tree marker?

[Wetgreenie]

I saw this pic on on another web site and was going to try to get more info.
Any thoughts on this?

 

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[Las Vegas Bob]

Looks like a doctored pic to me.

The shadowing just doesn't seem right.

Shadow of the tree is pitch black.

Shadow of the roof of the house on the wall is several shades lighter, almost gray.

 

[Smee]

Compare the shadow on the house, and the angles are correct, but I doubt that this is a trail marker tree.

The Indians generally used a White Oak, and this just doesn't look like one. The bends would have been "right angles" and not the letter "S".

Also, on a bent tree, the circumference at the hip will help determine its age. A 55" circumference puts a bent tree at about 150 years old. Please don't tell me about other methods, and I won't tell you how you have proven there is no such thing as a 200, 400, or 800 year old Bonsai tree. Both the Trail marker tree and the Bonsai defy the standard calculation methods due to similar stresses placed on both types of trees.

Anyhow, by about 1840 the last of the Cherokee had all been removed from Georgia so the government could divide their land up into gold lots. Yep, the Trail of Tears was all about gold found in North Georgia around Dahlonega, and the belief that the Cherokee had been mining and hoarding it.

 

[cryptodave]

I saw this pic on on another web site and was going to try to get more info.
Any thoughts on this?

A couple of cartoon characters got knocked into the tree?

 

[Wetgreenie]

A couple of cartoon characters got knocked into the tree?
[/quote]

Good One..... I got the visual.....


The site I snagged it from said they were natural formations
I guess I didn't pick it apart much before throwing it out here.

 

[ClonedSIM]

Cartoon characters!!!
Nice....

As far as the tree goes, no clue..... I know I've done something similar to saplings before, tied them in knots and so-forth, just for giggles. Maybe it was just some kid's way of passing the time 50 or 60 years ago?

 

[bytheriver]

We all know this is not an Indian Bent tree

If possible please take another photo of the entire tree. I am interested in the crown of the tree.

Someone with a last name beginning with an "S" is bending trees as a recreational activity. Appears to have restrainer marks on the bark to form the tree into an "S". I also noticed a strange shape in the background and to the right of the tree, could be another tree is in the process of manipulation.

Is this tree abuse?

By The River

 

[Wetgreenie]

We all know this is not an Indian Bent tree

If possible please take another photo of the entire tree. I am interested in the crown of the tree.

By The River

This is only I picture I ran across on the net, I cannot get another pic.......Just curious.

 

[bytheriver]

It is a real curious tree...entertaining if nothing else.

River

 

[bluestem]

That looks like a big old grapevine to me.

 

[gods country girl]

is this a tree marker ? or is it from the tree not getting enough light?

this is in an area that was an old indian site that was called "big meadows" here in north central pa.

 

[gods country girl]

oops forgot the the pic

 

[BigRon]

Note the top of the tree in the first picture. There seems to be chop marks at the top.
Might this be an odd log stood up and photographed? You can't see the bottom of this "tree".

 

[Smee]

is this a tree marker ? or is it from the tree not getting enough light?

this is in an area that was an old indian site that was called "big meadows" here in north central pa.

Here is a pamphlet I created which is used to inform about Indian Trail Trees: http://www.ahgweb.com/images/pamphlet.pdf

If you want to learn more about how the Indians used these trees as well as how to identify them, go to http://www.mountainstewards.org and read the blog and look at the tree project database as well as examining the historical documents there.

It helps to know what to look for, because if there was a lot of Indian activity in your area there may well be some trees still there. If you need help determining if a tree is an Indian Trail Marker Tree (Trail Tree, Thong Tree, etc.) you can PM me or bytheriver and we will be glad to help.

 

[newbieprospector]

is this a tree marker ? or is it from the tree not getting enough light?

this is in an area that was an old indian site that was called "big meadows" here in north central pa.

Here is a pamphlet I created which is used to inform about Indian Trail Trees: http://www.ahgweb.com/images/pamphlet.pdf

If you want to learn more about how the Indians used these trees as well as how to identify them, go to http://www.mountainstewards.org and read the blog and look at the tree project database as well as examining the historical documents there.

It helps to know what to look for, because if there was a lot of Indian activity in your area there may well be some trees still there. If you need help determining if a tree is an Indian Trail Marker Tree (Trail Tree, Thong Tree, etc.) you can PM me or bytheriver and we will be glad to help.

WOW! I grew up near one of these in the Blue Ridge Mtns near the Pisgah National Forest and never knew it could be a marker. We called it the Unicorn Tree...it looks just like the one in the bottom left corner of your pamplet only the shape of a horses head was very prominent in the second bend and where the top continued to grow it looked like a horn, hence unicorn. After reading your link, I'm sure it had to be a marker...only about 30-45 minutes away from the Appalachain Trail and pointed towards a creek one ridge away

 

[bytheriver]

Newbie

Very exciting morning..opened up TN and found my favorite subject "Indian Trail Trees" is sparking intrest....our slogan is "Seeking Preservation Through Knowledge".
Smee provided you with great information on these historical trees. They are a real treasure and the only detector you need is a pair of trained eyes to see the bent trees in the forest.

By the River (BTR)

 

[Old Dog]

BTR,

Doggonit, you even have me looking now.

LOL

OD

 

[bytheriver]

OD

Be sure to check The Mountain Stewards website on a regular basis as they update the tree database as they receive photos from TT enthusiasts.

When you are in the woods keep your eyes on the trees. They will lead you to a clear running stream of fresh water, yummy game, and quite possibly a cave to seek cover from a downpour.

Happy Trails

BTR

 

[Smee]

BTR,

Doggonit, you even have me looking now.

LOL

OD

The more eyes looking for these uniquely American pieces of history the better!

You know, at one time the loggers would not cut these trees because they were told that there was "medicine" in the trees. I have spoken to a few of the older folks here in Southeast Arkansas whose families were involved with the beginnings of what is now the world's largest papermill in Crossett, Arkansas. They have told me that their grandfathers or fathers would not cut the trees for that reason. (I have a few customers who are in their late 80's who can remember back that far).

Who told them that it was bad medicine? It sure wasn't the logging companies. Although they were not replanting the forests back then, they wanted every piece of useable lumber to sell. In later years, other loggers refused to cut the trees because of the danger involved in cutting trees of these shapes. Throwing these trees could be really dangerous because of the gnarled timber that made up the "trunk".

However, with the advent of modern machinery, these trees are now routinely removed because there might be a square inch of forest land that doesn't have a pine tree (the Indians considered pine trees to be scrub) growing on it. Time to locate and catalog these trees is running out. The few that remain are all on private land or in some of our national forests.

As for the trail trees, they are worthless as lumber. Everyone knows that branches are not good for lumber. The uprights on these trees are not the original trunks. The original trunk was bent, and then cut just above one of the branches. Therefore, what is now the trunk of the tree is actually a branch of the tree which had to take on the job of the trunk in supplying the means for photosynthesis.

If you see these trees, please let them be and do not cut them. They are a part of Native American history, a treasure to some of us.

 

[Tim]

S is a big treasure sign. I think it means Sacred. I see them in the forest sometimes