B 3 SflO TREES trric . - Forestry. Main Library LIBERTY TREE OF ANNAPOLIS Photo by K. S. Nicholson HISTORIC AMERICAN TREES By KATHARINE STANLEY NICHOLSON \ V Photographs by the Author and Others NEW YORK FRYE PUBLISHING COMPANY 15 WEST 107th STREET 5 Copyright, 1922, by KATHARINE STANLEY NICHOLSON Agric.- Forestry. Main Library DEDICATED by permission to •Hmurabl* William OL &prmil Governor of Pennsylvania As A Slight Token of Appreciation of His Splendid 'Service In Forest Conservation COPY THE GOVERNOR'S LETTER EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT HARRISBURG ^Obemor December 16, 1920 MISS KATHARINE STANLEY NICHOLSON 22 South Eighteenth Street Philadelphia, Pa. Dear Friend: Your gracious note of the ijth is at hand. Of course, 1 should greatly appreciate such an honor as the dedication of your book to me, and I only wish that I might have the satisfaction of feeling that I really deserved such a distinction. I am greatly interested in what you are planning and I trust that your work will be eminently successful. With appreciation and kind regards, I am, Sincerely yoursf (Signed) WM. C. SPROUL TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Oaks 11 II. Oaks 16 III. Oaks 21 IV. Poplars 26 V. Poplars — Sycamores 31 VI. The Penn Treaty Elm 38 VII. Elms 42 VIII. Elms 44 IX. Sugar Maples 52 X. Memorial Trees 56 XI. Willows — Inwood Tulip Tree — Stockton Catalpas — Hamilton's Trees — Treaty Tree of Gross He 62 XII. Cypress — Yews 67 XIII. Pines XIV. Pines — Sequoias 77 XV. Nut Trees 81 XVI. Nut Trees— Indian Trail Trees 86 XVII. Mulberries 90 XVIII. Pears— The Traveling Nursery 96 XIX. Apples . '. 101 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Indian Trail Tree Front Cover Liberty Tree of Annapolis Frontispiece Salem Oak FACING PAGE 1 1 Largest Oak in Pennsylvania 21 Sycamore and Lafayette's Headquarters 31 Pringle Sycamore 35 Penn Treaty Elm 38 Frye Elm 47 Roosevelt Sugar Maple 56 Napoleon Willows 62 Whittier Pines Sequoia Daniel Boone's Bar Tree Black Walnut of Stony Point . 81 Mulberry Walk 90 Box Hedge of Count Du Barry , 90 4 FOREWORD "Old Trees in their living state, are treasures that money cannot buy," wrote Walter Savage Landor. Treasures, indeed, though too seldom appreciated! Intimately associated as they are in many instances with our National life as well as with local events, much of the history of America is written in the story of her trees, living or otherwise, and can be traced through a study of the part they have played in connection with its development. Living Links in the chain of human interests that spans the centuries, such trees possess a unique historic value, and should be carefully preserved. During the preparation of this volume, gratifying proof of the widespread interest in our subject has been received by the writer. From many quarters have come helpful suggestions and valuable material, and for this kind assistance she wishes here, to make grate- ful acknowledgment to the various historical societies throughout the country, also to the following individuals and books : Mr. James F. Sullivan, Mrs. Margaret M. Halvey, Managing Editor of The Starry Cross; Mrs. Frederick Winslow Taylor, Mr. Fred Shelton, Philadelphia; Dr. John W. Harshberger, University of Pennsylvania; Mrs. M. E. T. Chapin, Miss Sophia K. Seabury, Miss Alma Dunbar, Mrs. E. P. Gardner, Miss E. Frye Barker, Miss Nettie Hustis, Mr. Stewart H. Burnham, Mr. William Markham, New York State; Mr. Harold Rugg, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire; Mr. Carl Bannwart, Supt. Shade Tree Commission, Newark, N. J. ; Mr. Ransom Kennicott, Forester, Cook County For- est Preserve, 111.; Miss Delia Harris Maddox, Baltimore, Maryland; Mr. Lucien Lamar Knight, State Historian of Georgia; Mr. J. C. McWhorter, of West Virginia; Dr. John H. Schaffner, Ohio State University; Mr. A. C. Dart, of North Carolina; Senator George P. Morehouse, of Kansas; Mr. Robert G. Sproul, Secretary, Save the Redwoods League, California; Mr. George Himes, of Oregon; Mr. William E. Foster of Rhode Island, and others who have generously contributed information that has proved most useful in the prepara- tion of this book. American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, Annual Reports. American Forestry Magazine, 1918-1921. "Annals of Philadelphia," by John F. Watson. "Border Settlers of Northwestern Virginia," by L. V. McWhorter. Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institute, Bulle- tin 30. "Brief History of South Dakota," by Doane Robinson, Secre- tary, State Historical Society of South Dakota. "Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland Counties, Ohio," by A. J. Baughman. "Chronicles of Colonial Maryland," by James Walter Thomas. "Daniel Boone," by John S. C Abbott. "Daniel Boone," by Lucille Gulliver. "First Founders in America," by William Howard Fitch, M.D. "Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials and Legends," by Lucian Lamar Knight. "Guide to Annapolis," by William O. Stevens and Carroll S. Alden. "Historic Highway of America," by Archer Butler Hulbert. "History of Dutchess County, New York," edited by Frank Hasbrouck. "History of the Great Republic," by H. A. Guerber. "History of Detroit and Michigan," by Silas Farmer. "History of Indiana," by Wm. Henry Smith. "History and Stories of Nebraska," by A. E. Sheldon. "Historic Trees of Massachusetts," by James Raymond Simmons. "Hoosac Valley, (The)," by Grace Greylock Niles. Indiana Arbor and Bird Day Annual. Journal of the New York Botanic Garden. "Legends of Trees and Flowers," by Charles Skinner. "Lives of Famous Indian Chiefs," by Norman B. Wood. "Marking the Santa Fe Trail," by Mrs. T. A. Cordry. Memoirs of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. "Memorials of John Bartram and Humphrey Marshall," by Wil- liam Darlington, M.D., L.L.D. "Memorials of a Half Century," by Bela Hubbard. Minnesota Historical Society Historical Collections. Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, Vols. XIV and XXII. National Geographical Magazine. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications, Vol. XXII. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly. Proceedings of the Delaware County Institute of Science. "Reminiscences of Famous Georgians," by Lucien Lamar Knight.. 