 Wt 84 po to ye Low G: 230, po to ye Fork 270 po to a Red O: on ye Mountain Side thence to ye Beginning Lot ye 11th Leonard Nave Beginning at a Red O: on ye Mountain side Corner to Lot ye 10th Running along ye Line S 55 Et 270 Po to 2 Pines on ye Top of a Hill thence No 35 Et 262 po. to a Pine on a Hill side thence No 55 E 180 po to ye Bottom 248 po to ye Fork 274 to an Ash at ye Foot of ye Mountain thence to ye Beg. Lot 12th Michael Stumps Begins at an Ash at ye Foot of ye Mountain Corner to Lot 11 Running along ye Line So 55 Et 274 Po: to a Pine thence No 25 Et 320 po to 2 Pines thence No 65 Wt 188 po to ye Low G: 280 po to 2 Sycamores a White Wood tree Standing on ye Fork thence up and Crossing ye Fork to ye Begg
- 37. Sunday 3d Last Night was a much more blostering night than ye former we had our Tent Carried Quite of with ye Wind and was obliged to Lie ye Latter part of ye night without covering there came several Persons to see us this day one of our Men Shot a Wild Turkie Monday 4th this morning Mr Fairfax left us with Intent to go down to ye Mouth of ye Branch we did two Lots was attended by a great Company of People Men Women Children that attended us through ye Woods as we went showing there Antick tricks I really think they seem to be as Ignorant a Set of People as the Indians they would never speak English but when spoken to they speak all Dutch[35] this day our Tent was blown down by ye Violentness of ye Wind [35] Dutch.—As early as 1730 there was a considerable settlement in the Shenandoah valley, of German immigrants and their descendants, who had first settled in Pennsylvania and then removed to, and taken up lands in, the valley of Virginia. They selected, chiefly, the good limestone lands with their centers of population near the head-waters of the Opequon creek, in Shenandoah, and the south-western part of Frederick county. They were all Protestants in religion. The town of Woodstock was originally and exclusively settled by Germans. The bill for its incorporation was reported to the House of Burgesses of Va., by Col. George Washington in 1761. For many years the German language was exclusively spoken in their settlement, and German customs and religious observances were retained with tenacity, their remoteness and seclusion securing to them almost perfect freedom from innovations. The Revolution found them patriotic supporters of the colony as against the pretensions of Great Britain. It was in the town of Woodstock, Shenandoah county, that Maj.-Gen. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, minister of the Lutheran church, dressed in his uniform and with his sword buckled on, preached a farewell sermon in 1776, to a sympathizing and patriotic congregation, and the next day marched as colonel at the head of his German regiment, known subsequently as the 8th Virginia, to join the Continental army. Such names of places as Strasburg, Hamburg, Mecklenburg, the latter now known as Shepherdstown, etc., perpetuate the fact
- 38. that many of the earliest settlers in that section were German.— See Kercheval, p. 158. April 4d Lot ye 13 Vacant Begins at 2 Sycamores and a White Wood Tree standing on ye fork Corner to Lot 12th Running along ye Line So 65 Et 280 po. to 2 pines thence No 25 Et 228 Po. to a Spanish Oak thence No 65 Wt 206 to ye Low G: 248 po to ye Fork 280 to a Rock Stone on ye Mountain Side thence to the Beginning S 25 Wt 228 poles Lot 14th James Simson's Begins at a Rock Stone on ye Mountain Side Corner to Lot ye 13th Runs thence So 65 Et 280 pole to a Spanish Oak thence No 25 Et 228 pole to a Large Hickory in a Vally thence No 65 Wt 108 to ye Low G: 180 pole to ye Fork 280 pole to 3 Red Oaks on ye Mountain side near a Spring Branch thence to ye Beginning S 25 Wt 228 pole this Lot I survay'd. The Courses of ye Fork from Lot 14th Down to ye Mannor Line Beginning at 2 Red Bud Trees[36] a Black Walnut on ye West side ye Fork Running Down ye Several Courses of ye Fork No 9 Et 19 po No 34 Wt 12 po No 15 Et 22 po No 39 Et 24 po No 12 Et 23 po No 17 Wt 66 po N 6 Et 42 po opposite to Henry Harris's house No 26 Wt 20 po West 32 op Phillip Moors house bears No 86 Wt No 23 Wt 48 po to a Blazed Tree[37] from here Phillip Moors house bears So 54 Wt No 6 Wt 33 po No 28 Et 26 po No 73 Et 28 po No 7 Wt 85 po to a blazed tree No 45 Wt 24 po. ye Widow Wolfs[38] house bears So 52 Wt about 60 po. No 65 Wt 27 po So 84 Wt 18 po. S 50 Wt 14 po S. 19 W 20 po No 67 Wt 22 po. No 28 Wt 23 po. So 78 Wt 29 po No 71 Wt 25 po. No 39 Wt 19 po No 3 Wt 24 po. xx No 60 Wt 20 po No 39 Wt 20 po No 8 Et 46 po to an Ash black Walnut White Walnut in ye Mannor Line on ye sd fork thence So 36 Wt along ye Mannor Line 320 poles to 2 W: O a R: O.
