The Birthing Tree

Just driving down the street in the small city of McMinnville, TN you would hardly expect to see such a marvel. But there it stood, firmly planted, just across the street from their local hospital. This magnificent old white oak tree. It stands 85 feet tall and 125 feet across the crown. It is said to possibly be 250 years old.

The tree is located next to Hwy 70 South, many years ago that was known as the Old Kentucky Trail. This old trail was traveled by early settlers and wagon trains. The folklore has it that the history might go back as far as the march to Oklahoma by the Cherokee Indians known as the "Trail Of Tears."

The tree was used as a landmark among the settlers . It was the place to hold up to wait to meet up with other settlers, to wait out bad weather, to wait when their supplies had run low etc. Sometimes they stayed there for long periods of time. It was told that sometimes there were children born there during their stays. Some of the local folks even claim that before the settlers found it, that it had first been used by the Cherokee women. That along their march to Oklahoma they would stop there under that tree to give birth. Therefore it's historical registered name "The Birthing Tree."


Because of these old stories that have been past down for generations, the old tree still remains a landmark. There is one thing that I am certain of, there have been many stories, rumors and meetings shared under this old tree. If only trees could talk what a story it could tell........

                                                          "The Birthing Tree"
                                

 
                                                                                                          L.G.V.
                                                                                                           

Fact or Fiction?

Have you ever wondered where some of the old sayings came from? I found this interesting and it could be true......

The next time you are taking a bath and the water temperature isn't just right, think about how things use to be. Here are some facts or fiction from the 1500's, you can decide. 

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The men of the house had the privilege of going first. Then the women and finally the children and last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty that you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying "Don't throw out the baby with the bath water."

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. But just in case the bride carried a bouquet of flowers to hide any body odor. Hence the custom today of June weddings and carrying a bouquet.  

Houses back then had thatched roofs, thick straw piled high with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so dogs, cats, and other small animals lived on the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

With a thatch roof there was nothing to stop things from falling inside the house. Bugs and other droppings could really mess up a nice clean bed. Hanging a sheet over the top of tall bed posts afforded some protection. Hence came "the canopy bed."

Most of the floors back then were only dirt. Only the wealthy could afford something else. Hence came the saying "dirt poor."

The wealthy had floors made of slate that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when the door opened it would start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway to hold it in. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

In those days they cooked with a big kettle that hung over the fire. They ate mostly vegetables and not much meat. They would cook stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot. The next day they just added more vegetables to the pot, sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence came the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold. Peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show it off. It was a sign of wealth that a man "could bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would sit around and "chew the fat."

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and the guests got the top, or "upper crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait to see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of room to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, one out of twenty five were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on the wrist of a corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night "the graveyard shift" to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."

(Whoever said that HISTORY was boring?)

                                                                                                    L.G.V.

The Legend of the Cherokee Rose

The Georgia state flower is the "Cherokee Rose". It is believed that the rose was introduced into the state, perhaps directly from China or from China by the way of England. One well known horticulturist agreeing with this view gives the year 1757 as the date of it's introduction into England and advances the belief that it reached the United States shortly afterwards. The name "Cherokee Rose" is a local appellation derived from the Cherokee Indians who widely distributed the plant.


As the legend goes, along the "Trail Of Tears" the mothers of the Cherokee grieved so much that the chiefs prayed for a sign to lift the mothers spirits and give them strength to care for their children. From that day forward, a beautiful new flower, a rose, grew wherever a mother's tear fell to the ground. The rose is white, that represents the mother's tears. It has a gold center, that represents the gold taken from the Cherokee lands, and it has seven leaves on each stem that represent the seven Cherokee clans that made the journey. To this day the "Cherokee Rose" prospers along the route of the "Trail of Tears".

                                                                                                                           L.G.V.

The Mysterious Thong Tree

I have memories as a child of picking up arrowheads in a freshly plowed field. I would play with them for a while and they would eventually get tossed around and lost. Not until I reached middle age did I realize what treasures they are. Along with the other Indian artifacts or relics.

I was raised in Tennessee where the country side is full of rock houses. Tennessee extends from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to flatlands along the Mississippi River in the west. The land is still full of artifacts if you look hard enough you can find them. My friend and I got a late start in life searching for arrowheads and artifacts but no one enjoyed it more than we did. And I have to say that we had some pretty good finds on our searches.

