The Trail Tree Blog

        ^{Home Is the Sailor}

^{Home is the sailor, home from sea:}

    ^{Her far-borne canvas furled}

^{The ship pours shining on the quay}

    ^{The plunder of the world.}

^{Home is the hunter from the hill:}

    ^{Fast in the boundless snare}

^{All flesh lies taken at his will}

    ^{And every fowl of air.}

^{'Tis evening on the moorland free,}

    ^{The starlit wave is still:}

^{Home is the sailor from the sea,}

    ^{The hunter from the hill.}

        ^{A.E. Housman}

Final Day Report

Our final day began roaming the back roads of the SE Missouri just south of Cape Girardeau. Bob’s friend, Lester Goodin, guided us through this breadbasket part of Missouri.

This land area has large farms that go on for miles along the west side of the Mississippi River. Only two groups of people have lived here in the past. The Indians occupied this area until 1825 (Woodland, Osage, Shawnee, Delaware) and the farmers from about 1830 onward. These farms are now owned by the original settler families who were given these lands from Land Grants issued by President Andrew Jackson in the early 1830’s. Thus, information about the land, trees, and Indian artifacts is known by the family members.

Lester took us to see a Bur Oak Tree located on one of the old home sites where some of the original trees are still standing (much of the land has been cleared for farming). The Bur Oak is 15 ft in circumference, the largest tree we have seen yet. The tree has been bent in the direction of 045 degrees but its main pointer arm broke off years ago and is no longer available for inspection.

 

The location of the Bur Oak tree and its possible relationship to the occupation of this land by the Indians and their migration through the area you may find interesting.

Two miles northeast of the tree is the probable crossing point on the Mississippi River for the Benge Trail of Tears. The route, as currently understood, goes very nearby this location heading in a north westerly direction. To the southwest of the tree is the Towosahgy Woodland Indian site and to the northeast is the Wickliffe Woodland Indian site. These three sites can be seen in the image. The tree is in the middle with Wickliffe to the north and Towosahgy to the south. There is only 20 miles distance between the two Woodland Indian sites, both dating to the same time frame, and the tree is located almost on a bearing line between them.

 

 

To the north where the Wickliffe site is located, is the place where the Ohio River joins the Mississipi River. At this junction point, the Trail of Tears Water Route came down the Ohio and then followed the Mississppi for a distance. Just north of this river junction, the Northern and Hindebrand Trail of Tears Routes which crossed the Mississippi near the Trail of Tears State Park.

The image shows the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. At this place, you drive from MO across a bridge to land in Illinois briefly, then turn right and crossover the Ohio River to land in Kentucky - three states in a matter of minutes.

 

After leaving this very interesting part of the country, we headed SE for the barn which made for a long 14 hours day. On the way home we passed through Chattanooga, TN along the Tennessee River where the Trail of Tears Water Route began.

Thirteen days on the road is a long time, but the people we met, the sites we saw and the things we learned made for an exciting time that we will never forget nor tire of repeating.

Don

Mickey,

Attached is the 12th report with pictures. I'll file the last report when we hopefully get home tomorrow.

Don

We shall not cease from exploration,

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

                   T.S. Eliot Little Gidding 

Twelfth Day Report

We begin our day crossing the last of the tall grass prairie of the central US ending in St Louis, MO about noon. In St Louis we began filming again.

In 2004, the Lewis and Clark Bi-Centennial Celebration was held at Forest Park in SE St. Louis. As part of that celebration, the Osage Nation was invited to participate to honor their heritage since this area was part of their nation then when Lewis and Clark left on their expedition.

During that celebration, Eddy Red Eagle of the Osage Nation, with assistance from members of the tribe, planted an Osage Orange Tree inside the trunk of a dead Red Oak Tree and bent a limb of the tree through the Red Oak pointing east to signify the Osage had returned to their homeland. Today, we visited that site and filmed it and took pictures that are attached. A sign about the event and the significance of the site is also attached.

We were disappointed to find the site was not being maintained to honor the Osage. This will have to be corrected.

After leaving St Louis, we headed south to Cape Girardeau, MO and the Trail of Tears State Park. This park honoring the Trail of Tears is located on the Mississippi River near where the Ohio River joins the Mississippi. At this location, several of the Trail of Tears land routes crossed over the Mississippi to continue to the NW. A picture near the crossing site shows the width of the river they had to navigate.

We were told that there may be a Trail Tree at the park but none were found.

The area of Cape Girardeau was once homeland to the Shawnee and Delaware. Both of these tribes were invited by the Spanish Governor of this area to move here. The Shawnees occupied parts of this area from 1780-1825 and the Delaware from 1789-1825.

We have ended another long day on the road in Cape Girardeau, MO. Tomorrow we will begin our last day on the road going by a farm owned by a friend of Bob’s who has a Trail Tree near his farm.

Don

Based on these interviews, there are no more doubts about these trees being bent by Native Americans.

Eleventh Day Report

Today’s trip report does not compare to the previous ten days. No new people to meet, no interviews, no new learning experiences, no bent trees…just miles and miles of flat terrain with miles and miles and miles of corn and sunflowers. We started the morning at 8,500 ft of elevation and ended the day around 750 ft of elevation.