- 39. [36] The Red Bud or Judas tree.—A common tree that grows wild in the United States. In botany it is known as the Cercis Canadensis, and often grows to the height of 30 feet or more. It flowers in April, clothing its limbs in a reddish-purple bloom for a week or ten days before its leaves appear, and from this circumstance it is popularly called red bud. [37] Blazed trees.—These are surveyors' marks made on trees to proclaim and identify certain routes or lines. The blaze is made by removing with an axe a strip of the outer bark of a tree or sapling, for about a foot in length and well into the inner bark. In the future growth of the tree a lighter color marks the cicatrix which rarely ever wholly disappears. Surveyors, to distinguish corner trees in a survey, not only blaze the sides of the tree in the direction their lines run but cut three small notches through the bark which will remain distinct during the life of the tree. [38] Widow Wolf.—There was a Fort Wolf on Stony creek a few miles south-west of Woodstock, erected by the Germans at an early period in the settlement of the valley; there is also a marsh or creek named Wolf's marsh, which empties into the Shenandoah about twelve miles above Ashby's Ferry. Possibly these were so called from the name of this widow's husband. Tuesday 5th We went out did 4 Lots we were attended by ye same Company of People yt we had ye day before April ye 5th 1748 Lot ye 15th Phillip Moore Beginning at Lot ye 14th on ye Fork Running down ye Meanders to ye first Blazed Tree a Black Oak on ye Fork thence So 69 Wt 80 to ye Edge of ye Low G: 226 po to a Spanish Oak thence So 41 Et 296 po. to a White Oak on a Mountain side thence No 40 Et 38 po to 3 Red Oaks on a Mountain side near a Spring Branch this Lot very good Lot ye 16th and 17th Widow Wolfs and Henry Sheplars a Black Smith by trade Begins at a Black Walnut on ye Fork Runs So 17 W 76 po to a Red Oak Hickory 90 po Crossing ye Road about 20 po: above ye house 226 po to 2 W: O thence No 41 Wt 96 po to 2 White
- 40. Oaks in ye Mannor line to ye River the line of ye 16th Lot from ye 2 W: O S 41 Et Lot 18th Jeremiah Osborne's Begins at a Sycamore on ye Fork extending No 80 Et 215 po. to a Chesnut Oak thence South 280 po to a W: O near a Hickory Corner to Lot ye 14th thence along the line thereof to ye Fork thence down ye Several Meanders of ye Fork to ye Beginning Wednesday 6th Last Night was so Intolerably smoky that we were obliged all hands to leave ye Tent to ye Mercy of ye Wind and Fire this day was attended by our afored Company untill about 12 oClock when we finish'd we travell'd down ye Branch to Henry Vanmetris's on our Journey was catch'd in a very heavy Rain we got under a Straw House untill ye Worst of it was over then continued our Journey April 6th Lot 19 Begg: at a Spanish Oak corner to Lot 18th Runing thence No 23 Wt 350 po to 3 W: O thence So 36 Wt 164 po 94 to ye Low G: to 2 Locust Trees on ye Fork Lot ye 20th Begg at 2 Locusts on ye Fork Corner to Lot 19th Runing along ye Line No 36 Et 164 po to 3 W: O thence No 23 Wt 250 po 3 Red Oaks in ye Manner line thence Down ye Manner line Thursday 7th Rain'd Successively all Last night this Morning one of our men Killed a Wild Turkie that weight 20 Pounds we went Survey'd 15 Hundred Acres of Land Return'd to Vanmetris's about 1 o'Clock about two I heard that Mr Fairfax was come up at 1 Peter Casseys about 2 Miles of in ye same Old Field[39] I then took my Horse went up to see him we eat our Dinners walked down to Vanmetris's we stayed about two Hours Walked back again and slept in Casseys House which was ye first Night I had slept in a House since I came to ye Branch
