218 Trees in American History 



"Great White Brother." In the fall of 1682 he 

 met many of them under this old tree. Here he 

 smoked the "pipe of peace" with them; and 

 here they made their treaty of friendship and 

 brotherly love. 



The Treaty Tree was growing as a sapling as 

 early as 1540, when all the surrounding country 

 was forest. During the American Revolution 

 the tree still stood there as of old. In the winter 

 of 1778 the English and Tories were in posses- 

 sion of Philadelphia, where the tree stood. They 

 had captured the city from the American sol- 

 diers. It was very cold. Parties of British sol- 

 diers went out everywhere looking for wood, 

 but this old Treaty Tree they would not touch. 

 They spared the tree for the memories it held of 

 earlier days. 



But in 1810 there came a great storm. The 

 tree had grown old and weak. It was blown 

 down, and then it was learned, by counting its 

 many rings, that Penn's tree had lived for more 

 than two hundred and eighty years. 



