I speak now of William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson, for as to Mary Dyer and William Leddra Friends were permitted to take away and bury their bodies. Caleb Cresson's Diary, 1791.

THE TRAGEDY OF STEPHEN BALL

"Last night, was executed at Bird's Point, Bergen Co., in the Province of New Jersey, pursuant to his sentence, Stephen Ball, a spy; he was very active in the execution of Thomas Long, a refugee from Jersey, who suffered death in that Province in the year 1779. Ball was apprehended in Staten Island by a party of Refugees." (From Rivington's Gazette, February 3, 1781, in Moore's "Diary of the Revolution," II., 383.)

The following account of the above transaction from the other side, with its sequel, is interesting:

"Elizabethtown, October 13, 1807. Cornelius Hatfield, an obnoxious refugee character, who came here a short time since from England, via Nova Scotia, to possess a valuable landed estate left him by his father, was apprehended by the civil authority last week and conveyed to Newark gaol, on a charge of being a principal in the brutal murder of Stephen Ball, a citizen of this State during our revolutionary war, who went into the British lines under assurances of protection; and on Thursday last was brought before Judge Pennington on a writ of Habeas Corpus. Aaron Ogden, Isaac H. Williamson and Wm. Chetwood, Esqrs., appeared on the part of the culprit: and Alex. C. McWhorter, Wm. Halsey and Elias Van Arsdol, Esqrs., on the part of the prosecution, when after a patient

hearing of the argument on both sides until yesterday, the judge discharged Hatfield, being of opinion, by the spirit of the treaty of 1783 he was not now answerable for that transaction. But we hear the friends of Ball are still determined to prosecute him before another tribunal. To correct erroneous statements which are gone abroad, we publish the following authentic document, given at the time the transaction took place :

"A statement of facts respecting the deliberate and cruel murder of Stephen Ball on Bergen Point, the 25 of January 1781. This unfortunate man was deluded by a declaration made by the commanding officer on Staten Island, that all persons who would bring provisions should have liberty to sell the same & return unmolested; in consequence of which declaration, Ball carried over 4 quarters of beef, with a full assurance of being well treated, and expected to return undiscovered by his countrymen; but soon after his arrival on the Island he was seized by Cornelius Hatfield, who commanded a party of 6 or 7 men & was carried before General Patterson, who refused to call a court martial to try him. From thence he was carried before General Skinner, in order for trial, but he also refused, pretending to shudder at the thought of trying & executing a person who came to bring them relief. Nevertheless the said Hatfield & his party, being lost to every sense of humanity after robbing their prisoner of what property he had with him, carried him across to Bergen Point, & without even the form of a trial, immediately informed him that he had but ten minutes to live, & accordingly put their horrid design into

execution, notwithstanding the prisoner strenuously urged that he came with provisions, agreeably to the above mentioned declaration; & when he found they were determined to take his life, he begged for a few minutes longer but was answered that his request could not be granted; but if he had a desire that any person should pray with him, one of their party would officiate. When he was near expiring James Hatfield, one of the Banditti, put a knife in his hand, & swore that he should not go into another world unarmed. The persons who perpetrated this cruel act were Cornelius Hatfield, John Smith Hatfield, Job Hatfield, James Hatfield Sr, James Hatfield Jun, Elias Mann, & Samuel Mann, all late inhabitants of Elizabethtown ; & Job Smith, late an inhabitant of Bergen. When Ball's father became acquainted with the tragical death of his son, he solicited a flag, which he obtained for the purpose of bringing over the corpse, but the enemy, with a savage brutality, would not suffer them to land.'" -Am. Register, Phila., II., 323.

This account differs somewhat from Sabine's under head of "John Smith Hatfield." Sabine connects only John Smith and Cornelius Hatfield with the murder, and notes the fact that John S. Hatfield was arrested on his return to New Jersey, 1788, and being released on bail, fled and never returned, and that Cornelius returned and was arrested 1807. HORACE EDWIN HAYDEN

Wilkesbarre, Pa.

