The branches of the south half of the tree shade the whole width 

 of the street, and religious services have been held under them, accom- 

 modating quite a congregation. One hundred and twenty feet in 

 height, it boasts a circumference of twenty-four feet, and the diameter 

 of its foliage measures one hundred and fifteen feet. 



The great poplar claims an interesting history. Over a century 

 ago, when Geneva was a tiny settlement, Ephraim Lee, a free trader, 

 traveled from Albany to Buffalo by this road. He cut a sapling for 

 a walking-stick, but overcome with weariness, lay down for a nap 

 under the maple trees on the hill, sticking his cane in the ground for 

 safe-keeping. When he awoke and found the lateness of the hour, he 

 hurried forward on his journey, forgetting the sapling. Passing it on 

 his trip, the year following, he was surprised to see that it was growing 

 and in leaf. 



There it continued to flourish, being spared because of its odd 

 history, after the maples were cut down. In 1843, the roadmaster 

 insisted that the tree must be destroyed. The resourceful owner, how- 

 ever, wasted no time in parleying, but hammered spikes into its trunk 

 from the ground upward, encasing it in a coat of mail which no axe 

 could penetrate. Tree experts have been reported as believing that 

 the iron has been a great factor in the poplar's age and vigor. 



THE PUEBLO COTTONWOOD 



A huge poplar or cottonwood at Pueblo, Colo., shaded the burial 

 spot of the first white woman who died within the boundaries of that 

 State. Beneath its branches, thirty-six white persons were massacred 

 by savages and fourteen men were hung from the old tree's branches. 

 When the cottonwood was felled in 1883, its age was considered to be 

 three hundred and eighty years. A cross section of its trunk was 

 placed on exhibition in Mineral Palace, Pueblo. 



VAULTING-POLE COTTONWOOD 



In the spring of 1815, two boys, Hosea Pierce and a companion, 

 returned to their homes near Norris City, 111., after serving in the 

 War of 1912. Both boys had helped General Jackson to rout the 

 British at the Battle of New Orleans. During the spring, both 

 attended a log-rolling on the Pierce farm, and on their way home, 

 used their cottonwood handspikes as vaulting-poles, making a wager 

 which could vault the further. They left the handspikes sticking in 

 the earth, and both poles took root, and developed into fine trees. One 

 lived till about 1910, the other is still standing at one hundred and 

 five years of age. It is an immense tree, thirty feet in circumference, 

 and one hundred and seventy-five feet high. The hollow base of its 

 trunk is used to shelter setting hens, or as a kennel. It is to be 

 regretted that no effort is made to preserve this interesting old poplar. 



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