The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-01-07
A RATCHET IN A
GREAT BEE TREE
Boundary Mark Of Survey Made
by George Washing
RATCHET BORE MARK 1886
A Personal Alteration Over the
Ownership and Legal Fight
for Relic Likely.
RATCHET BORE MARK 1896

Especial to The Tlmes-Dispa.ch.!

Especial to The Times-Dispatch.)
MoRRIsyILLE. VA. January s.-Word
mas just been received here over the
| telephone OF the cutting down OF bee
tree containing an unheard of quantity
| OF honey and incidentally the discovery
of an apparently genuine historical relic
| Of priceless value. on the border be-
tween this county and Stafford. not far
| from White Ridge, an ancient hosiery
famous in the latter part of the eigh-
tenth century.
The bee tree In question, 1t appears was
! Just discovered by George Sittoral,
| rowing horum-scarum fellow, who spends
| the most of his time In tho woods, hew-
! ing ties, cutting cordwood, getting out
tanbark. telling timber for saw-mills,
| spaytng hoop poles, saving out slaves
and splitting spokes.
The tree was one of the largest in all
! that densely wooded section Of the coun-
try. but being fore and aft tree on
| that part Of the line between Fauquier
| and Stafford, said to have been surveyed
originally by George Washington, and
| still known as the Washington line and
| far from the accustomed haunts OF man.
| 1t had escaped the woodsman's axe.
| George Sittoral took Henry Saltonstall
| into his confidence. and while 1t was
| little late in the season they decided to
! cut the tree down the first clear night
! and divide the honey.
1t was about shutdown of day early
| in December when they reached the tree,
| with some matches, cross-cut saw, an
axe and large tub. They had heen.
| standing for several minutes in anxious
contemplation of the labor required to
| fell this huge tree, when Arlslirskizwi
De Sabenowski a recent settler in those
| parts, of immense size and prodiguous
| strength hove in sight. Sittoral and
Saltonstall proposed to share the honey
! with the newcomer If he would assist
in cutting the tree down.
The offer was accepted and after about
four hours OF steady hard work the tree
fell with a resounding crash. destroying
large number Of saplngs and small
trees in its fall. The tree they soon
discovered contained hollow, averaging
six feet in diameter from about four
feet above the ground. almost to the
top filled with honey, the most of 1t of
a superior grade.
The discovery OF this great cache of
honey seemed to raise the greed of the
first two men, for they informed De
Sabanowsh that he could only have
WV sepS luli, Wits tHey would keep
the rest themselves. De Sabanowski re-
fused to accept this settlement and left
highly indignant.
This was about 80 P. M. At A,
NJ. he was back on the scene with
double-barrelled shotgun. his wife and
brother and nine yoke of oxen drawing
lizard or slide.
The first Corners retired before this
show OF force. and De Sabanowslii and
his crowd trimmed up and cut OFF about
200 feet Of the tree.
1nverting the lizard they placed 1t on
the butt end of the log chained It fast
and then by means of enormous levers
rolled the log over on the lizard, hitchsd
the oxen to 1t and started to drag the
| log to his home about three miles dis
tant, but the log was very heavy and
the oxen could only make short pulls,
there We're breakdowns and roads had to
be opened through the trackless forest,
SO that 1t was we'll on in the afternoon
OF the second day before they got the
log home.
| One would think that Sittoral ana SAL
| tonstall would make some effort to Sc
| cure a portion of such a rich prize, hut
| the tree being an important line tree,
| they seem to be only too anxious to hush
| the matter up, lest they get into worse
! trouble, but DE Sabanowski being a green
| foreigner and understanding little Eng
-lish, thought only of the money he could
| make out OF the honey about ninety per
| cent of the entire lot being merchants
able Mrs, George Mitchell. owner OF
1 the land upon which the tree stood,