I have been re-reading the notes of John Fontaine in his description of the trip over the mountains. One would hardly recognize that the trip he describes is the same as that described by Wayland and by Conway (including quotation from Jones).
While there were Indian guides in Spotswood's party, this is the only mention of any activity by Indians. There were no skirmishes with the Indians. And Fontaine does not mention any Indian girl who returned with them.
Conway says the party graved the name of George on the highest mountain. While Fontaine says that they had some graving tools, they found that the rocks were too hard to accomplish anything. Fontaine does confirm they named the highest mountain after King George and the next highest mountain after Alexander (Spotswood). Incidentally, there is no agreement concerning the route that the party took, including the identity of Mount George and Mount Alexander.
Since Rev. Hugh Jones was in error on some of his facts, was he in error about the Golden Horseshoes?
Spotswood was careful to describe the trip as having a defensive purpose (protection from the Indians and the French), and as extending the claims of His Majesty in the westward land. This was an attempt to make the trip sound official, and, as such, to be an expense for which he hoped to be reimbursed by the crown. However, he had no royal authority to make the trip, and he had to pay the expenses from his own pocket. Apparently he never did recover his costs from the crown, as he was still trying to get his expenses paid ten years later. The implication is that he paid for this from his own pocket. My feeling is that he would have been hard pressed to pay for the "golden horseshoes".
It is unfortunate that there has not been any supportive evidence from other sources for the horseshoes. I am inclined to think that the golden horseshoes, Indian maidens, names engraved in mountains, and skirmishes with Indians were all figments of the imagination.
Very few people have recognized the true purpose of the trip. It was a private venture of Spotswood and some of his friends to scout for land that they could take up. They found it and had the surveyors stake out a 40,000 acre tract which, when more accurately computed, amounted to about 65,000 acres. It ran almost from Germanna to west of the present day Culpeper County Court House. The trip was made in 1716 and a little more than a year later a group of Germans was settled on the land to secure the claim. Incidentally these Germans became the first citizens of modern Culpeper County.
(17 Oct 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.