snow was hanging on his hair." The next day he had a cold, "and complained
of having a sore throat," yet, though it was snowing, none the less he
"went out in the afternoon ... to mark some trees which were to be cut
down." "He had a hoarseness which increased in the evening; but he made
light of it as he would never take anything to carry off a cold, always
observing, 'let it go as it came.'" At two o'clock the following morning
he was seized with a severe ague, and as soon as the house was stirring he
sent for an overseer and ordered the man to bleed him, and about half a
pint of blood was taken from him. At this time he could "swallow nothing,"
"appeared to be distressed, convulsed and almost suffocated."

There can be scarcely a doubt that the treatment of his last illness by
the doctors was little short of murder. Although he had been bled once
already, after they took charge of the case they prescribed "two pretty
copious bleedings," and finally a third, "when about 32 ounces of blood
were drawn," or the equivalent of a quart. Of the three doctors, one
disapproved of this treatment, and a second wrote, only a few days after
Washington's death, to the third, "you must remember" Dr. Dick "was averse
to bleeding the General, and I have often thought that if we had acted
according to his suggestion when he said, 'he needs all his strength--
bleeding will diminish it,' and taken no more blood from him, our good
friend might have been alive now. But we were governed by the best light
we had; we thought we were right, and so we are justified."

Shortly after this last bleeding Washington seemed to have resigned
himself, for he gave some directions concerning his will, and said, "I
find I am going," and, "smiling," added, that, "as it was the debt which
we must all pay, he looked to the event with perfect resignation." From
this time on "he appeared to be in great pain and distress," and said,
"Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go. I believed from my first