- 41. [39] Old Fields and Wild Meadow.—There were many small, timberless tracts of land on the mountains and in the great valleys of Virginia and Pennsylvania, in regions which were generally, prior to the occupation and the clearing up of the country by the white man, densely covered with trees. Large tracts of such timberless land existed in the region now embraced within the counties of Berkeley, Jefferson and Frederick. Strange as it may appear some of this kind of land within the history of the settlement of the valley became covered with young forest timber. In some respects these openings resembled the treeless prairies of the west. No satisfactory explanation of this frequently observed condition has ever been given. Many of these meadows were the favorite pasturing grounds of the large game and were, therefore, of special interest to the hunter. Clearfield county, Pa., it is believed, got its name from the fact that there were within its territory extensive natural clear fields and meadows. Fryday 8th we breakfasted at Casseys Rode down to Vanmetris's to get all our Company together which when we had accomplished we Rode down below ye Trough in order to Lay of Lots there we laid of one this day The Trough is couple of Ledges of Mountain Impassable running side side together for above 7 or 8 Miles ye River down between them you must Ride Round ye back of ye Mountain for to get below them we Camped this Night in ye Woods near a Wild Meadow where was a Large Stack of Hay after we had Pitched our Tent made a very Large Fire we pull'd out our Knapsack in order to Recruit ourselves every was his own Cook our Spits was Forked Sticks our Plates was a Large Chip as for Dishes we had none Saterday 9th Set ye Surveyor[40] to work whilst Mr Fairfax myself stayed at ye Tent our Provision being all exhausted ye Person that was to bring us a Recruit disappointing us we were oblige to go without untill we could get some from ye Neighbours which was not till about 4 or 5 oClock in ye Evening we then took our Leaves of ye Rest of our Company Road Down to John Colins in order to set off next Day homewards
- 42. [40] From the expression, set the surveyor to work, as well as the language used in the record on the 12th of March, that Mr. James Genn the surveyor came to us and traveled over the Blue Ridge, etc., with other expressions at a later date of similar import in the journal and in other documents, it is rendered almost certain that George Washington was, from the first, employed by Lord Fairfax, not as a surveyor, merely, but rather in the capacity of a skilled director of other surveyors, and as the confidential adviser in the division and sale of his lordship's lands. Sunday 10th We took our farewell of ye Branch travell'd over Hills and Mountains to 1 Coddys on Great Cacapehon about 40 Miles Monday 11th We travell'd from Coddys down to Frederick Town where we Reached about 12 oClock we dined in Town and then went to Capt Hites Lodged Tuesday 12th We set of from Capt. Hites in order to go over Wms Gap[41] about 20 Miles and after Riding about 20 Miles we had 20 to go for we had lost ourselves got up as High as Ashbys Bent[42] we did get over Wms Gap that Night and as low as Wm Wests in Fairfax[43] County 18 Miles from ye Top of ye Ridge This day see a Rattled Snake ye first we had seen in all our Journey [41] Williams' Gap, in the Blue Ridge, is on a line nearly due east from Winchester. It derived its name from a Mr. Williams, who kept a ferry over the Shenandoah river on one of the roads from Winchester into Loudoun and Fairfax counties. This name still attaches to the gap and appears on the early maps of Virginia. It is a notable fact that all or most of the important gaps through mountain passes in the United States were well worn buffalo paths and Indian trails when first visited by white men. [42] Ashby's Bent is supposed to have reference to the great bend and extensive bottom lands of the Shenandoah, just above which was located Captain Ashby's ferry across that river. Washington uses this term in 1770 to describe a large tract of bottom land on the Ohio which he acquired. [43] Fairfax county, in which Mount Vernon is located, was created out of Prince William county by the Assembly of Virginia in 1742.