We are spending the night in Lawrence KS and head for St. Louis tomorrow to begin filming again.

Don

Tenth Day Report

We spend our day at Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument in Florissant CO today. It was another in a long line of incredible filming days. Each day seems to opens new understanding of the trees and adds to our learning experience. From what we learned today, we need to spend another 1-2 weeks out here to capture more of the story.

Our first interview today was with Toby Wells (yes, another Wells but not related that we know). Toby grew up on a farm in the area of the Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument before it was designated as such in 1969. As a young boy and an only child in the 1940’s, nature was his everyday companion. He scouted the area around their farm and found a lot of Indian artifacts.

One day while at home by himself, a Ute Indian lady walked down their road and asked him questions about the farm site. She asked if there was a major spring nearby. There was and it was the principal water source for the farm. She then asked if there was an oddly shaped tree nearby. There was as shown in the attached picture with Toby sitting on it. The Ute lady then showed him the trail that led by the tree heading for the spring. She told him this was a major campsite area for the Ute when they hunted buffalo in the Florissant area.

^{The Toby Wells Tree}

Above where the tree and spring are located is a knoll that was the campsite. As we walked the site, we found flint chips where the Ute’s had made arrowheads. Toby remarked that as a boy he picked up buckets full of the chirp pieces. Several thousand yards from the home site to the east is the flint site that the Ute’s gathered stones to trade with other Indian Tribes.

Our second interview of the day was with Marilyn Martorano, an archaeologist, who has spend 25 years studying the bent and culturally modified trees. The culturally modified trees, also called medicine trees, have been part of her life’s work and she is an authority on these trees. She told us about how the Indians used these trees and she demonstrated how the bark was peeled from the tree and the inter-layer scraped off to be eaten or used for medicine. She also showed us how the particular tree we were observing had been cut to extract a baby carrying board.

Our third interview of the day was with a Ranger from the National Monument who told us about how they are not only preserving the fossil remains at the site but also working to collect data on all the Ute Trees on the 6,000 acre site and preserving them for future generations. Thumbs up to these park rangers for setting a “gold standard” for tree preservation and giving the rest of us such a fine example to follow. 

The area of the Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument was once a lush valley 35 million years ago with large Sequoia Trees growing. Volcano eruptions covered the area with ash and mud and buried parts of the trees and other living creatures. These trees [and bees] died off but through chemical reactions with the soil, they petrified. Some of these trees are very large as seen in the pictures.

Tomorrow we start our trek back east heading for our next filming day in St. Louis with a stop on Tuesday night in Lawrence KS.

Don

[I knew they couldn't have a "rest day."  There's just too much to see.]

Eighth & Ninth Day Addendum

On Saturday night with the temperature hovering around 58 degrees, we headed off to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument to watch our Ute friends perform some of their native dances. This was a great learning experience for us about their culture. In the 1.5-hour program, the Ute dancers demonstrated many of their native dances, explained about each dance and also the outfits they wore for each dance. We ended the evening program with the Friendship Dance were we all joined the Ute dancers dancing in a circle to the beat of the drum.

On Sunday, we headed to the outskirts of Colorado Springs for lunch with family and friends. We dropped Bob off in the Garden of the Gods to visit his daughter and Diane and I went to the Broadmoor for lunch with relatives. The Broadmoor is a very up-scale resort place which has a Sunday Brunch to die for.

After lunch, we rejoined forces and headed for the Manitou Cliff Dwellings to do more filming. These multi-story cliff dwellings date back to the Pueblo’s and the Anasazi’s. The Ute’s belief they come from the Anasazi heritage.

In the late afternoon, we drove to the South Platte River west of where we are staying and filmed some scenic coverage along the river.

Tomorrow, we begin work in the Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument.

Don

Eighth & Ninth Day Reports

We began our day filming scenic footage of Pikes Pike and then headed to one of the Colorado State Parks to locate a Prayer Tree. It turned out to be a great one on a slope pointing directing toward Pike Peak. It undoubtedly will plot out on the Ute Trail to Pikes Peak.

After finishing up filming the tree, we headed to Cripple Creek and Victor CO which are two on the main mining areas south of Woodland Park. Gold was discovered in the area in the late 1800’s and is one of the reasons the Ute’s were forced to move off of the Pikes Peak area. Like GA with the Cherokees, gold was a factor in the demise of the Indians.

Although a fire destroyed much of the old buildings in Cripple Creek and Victor, the still have something of an 1800’s appearance, Cripple Creek today is still mining gold from large commercial mines and from the tourists in a multitude of Casino’s.

Tonight, we will be at the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument to watch the Ute’s perform some of the native dances.

Tomorrow, Sunday, is our ninth day on the road and working hard each day. We will take a break on Sunday from filming. Bob will visit with his daughter at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and Diane and I will meet one of her relatives for lunch in Colorado Springs. We begin again on Monday.