6 "Review of Facts and Observations Made by Naturalists, Botan- ists, Historians and Travelers, on the Properties and Productions of the Sugar Maple Tree," by E. Jones, published in London, in 1832. "Roger Williams," by Oscar S. Strauss. "Secret of the Big Trees, The" by Ellsworth Huntington, Ph.D., F.R.G.S., Harpers' Magazine. "Storming of Stony Point," by Henry P. Johnston, M.A. "Story of Tennessee," by James Phelan. "White Doe (The) ; the Fate of Virginia Dare," by Sallie South- hall Gotten. Wisconsin Archaeologist, Vol. XV. "With the Flowers and Trees in California," by Charles Francis Saunders. Zoological Society Bulletin, September, 1919. THE AUTHOR HISTORIC AMERICAN TREES CHAPTER I The Wi-ten-a-ge-mot Oak — The Charter Oak — The Pelham Oak — The Fox Oaks— The Salem Oak— The Wadsworth Oak— The Rappite Oak. THE Wi-TEN-A-GE-MoT OAK This veteran oak is still standing on the ancient Indian Council Ground at Schagticoke, N. Y. It is in the rear of the old Knicker- bocker Mansion where Washington Irving was a frequent visitor and where he discovered the original of his famous character, Dietrich Knickerbocker. Nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, at the close of King Philip's War, Governor Andros, of New York, planted the oak, the only Tree of Welfare ever dedicated to the Indians. In 1676, Governor Andros formed a Board of Indian Commis- sioners, at Albany, and, able diplomat that he was, set about prevent- ing the exodus to Canada of discontented Indians from the Hudson River and Hoosac Valley and influencing them to stay in their own country. It was during this visit to Albany that he planted the Tree of Peace at Schagticoke, for the purpose of strengthening the friend- ship between the Hoosac and Mohawk Indians, and between the Militia at Fort Albany and the River Indian scouts ; and in honor of the occasion, called a meeting of the conference known as The Wi-ten- a-ge-mot or Assemblage of the Wise, named after the National Assembly of early Saxon times prior to the Norman Conquest. About one thousand warriors, representatives of the Iroquois, Hoosacs, Pequots, Narragansetts, Pennacooks, Delawares, Mohawks and other nations obeyed the summons to the conference. Governor Andros and his staff, the royal militia in their brilliant uniforms, the Board of Indian Commissioners, judges and clergymen completed the gathering. Two Dutch pastors of Albany and two Jesuit Priests of the Mohawk Missions offered prayer while the Calumet or pipe of peace was solemnly passed around, whites as well as red men smoking it in turn, to seal their compact of good will. Belts of wampum embroidered with the Swastika were given by the Indians to their white friends, and the Governor presented the River Indian Scouts with tobacco, pipes and uniforms. Three of the Chiefs broke their bow-strings and buried the hatchet at the foot of the newly planted oak. Soquon, the orator of the Hoosacs, announced that the blood had been cleansed from the blade of the hatchet just buried, and that the warriors would henceforth dance in peace beneath the Tree of Welfare. The ceremony and the compact of friendship, symbolized by the planting of the tiny oak, were long and lovingly remembered by the 11 Indian naticr^ slid they held the Tree of Peace in deep regard. Those Indians living oh the east shore of the Hudson told Governor Belle- mont, of New York, about the event as follows: "It is now six and twenty years since we were almost dead when we left New England and were first received into this government; then it was that a tree was planted at Shakkook, whose branches is spread so that there is a comfortable shade under the leaves of it; we are unanimously resolved to live and die under the shadow of that Tree, and pray our Father to nourish and have a favorable aspect towards that Tree, for you need not apprehend that tho* any of our people go out a hunting, they will look out for another country, since they like that place called Shakkook so well." Having promised a Council Tree to the Mohawk Scouts also, Governor Andros planted it, probably in 1676, on the shore of the Tomhamac River, but it did not fare as well as the Wi-ten-a-ge-mot Oak, being injured by lightning. "Our neighbors, the Mohawks, have not been so fortunate," said Soquon to the Governor, "for their tree burnt. We have been so happy and fortunate that our number is increased to that degree that we cannot all be shaded by one tree, and, therefore, desire that another tree besides that at Schagticoke may be planted for us." The Wi-ten-a-ge-mot Oak is now in its third century of life, its circumference measures twenty-two feet, and its shade covers an acre. But it shows unmistakable signs of decay, and unless this can be arrested, it will not be many years before one of the most historic trees of the continent will have vanished. THE CHARTER OAK The first settlers at Hartford, Conn., found there a white oak, tall and spreading, already full of years — its age even then being esti- mated at several centuries — that was a valued land mark of the Indians. They begged the pioneers to spare the ancient oak while clearing the forest growth, saying, "It has been the guide of our an- cestors for hundreds of years, as to the time of planting our corn, when the leaves are the size of a mouse's ears, then is the time to put the seed into the ground." Granting the Indians' request to leave the ancient oak untouched, the white men builded better than they knew, for in a few years it had rendered them a service of great worth. In 1687, Governor Andros, whom King James had appointed Governor of all New England, attended a session of the Colonial Assembly at Hartford, and demanded its charter. In an instant, the lights in the hall were extinguished, and relit, but the historic docu- ment had vanished from the table where it lay. Captain Wadsworth had carried it away and concealed it in the old oak's hollow trunk. Strangely enough, King Charles II, who had granted the charter, had himself been obliged to take refuge in the trunk of an oak, eleven years previous, after the battle of Worcester, England. Later, his 12 friend, Dr. Halley, the astronomer, christened a constellation in the heavens, "Robur Caroli" (Charles' Oak), in memory of the event. Shortly after his demand for the charter, Governor Andros was recalled, and English courts having decided that, as Hartford had never relinquished its charter, it was still in force, the precious parch- ment was brought to light again, and the colonial government was continued under its provisions. Through another century and a half the Charter Oak remained, loved and venerated by many admirers, and when in 1856, a heavy storm laid it low, "the bells of the city were tolled, and a band of music played funeral dirges over its ruins." THE PELHAM OAK In 1654, Thomas Pell, of Fairfield, Conn., bought property north of the Harlem River, "embracing all that tract of land called West- chester," in what is now New York State. Beneath the shade of a large white oak, which has ever since been called by his name, the deed was signed by the Indian Chiefs Manninepol, Annhook, and five other Sachems from whom he purchased the land for "two guns, two kettles, two coats, two adzes, 2 shirts, one barrel of cider and 6 bits of money" ; the value of the payment is estimated to have amounted to eight pounds, four shillings and six pence. Nine days before the transaction, a meeting of the Director Gen- eral and Council of New Netherlands had taken place, and it had been resolved to forbid the English settling on any soil which, the Government claimed had been "long before