- 43. Wednesday ye 13th of April 1748 Mr Fairfax got safe home and I myself safe to my Brothers[44] which concludes my Journal[45] [44] Major Lawrence Washington, proprietor of Mount Vernon, was the second child and oldest surviving son of Augustine and his first wife Jane (Butler) Washington, born at Pope's Creek, Westmoreland county, Va., in 1718, and died at his residence, Mount Vernon, 26th July, 1752. He was the half-brother of the illustrious George Washington and great-grandson of the emigrant, Col. John Washington, who came to Virginia about 1657. It is a matter of tradition that Lawrence was at about the age of 15 sent to England to be educated, and leaving college he received a captain's commission to serve in a regiment raised in Virginia to take part in the expedition against Carthegenia, 1740- 42, under the command of Admiral Vernon. The expedition failed of its purpose, and Major Lawrence Washington returned to Virginia in the fall of 1742. He shortly
- 44. after became engaged to Anne Fairfax, which induced him to resign from the army. His father died April 12, 1743, leaving a considerable estate and named him, his oldest son, one of his executors. He inherited from his father the Hunting creek plantation, consisting of 2,500 acres, on the Potomac but a few miles from and in sight of Belvoir. On the 19th of July Lawrence Washington was united in marriage to Anne, eldest daughter of the Hon. William Fairfax of Belvoir. He made many improvements on his plantation and gave it the name of Mount Vernon, in compliment to his old commander, Admiral Vernon. Lawrence Washington had received a good education, had mixed with prominent personages, had seen much of the world, and was a man of good habits and business qualifications. His father at the time of his death, was largely engaged in business which Lawrence was obliged to look after and close up. This gradually led him into various business enterprises; such as the manufacturing of iron, buying and selling land, etc. He and his brother Augustin were among the organizers of The Ohio Company, to explore the western country, encourage settlements, and conduct a trade with the Indians. He was elected to the House of Burgesses of Virginia from Fairfax county in 1748. It was largely through his influence that a charter was granted to the towns of Alexandria and Colchester, both in Fairfax county. He together with Lord Fairfax, George Mason, Hon. William Fairfax, William Ramsay, John Carlyle and others was named as trustee to lay out and govern the town. He was a popular legislator, but declined to serve longer in the Assembly, as it interfered with his present business. He was greatly attached to his brother George, and made it a point to have him with him at Mount Vernon whenever it was practicable without interrupting his studies. Lawrence was always of a delicate constitution, but by his prudent habits and systematic attention to business he accomplished a great deal and enhanced the value of his possessions. He was tall in stature and a man of fine personal appearance, as is shown by an oil painting of him which still hangs upon the wall of the Virginia room in Mount Vernon mansion. He was rapidly becoming one of the leading business men of Virginia, when his health broke down. As a last resort his physicians recommended that he should spend a winter in the West Indies. In the fall of 1751, he resigned his commission as one of the adjutant-generals of Virginia, and taking his brother George with him, he went to the Island of Barbadoes. His
- 45. pulmonary trouble had progressed too far to be arrested, and after spending some five months on the Island, and finding himself declining he returned home and died in July, 1752. His marriage had been blessed by four children, three of whom had died, his surviving child, Sarah, was still an infant at the time of her father's death. After providing in his will for his wife he left Mount Vernon to his daughter, but in the event of her death without heirs it was to go to his beloved brother George, who was also named as one of his executors. This daughter Sarah died within a year, and George inherited Mount Vernon before he was 21 years of age. A few years after Lawrence Washington's death, his widow married George Lee, brother to the father of Arthur and Richard Henry Lee, patriots in the Revolution. [45] The note book which contains this journal of Washington's includes also other memoranda, such as notes of surveys, drafts of juvenile letters, verses, etc., all of which are of interest for the glimpses they give of the character and early life of their author, and are copied with literal exactness and given with the journal and surveys. The Mannor how to Draw up a Return when Survey'd for His Lordship or any of ye Family March ye 15th 1747-8 Then Survey'd for George Fairfax Esqr. Three Thousand twenty Three Acres of Land lying in Frederick County[46] on Long Marsh Joyning Thomas Johnstones Land and bounded as follows [46] Frederick county, Virginia, was formed by Act of Assembly in 1738, out of Orange county at the same time that Augusta county was created. The boundaries of Frederick county were measurably well defined; to Augusta, however, was left all the western territory belonging to Virginia, much of it at that time an unexplored wilderness. This immense area has since been divided and now forms four great and independent states of the Union, namely, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. Frederick county, by a return of the effective militia made to the governor of Virginia in 1777, had but 923 men. The total population of the town of Winchester at that time was 800 and a fraction.—Kercheval.