Don

Seventh Day Report

There are no words to describe the honor and privilege we have had this past week in being in the presence of Native Americans from many different tribes. Each meeting, each interview, each learning experience has been a blessing and an unforgettable experience. Tomorrow will be our last time with Native Americans for a while and it saddens us that our days will be less exciting and memorable.

Today, we met with members of the Ute Tribe outside of Woodland Park, CO near Pikes Peak. Our host, Celinda Kaelin, had arranged a full day with the Ute adults and children who visit their homelands every year. We filmed interviews all over the area and learned a lot about Prayer Trees and Medicine Trees altered by the Ute ancestors.

The Ute’s, who lived in the area for probably hundreds of years, were never conquered. They don’t have a migration story because this is where they lived and remained throughout their history. I wasn’t until the late 1800’s they agreed to move onto a reservation in Utah.

During their time in and around Pikes Peak, the Ute’s made pilgrimages to the top of Pikes Peak, a sacred mountain. As they trekked across the valley and up the mountain, they bent Ponderosa Pines which are called Prayer Trees. Their name comes from the fact that the Ute’s bent the trees and then offered prayers for their people and for themselves at each tree they bent. The Ute’s also carved sections of bark off of the Ponderosa Trees for use in medicine and when they were starving, they ate the inner layer of the bark. We found many Prayer and Medicine Trees today and will be searching for more tomorrow.

One special treat today was learning how to offer a prayer for the bent trees using tobacco. At one particular tree, all the Ute’s and all of our team made a tobacco offering for the tree. This tree is not in good health and any prayer, I’m sure, would be welcomed by the tree.

Celinda reports that over 400 of the Ute trees have been discovered in the area in the past ten years.

Tomorrow, we will be working in another area where the trees are located and again on Monday.

Don

Sixth Day Report

Big changes today!! We started our day in Amarillo in the 70’s and as we headed out across the Texas Panhandle, it climbed to the low 80’s. But by the time we got to 8,000 ft in the Rocky Mts. at Woodland Park, CO, the temperature had dropped into the low 60’s and we were not properly dressed. We stopped at Wal-Mart to buy some warmer clothes.

Today was a travel day with some side trips to film scenic areas. We traveled from Amarillo west for a short distance and then turned north across the northern reaches of the Panhandle until we crossed into New Mexico. We followed Rt 87 through the Ratan Pass at 6,738 ft into Colorado and then headed north for Colorado Springs before turning west to go to Woodland Park where we will be staying until Tuesday morning.

When we started our trip, we were following parts of the Trail of Tears route and along the Hightower Trail until we reached Memphis. When we left Bentonville, AR heading toward OK, we again were on the Trail of Tears routes. On Monday afternoon, we crossed the Chisolm Trail. This trail was used to move cattle from Texas to Kansas City and was most likely an Indian Trail before being used for cattle.

Today, we initially were on the old Rt. 66 highway and then started following the Santa Fe Trail into the Ratan Pass and on to CO. The Santa Fe Trail was used by the settlers to cross into the west but before that it was a major Indian Trail. The historical marker for the Tascosa settlement in New Mexico tells the story of this part of the Santa Fe Trail where some the worst outlaws hung out to rob the cattlemen and people on the trail. The Indian also used this area as a major trading place with the Mexicans. The historic sign is attached for information.

Also attached to the email is another historic sign about the LS Ranch whose history was quite colorful.

Tomorrow, we met the Ute’s and visit the Prayer Trees.

Don

Day 5 Report

Today, the temperature was much easier on us. Most of the morning was below 90 degrees and climbed to 98 by late afternoon but we were in an air-conditioned car as we traveled west across OK and into TX. We are in Amarillo, TX for the night and head to CO tomorrow.

We started our day early traveling through the Wildlife Preserve north of Fort Sill and Lawton hunting buffalo to film. We found lots and got some great footage. In one location, we were filming the buffalo and prairie dogs together when the prairie dogs started having a fit and charging something in the grass near their homes. It turned out to be a rattlesnake so we filmed the entire sequence of the snake finally leaving the prairie dogs and moving on away from the buffalo as well. This footage is used for background material to show the land before it was overrun with settlers.

After filming the Wildlife Preserve, we visited and filmed an interview with Barbara Goodin, our Comanche host, who is a key member of the Comanche Nation working to expand the use of their native language. In fact, Barbara and others involved in the Comanche Language Program have done some remarkable work developing the Comanche dictionary, songbooks, flash cards, children’s books and more. Native American languages are being lost each year and it is one of the more important aspects of their culture. The Comanche’s only have 1% of the 14,000 members who currently can speak the language fluently. They are making good progress to teach others.

In the late morning we headed north to Anadarko to locate a possible Comanche Tree in the Anadarko Park and to visit the Delaware Nation. We found the tree and collected data on it. We also checked out the Indian Exhibition in Anadarko but not much was happening in the mid afternoon so we went to the Southern Plains Indian Museum for a short visit.

At the Delaware Nation, we visited the pole house that is a replica of one that their ancestors may have used. The poles that support the roof are cedar trees with faces carved in each pole facing inward.

In the afternoon, we began our trek north to I-40 and then west to Amarillo. It was another long day. Tomorrow, we head into the mountains and cooler weather.

Don