bought and paid for," and to order them "to proceed no farther, but to abandon that spot." Pell, being one of the chief offenders, it was reported by the attorney of the New Netherlands, that he had "dared against the rights and usages of Christian countries to pretend that he bought these lands of the natives," and that he was making a settlement there. He continued to hold the land, however, ignoring all objections, and when at length the Dutch surrendered, in .1664, became its undis- puted owner. In 1666, Governor Nicholls, of New York, confirmed a large part of PelFs grant, and "erected a township or manor; the proprietor rendering and paying in fealty therefor yearly, unto his Royal Highness, James, Duke of York, or to such governor as should, from time to time be by him appointed, as an acknowledgment, one lamb upon the first day of May, (the feast of S. S. Philip and James)." For more than two hundred and fifty years, the old oak had been famed as the landmark where the beginnings of historic Pelham Manor were made. It is said to have stood on the Post Road, between Pelham Bridge and the entrance to the Bartow place. About one hundred and seventy-five feet south of the bridge, is an oak stump, surrounded by an iron railing, believed by many to be the remains of the treaty tree. According to the report of the American Scienic 13 and Historic Preservation Society, however, this is incorrect, and nothing now is left of the fine old oak but the record of its fame. THE Fox OAKS In 1661, John Bowne, a noted man of his time, built his house in Flushing, N. Y. He was "so zealous a Quaker that he was exiled to Holland by Governor Stuyvesant, for his adherence to the sect, and did not return home for two years." Opposite his home stood two immense oaks, under whose shade George Fox, Founder of the Society of Friends, preached to the Indians in 1672. Under the same trees, Friends were accustomed to hold their meetings, when the crowds became too large to be accom- modated in Mr. Bowne's house. One of the Fox Oaks, as the old trees were named in honor of the distinguished preachers, lived till 1841, the other surviving a few years longer. They were estimated to be about five hundred years of age. THE SALEM OAK Another tree long associated with the Society of Friends is the fine old oak at Salem, N. J. When the land on which it stands came into the possession of the Society, in 1680, the tree was comparatively young and slender though perhaps not even then in its first youth. It is believed to be between three and four hundred years of age, possibly much older ; one of its largest branches fell in a severe storm in the autumn of 1920, and showed two hundred and seventy-five rings of annual growth. The old oak shades one hundred and seven- teen feet of ground in the Friends Cemetery, and looks the part of a noble monarch of the primeval forest. One can fancy it rich in memories of long-past but stirring times, for it has watched over the development of the town of Salem from its birth, as from time to time the little community has borne its part in the storm and stress of history. The old oak bids fair to be one of the longest-lived of American trees, for when signs of decay become evident, the aid of tree surgeons has been promptly enlisted to strengthen and preserve it intact. THE WADSWORTH OAK Th Wadsworth Oak, or Big Tree, on the Genesee River, at Genesee, N. Y., was long a tree of note. It was a swamp white oak, its leaves turning a dull yellow in autumn, instead of the rich fed tint of those of the white oak. Measuring twenty-seven feet in cir- cumference, it was venerated on account of its size, and the Seneca Indians named the surrounding country Big Tree, in its honor. Near it, in 1797, a treaty was made between Robert Morris and the Senecas, by which they conveyed to him the greater part of their territory. 14 In 1851, the Big Tree came to its end in a heavy freshet which washed away the river bank. A piece of its trunk was placed on the Letchworth estate, in the neighborhood, near an old Indian Coun- cil House, which had been moved there to be kept as a valuable relic, after it had been abandoned by its former owners of the Senecas tribe. THE RAPPITE OAK In 1815, George Rapp, a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, pur- chased 30,000 acres in Posey Co., Ind., near the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers, and founded the community of New Har- mony. The little settlement was governed by the principles of the New Testament as he understood them, and was modelled after his former one in Pennsylvania. On the night of their arrival at their new home, the colonists slept under the shade of a large tree, which became known as the Rappite Oak. Near it, their leader built his house, connecting it by an under- ground passage with the fort. Traces of the quaint old settlement still remain, in the odd little houses, none of which boasted a front door, and one wing of the large church built in the form of a Greek cross. During long years the historic rights of the old oak were respected by later residents in the old home, and though showing the approach of age, it was left standing. In 1900, a summer storm laid it low, "after about ninety years of experience in song and story." 15 CHAPTER II The De Soto Oak — The Catholic Oak — The Wesley Oak — Teach's Oak — Two Royal Oaks — Whipping Tree at Peekskill — Two Oaks that Own Them- selves— Indian Oak. THE DE SOTO OAK Both history and legend have given fame to the handsome, spreading oak upon the grounds of the Tampa Bay Hotel, Fla., whose branches shade an area of one hundred and twenty feet. In 1539, Ferdinand De Soto, whose name the tree bears, became Governor of Florida. He was very fond of resting beneath the oak, and is believed to have made a treaty with the Indians under its shade. More than three hundred and fifty years later, during the Spanish- American War, General Nelson A. Miles made his headquarters beneath the venerable tree. THE CATHOLIC OAK In 1635, the Rev. William Blackstone, a clergyman of the Church of England, moved from Boston to what is now the village of Lonsdale, R. I., and is remembered as the first white man to settle in that State. Close by his grave, near the corner of Broad and Mill Streets, Lonsdale, stands the immense oak, its trunk measuring twenty-seven feet at the ground-level, which he mentions in his writ- ings as being in its prime in his day. The old oak has a singular history. In 1843, the Rev. James Cook Richmond, a missionary of the Episcopal Church, passing on his way to preach at a neighboring town, paused under its branches, exclaiming, "What a beautiful tree that is ! I think I will hold services here next Sunday." As if to form a natural pulpit, two large roots on one side of the tree enclosed a hollow, where he stood while con- ducting the services that soon became immensely popular. The first one was held on Whit Sunday, June 4, 1843, when Mr. Richmond christened the tree the "Catholic Oak," evidently using the adjective in its broadest sense as signifying "universal," since the services were intended for all, irrespective of creed. Crowds attended his first open air service of the Episcopal Church in this country, it having been estimated that there were more than six hundred persons present, many of whom never attended church, but were doubtless attracted by the novelty of the proceeding. After preaching beneath the oak for several months, Mr. Rich- mond was sent to another field, but returned every year, to hold service under the tree on Whitsunday. About the year 1847, he went again to Europe, taking with him an acorn from his beloved oak, and planting it in England where it has grown and flourished. 