- 46. Beginning at (A) Three Hickorys Corner Trees to Thomas Johnstones Land Extending thence along his S 13 Wt One Hundred Seventy two Poles to (B) a Locust Johnstones Corner thence along another of his Lines S 34 Et 150 po. to (C) a White Oak another of his Corners thence So 75 Et 186 po to (D) a large Hickory thence No 58 Et 160 po xing a Spring Run to (E) three Red Oak Fx on a Ridge thence No 30 Et 436 po to a Hickory an Red Oak Fx at (F) thence No 60 Wt 90 po to (G) a Large White Oak Fx thence No 7 Et 420 po xing Long Marsh to (H) two Red Oaks and a W: O: Fx in a Bottom in ye aforesd Thomas Johnstones line finally along his line So 80 Et one Hundred fourteen Poles to ye Beginning Containing Three Thousand twenty three Acres. pr James Genn Henry Ashby } Chain men Richard Taylor } Robert Ashby Marker. Wm. Lindsey Pilot. N. B. The Distances in ye above Writing ought to be Written in Letters not in figures only I have done it now for Brevity sake[47] [47] At this place in the journal three leaves, six pages, have been torn out. The edges left show that they had been written upon by Washington. The next record of a survey in the hand-writing of Washington is signed by him with the name of James Genn, as is also the incomplete plot of a survey here reproduced from the original by tracing; whether it is a study from field notes by James Genn or an actual survey by Washington himself does not appear. The paper upon which it is drawn and the style of the hand- writing, place it as of a date current with the added records of 1747-8. The Courses Distances of the Following Plat is as follows viz beginning at A and running thence No 30 Et 436 poles thence N 60 Wt 90 pole thence No 7 Et 365 pole to Long Marsh 420 to the end of the Course thence N 65 Wt 134 pole thence So 20 Wt 126 poles
- 47. crossing Long Marsh to a Branch thereof commonly calld Cates Marsh 218 pole to the end of the Course thence N 80 Wt 558 pole thence S 25 Wt 144 pole thence S 33½ Et 96 pole S 20 Et 316 pole thence S 80 Et 114 pole thence East 280 pole thence S 15 Et 262 to the Beginning Survey'd by James Genn The Courses of the Town of Alexandria[48] [48] Alexandria, Virginia.—This seems to be a brief record of the course and distances of a survey by Washington of the shore-line of the town of Alexandria before the river bank was improved or altered by the building of wharves and the grading of streets. It is probable that these lines were run in the winter when the river was closed with ice.
