The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-29
THE MYSTERY OF A PLANT.
Growing for Seventy Years on o Murdered
Mans Grave.

Mans Grave.
Caledonia. N. Y, Correspondence New York Sun.
Every year. at about the time wheat begins to
ripen in the Genesee valley, plant which grows
a Short distance from the road, at a spot mid
way between Caledonia and 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 for seventy
years, not another plant of the kind has 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 it is more than likely
that the story of an old time tragedy in the
Genesee valley would long ago have been for
gotten.
The road by the side of which this strange
plant grows is one of the old State roads, and in
1914 was the great thoroughfare through this
valley for travel and trade between the lakes and
the East, and detachments of troops were con-
stantly passing to and fro along the road. One
Sunday in October, 1874, number of American
soldiers were on their way from Buffalo to Sack
ett's Harbor. The day before had been pay day,
and there was more or less bilarity among the
soldiers. This was especially noticed by the
residents of the vicinity when the troops camped
for dinner in a grove near Sylvester Hosmers
farm house. midway between this village and
Avon. The soldiers made very merry, and two
of them had used their canteens so freely that
when the body of troops moved on they were
left behind to recuperate.
About 3 o'clock in the afternoon Mrs. Hosmer
heard the report Of gun. 1t came from the
direction of the camp In those times the sound
of fire arms was common thing tohear, even on
Sunday, and no attention was paid to that par.
ticular shot AT dusk that evening the deserted
camp was visited by member of the Hosmer
family, and lying near the still smoldering
campfire he discovered the dead body of n
soldier, half concealed in clump of bushes.
There was bullet hole in the dead mans tenn
pie 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 depart
ment, and rol-call of his company showed
that privates John Alexander and William
Comut were missing. The dead man was private
John Alexander Comut was captured, and as he
had nearly twice the amount of his own pay on
his person, he was held as Alexander's murderer.
He was tried convicted and hung The murdered
soldier was buried near the roadside, a short
distance from the scene of the murder. The next
spring a strange plant of stalk was found
growing on his grave, and the following year two
other stalks of the same kind spraEg up 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 sum
mer of 1917, the Hon. George w. Clinton, of
Buffalo, was in that locality. He had often
wondered what the strange plant on Alexanders
grave was, and on his visit to Connecticut he
found it growing in profusion about the dead
soldiers native place. 1t vas known there as
false cromwell" How it came to grow the
murdered mans grave is mystery which has
never been solved-a mystery, however, which
is no deeper than the one that surrounds the
fact that the plant has taken root nowhere else
in the Genesee country