Identifier: conquestofcountr01inengl (find matches)
Title: Conquest of the country northwest of the river Ohio, 1778-1783 : and, life of Gen. George Rogers Clark
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: English, William Hayden, 1822-1896
Subjects: Clark, George Rogers, 1752-1818 Clark family Clark's Expedition to the Illinois (1778-1779) Clark's Expedition against Detroit, 1781
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. Kansas City, Mo. : Bowen-Merrill Co.
Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Digitizing Sponsor: The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant

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enderness of expression, and re-flects honor, not only upon Clark, but upon the head andthe heart of its great author. The brother referred to in the first part of the letter wasWilliam Clark, just then returned from the great explora-tion of Lewis and Clark to the Pacific ocean, made underthe auspices of Jefferson, and the bonesl were remark-able specimens in natural history, in which subject it iknown Mr. Jefferson took great interest. Not much is known of the early boyhood of George Rogers Clark. His father had a large family, and the facilities of obtaining a good education in the part of Car-es o 1 oline county where he was raised were then probably notof the best. lie, however, for a time, improved suchopportunities as he had, and for nine months at least wasunder the tuition of Donald Robertson, who had the rep-utation of being a superior teacher. It is said that youngJames Madison, afterwards President of the United States,was a pupil with Clark, under Robertsons tuition. Mad-
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EARLY LIFE OF GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. 59 ison and Clark were nearly of the same age. But Clarkdid not persist in his scholastic studies like Madison, andacquired only a common English education—not very thor-ough even in some branches of that. In spelling he wascertainly deficient, or very careless, but that seems to havebeen a deficiency quite common in this pioneer period.Mathematics and surveying were his favorite studies, andin the latter he became quite proficient. At that period there had been no systematic governmentsurveys of land, as at present, consequently the running andestablishing of boundaries were of much importance, and theservices of surveyors in great demand. It was, in fact, anemployment congenial to Clarks tastes, for he had a strongnatural intellect which sought practical knowledge of menand material things rather than the rules of the school-teacher, and he entered upon active duties as a practical sur-veyor in the field when he was quite young. George Washington

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