DEATH OF GENERAL HUGER Between the hours of twelve and one o'clock on the morning of the 6th ultimo, and in the fifty-fourth year of his age, an

His

apoplectic fit terminated the existence of the much beloved, and equally lamented, Isaac Huger; who was possessed of a heart of unbounded benevolence, a temper easy and agreeable, manners polite and engaging, a strength of mind truly determined, with a degree of courage and bravery the most undaunted when contending with dangers imminent and critical, and in situations difficult and trying; happy in the sincere and affectionate attachment of his friends, yet respected by those who in our late contest entertained sentiments immediately opposed to his opinion and to the cause to which he had devoted his services. talents as a soldier were highly esteemed, even at the early period of seventeen years, when he was nominated to a lieutenancy in a battalion raised in 1760, commanded by Thomas Middleton Esq' for the express purpose of protecting our then defenceless and thinly settled inhabitants of the upper country, from the barbarous and savage incursions of the Cherokee and other Indians. In 1775, the memorable juncture, when the demon of discord influenced the British nation with an over-ruling passion for dominion and lust of power, and ultimately excited the cabinet of St James to attempt the destructive and unwarrantable plan to subdue by force of arms and military array her peaceful and rising colonies, and that in consequence pervaded America's rights, he was by the unanimous vote of his fellow citizens, elected senior lieutenant colonel in South Carolina, by the troops established by the provincial congress; in 1776 he was appointed colonel to the fifth regiment; and in 1778 promoted to the rank of brigadier general in

EAGLES AND FISH-HAWKS ON THE HUDSON

Before leaving this very beautiful stream I cannot resist the desire to describe to you two kinds of eagles which every year make their nests on the shores. With the return of each summer the sea-bass, a fish weighing between forty and fifty pounds, takes refuge here to lay his spawn: two kinds of eagles then appear and offer a singular spectacle. The first of these birds is the Fish-hawk, which lives all the year round on the sea shore and feeds upon fish; he never fails to accompany the bass in his periodical emigration; he follows it in his passage and has the art to catch it. To effect this he rises so high in air that he is almost lost to sight; from this sublime height his piercing eye easily sees the large fish which play beneath the water. As soon as he has made his choice he descends with the rapidity of lightning. The attentive spectator who has almost lost sight of him can hardly follow him in his precipitate fall; often he only finds him by the noise he has made when striking the water and the agitation he caused. He plunges in, I know not to what depth, and disappears. In the space of half a minute you are surprised to see him come to the surface and rise with a great fish in his claws. Borne down with the weight, he moves his wings

with even greater velocity than before. At last he reaches a height on the level with that of his nest; then he flies. At this moment the Bald Eagle, who never fails to settle in his neighborhood, and whom the scarcity of game has driven from the Blue Mountains, prepares himself for the struggle and the most surprising exercise of skill. He has watched the movement of his antagonist; he knows the proper moment and never misses it. This eagle loves fish, but is unable to take it himself; and, knowing his superiority over the fish-hawk, he leaves the tree where he has made his home, takes flight and pursues him with the greatest velocity. The other, laden with a weight he can hardly carry, at the sight of his enemy drops his prey and flies away. Hardly has it begun to fall when the mountain eagle dashes after it, overtakes and seizes it before it touches the water. Triumphing in his good fortune he carries it to his nest, where he feeds his young.—St. John de Crevecœur, Lettres d'un Cultivateur.

NOTES

THE FIRST ELEPHANT IN THE UNITED STATES -The appearance of the celebrated "Jumbo" in this country reminds the writer of a note from "Champlin,” the chatty and entertaining Newport correspondent of the New York Evening Post, who correctly states that the first elephant landed in this country was brought from Bengal by the ship America, which arrived at New York from Bengal in the spring of 1796. It is described in the Jersey Chronicle of April 30, 1796, as a female, two years old, and

of the species that grow to an enormous size. This animal (the Chronicle says) is sold for ten thousand dollars, being supposed to be the greatest price ever given for an animal in Europe or America. On June 20, 1797, Champlin tells us, she passed through New York on her way to Boston. In 1806 we find her again in New York, at No. 8 Cedar Street. She is announced as on a flying visit, intending to leave town the same evening, no doubt on her summer travels. Of her further history we have no knowledge-it should be written. Of "Jumbo," however, it may be said that, though last,

GATES' HEADQUARTERS AT SARATOGA -According to Wilkinson, Gates had his headquarters in "A small hovel, about ten feet square, at the foot of a hill, out of which it had been partially dug; the floor had been prepared by nature; while in one corner four forks with crosspieces supported the boards which received the general's pallet."

