222 DUTCH AND ENGLISH ON THE HUDSON

that the captain, who was on station in America,
sent for William Johnson to come out and aid him
in the development of a real estate venture. A
large tract of land near the Mohawk River had
come into Warren's possession, and as a sailor
Warren naturally found difficulty in superintend-
ing land at what was then a week's journey from
the seacoast. "Billy" was his choice as an assis^
tant, and the boy, who was then twenty-three
years old, left the Old World and in 1738 reached
the new plantation where his life-work lay before
him. For this he was admirably equipped by his
Irish inheritance of courage, tact, and humor, by
his study of English law, and by a facility in
acquiring languages which enabled him to master
the Mohawk tongue in two years after his arrival
in New York.

The business arrangement between Captain
Warren and his nephew provided that Johnson
should form a settlement on his uncle's land known
as Warrensbush, at the juncture of Schoharie Kill
and the Mohawk, that he should sell farms, over-
see settlers, clear and hedge fields, "girdle" trees
(in order to kill them and let in the sun), pur-
chase supplies, and in partnership with Warren
establish a village store to meet the necessities