tions, an ancient black walnut near the town of Stony Point, N. Y., is 

 the sole surviving witness of events connected with the memorable 

 battle of Stony Point. 



On the bank of the Hudson River, rises the Point, a "defiant 

 promontory with rocky and wooded faces . . . fittingly described as 

 a natural sentinel guarding the gateway of the far-famed Highlands 

 of the Hudson." About one hundred and fifty feet at its highest 

 point, it juts out into the river half a mile from shore; on the inland 

 side is marshy ground, which at the time of the Revolution was deep 

 and treacherous. No wonder that such a natural fortress was called 

 "little Gibraltar." And no wonder the British troops felt secure in 

 such a stronghold. 



The belief has been handed down among the residents of Stony 

 Point, that under the old walnut tree Washington paid the men after 

 the battle. There seems no reason to doubt the statement; certainly 

 not on the question of age, for the tree was undeniably there at the 

 time, and when intact, its branches must have cast a breadth of shade 

 that would have rendered the spot most fitting for the occasion. For 

 the assault took place during July, and no doubt the sun of midsum- 

 mer beat down as relentlessly in 1780, as at present. 



Four feet above the ground, the massive trunk measures twenty- 

 one feet in circumference, and four feet further up, it divides into two 

 parts, rising to a height of approximately eighty feet. Subject by its 

 exposed position to a severe sweep of the wind, the southern fork has 

 been torn away, and this veritable monarch of the countryside stands 

 pathetically shorn of its former glory. 



It is much to be regretted that no adequate attempt has been 

 made to preserve this natural monument of a stirring page in our 

 country's history. 



Whipping Tree of Fishkill 



On the east side of the Hudson, on the old Albany Post Road, 

 two miles south of the village of Fishkill, N. Y., stood, until about 

 a dozen years ago, a black walnut, used during the Revolution as a 

 whipping tree. It was the custom, when punishing offenders beneath 

 such trees, to fasten them by their thumbs to iron spikes or nails 

 driven into the trunk. It was, of course, a foregone conclusion that 

 this must have been done in the case of this black walnut, but in 

 later years no traces of the metal were visible. When, however, the 

 old tree finally lay prone on the ground, and was chopped into fire- 

 wood, the axe met an obstruction, and investigation brought to light 

 the iron collar, driven full of huge nails, that had partly encircled 

 the trunk, and over which, in the course of time, the bark had grown, 

 entirely covering it. 



The field in which the whipping tree stood was a camping ground 

 of the American troops, while almost opposite, across the road, is the 

 old Wharton homestead, used as headquarters by their officers, and 



83 