16 An iron railing has been placed around the Catholic Oak, at Lonsdale, with a tablet commemorating the history of the famous land- mark which may yet remain through another generation. THE WESLEY OAK On St. Simon's Island, Ga., less than half a mile from the ruins of Fort Frederica, stands a gnarled and ancient live oak, under whose wide-spread branches tradition says that the Wesleys preached, the pioneers of Methodism in this country. The old tree is a memento of events enacted near it, of far more stirring character. Numbering its years at not less than two hundred, probably many more, its growth was contemporary with the earliest history of English colonists in Georgia; with the landing on her coast of the good ship Anne, which brought General James Edward Ogle- thorpe, "the most illustrious Englishman to cross the sea during the period of American colonization," when he came with his followers to establish in the New World a refuge for the debtors of England ; and with his valiant conquest of the French and Spanish invaders who threatened the rights and liberties of English settlers in America. "From the outstretched limbs of the old oak," says Mr. Lucien Lamar Knight, the historian, "trail the pendant mosses, giving it an appearance of great solemnity and beauty, and making it the pictur- esque embodiment of the austere memories which cluster about the sacred spot." Two hundred feet in height, it stands at the gate of the churchyard of Christ Church, on whose parish-register are the names of some of the earliest settlers on the island, and under its broad shade sleep many generations. The tree is on the direct road to Fort Prederica, built in 1735, by General Oglethorpe, as a defence against Spanish power, and named for Frederic, Prince of Wales. TEACHES OAK The old tree, which stands on a little peninsula in a creek tribu- tary to the Neuse River, at Oriental, N. C., was a prominent figure in the early history of the State. Long before civilization had placed a lighthouse or other means of guidance on those shores, the big oak served to point the way for many a mariner. It is associated with the pirate Edward Teach, a daring and troublesome character of those early days. Because of his thick, black whiskers, he went by the name of Blackbeard. He was an English- man, and in his youth a sailor under a pirate captain named Korna- gold, and proved himself an apt pupil. In 1718, he was given command of a ship captured by his master, and set sail for American waters. The coasts of North Carolina and Virginia were Teach's special hunting-ground. It is said that when pursued by larger vessels which 17 could not follow him into shallow water, he took refuge in Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. The old oak was the favorite rendezvous of him- self and his crew, and large holes were later dug around its foot, in fruitless efforts to discover the treasure he was known to have amassed and supposed to have concealed there. When the English king, hopeless of controlling the lawless rovers who terrorized sailors far and near, offered a pardon to all of them who would surrender and live as peaceable citizens, Teach availed himself of the opportunity. He soon tired of the monotony, however, and started out again, a menace to all he met. At length. Governor Spottswood, of Virginia, brought matters to a head by dispatching Lieutenant Maynard in search of him. After a sharp fight, Teach was killed, and his head was fastened to the bowsprit of Maynard's ship, as a trophy. Tradition has it that the headless body swam round Ocracoke Island nearby, in quest of the pirate crew and their vessel. Two ROYAL OAKS Two American trees have each borne the title of Royal Oak. One of them, whose fame is perpetuated in the village of that name, near the spot where it stood, in the vicinity of Easton, Md., had grown to such a size that it was supposed to have been standing before the dis- covery of the New World. Soldiers who fought in the Revolution were drilled under its branches, but its name originated in an occur- rence of the War of 1812. During that struggle, a British ship came to anchor opposite the town of St. Michaels, Talbot County, Md., a few miles from the veteran oak, and opened fire. The inhabitants, who were unprotected, resorted to a bit of strategy that proved highly effective. Hanging lighted lanterns in the tops of the high trees, they deceived the enemy into mistaking them for the lights of the town, with the satisfactory result that their shots passed harmlessly overhead. For a long time, two cannon balls said to be of "local fame" were suspended from the limbs of the Royal Oak, and after its fall in 1864, they were placed on a locust post nearby. A white oak bearing the same distinguished name, stood on a plain northeast of the Indian trail leading from Detroit to the village of Pontiac, Mich., and the township of Royal Oak of that neighbor- hood is named in its honor. The reason for its august title seems, however, decidedly obscure, as its associations are chiefly with doings of the red men. There is a tradition that, beneath it, an unfriendly meeting occurred, Chief Pontiac and representatives of another tribe being the interested parties. As late as 1825, the scars of arrows, tomahawks and bullets were said to be visible in its wood. It figured, also, as a boundary tree, when, in 1819 Governor Case laid out a road "from Woodward Avenue, Detroit, to the end of the road built by 18 the United States troops, then west to a large oak marked H, near Indian trail, then west to Main Street in Pontiac Village, then to the end of Main Street." WHIPPING TREE AT PEEKSKILL An oak of old-time associations, that is still flourishing, is the "Whipping Tree" at Peekskill, N. Y. Beneath it, strenuous correc- tion was administered in Revoluntionary times to deserters from the American cause. The tree is situated in a wide field adjoining the grounds of the Van Cortland Manor-House, Washington's headquar- ters when he was in Peekskill. Here Lafayette, Rochambeau, Baron Von Steuben and other famous soldiers were entertained. Pierre Van Cortland, the owner, was Lieutenant- Governor from 1777 to 1795, and acting-Marshal