Sunday, December 28, 2003

By Len Barcousky, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

No doubt there was one very puzzled motorist driving down Upper Harmony Road north of Evans City yesterday around 12:30 p.m.

	Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette George Washington, left, played by Jason Cherry; Christopher Gist, center, played by Kenneth Cherry; and "Ghost in the Head," right, played by Todd Johnson, lead about 80 hikers on a two-mile hike through Connoquenessing and Forward yesterday to commemorate Washington's return journey from French Fort LeBeuof 250 years earlier.. Click photo for larger image.

That's when a Huron Indian, carrying a Brown Bess musket and wearing red leggings and a heavy coat of black-and-brown face paint, stepped into the center of the road. He solemnly motioned for the lone car to stop.

Then the Indian re-enactor, known as Ghost in the Head, stood guard while about 90 hikers and two dogs crossed the Connoquenessing Township road. The walkers were tracing a two-mile portion of young George Washington's 1753 travels through Butler County.

The event marked the 250th anniversary to the day of a diplomatic journey undertaken by Washington and his guide and traveling companion, Christopher Gist, that brought them through what are now Forward and Connoquenessing townships.

Their travels through Butler County were part of a mission undertaken by the young Virginian to ask the French to leave the Ohio Valley. Historians describe it as one of the important initial moves in an international chess match between Great Britain and France that led within six months to what is known in the United States as the French and Indian War.

Washington was represented by Jason Cherry of Butler. He and Gist, portrayed by Jason's father, Kenneth, led the hikers through woods and meadows and across streams on the sunny afternoon walk.

And just as he did in 1753, Washington yesterday faced gunfire from the Indian, who may have been in the pay of the French. The re-enactor under Ghost in the Head's paint was Todd Johnson of McKeesport.

The dual afternoon event was sponsored by Historic Harmony and the Evans City Area Historical Society.

"We're sorry the weather is so nice," joked John Ruch, president of Historic Harmony. When Washington and Gist made their original journey, they faced intense cold and walked through snowdrifts that topped the young diplomat's high boots.

Yesterday's hike began a few minutes after noon on a portion of the old Pittsburgh-Franklin Road in Connoquenessing. That early road follows the much older Venango Trail used by Native Americans for centuries.

Farmer Rodney Gasch of Forward had helped to mark the path, and he accompanied hikers across what is now private property. Much of the recent snowfall had melted under 50 degree temperatures, turning the narrow trail muddy and slippery.

"It's only about seven-eighths of a mile uphill and then downhill about the same distance," Gasch said, urging on the walkers.

	Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Todd Johnson waits by a traffic sign along Route 528 in Forward for his ride to the next re-enactment event. Click photo for larger image.

Following the hike, many of the walkers drove to a nearby Daughters of the American Revolution Monument honoring Washington's journey. It stands in front of the Forward municipal building on state Route 68, about two miles east of Evans City. It was within a few hundred yards of the monument site that an Indian fired at Washington and Gist in 1753.

Walking through a field across the road from the monument, the Washington, Gist and Ghost in the Head re-enactors recreated the shooting incident.

Ghost in the Head first took Washington's shoulder pack, apparently seeking to lighten his burden. But when he offered to carry Washington's musket, the young man grew suspicious. The Indian strode ahead, then turned and fired in their direction. Neither in 1753 nor yesterday was anyone hit. After the shooting, Gist had wanted to tomahawk and scalp their assailant, but Washington refused to allow it.

David Dixon, a professor of history at Slippery Rock University, spoke briefly and answered questions about "If Washington had been killed in 1753."

The approximate path of Washington's route through Butler County has been marked by 100 commemorative signs. That project was undertaken by a group called the Washington Trail Committee. Members hope their efforts -- and the red, white and blue design of the signs -- will be taken up by other Pennsylvania counties and other states through which Washington passed that winter.

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