“ There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This called on me for vengeance. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country I rejoice at the beams of peace; but don’t harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one.”
In Webster County, Kentucky, a tree acquired a sinister reputation because of its association with an infamous criminal. ”

“ In 1815 the sect moved again; the members decided on a site which they called “Harmonie” on the Wabash River in Indiana. Upon disembarking at their destination, they slept under an oak tree, which was later named “The Rappite Oak.” Rapp built his own house near the tree. The Harmonists were so successful in their communal living experiment that jealous neighbors made life unpleasant for them, and they returned to Pennsylvania in 1824. But the oak survived until 1900 and outlived all of the Harmonists, whose numbers dwindled rapidly because of their strict adherence to celibacy. ”

“ Another elm connected with the political history of Indiana grew at Plainfield. In 1842 Martin Van Buren toured the West, and his itinerary included Indianapolis and Terre Haute with a stop en route at Plainfield. Although 1842 was not a presidential election year, Van Buren undoubtedly had in mind the coming nominations of 1844, for he made speeches at every stop and gave his political opinions freely. In Indianapolis he was given an enthusiastic reception by his friends and admirers. But he also had political enemies in Indiana. ”

“ In 1790 General Gates planted a shoot from it on his farm on Manhattan Island, where it became in time a beautiful willow, the grandchild of Pope’s willow at Twickenham.
Soon after the great conflict for American independence had begun, Washington was appointed Commander in Chief of the continental forces; on July 2, 1775, he took up his headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The following morning he proceeded to a great elm tree at the north end of Cambridge Common and drawing his sword, he formally took command of the army. ”

“ On a stormy night in August, 1854, the old oak was prostrated.
In the Kensington area of Philadelphia, an old elm stood until 1810, known as Penn’s Treaty Tree, because under it the renowned Quaker made his compact with the Indians. “I will not do as the Marylanders did, that is, call you children or brothers only,” said Penn, addressing the Indians, “for parents are apt to whip their children too severely, and brothers sometimes will differ ”

“ But there are living things that outlive them all—things far more stately than the tallest man or largest quadruped—living things that were companions of the gray beards before the flood and lived to bless their grandchildren. ”

“ His political foes succeeded in spoiling his arrival at Plainfield and doubtlessly impressed him with the urgent need for highway improvement! The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution has since marked this elm with a plaque.
The patriarch of Fort Wayne’s apple trees was bearing fruit long before General Wayne appeared on the scene. When Chief Richardville of the Miami Indians was born in a hut near the tree in 1761, the apple tree stood in the midst of the Miami village, Kekionga. The city grew and prospered ”

“ The Boards and the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County present this publication in the hope that it will prove entertaining and informative to citizens of the Summit City.
1 There has been no Methuselah since the flood. Man seldom lives longer than one hundred years. Only the elephant and the tortoise feebly imitate the longevity of the antediluvians. ”