of the Equestrian Provincial Congress, which Congress was more than once obliged to hold its sessions on horseback, and legislate to meet emergencies. He also served as President of the Convention that was responsible for the new Federal constitution of 1781. Two OAKS THAT OWN THEMSELVES A fine old oak, near the town of Athens, Ga., fell heir, about a century ago, to sufficient land to protect it from invasion as long as Nature shall permit it to stand. In the Town Clerk's office is recorded the deed dated in 1820, by which its owner, the Hon. W. H. Jackson, "for and in consideration of the great affection which he bears said tree, and his desire to see it protected, has conveyed and by these presents does convey unto the said tree entire possession of itself, and 'the land within eight feet of it on all sides." Thus insured against any encroachment upon its rights, the old oak flourishes, today, its age exceeding three hundred and fifty years, and is a tree of noble propor- tions. On a tablet under its branches is inscribed a quotation from the deed. By virtue of being the first tree distinguished as a landowner it seems fully entitled to rank as historic. An oak of California, that is claimed to rival in size the Sir Joseph Hooker oak at Chico in the same State, is fortunate in having been liberally provided for by Mr. A. E. Wiltse, of New York City, who has set apart forty acres surrounding the tree, in order that it may be preserved for generations. The oak has a circumference of thirty- one feet, and shades a radius of one hundred and thirty feet. Its age is estimated at from six hundred to seven hundred years. INDIAN OAK Maple Hill, Geneva, N. Y., the beautiful estate where Lafayette was entertained in 1825, possesses seven acres of ancient forest trees known as Sylvan Grove. One of these trees, called Indian Oak, was a favorite meeting place of Chief Red Jacket and his companions. 19 This noted chief, "the Indian Demosthenes," was of the Seneca tribe, and was the greatest orator of the Six Nations. He was a young man at the time of the Revolution, and was often employed by the British officers as a messenger or "runner." Both on account of his great physical endurance and his eloquence, he was able to be of great service to them. In return, the officers pre- sented him with a handsomely embroidered scarlet jacket which he wore with great pride ; and during the war they kept him supplied with similar coats. This costume earned for him the title which clung to him through life. After the close of the war, the Americans were accustomed to present him with a red jacket whenever they wished to please him. The Indian Oak is no longer standing, but a granite rock has been placed on the site where it grew, a temporary stone of remem- brance, until a permanent monument shall mark the historic spot. 20 CHAPTER III The Eartram Oaks— Corner Oaks—"Struck-by-the-Ree's Tree"— Washington Oak—Red Oak at Chesterfield—Council Oak of the Santa Fe Trail. THE BARTRAM OAKS In the southwestern section of Philadelphia, Perm., on the bank of the Schuylkill, stands a quaint old house, built in 1731, by John Bartram, "The Father of American Botany." Surrounding it, and covering from six to seven acres, lies the famous garden which he cultivated through half a century ; a garden which, during his lifetime was a favorite resort of Washington, Franklin and other men of note, and which has survived to our own days as a city park and a centre of interest to nature-lovers. Many unusual and interesting trees and shrubs collected by Bartram during his travels through the then unknown region of the eastern and southern portions of the United States, or sent to him by friends at home and abroad, found their way into the garden and a number have survived to our own day. One of the most noticeable of these trees, the heterophyllus oak, so-called because bearing leaves of various shapes, still stands guard just south of the old house. An oak of this description, one whose leaves did not all follow the same pattern, was of course a novelty, and Peter Collinson, a dis- tingushed naturalist of London, to whom Bartram was in the habit of sending boxes of botanical specimens, evidently felt somewhat slighted at receiving no seeds of such an unusual tree. On March 5, 1770, he wrote to Bartram about it as follows: "Pray what is the reason I have no acorns from that particular species of oak that Doctor Mitchell found in thy meadow"? Adding the Latin name, "Quercus heterophyllus," so that there would be no doubt to what he referred. He also had requested, many years previous, acorns of the Wil- low-leaved Oak and of the White and Swamp Spanish Oak, all of them familiar to John Bartram in his travels in American wilds. Per- haps Collinson voiced his impatience at the length of time that elapsed before these treasures reached him, for there is a letter of Bartram's in reply, written in May, 1738, which says: "Indeed, I was more than two weeks time in gathering the small acrons of the Willow-leaved Oak, which are very scarce, and falling with the leaves, — so that daily I had to rake up the leaves and shake the acorns out, before they were devoured by the squirrels and hogs ; and I reckoned it good luck if I could gather twenty under one tree — and hardly one in twenty bore any." 21 A few miles distant from Bartram's Garden, in the old village of Darby, now within the boundaries of Philadelphia, lies the Bartram farm where in 1699, the future botanist was born, the son of an English Quaker who had followed the fortunes of William Penn to the New World. Near the spot was a great oak, in later days rated as the largest oak in the State, and estimated at the time of its down- fall in 1910, to be seven hundred years old. It was reported as an unusual tree by the University of Pennsylvania and various Forestry Associations. After the old oak had fallen, it was found to be made up of two trees grown together. Its historic value lies in the appropriate association "of the first oak of Pennsylvania with the first botanist of that State and of America." CORNER OAKS At the foot of Marlin's Mountain, Marlinton, W. Va., a cluster of old trees known as "Corner Oaks" have long been associated with the memory of General Andrew Lewis, the hero of Point Pleasant. General Lewis volunteered his services in the expedition to take possession of the Ohio country in 1754. At the battle of Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great Kanawha River, he acted as Commander in Chief of the American troops, and gained a signal victory over the Indians of the Shawnee Confederacy under the celebrated Chief Cornstalk. This battle was noted as being the most severe conflict with the red men up to that time. General Lewis was also Washington's military trainer, and the latter endeavored to have him appointed Commander-in- Chief of the Armies of the Revolution. Corner Oaks bear the following inscription: "General Andrew Lewis, Oct. 