The Cherokee were the largest and most important single Native American group in our area. They had settled in our area in the 16th century and lived there until 1838 they were deported to the Indian territory (later in Oklahoma). Excluding a small group of Cherokee, that hid out in the mountains, local rock houses and caves. They are now known as the Eastern Band of Cherokees.

During this time I was directed to an article that mentioned a thong tree. I knew where this particular one was located. It was near a local highway and I had past it many times but never thought much about it. Reading this new information I had to go take another look at this tree, the mystery it held, along with the scars. While taking a closer look at this tree it was easy to see the scaring of the tie down marks and also the pointer or nose. These trees are known by different names "trail trees" "message trees" and "thong trees. As the story goes, they were bent by Native Americans to mark a trail for them or to point to safety or water and to even leave a message in. That explains where the first two names came from and the third name came from the process they used to form them to make a pointer. They would use a young sapling (usually white oak) and bend it over, using a forked stick to make the bend and some form of tie down to hold it in place (thong) until it would take shape. They would also cut the end to make the nose or pointer as the wound would heal it made a protrusion.

My friend and I started a quest, as were hiking into some of these rock houses, we started searching for thong trees. She took several pictures and we were going to document them. (Unfortunately she passed away before we finished this project and the pictures are lost to me). We did however locate several of these trees. These trees were located near rock houses and they all were pointing to something significant. Some argue the fact that these trees couldn't be that old but white oaks live many years. There are always acts of nature that cause a tree to bend. But these trees had indentions going down the side of the tree where a tie had once held the tree down. They also had a distinctive nose or pointer. These trees are controversial there isn't much information about them.

What do you think? I always like to use my imagination, so I imagine the Native Americans being taken against their will along the Trail of Tears. When no one was listening they made their plans to escape, as many of them did when there was an opportunity. They past along the knowledge of these bent trees that the first to escape had bent to help the others find their way to water, shelter and safety. Or as they were pushed farther and farther from familiar territory by the white man they could have used them to find their way.

Or are they just simply acts of nature? Hmmm, no they are definitely "thong trees".

I'm sharing some pictures of Indian artifacts that I found on our trips under the rock houses.
 


Arrowheads along with a worry rock that's our common name in top right corner.
 



Arrowheads

 



Arrowheads along with a scraper pictured at the top.





Indian spindle whorl




This one I found at a constructions site it is my largest.




Mortar and pestle used for grinding the indentations doesn't show up to well in the pictures.




Mortar with pestle lying beside it.

                                                                                                                      L.G.V.

Tecumseh - The Panther Passing Across

The story I am about to tell is a true story based on documented facts from our recorded history. Most every one that has studied history has heard of the Madrid earthquake and also of the War of 1812. The earthquake was centered in Madrid, Illinois and was said to have shaken the entire eastern half of the continent. It wasn't a single quake but several occurred over the next four months. There was one story told that links these two events and it has always intrigued me. It was about a great and powerful Indian warrior and leader whose name was Tecumseh. As stories tell it, he was also a great prophet and he actually prophesied this historical earthquake right down to the very day it occurred!

On a quite night in 1768 a huge meteor burst up in the sky. The tales of the old people would say this was "The Panther" a shooting star. It was believed to be a great spirit passing over and it would find a deep hole to come to rest in. It was considered a good sign. Also on that night a baby boy was born to a Shawnee couple so they gave him the name "The Panther Passing Across" known as Tecumseh.

In 1788 Tecumseh's older brother had prophesied his own death in battle. Tecumseh rode with him into battle, just before his death he placed the leadership on to Tecumseh to bare.

In 1802 Tecumseh was travelling from village to village trying to unite the Indian tribes so they could fight against the white man. He prophesied a war coming between the two. The only way the Indians stood a chance was to unite, instead of each village standing on it's own. He told them of a great sign and his story was always the same. He told them when the time came and everything was ready, that the sign would come in the middle of the night. He said that the earth would tremble and roar. That even though there was no wind the trees would fall and the streams would flow backwards. That lakes would be swallowed up and new lakes would appear. That everyone would tremble and they could not mistake the sign. When this sign came they would no longer be separate tribes but would be united as Indians.

