152 THE HUMAN SIDE OF TREES 



Wayne mustered his men in preparation for his 

 brilliant capture of Stony Point. This was the 

 same general who once told Washington that he 

 would storm hell itself if the chief would draw the 

 plans. In a later day Vicksburg and Appomattox, 

 where General Grant received the swords of Pem- 

 berton and Lee respectively, each had its surrender- 

 tree. 



On the estate of General Villeve, a few miles 

 below New Orleans, there used to be a leafless pecan 

 tree to which was attached a blood-curdling story. 

 After the battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815, 

 the British loss was found to include General Pack- 

 enham, commander; General Gibbs and Colonels 

 Dale and Rennie. It was decided to ship the bodies 

 of all these men to England, preserved in casks of 

 rum. Part of the preparation consisted in remov- 

 ing the internal organs, which were promptly 

 buried. The viscera of General Packenham were 

 interred under the pecan tree already mentioned. 

 It is solemnly averred that the sympathetic nut- 

 bearer dropped its leaves at once and superstitious 

 negroes for decades pointed to blood stains on the 

 trunk. 



Of more peaceful interest are the two big white 

 oaks which stood on quiet Bowne Avenue, Flush- 

 ing, L. I., seventy-five years ago. They marked 