6, 1751. "STRUCK-BY-THE-REE'S TREE At Yankton, S. D., stood until a few years ago, an oak known to the first settlers there as "Struck-by-the-Ree's Tree." Beside com- memorating a savage encounter between the Sioux and the Ree Indians, it had also been used by the former tribe as a burial tree. The Sioux Chief who bore the title "Struck-by-the-Ree," was born in the late summer of 1804, at the time when Lewis and Clark, captains of the famous expedition to explore the far west, were en- camped on Green Island, in the Missouri River, near the present site of Yankton. The Yankton tribe of the Sioux Indians met with them there, and together they held "a grand council, powwow and carousal." One day, Captain Lewis heard that a papoose had just been born in one of the Indian lodges. Sending for the child he wrapped him in the American flag, prophesying that the boy would become a leader of his people, and a good friend of the white men. His prediction was fulfilled, for Struck-by-the-Ree not only became a chief of his tribe, 22 but proud of having been wrapped in the flag at birth, always ranked himself as a partisan of the white men, and saved many of them from torture or death in the Yankton massacre of 1863. Struck-by-the-Ree, grown to young manhood, fell deeply in love with a beautiful Indian girl. Together they often sat beneath the oak, talking happily of their future, when one day the terrible war- whoop of the Rees was heard, and a fierce battle followed. It was during this encounter that the young warrior received the wound that earned for him his odd title, though not until after he had suffered a greater misfortune. * "A youthful form was seen To hover at his side Wherever in the dawn The Chief could be descried. Our warrior's horse was killed At breaking of the day. On foot he fought, the youth But one arm's length away. When from a thicket near An arrow — fiendish dart — Was sent from sinew string Straight at my lover's heart. The youth like lightning sprang From beneath a bending tree, Receiving deep in the breast The arrow of the Ree. Thou hast saved my life, brave youth Thy breast hath been my shield; The Sioux are saved a Chief Upon this bloody field. Thy name! — Speak quickly! — Alas! My Love! O maiden mine! The arrow for my heart Hath entered into thine!" There was only time to carry the dying girl away from the field, and return, himself, to the battle where he was soon severely wounded by another dart from the Rees. But summoning all his strength he led the charge again, while the word passed from one to another that he was risen from the dead. An overwhelming victory for the Sioux was the result. Struck-by-the-Ree recovered from his wound, and lived for a number of years, returning often to the old oak, to sit under its shade and mourn his lost love. WASHINGTON OAK During the summer of 1791, Washington traveled extensively through the south, and was one morning entertained at breakfast by a lady, who lived in the suburbs of Charleston, S. C. Chancing to hear her order the gardener to cut down a splendid oak because it obstructed the view from the new portico, he interceded for the tree, which was spared at his request and which has ever since borne his name. From poem "The Old Oak Tree," by Benjamin Wade Borleigh. 23 RED OAK AT CHESTERFIELD A stalwart oak at Chesterfield, S. C., described as unchanged since 1852, bore its part in the Civil War. To its branches was fast- ened the first flag bearing the words "Immediate Separate State Action." There the flag fluttered in the breeze until General Sher- man arrived on the scene, and burned the jail and courthouse. The tree had long been a favorite resting place for Indians, whose pipes and arrowheads were found beneath it. COUNCIL OAK OF THE SANTA FE TRAIL This old tree is one of the few that remain, of the original Council Grove, on the Neosho River, Kan., which was "the largest body of timber between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains, and the most noted camping and gathering place on the old Santa Fe trail." This famous trail was the "early highway over which the com- merce of the Plains was carried on for more than a generation before the whistle of a locomotive had broken the stillness of the prairies." It was first used by white traders in 1822, when a caravan started from Boonville, Mo., and passing through Lexington, Independence and Westport (now Kansas City), traveled south across the State of Kansas and on to Santa Fe, N. M., over seven hundred and seventy- five miles of forest and prairies infested by Indians. Two years later, in 1824, trade with Santa Fe had increased to such an extent that the United States Government began to show an active interest in carrying it forward. The regular route along the Trail began at Franklin, Mo., and entered Kansas through Johnson County. This portion of it terminated at Council Grove, where it was the custom to halt and reorganize the caravans so that several might proceed together, finding safety in numbers. From the Grove, the Trail continued southwest, reaching the Arkansas River at the Great Bend, following the river to Cimarron, and crossing near old Fort Dodge and the present site of Dodge City, Kan. Here it divided, one branch leading to New Mexico, and the other joining it after following a different road. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway follows the Trail over part of its route. "There is a wonderful amount of history and romance all along the Old Santa Fe Trail," says J. R. Mead, a member of the Trail Marking Commission for the State Historical Society of Kansas. "Enough to make volumes of absorbing interest. The trail is lined with unknown, unmarked graves. From Cow Creek, west to the State line, every mile has its history of battle attack, ambush, stam- pede, burned wagons, murdered or captured emigrants, all kinds of killings and escapes. Nearly every General of note in our Civil War, sometime in his career passed over the Trail — Sherman, Sheridan, Harvey, Hancock, Kearney, Miles, Crook, Sumner, Col. Leaven- 24 worth, Kit Carson, and Col. Bent. General Fremont traveled the Trail from the Great Bend to the mountains." In early days, the Trail was the connecting link between east and west. The only teams seen on it were the six yoke of oxen, attached to a wagon carrying from six thousand to seven thousand pounds of freight, and the four or five span of mules drawing a similar wagon, the number of mules varying according to their size. On August 10, 1825, representatives of the United States Gov- ernment met with Chiefs of the Great and Little Osage Indians, in the olctoak grove, near the Neosho River, to arrange for right of way across the Plains on the Santa Fe Trail. About $800.00 in gold was paid to the Indians for this privilege. A week later, a similar treaty was made with the Kansa Indians, near the present town of McPher- son, Kan. On the 82nd Anniversary of the treaty made in Council Grove, (Aug. 