The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-08-02
BEEcHER.s FARM.
why He Calls II Boscobel This Year-EIis
Coat of Arms.

Coat of Arms.
Letter in New York World.
i love to pass my summers here, amid nature
in its most beautiful aspect and every hill preg-
nant with historical associations See right
across the river there is Haverstraw. There
Major Andre and Benedict Arnold met to COM
plete their treacherous bargain Andre was
brought up in the Nulture, which lay in mid
stream. "A boatman brought him to the place of
rendezvous The Americans who did not ike
the looks Of the British vessel, opened fire on her
and to avoid suspicion she sailed further down
the river The boatman refused to take Andre
back to the ship and land him at Verplancks
Point. He went along the Compound road,
which skirts my place Had he continued on
thai road he would have reached the British
lines in safety, but he turned off in the direction
Of Tarrytown and was captured. In the grave
yard of the old Episcopal Church. in this village
stands a monument erected to the memory of
Paulding, one of Major Andres captors
This very HILL / suppose, Mr. Beecher,
was occupied BY our troops during the Revolu-
tion2n
1t was General Putnam's headquarters. As
you drive along the road here and look toward
the northwest you viii see a hill crowned by a
number of tall trees growing inside q ruined
fertilization That is called Gallows Hill There
General Putnum hung a spy and wrote the fol-
lowing characteristic letter to General Clinton,
the commander of the British troops at New
York, who threatened dire vengeance on General
Putnam if he would treat his prisoner as u spy
The prisoner was caught under circumstances
which tend to show he was spy; he will be tried
as a spy and hung as a spy. N. Bile has
been hung. =
What name do you give your place, Mr..
Beecher?o
''Oh, it's got new name every year. What
is its name this year, mar he called out to Mrs.
Beecher. who was in the library
"Beecher Farm, she replied
I don't mean that; mean its English name.
sBoscobel"
Eyes, that's it-Boscobel,n continued Mr.
Beecher addressing the reporter. II don't
know exactly what it means, though perhaps it
might mean beautiful bose or woods. But I'll
tell you how camo to give it this name You
remember that Charles ii, after being defeated
i'll battle, concealed himself from the enemy
by hiding in the trunk of a hollow tree That
tree stood on an estate belonging to an ancestor
Of mine on my mothers side named Foote, who
II to escape. and the latter, on his restoration
wear a coat-of arms have, as you see, adopted
the name of the ancestral home and have also
adopted the Foote eoat-ofarms7
Then you have a eoat-of arnsls
'Oh, / have two-the Beecher and the Foote, I"
replied the eminent divine, with smile; zone
for winter and the other for summer wear
How long have you occupied Boscobelp
It's twenty three years since | bought the
ground. God made that but put the hair on
it. I've planted between six and seven thousand
ornamental and fruit trees, in all about 450
different varieties. About eight years ago
built this house from the profits of my featuring
Sometimes l call it my air castle, since it was
built from wind. y