Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-24
THE MYSTERY OF A PLANT.
Growing for Seventy Years on Muir
dered Mans Grave, but Nowhere
Else in the Region.

Fron The Nelc York Sun.
CALEDONIA, n. Y, June 1S.-Every
year, at about the time wheat begins TO
ripen in the Genesee valley, a plant which
grows a short distance from the road at a
spot midway between Caledonia ana Avon
begins TO bud, and when the wheat is
being cut the buds have opened into light
purple wax-like flowers. The plant has
three stalks, and, although they have
grown, bloomed, and gone to seed tor
/ seventy years, not another plant Of the
kind mas ever appeared elsewhere in all
this region, nor was the species ever seen
here before the mysterious appearance Of
these three stalks in the summer Of 1915,
] But for them 1t is more than likely that
I the story Of an old-time tragedy in the
/ Genesee valley would long ago have been
/ forgotten.
/ The road by the side Of which this
/ strange plant grows is one of the old State
roads, and IN 1914 was the great thorough
( fare through the valley for travel and
/ trade between the lakes and the East, and
detachment5 of troops we're constantly
passing 10 and fro along the road. One
sunday in October 1914 a number Of
American soldiers were on their way
from Buffalo to Sacketts Harbor. The
D 3
was more or less hilarity among the
soldiers. This was especially noticed by
the residents of the vicinity when the
troops camped for dinner in a grove near
sylvester HOsmer's farmhouse, midway
between this village and Avon. The
soldiers made very merry, and two Of
them had used their cauteens so freely
that when the body Of troops moved on
they were left behind to recuperate.
hnrTf n r. in ho of Mr1
| HosIner heard the report Of a gun. II
came from the direction Of the camp. In
those times the sound Of firearms was
common thing to hear, even on Sunday,
and no attention was paid TO that partic-
ular shot. At dusk that evening the de-
serted camp was visited by member Of
the Hosmer family, and lying near the
still sm0uldering camp fire he discovered
| the dead body of a soldier, half concealed
hole in the dead mans temple. All the
surroundings and circumstances showed
plainly that the soldier had been murdered
and robbed. Word was at once sent to
the commanding officer of the detachment
and roll call of his command showed
that Privates John Alexander and Will
liam Comtit were missing. The dead
man was Private John Alexander. Com
FIT was captured. and as he had nearly
Z
person. he was held as Alexander's
murderer. He was tried, convicted
and hung. The murdered soldier
was buried near the roadside, a short dis
lance from the scene of the murder. The
next spring strange plant of one stalk
was found growing on his grave, and the
following year two other stalks Of the
same kind sprang up a foot or two from
the first one. AS their like had never
been seen in the valley, there was much
/ speculation as TO what they were. They
never spread beyond the surface of the
/ grave. Alexander was from the vicinity
| of New Haven, Conn. In the summer of
| 1917, Hon. George W. Clinton. of Buffalo
was in that locality. He had often won-
dered what the strange plant on Alex
ande's grave was, and on bis visit to
Connecticut he found it growing in pro-
fusion about the dead soldiers native
place. 1t was known there as "false
/ CROMWELL" How IL came to grow on the
murdered mans grave is amvstery which
has never been solved--a mystery, how
ever, which is no deeper than the one that
surrounds the fact that the plant has
taken root nowhere else in the Genessee
! country.