10, 1907), a granite marker commemorating the event, was dedicated. It was placed in the Grove, about forty feet distant from the famous Council Oak, and is one of the finest of the many monuments on the Trail. The following verses are quoted from Senator George P. More- house's poem entitled "The Council Oak." "Yes, eight hundred in gold was the price that it cost, Yet how small such a sum seems today; For the tribe by that act such a rich region lost, When it passed under whites' ruling sway. But the chiefs of the Great and the Little Osage, When they counted the gold on that day, Were so filled with delight, that 'twould take quite a page To relate what they all had to say. Let us never forget, to the praise of this tribe, That they never had war with the whites; But were loyal and true and would scorn ev'ry bribe, Yet they stood for their just bargained rights. And they never forgot the 'Old Council Oak" Or the treaty they made on that day; For, to them, it was law and no wise a shrewd joke, This great Trail to the far Santa F<§. What a noble old tree is this sturdy tall oak, What a tale to relate could it speak! Of the camps and the fires, with their blue curling smoke, Which ascend from the wigwam's peak, Of the storms and the blasts, of the heat and the cold, Of the going and coming of men; Let . it stand for a record of days that are old And much plainer than words from my pen." 25 CHAPTER IV A Poplar and the Kensington Rune Stone — The Liberty Tree of Annapolis — The Balmville Tree — Lone Tree. A POPLAR AND THE KENSINGTON RUNE STONE A poplar tree on Mr. Olaf Ohman's farm near Kensington, Minn., has becpme known to fame by reason of the long hidden treas- ure discovered beneath it. On November 8, 1898, Mr. Ohman was clearing a piece of land for ploughing, when his men unearthed from the foot of the poplar a heavy slab of stone weighing about two hundred and thirty pounds. On it was an inscription in runes or character used in secret writing so much in vogue in early times. Being translated it reads as follows: "Eight Goths (Swedes) and twenty-two Norwegians upon a journey of discovery from Vin- land westward. We had a camp by two skerries one days journey north from this stone. We were out fishing one day. When we returned home we found ten men red with blood and dead. A. V. M. (Ave, Virgo Maria) save us from evil. (We) have ten men by the sea to look after our vessel fourteen (doubtfully forty-one) days' journey from this island. Year 1362." The stone was exhibited, for a while in a drug-store in Kensing- ton, Minn., and was also submitted to two college professors, both of whom pronounced the inscription fraudulent. Then it was returned to its owner, in 1899 and lay in his yard where it was carelessly used as a stepping-stone near his granary for eight years. In 1907, Mr. Hjalmar Rued Holand obtained the stone and exhibited it in the Middle West, and also at the Norman Millennial Celebration at Ruen, France, in 1911. He brought it to the attention of the Minnesota Historical Society which directed the Museum Com- mittee to make an exhaustive investigation of the authenticity of the inscription. Their researches are published in full, in the Minnesota Historical Society Collections, Volume 15. They are in part as follows : "The party started from Vinland, a very remarkable statement, in the light of the fact that it is not know, even at this day that a permanent or even temporary colony was established in Vinland. . . . In the light of the results of Professor Fernald's studies on tbe 'Plants of Wineland the Good,' it is remarkable, if the stone is fraudulent, that the location of Vinland by the statements of the record, should agree with the location of that country by Fernald, since all modern (and even earlier) descriptions of Vinland have placed Vinland either in Nova Scotia or Massachusetts. Could it have been a random and accidental coincidence that a fraudulent record should correct the 26 current historical belief of the times? How could an impostor come to the knowledge that Vinland was nowhere except in Labrador, or at least in the region about the entrance to Hudson Strait? . . . . This agreement with the latest research as to the location of Vinland is a very suggestive fact." Fourteen days journey from "the sea," if the region of Hudson Bay is indicated, would have brought the foreigners, with the means of travel at their command, to the neighborhood where the stone was discovered and the Bay would have been the nearest port. It is stated that their most probable route would have been from Vinland to Hudson Bay, and to Lake Winnipeg via Nelson River, and up the Red River of the North to the region where the stone was found buried. Professor Fossom and Mr. Holand searched around Lake Chris- tina and Pelican, as well as other lakes twenty miles north of the stone trying to locate the "two skerries" or rocks surrounded by water. Finally, they found two immense boulders, one of granite, the other gneiss; though not in water now, they are on a point exposed to destruction by ice and waves, and as the lake level is known to have been higher five or six hundred years ago, the rocks answer the descrip- tion perfectly. The gradual drying up of the region through the intervening centuries, is an established fact. The stone is described as being on an island, though the ground where it was found is not one today. As the historian remarks, it is a remarkable fact that these two skerries exist, and at the right distance from the site of the stone, and that there are no others. In modern times, they could not be called skerries, there being no water around them. The exact description of the location of the camp is no doubt due to the wish for accuracy as to the burial place of the victims of the massacre, which was probably the work of native savages. And as the practice of scalping was unquestionable strange to the Scandina- vians, they were all the more impressed by the horrible sight, speaking of their comrades as "red with blood and dead." "A. V. M." stands, of course, for a Roman Catholic expression, which according to Archboship Ireland, no modern Scandinavian would use, that nation now being Lutheran. But as it was constantly employed in the 14th century, in time of the plague or "black death" its use in the inscription, when danger seemed to threaten, is another point in favor of antiquity. It was objected, by some scholars, that certain words used in the record are too modern; others, however, differed from this opinion. At length, finding the mass of evidence to point strongly to the genuineness of the contested statement, the Minnesota Historical Society made the following announcement: "After carefully con- sidering all the opposing arguments, the Museum Committee of this Society, and Mr. Holand, owner of the stone, believe its inscription is a true historic record." 