- 48. Surveying or Measuring of Land The Meanders of the River
- 49. S 84½ Et 3 Chain S 52 Et 4 C 17 L S 24 E 5 C 9 L to the Point at a sml Hickory stump above the Landing Place S 70 E 1 C 25 L S 45 E 3 C 18 L Dear Sir I should receive a Letter or Letters from you by the first and all oppertunetys with the greatest sense or mark of your esteem and affection whereas its the greatest Pleasure I can yet forsee of having in fairfax to hear from my Intimate friends and acquaintances I hope you in Particular will not Bauk me of what I so ardently Wish for[49] [49] This appears to have been a study for a letter to some youthful companion. Even to the close of his life it was the habit of Washington, in writing important letters and papers, to make rough drafts of them as a study. However, in copying them off, he frequently changed expressions and amplified their contents as his judgment approved. The original drafts of many of his letters are preserved in the Department of State at Washington and illustrate this fact. Hence the transcripts in his letter-book are not always true copies of either his drafts or his original autograph letters. These drafts were kept by him as memoranda, rather than as exact copies. It is also probable that there are many drafts preserved of letters which were never actually sent. In some cases he endorses this fact upon drafts of letters. Dear Friend John [50] As its the greatest mark of friendship and esteem you can shew to an absent Friend In often Writing to him so hope you'l not deny me that Favour as its so ardently wish'd and desired by me its the greatest pleasure I can yet forsee of having in fairfax to hear from my friends Particularly yourself was my affections disengaged I might perhaps form some pleasures in the conversasion of an agreeable Young Lady as theres one now Lives in the same house
- 50. with me but as that is only nourishment to my former affecn for by often seeing her brings the other into my remembrance whereas perhaps was she not often (unavoidably) presenting herself to my view I might in some measure eliviate my sorrows by burying the other in the grave of Oblivion I am well convinced my heart stands in defiance of all others but only she thats given it cause enough to dread a second assault and from a different Quarter tho I well know let it have as many attacks as it will from others they cant be more fierce than it has been I could wish to know whether you have taken your intended trip downwards or not if you with what Success as also to know how my friend Lawrence drives on in his art of courtship as I fancy you may both nearlly guess how it will respectively go with each of you [50] Dear Sir, Dear Friend John, and Dear Friend Robin.—These all seem to be studies or drafts of letters, which may have been impersonal or possibly to his youthful school-fellows and companions in Westmoreland and Stafford counties. It would be idle to speculate as to whom they were intended, in the absence of more definite information. They are in no wise remarkable, except as evidences of Washington's life-long habit of making memoranda, drafts and studies of his letters. Dear Friend Robin As its the greatest mark of friendship and esteem absent Friends can shew each other in Writing and often communicating their thoughts to his fellow companions makes me endeavour to signalize myself in acquainting you from time to time and at all times my situation and employments of Life and could Wish you would take half the Pains of contriving me a Letter by any oppertunity as you may be well assured of its meeting with a very welcome reception my Place of Residence is at present at His Lordships where I might was my heart disengag'd pass my time very pleasantly as theres a very agreeable Young Lady Lives in the same house (Colo George Fairfax's Wife's Sister[51]) but as thats only adding Fuel to fire it makes me the more uneasy for by often and unavoidably being in Company with her revives my former Passion for your Low Land
- 51. Beauty[52] whereas was I to live more retired from yound Women I might in some measure eliviate my sorrows by burying that chast and troublesome Passion in the grave of oblivion or etarnall forgetfulness for as I am very well assured thats the only antidote or remedy that I ever shall be releivd by or only recess that can administer any cure or help to me as I am well convinced was I ever to attempt any thing I should only get a denial which would be only adding grief to uneasiness [51] The young lady indicated was Miss Mary Cary, the daughter of Colonel Wilson Cary, of Ceeleys Hampton, Elisabeth City county, Va. For 34 years Mr. Cary was collector of customs for the lower James river district, and a man of large wealth and aristocratic notions. He had four daughters: Sarah, who married George W. Fairfax, of Belvoir; Mary, who married in 1754, Edward Ambler of Jamestown; Anna, who married Robert Carter Nicholas; and Elizabeth, who married Rev. Bryan, 8th Lord Fairfax. Col. Cary had also one son Wilson Miles Cary, who was a member of the Convention of Virginia in 1776. Some writers have confounded him with his father. Bishop Meade in his Old Churches and Families of Virginia, accepts traditions which other writers claim are authenticated by documents, preserved by the Ambler family, and accordingly his account credits the story that Washington, in his youth, was an ardent admirer of Miss Mary Cary, and solicited leave of Col. Cary to address his daughter, but was refused. (See Meade, vol. i, 108.) This draft of the letter addressed to Dear Friend Robin, was probably made in the spring of 1748, when Washington was in his seventeenth year. In it, he playfully avows an admiration for the lowland beauty and, at the same time, admits the agreeableness of the young lady in the house with him at Belvoir. Mr. Edward Ambler, educated at Cambridge, England, was collector for York river and a burgess for Jamestown. He died in 1768 in his thirty-fifth year and was buried at Jamestown; his widow survived him until 1781. Mrs. Ambler with her children and her sister, Mrs. Fairfax, were occasionally guests at Mount Vernon, as Washington's diaries show. I am inclined to believe that while it is true that Washington entertained a high regard for the Cary family and particularly the ladies, there is nothing but the lightest gossip to create an inference that there ever was even an incipient affair of the heart between either of the Misses Cary and Washington.
