Indian Trail Trees!

See this tree? Neat huh?

What we didn't know when we first moved here, and learned thereafter, is that this is a very special tree.

There are 1,000's of these types of trees reported all over North Georgia and Arkansas, with some even reported in Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and all over the eastern United States.

But what are they? Many believe that they are trail markers through dense forests created by Indians that lived in these areas.

"There developed a custom of marking trails through the forests by bending saplings and securing them in such positions that their directions of bend indicated the directions of the routes to be followed. A line of similarly bent trees thus established a continuous uninterrupted route of travel which could readily be followed. 

After being bent, the young trees were fastened by one of several methods. Sometimes the trees were weighted down with a rock, sometimes a pile of dirt was used, and often the tree was tied in position with a length of rawhide, a strip of bark, or a tough vine. The various methods used in each case were dependent largely upon the custom and ingenuity of the individual performing the work, and the materials at hand."

There are reports that Native American elders from numerous tribes have confirmed their ancestors bent the trees. Other interviews have been done with descendants of early pioneers who also passed down parts of the story. The Trail Tree Project is an attempt to determine if these atypical looking trees are a part of a vast trail marked by Native Americans.

One of our neighbors here on the mountain stopped by not too long ago and told us that there were two more trees on our mountain up here, one next to his cabin and one up further on the ridge.

Very interesting!!! What do you think?