In 1809 Tecumseh sent his younger brother into the woods with orders to make many sacred slabs. He told him to make all of the slabs the same and make them out of red cedar. He also told him to bring a bundle of thin red sticks. Each time a bundle and slab was given to the chief of each village, they were told to throw away a stick at each full moon until they only had one and the slab left. Then they should prepare for the great sign to be given to them. Symbols that were carved onto the slab itself gave them directions of where to travel, so the Indians could unite and try and take back what the white's had taken from them. As Tecumseh traveled with these slabs to different tribes he claimed to do so under the guidance of the "Great Spirit". Some of them ask for proof and he prophesied other events but nothing even slightly compares to the great earthquake.

By 1811 Tecumseh had traveled all over to reach all of the separate tribes and each had received their sacred slab and bundle of sticks. When they followed his directions and had only one stick left, they would be given a sign to show that Tecumseh was still being guided by the "Great Spirit". It would be the sign after which he was named. A star would flash across the sky bright enough that everyone would see. Then they were to take their last stick and cut it into thirty pieces. Each day at dawn they were to burn one of these pieces except for the last piece, which they were to burn in the middle of the night. When this had taken place the great sign would be given. Some threw their sticks and some saw the flash in the sky and broke their sticks into thirty pieces to wait for the great sign. There were directions carved into the sacred slab that told them to head out to the British port when the great sign was received.

(Next is an excerpt from "The Frontiersmen" by Allan W. Eckert no one could describe it better.)

Monday December 16, 1811

At 2:30am the earth shook.

In the south of Canada, in the village of the Iroquois, Ottawa, Chippewa and Huron, it came as a deep and terrifying rumble. Creek banks caved in and huge trees toppled in a continuous crash of snapping branches.

In all of the Great Lakes, but especially Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, the waters danced and great waves broke erratically on the shores, though there was no wind.

In the western plains, there was fierce grinding sound and a shuddering, which jarred the bones and set teeth on edge. Earthen vessels split apart and great herds of bison staggered to their feet and stampeded in abject panic.

To the south and west, tremendous boulders broke loose on hills and cut swaths through the trees and brush to the bottoms. Rapidly running streams stopped and eddied, and some of them abruptly went dry and the fish that had lived in them flopped away their lives on the muddy or rocky beds.

To the south, whole forests fell in incredible tangles. New streams sprang up where none had been before. In the Upper Creek village of Tuckabatchee, every dwelling shuddered and shook, and then collapsed upon itself and its inhabitants.

To the south and east, palm trees lashed about like whips, and lakes emptied of their waters, while ponds appeared in huge declivities which suddenly dented the surface of the earth.

All over the land, birds were roused from their roosting places with scream of fright and flapping wings. Cattle bellowed and kicked, lost their footing, and were thrown to the ground where they rolled about, unable to regain their balance.

In Kentucky, Tennessee and the Indiana Territory, settlers were thrown from their beds, heard the timbers of their cabins wrench apart, and watched their bricks crumble into heaps of debris masked in choking clouds of dust. Bridges snapped and tumbled into rivers and creeks. Glass shattered, fences and barns collapsed and fires broke out. Along steep ravines, the cliffside slipped and filled their chasms, and the country was blanketing with a deafening roar.

In the center of this, in that area where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi, where Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois come together, fantastic splits appeared in the ground and huge tracts of land were swallowed up. A few miles from the Mississippi, near the Kentucky-Tennessee border, a monstrous section of ground sank as if some gigantic foot had stepped on the soft earth and mashed it down. Water gushed forth in fantastic volume and the depression became filled and turned into a large lake, to become known as Reelfoot Lake. The whole midsection of the Mississippi writhed and heaved and tremendous bluffs toppled into the muddy waters. Entire sections of land were inundated, and others that had been riverbed were left high in the air. The Mississippi itself turned and flowed backwards for a time. It swirled and eddied, hissed and gurgled, and at length, when it settled down, the face of the land had changed. New Madrid was destroyed and the tens of thousands of acres of land, including virtually al that was owned by Simon Kenton, vanished forever: that which remained was ugly and austere.

Such was the great sign of Tecumseh!

(This earthquake which occurred where no tremor had ever been recorded before; where there was no scientific explanation for such a thing happening; where no one could possibly have anticipated or predicted that an earthquake could happen. No one except Tecumseh.)

