The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1870-10-08
Q5lse Albang geoister.
\ Legend of western New York.
nY p. G., PETER soulREs.
II is sometimes exlreme simnlicity th

IL Is sometimes extreme simplicity that
constitutes the strongest point OF interest
il story. How far this may be the case
= p felsaI an aboutto relate, it were
ae, mat oT the writer to say. There
tc #]irt Of merit, however, which he
confidently y clainIs-and that is truth, so
far 81 .Ee outlines are concerned-and IT
any iurtuer evidence were needed could
he casiIy obtained by ihquiring, not OF
thc eldest inhabitant," but almost any
If she residents in that section of country,
70 whom iLc tradition is so old and tamll-
lar as to have lost its interest.
At the head of that beautiful aud fer
tile region known as the Genesee VAL
ley, which has been justly styled, 1.-The
Garden OF the Empire State on the
ground upon which stands the romantic
and beautiful village of Mount Morris, in
Livingston county, and extending some
miles west, into what is now Wyoming
county, the scene of eur story is laid.
And were it necessary here, | would
cndeavor to give the reader some idea of
this delightful spot, which, for loveliness
and beauty, in my view at least, exceeds
any other upon the face of the wide green
earth Talk Of your orange bowers and
vie clad hills Of ''fair Italia, aud '.sun-
ny france 1T may DO for poets, but
not for dabble3s in truthful and sober
prose But who has net visited Western
NcY ERIK And who that has done so
has failed 10 be diverted from his pursuit
et interest or pf pleasure, and to spend a
day 1T least IN the bosom of this terres-
trial Eden .-castinG aside the concerns
ot hgsncss, and the cares which usually
IovG and oprTess the heart, and TO dwell
with emotions Of mingled rapture and
devotion on the abscondiGs and outspread
aeauty Of Nature, which would almost
justify the thought that it had escaped
the curse consequent upon the transgres-
sion of our first parents IA lcveliness
which neither the ''hand of art,' nor the
march Of improvement" has yet been
able to destroy.
1t is true, the wild and unbroken soli-
tudes of the forest no more reign there !;
Eo more is seen the innocent fawn, bound
ing from brake to brake, or its more wa
ry mother, which came forth from her
native thickets at eve to slake her thirst
IN the waters of the Genesce, or to Craze
npon its green ycrdure that grew along
Its bolders and no more is seen tic IA
son eF the forest; as of gore, save, per-
e}ance occus ionaliy wandering remnant
u what waa once a numerous and power
IL tsiae, prior to the encroaehmcnts of
fie pale faces. who has returned
from the distant place Of his bauisiment
and pilgrimage, to gaze for the last time
apon the llundered land and heritage of
his fathers-to muse in heart broken
sadness over the departed glory of his
nation-and to give last sad tear to the
ashes of his sleeping kindred.
Upon Il gentle eminence within the
region | have described, few rods from
the river, commanding a delightful view
81 the rocky gorge through which the
waters roll with mighty restless force,
stands at this day towering and lofty
OAK, which has withstood the violence Of
the storm and the tempest for centuries,
sna yet exhibits no symptoms of decay
Upon enc side of this tree, about the
height of a mans shoulders from the
ground, i seen = deep indentation, in
shape resembling n mans hand, with the
Hasssars cx1en3ed and slightly spread out
etla=3g cor -urcs have been formed as
= the cause = this singular mark but
all thas Is known in relation to it is de-
rived from a tradition of the Indians,
who, 10y years ago, were the only in
h2btaals OF thai section Of country
hey believe it 10 have been made by
BY one Of their noted chiefs and warriors,
who was also held in veneration by his
tribe as great prophet. 1t was during
the eventful period of the Revolutionary
War, that Wakc-ko, (for that was the
name OF the chief, on returning from
hunting excursion, found that his camp
had been visited by an enemy, his lodge
had been burned, and his only child, Ga
daughter about fourteen years of age, and
In whom was eentered all the fondness
of a fathers heart,) slain or carried away
captive. The desolate father stood for a
moment, apparently unconcious of all
else save the black and smoking ruins be-
fore him. Emotions of sorrow, hatred
and revenge, alternately swelled in bis
bosom his lips were compressed, and
slightly curled by bitter smile; his
and the deep lines that wreathed his
brow spoke of passion and purposes of
desperate and fearful import. He then
east from his shoulder the proud trophy
Of his rifle, which he had borne many a
.Yeary mile to present to the idol of his
heart; broke his pipe into thousand
atoms and supplied its place in his belt
with totnahawk plucked the white
feather from his hair, and placed in its
stead the tail Of panther, bound round
sith the SKIN Of huge rattlesnake;
and srasping his rifle in one hand, and
drawing forth his long war-knife in the
other, and casting the sheath into the
smouldering ruins of his home, was lost
at bound in the dense forest that
skirted the river.
Who had been the author Of his wrongs
vas to Wake ko matter of conjecture
lie supposed it to have been the work of
arrival chiefof his own tribe, or scouting
party of the tribe under "Red Jacket
:sho occupied grounds on the southern
borders of the State, and between v holn
and his own tribe feud had for some
s3.Ae existed. 10 ascertain vino had COM
snitted s. tue deed, and to crafty his thirst
-of feVense was the work to which he
aeYeted himself with all the sayaoc ener-
y OF his character. TIE soan I,snr'se1