Year: 1876




From the Boston Globe, February le.l


Yesterdays weather was remarkable
for its svariety. Beginning with steady
rain in the morning, which continued
till about three o'clock in the afternoon,
the sky cleared away and the sun shone
brightly for few moments; but very
soon the sky again became overcast and
a high wind sprung up, which rapidly
increased to a gale that continued far
into the night, doing great amount of
damage in this city and suburbs. Per-
haps the greatest damage was the de-
struction of the Old Elm on the Com
mon, loss that is irreparable. This
ancient and much revered old tree,
which has stood the severest gales for at
least two centuries, succumbed to old
Boreas shortly after seven o'clock last
evening, coming down to mother earth
with loud crash and splintering its ven-
Grated branches into a thousand frag-
ments. The tree gave way at its base
close to the ground, breaking square off
at the roots and falling towards the
northeast and carrying portion-just
the diameter of its huge trunk-of the
iron fence which enclosed it with it.
Fortunately no one was in the immedi-
ate vicinity at the time, and no injnry
to anyone resulted from its fall, but the
loud noise when it yielded to the ele-
ments attracted a crowd of men and
boys, who Immediately attacked the
venerable ruin and secured mementoes.
While some were content with a very
small fragment, others searched for
pieces suitable for canes, and still 9TH
ers, who seemed to have an Unsuitable
love for the old tree, or possibly seeing
a way to make an honest dollar, visited
the spot again and again, departing
from the vicinity loaded down with
fragments of the trunk and branches,
until at ten o'clock there was hardly
portion of the tree left on the ground
except the trunk and an immense
amount of twigs broken in small bits
and trampled into the mud by thou
sand feet. The upper part of the trunk,
where it separates into branches, and
which was riveted together and bound
round with zinc some years since, when
the famous tree was injured by gale,
was split in twain, while the branches
projecting heavenward therefrom were
snapped short off, showing the great age
which the tree had. attained. A small
tree which stood within foot of the
reminding one of the elasticity and vigor
of youth which bends under adversity
and the strokes of disastrous fortune,
while old age


SUCCUMBS AND DIES.


The scenes about tie spot, after the
downfall, were amusing, for the news
soon spread, and even the street gamins
were heard to cry 1.-The old ellrm is
gone" and hurried to the spot, where
old men, middle-aged men, and young
men were busy gathering relics, working
harder for good cane piece than they
have labored for many a day, while
one or two women lowering around the
outskirts of the crowd, hoping to gather
some stray fragment. An officer on duty
there ordered the crowd not to break
any branches from the tree, but what
was one man to do against fifty or more,
who were determined to have piece of
the historic wood. The branches, one
by one, cracked and were broken, and
in every direction were to he seen per-
Sons loaded with fragments, and the
work was continued for upwards of two
hours. One enterprising youth brought
hatchet, bnt was prevented from using
it to any extent by the officer. Soon
after ten o'clock three police officers
were stationed about the remains of the
once famous elm, and prevented spoil
alton for any purpose. But the mis-
chief had been done; thus ended the
historic life of Boston's most ancient
landmarks