felled, but is carefully preserved by the Philipse Manor Company, 

 vines having been planted at its base, and having grown and twined 

 themselves pityingly around the gaunt trunk and limbs until they 

 have rendered the former monarch of the forest once more a thing of 

 beauty. Under the old chestnut, it is believed, was signed the last 

 treaty made between the whites and the Wequadequeek Indians who 

 lived in that region. 



It is told (and is quite possible) that under its shade, also, Wash- 

 ington Irving wrote his tale of the "Headless Horseman," whose 

 favorite resort, it will be remembered, was the neighborhood of Old 

 Sleepy Hollow Bridge. A short distance away, Irving's former resi- 

 dence "Simnyside" is situated, only a ten or fifteen minutes trip 

 from the tree, if one happens to be motoring. 



The ancient chestnut stands on the Philipse Manor property and 

 is in plain sight from Broadway, the Albany Post Road. 



85 



