The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-20
PoNr1Us PLATE A SCOTSMAN.
a 3,OOO-Year-OId Tree Stiu Exists
Near the Place of His Birth.

Near the Place of His Birth.
From The London Pail Mail Gazette.
Had this question been put to Charles
Churchill the poet, innamed with rancor
against his pet aversion, the Earl of Butte,
he might have replied NO, but Judas Is
CARROT was probably a Scotsman" New
ertheless, there is a moss-grown tradition
current In Perthshire that the Roman
ruler of Judea was born in Glenlyon, not
far from the spot where the ancient yew
Of Fortngan has lourished, according to
experts in arboriculture, for 5000 years.
1t is stated circumstantially that short
ly before the birth of Christ an embassy
was sent to Scotland by Caesar Augustus,
one of the ambassadors being the father
of Pontius PLATE. The Romans were
courteously received by Metallaus or Me
tellanus, Caledonian chief or petty king,
and were conducted to his primitive resi-
dence, near Fortingan. BY a rather I'M
usual circumstance it appears that Inc
mother of Pontius PLATE had accompanied
her husband on this embassy, and it is
asserted that the future Governor of Judea
was born in the remote district of West
ern Perthshire. The story is not abso-
lutey incredible, though there are argu-
ments that may be adduced on both sides.
1t is probably certain that Caesar Au-
gustus did send an embassy to Scotland
about the beginning of the Christian era,
and Metelanus was the name of a Scot
fish ruler who began his reign about
+. c.. The remains of a Roman camp are
still visible near Fortingal, though its
origin is usually assigned to a later date;
but there is every probability that the Cal
edonians had a settlement in the neigh
bOThOo1 at an early period Indeed, it
is additionally reported that Agricola had
a fierce contest with Caractacus, the sue
cessOr of Metelanus, on this very spot.
On the other hand it does not seem likely
that delicatey nurtured Roman lady
would have left her villa on the Tiber and
braved the dangers of long sea voyage
and risked her life and that of unborn
babe among the barbarians of this distant
isle. 1t is curious that no mention of
Pilates father is found anywhere save in
this Scottish tradition. The early life
of PLATE is unknown, and nearly all that
is recorded of him is contained in the
works of Josephus. There is not, there
fore. a Roman version of his birth to set
against the tradition, and possibly that
may account for the invention of the story
as an afterthought 1t is asserted that
the mission of the Roman ambassadors
was successful and that they established
with Metellanus 'an amite with the Ro-
mans, which continued betwixt them and
his kingdome for a long time after" 1t
is remotely possibly, therefore, that Pom
tious PLATE may have been born in Scot
land
It is certain. at least that if he were
born at Fortingall the ancient yew which
is still in existence would then be a tree
of goodly dimensions. This yew is be-
lieved to be the Oldest tree in Europe Il
was described by the Hon. DANES Bar
rington in THE Transactions of the Royal
Society I'm 1859" In these terms: II meas
ured the circumference of this yew tree
and therefore cannot be mistaken when
inform YOU that it amounted to fifty-two
feet. Nothing scarcely now remains but
the outward bark, which hath been sepa-
rated by the center of the tree decaying
within these twenty years. What still APP
pears however, is "a feet in circumfer-
ence." Pcunant, who saw the tree in 1863
described 1t in his Tour" published in
III, and estimated its circumference al
So feet, giving sketch of il which showed
its dllapdated condition. In the "Statisti-
cal Account of Scotland" published in
1891, the dimensions are given as 50 feet
Strut gives a drawing of the tree in his
"Sylva Britannica" Early in this century
IL was seriously injured by the souvenir
makers in the neighborhood. In 1870 the
late Sir Robert Christian Bart, made a
scientific examination of the Forlingal
yew, and calculated that when DANES
harrington measured the tree in 1868 ii
must have been at least 5000 years old
Though reduced to a mere shell. this yew
stil carries profuse foliage. and may
justly be regarded as one of the wonders
Of the vegetable world. one may doubt the
Pontius PLATE legend, but it is beyond
question that the Fortingall yew was a
goodby tree a thousand years before the !
birth Of Christ.