The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-13
LAST OF THE BUTTON-BALL.
MORTON STREET SEES a GENUINE
BIT OF WOODSMANS L

B,r Tom Carr Foiis the old Foro.t.L,Ls Nom
arch with q shining Axe. and Then the
Small Boys who stripped lts Branches
Work Up Hts Trunk with = Cross-Cut saw.
Hoy, Jakoyl Dey'ro cutting q tree down..
Como quicki''
1t was Willie Martin who shouted, and he
stood between Bedford and Hudson streets, on
Morton, near his home. yesterday morning.
Jakey came. and with him half q dozen other
boys, to Hudson street, where they watched big
Tom Carr, O contractor's man, driving an axe to
the helve into a big button-ball tree on tho cor
ner OF Morton aud Hudson streets. A crowd
gathered quickly. They stood along the curb of
Morton street and clear across the street. Truck
drivers hold up their horses till the policemen
got the headache telling thom to clear the way
for those who didn't know q torest-liko monarch
was to fall on Morton street, and wouldn't have
appreciated 1t probably If they had.
Tho contractor said that the tree had to come
down. Tho Department OF Public Works had
received forty complaints about It Wouldn't 1t
be falling on somebody's head when nobody WAS
thinking Of It'll So the order went forth that the
westernmost tree OF the three button-balls on
Morton street, near Hudson, must be felled, and
yesterday it was. There were many In the watch
ing crowd that regretted the sight. They had
seen the tree grow year after year big and
" Wv with lhOIcdolhk hhu VII ubuub -
year ago.
d. w. NJ. Sturgeon used to live on that corner.
He came TO the city about sixty years ago and
put up n store there and sold hardware In 1t.
There wero many trees Whereabouts then, and
Mr.. Sturgeon planted three along his lot. A year
ago Mr.. Sturgeon died, and Mrs. Addie Citing
canie into the property. She lives near by ut 67
Morton street. Her foreman lives upstairs over
the store. He admitted that tho tree ought to
- - A
hne shade. tree and In warm weather kept the
sun out Of his room.
The chopper did not have to cut very long. Ho
self In the dark. rotten pith Of tho wornout
heart. A.greet gush was cut in the side to tho
side. and the trucks and spectators were warned
to stand aside-to look out. The leaves still
over the heads Of the people there. unless he got
glimpse OF the shining axe Or heard It striking,
longer. AT last each blow shook the tree from
butt to twig and caused a few dead twigs to fall
down.
Commonly. whom big trees are folled in the
city. men climb up and, with saws. cut away the
branches one by one, till at, last only a big ugly
all is branches. It t. swayed as a Forest tree
leaned toward the ground. Gradaaiiyi it gained
sSP pesfi,ss ana and while mo,,on the SPECTATORS ,pss rross stood
The asphalt broke the Brittle t1iss and sent atT the
big branches asunder. The big tree rolled half
over ana lay. stu. Countless boys
over II, plucking the leaves till not one re-
NAMED and scattering them to the wind. An
old woman with gray hair and bent form, falter:
ing at each step, came and picked up a dozen OF
the largest twigs with leaves still sound and
carried them. away. Sho said they were for
keepsakes and that she would press them in the
Big Book with the other leaves. She had seen
many trees fall there.
Men. women. and children gathered around
the big treo and watched Big Tom trim down
the branches In true woods style with an axe.
In the woods no one watches such things except
tho SQUIRRELS and bluejays. or now and then a
dog. The bpttonball was three feet through at
Three feet above that, where the drst saw
cut was made, it was thirty inches, and re
mained 30 to the first branch, ten feet
up.. In all the tree was about forty fee,
high, and spread out two rods at the broadcast
part. The small boys handled tho cross-cut saw
on the body wood TIL their faces were red and
their backs tired out. 1t was the first time they
ever had q chance to saw wood that way. and
any woodsman could have told it.. They sawed
with their arms instead OF with q body motion
Their hips were stiH instead of apparently joint
less as with wood sawyers.