27 Which conclusion exonerated Mr. Ohman from the accusation made against him of having cut the inscription; and further proof of his innocence was furnished by the sentinel poplar itself, its roots being wrapped securely about the stone till they were flattened by contact with it. Investigation showed that they had been in this condition without interference, during the tree's entire lifetime — from thirty to fifty years — or before his ownership of the farm. THE LIBERTY TREE OF ANNAPOLIS Oh the campus of St. John's College, in the quaint town of Annapolis, Md., stands a huge poplar long known as the Liberty Tree, and entitled to fame both on account of its great age and size, and because of the historic ground on which it grows. Two feet above ground level, it measures twenty-nine feet, four inches in circumference, and its height is one hundred and fifty feet. Tradition tells us that in 1652, a treaty was made under the Liberty Tree, between the whites and the Susquehannock Indians. A century later, when problems caused by conditions leading up to the war of the Revolution were under discussion, patriotic meetings were held in its shade, probably earning for the old tree its honorable title. Later still, General Lafayette was entertained beneath its shade, when he visited Annapolis, in 1824. The College in front of which the Liberty Tree stands, was formerly King William's School, founded in 1694, "for the propaga- tion of the Gospel, and the education of youth in letters and good manners." In 1784, the school was merged into St. John's College, whose central and oldest building, McDowell Hall, was begun in 1745. In the rear, Rochambeau's army camped, en route to Yorktown to reinforce Washington's troops. Not only does the Liberty Tree commemorate the time honored events of its vicinity, but its personal history is worth recording. As years passed, it began to show signs of decay, and was supposed to be dying. In 1840, some mischievous boys, playing with gunpowder, placed two pounds in the hollow trunk, and set fire to them. The tree caught easily, and was soon in flames which were extinguished by the citizens who, no doubt, supposed it fatally injured! The prank, however, proved a blessing in disguise, for the blaze destroyed the worms which were feeding upon its tissues, and the following year it burst into leaf, hale and hearty, none the worse for its adventure. But in 1907, the aged poplar again required attention, having become so hollowed by decay that eight or ten persons could stand in the interior. The cavity was filled with over fifty tons of concrete and the branches were strengthened with iron rods, and thus a much loved and venerated landmark has been preserved for a long and prosperous future. So successful has the treatment proved that the 28 tree has withstood a number of severe storms, and every spring it breaks into leaf with renewed vigor. It bears the following inscription: "This tablet placed upon the Liberty Tree by the Peggy Stewart Tea Party Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, of Annapolis, Maryland, October 19, 1907, to commemorate the first treaty made here with the Susquehannocks in 1652, and that George Washington in 1791, and General Lafayette in 1824, visited St. John's College. Through the munificence of James T. Woodward, of New York City, this tree, estimated to be over six hundred years old, has been preserved from decay." THE BALMVILLE TREE A short trolley-ride northward from Newburgh-on-the-Hudson, N. Y., carries one to the village of Balmville, named after the old balsam poplar, of immense size, that stands in the centre of the little town. The surrounding country is as full of historic associations as of natural beauty. During the Revolution, the town of Newburgh, where Wash- ington occupied headquarters, and Balmville, situated on a much traveled route known as the King's Highway, were frequented by the American troops. The huge poplar or Balm of Gilead Tree, — so-called on account of the gum secreted by the leaf -buds and young shoots, and supposed to possess healing properties — stood on the Highway. John Cosman, who before the Revolution was apprenticed to a black- smith in the neighborhood, is quoted as stating that he often shod horses under the tree which even then was good sized. But little is known of its early history. According to one account it grew from a riding-switch that was stuck in the ground; it is also said to have been brought as a small branch, broken from a tree in the mountains of New Jersey. Another tradition says that it sprang up, naturally, in the place where it now stands. Whatever may be the truth concerning the origin of the huge tree, however, it is noteworthy both by reason of its probable useful- ness to the travelers of early days, and also its remarkable proportions, the diameter of a poplar ordinarily averaging about seven feet. The Balmville Tree has been measured several times, and the results recorded1. In Rutenber's History of Orange County and Newburgh, it is said that a Mr. James Donnelly who first saw the tree about 1782, stated that it was then six or eight inches around, with a spreading top. In 1832, the trunk was measured by a Mr. Williams, who found that at two feet above the ground, its diameter was fifteen feet, two inches; in 1868, it had increased to nineteen feet, five inches. Today it has reached a circumference of twenty-one feet, eight inches, at two feet above ground level, indicating that it may be much older than is estimated. 29 LONE TREE On the north bank of the Platte River, about three miles south- west of the site of Central City, Neb., stood for many years a solitary cottonwood known as Lone Tree. Named by the Indians, their chiefs are said to have held their councils beneath its spreading shade, long before the first white settler had reached the spot. Fifty feet tall, Lone Tree could be seen for twenty miles across the Platte valley, and standing only a few yards from Ihe overland trail north of the Platte River, it was a favorite rendezvous for the many travelers who camped nearby in early days, and cut their names on its bark, until its massive trunk was covered with these hierogly- phics to the height of thirty feet. Lone Tree ranch, established in the neighborhood, in 1858, was christened in honor of the old tree, and so were the postoffice and rail- way station three miles distant from it. In 1865, the big cottonwood fell victim to the violence of a heavy storm, and a portion of its trunk was preserved at Lone Tree station, (now Central City) as a souvenir of the historic tree that had been loved by thousands of pioneers in the West. It stood on the station platform until ^11 the wood had been chipped off and carried away by tourists. In 1911, a stone monument in the form of a cottonwood stump was erected on the spot where Lone Tree grew. "There it stands to- day," says A. E. Sheldon, author of "History and Stories of Nebraska," "in perpetual witness to the worth of a tree." 30 Of Q w o I j CO I/) < 5» -> $ Q I *"7 °