Tecumseh's war essentially led into the war of 1812 and he led some battles in it.
What do you think? If you want to read more about Tecumseh follow the link....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh 

                                                                                                                L.G.V.

The Legend of Billy Dean

They say he was a preachin by the time he was eighteen
It makes you wonder what happened in the life of Billy Dean
Some say it was a woman that turned his life around
They say until that time, he was really heaven bound
The local folks would say that he wasn't really mean
That's the way the story's told about the life of Billy Dean
Most everyone thought it was a waste and didn't understand why
That he made the Ten Most wanted list published by the FBI
His life couldn't have been much, he lived it in a cave
Friends all helped him when they could, his life they tried to save
But the FBI was closing in, he was running out of time
When he headed out that night the darkness left him blind
In the silence of the night he slipped through the back door
He knew his mother would be waiting to see her son once more
The food she always gave him and the art supplies from town
That helped him pass the time while living underground
That night was gonna be his last one and no he didn't know
The FBI was hid outside and they were ready for a show
When he left his mother's house they lit the sky up bright
Not a way to end a life there in the middle of the night
With no place left for him to go, they pulled out all their guns
With family all around, there in the yard they shot him down
The local sheriff led his funeral with teardrops in his eyes
As family and friends all came to say their last goodbyes
And folks around here, they still say he wasn't really mean
So the legend is told about the mountain man Billy Dean

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Dean_Anderson

                                                                          L.G.V.

Spunky (the not so gold) Goldfish

Devin woke up full of excitement. Today was the day that his father was taking him to the fair. Devin loved spending time with his father.

God had made Devin different than the other children. Sometimes his body would jerk or weird sounds would come from his mouth. Devin never knew when this might happen, it just did! Some of the children would laugh and stare at him. They didn't know that when they did that, it would hurt Devin's feelings. Devin's father had told him that they just didn't understand.

When Devin was very young, the doctors had told his parents that he had what is known as Tourette's Syndrome. That's what caused the strange jerks and sounds. Devin's father told him that this happened because he was so full of spunk. Sometimes it just had to come out.....

Devin loved the sound of the fair. The music coming from the carnival rides, along with the children's screams and the laughter. Watching people playing games and all of the excitement along the way. As Devin and his father walked through the midway Devin spotted something strange. There was this stand that had goldfish hanging in plastic bags of water. They were hanging all around the outside of the stand. But there was one that caught Devin's eye, it wasn't gold at all. It was a dull ugly brown color. The other fish weren't moving much at all. But this little brown one was swimming from side to side, turning over, dipping to the bottom and then rising to the top again. It looked very plain hanging with the rest of the of the sparkling fish. You had to toss a ring around a bottle to win a fish. Devin ask his father if he could play that game. Devin already knew the fish he wanted to get if won. His father paid the man for ten rings for Devin to toss at the bottles. This meant that he had ten chances to win. It wasn't looking like Devin was going to win. He was down to his last toss, he sent the ring spinning through the air and it landed firmly around the bottle. The man told Devin to pick out the fish that he wanted, so Devin chose the little brown one. The man asked Devin "Are you sure you want that one?" "All of the others are much prettier." Devin pointed again at the little brown fish and said "That is the one that I want!" Devin looked up at his father and said "I already know what I am going to name him, I am going to call him Spunky." His father then asked Devin "Why?" "Why did you pick that fish?" and "Why did you name it Spunky?" Devin's answer was "He's like me Dad. God made him different and out of all of those fish he was the one that had all of the spunk." Then Devin asked "Dad do think that God gave us extra spunk because he knew that being different was going to be hard for us?" Devin's father answered "I'm sure He did son, after all God knows everything."

Spunky is now living outside in their goldfish pond. Devin goes to visit him often. All of the other fish in the pond loves Spunky. He is still full of spunk and sometimes you can see him jump up out of the water as some of it overflows.....
 
                                                                           
(Spunk: is someone with a lot of energy and spirit.)

(Tourette's Syndrome: is a neurological disorder that causes quick involuntary movements (tics) and vocal sounds (phonic). Tourette's was once considered rare but is becoming more commonly known.)

This was written to help introduce children to the condition. I wrote it after having a dream about it the night before. 
                                                                                                                   L.G.V.