- 52. [52] Lowland beauty.—Who this object of Washington's early admiration was, if she had a veritable existence, is not positively known. Irving, followed by Everett and others, accepts the tradition, or rather surmises, that this sobriquet referred to Miss Lucy Grymes of Westmoreland county, who in 1753 married Henry Lee, Esq. Their son was the gallant General Henry Lee, Lighthorse Harry, of the Revolution. Some recent writers, affect to believe that this draft of a letter is conclusive that there was a real love affair but that Betsy Fauntleroy, of Fredericksburg, Va., was the person referred to, and have published a letter purporting to have been addressed by Washington to William Fauntleroy, Sr., Esq., in Richmond, enclosing one to Miss Betsy, who, it is made to appear, had also refused Washington's addresses. Letters and traditions of this character should be received with caution, for while vague reports and surmises of an affair of the heart may be dilated upon in a bantering way among friends of the parties where there is little or no foundation for the allegation, yet they should be subjected to scrutiny and some positive evidence adduced before they are accepted as historical facts. Dear Sally This comes to Fredericksburg fair in hopes of meeting with a speedy Passage to you if your not there which hope you'l get shortly altho I am almost discouraged from writing to you as this is my fouth to you since I receiv'd any from yourself I hope you'l not make the Old Proverb good out of sight out of Mind as its one of the greatest Pleasures I can yet foresee of having in Fairfax in often hearing from you hope you'l not deny it me I Pass the time of much more agreeabler than what I imagined I should as there's a very agreeable Young Lady lives in the same house where I reside (Colo George Fairfax's Wife Sister) that in a great Measure cheats my sorrow and dejectedness tho not so as to draw my thoughts altogether from your Parts I could wish to be with you down there with all my heart but as it is a thing almost Impractakable shall rest myself where I am with hopes of shortly having some Minutes of your transactions in your Parts which will be very welcomely receiv'd by Your
- 53. Dear Sir—It would be the greatest Satisfaction Memorandom[53] to have my Coat made by the following Directions to be made a Frock with a Lapel Breast the Lapel to Contain on each side six Button Holes and to be about 5 or 6 Inches wide all the way equal and to turn as the Breast on the Coat does to have it made very Long Waisted and in Length to come down to or below the bent of the knee the Waist from the armpit to the Fold to be exactly as long or Longer than from thence to the Bottom not to have more than one fold in the Skirt and the top to be made just to turn in and three Button Holes the Lapel at the top to turn as the Cape of the Coat and Bottom to Come Parrallel with the Button Holes the Last Button hole in the Breast to be right opposit to the Button on the Hip[54] [53] The minuteness of detail is very characteristic of the writer. While Washington was observant of the proprieties of life and of good taste in dress, there was not the least leaning to foppishness. But it was a principle with him to have whatever he bought, consonant with good taste and of the best quality. [54] At this point in the book there are 18 blank pages. Dear Richard The Receipt of your kind favour of the 2d of this Instant afforded me unspeakable pleasure as I am convinced I am still in the Memory of so Worthy a friend a friendship I shall ever be proud of Increasing you gave me the more pleasure as I receiv'd it amongst a parcel of Barbarians and an uncooth set of People the like favour often repeated would give me Pleasure altho I seem to be in a Place where no real satis: is to be had since you receid my Letter in October Last I have not sleep'd above three Nights or four in a bed but after Walking a good deal all the Day lay down before the fire upon a Little Hay Straw Fodder or bearskin whichever is to be had with Man Wife and Children like a Parcel of Dogs or Catts happy's he that gets the Birth nearest the fire there's nothing would make it pass of tolerably but a good Reward a Dubbleloon is my constant gain every Day that the Weather will permit my going out and some
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