The author of " Burgoyne's Campaign," 12mo, Albany, 1877, following the above statement, says this hole (for such it literally must have been from the description) was on the river road leading from Schuylerville to Stillwater, on the west side of the road, about 150 rods south of Fish Creek. What induced Gates to select this cavern we are not informed by either of these writers. Dr. Lossing, in his Field Book, says that the headquarters of Gates was the house of a widow Kershaw, who was amply compensated by Gates for his temporary occupation of it. This house (of which there is an excellent

picture in the first volume of the Field Book) still stands on the east side of the river road, by the margin of the Champlain Canal, a little way below Schuylerville. C. A. C.

GIFT FROM ULSTER COUNTY, N. Y., TO BOSTON—Extract of a letter from a gentleman in Ulster County to his friend in Newport, dated October 29:

"Our people in this county are making up something for the support of the poor in Boston. Our neighbors in general have subscribed some 2, some 3 bushels of wheat; and George Clinton, Esq., has offered to grind, bolt, and pack all on free cost that they will send to his mill (on the bank of Hudson's river) and it is thought that there will be between 4 and 500 barrels of flour sent from this county Boston." The Newport Mercury, Nov. 22, 1774.

to

PETERSFIELD

WASHINGTON AS A POET-M. d'Haussonville, one of the French visitors at the Yorktown celebration, writes pleasantly, and semi officially, we may say, as representative of the party, of his experiences in the United States. His account appears in the February and March numbers of the "Revue des Deux Mondes." The presence of the German visitors, the Steuben officers, seems not to have been exactly relished. In the "Revue" for March 15 d'Haussonville contributes the following sonnet, which he copied from Washington's papers at the State Department, an evidence that the "Father of his Country" was like some other men, at least on one occasion. He was guilty of

By curiosity led forth (all conquering Power) my willing Feet transferred me where I might survey America's great Patriots Retire from weighty Council.-A Prospect Glorious !-At the pleasing View, how glow'd My Bosom !-As many, as the Weeks

The Year contains, so many constitute Th' illustrious Band.-With manly gait, His faithful Steel suspended by his Side, Pass'd W-shi-gt-n along, Virginia's Hero. * * much is wanting

I am in great Haste, and can go no further in this heroic and truly sublime Strain. I have not even time to give the lines their proper measure. This Col. W-shi-gt-n is a man noted as well for his good sense, as his Bravery. I heard, he said, he wished to God! the Liberties of America were to be determined by a single Combat between himself and Ge. *

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PHILADELPHIA, Octo. 5, 1774.-Farewell. [Addressed] To Miss Sally Drowne, Providence.

THE OLD BAYARD MANSION, NEW YORK CITY-This ancient country seat, on the corner of 111th street and First avenue, is still in good condition, and has been for the last twenty years the family residence of John Balmore, Esq., Superintendent of the Harlem Gas Company Works. It is a large, roomy, two-and-a-half story frame house, yellow-painted, stands on a portion of the original spacious home-lot, with several large old shade trees around, e.g., elm, horse-chestnut, sycamore, etc. It is said to be over a century built, and evidently of the best materials. The shingling of red cedar is thought never to have been renewed. The earliest remembered occupant of this house-by Mr. Gown, the oldest living Harlemite known-was not a Bayard, but Henry G. Livingston, who afterwards built in Harlem Lane-now St. Nicholas Avenueand died there. Next came Captain Bradish, a Southerner, who had a large plantation in Louisiana. He subsequently rented the place to a Mr. Seaman, after which it was sold to the Gas Company. In the Valentine City Manual of 1862 there is said to be an account of this house and property. Probably some reader of this Magazine can give their record, ex origine. W. H.

New York, April, 1882

THE SARATOGA MONUMENT [VIII. 222] The House of Representatives has cheerfully voted to deliver to the Saratoga Monument Association a number of the cannon captured from Burgoyne in 1777, now on hand at the Watervliet Arsenal, West Troy, N. Y. The bill for this purpose, which was introduced by Hon. S. S. Cox, authorizes the transfer of