THE PARKS 65 



Somler house, the older portion dating back to the Revolution. 



Near Hawthorne Avenue, west of Valentine Lane, is the re- 

 mains of Washington's chestnut, a gigantic tree over two centuries 

 old, which, tradition says, Washington used as a place of ob- 

 servation. 



At the corner of Hawthorne Avenue is the Lawrence house, 

 where Washington stopped. This house was probably given to 

 Lawrence as a reward for his services as guide. 



At Sycamore Avenue and Two Hundred and Fifty-third Street, 

 one block south of the Morrisania mansion, stands the former home 

 of Mark Twain, where he lived in 1901. 



Another interesting scene worth visiting in Van Cortlandt 

 Park is the Indian Field at Two Hundred Thirty-seventh Street 

 and Mount Vernon Avenue. On this plot lie the remains of Chief 

 Nimham and seventeen Stockbridge Indians, who died on August 

 31, 1778, fighting on the side of the patriots. The Indians put up a 

 desperate resistance against the British Legion Dragoons, but were 

 overmatched by superior numbers. Chief Nimham wounded Sim- 

 coe, one of the British commanders but was himself killed by 

 Wright, his orderly Hussar. A cairn, upon which has been fas- 

 tened a bronze memorial tablet by the Bronx Chapter of the 

 Daughters of the American Revolution, is a tribute worthy of 

 that valorous band who gave their lives for liberty. It bears the 

 following inscription: 



AUGUST 31, 1778. 



UPON THIS FIELD, 



CHIEF NIMHAM, 



AND SEVENTEEN STOCKBRIDGE INDIANS, 



AS ALLIES OF THE PATRIOTS, 



GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR LIBERTY. 



Erected by Bronx Chapter, 



Daughters of the American Revolution, 



Mount Vernon, New York. 



June 14, 1906. 



The Mosholu Parkway over 6,500 feet long and 600 feet wide 

 leads direct from the Van Cortlandt to the Bronx Park. The 

 grandeur and natural beauty of the Bronx Park is unsurpassed. 

 The Zoological Park and the Botanical Gardens are the most com- 

 plete, and are said to be the finest in the world. 



