INTRODUCTION TO TRAIL TREES
Excerpt from the book "Indian Trail Trees"
by Elaine Jordan
P.O. Box 1058
Ellijay, Ga. 30540"Day Stars" of the Cherokee
Just as the stars guided ancient mariners over the
seas, in the Eastern woodlands of Blue Ridge and
Appalachian Mountains, another sign was needed
to guide the Cherokees through their "Enchanted
Land".A beacon and a guide to point the way was needed
to navigate their way through the maze of trails
already established in earlier days.The Cherokee learned from their ancestors the
secrets of the Bent Trees as a means to guide
them through dense woodlands, and to distant
villages, sacred sites and hunting grounds.Following trade routes and through dense forest,
Trail trees marked the pathways that intersected
and interconnected to form a giant web they could
travel by safely over an immense area.These "Day Stars" of the Cherokee marked a
pathway through the vast territory they inhabited.
But these living landmarks, once a unique feature
of their culture, are one of the few remaining signs
of their life in this region.Trail Trees in their time connected the Cherokee
to one another and to the earth. Perhaps today
they will serve to reconnect us to the living earth
and the web of life that is not bound by time, but
only obscured by our lack of awareness.
Preservation of them is to preserve not only the
tree in physical form, but their spirit and idea as
well.They are the connecting links to a civilization, a people
and away of life, a culture that is now past.And the living presence of these Trail Trees is a treasure,
a legacy from ancient times.We must always remember to honor these "Day Stars"
of the Cherokee for what the have become - a last
living link to that past.By David Wedge
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Foot Note:Trail Trees where formed from hard wood trees, mostly of
the Oak family when they were young. The tree would be
cut between one to three feet or so just above the first
branch on a small tree. It would then be pulled over or bent
in the direction desired and staked or tied to the ground or
a heavy rock. The then small branch would be pointing
upward and grow to become the tree trunk, the bent part
becoming the noise or pointer. Over time the method of
tying it down would break or erode away leaving a distinct
shorten nose that is the tree's unique feature and the
principal way to determine if the tree was formed by natural
means or by human means.In the area where Elaine Jordan and I live in Gilmer County,
North Georgia, the area is rich in surviving Trail Trees. In
some 4 years of research she has documented and
photographed about 300 to 400 trees throughout the North
Georgia area. The end results of this being directed to the
preservation of these living legends and their link to the
indigenous Native American culture and to our own link
to Mother Earth herself.David Wedge
1/3/99
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Wild Things of the Night
Wild things of the night
I hear your call,
from the darkness
deep within
it speaks,
"slip away slip away,
fly in the cool breeze
away from the day."Civilized and socialized
foreign am I
for I know another
another I.And in the night of wild things
their sound stirs me,
for I know within
a "presence"
and a place to be.I shift now
to move amoung the trees,
secretly,
to visit with the spirits
and speak,
speak to the trees.They tell me
of all the dead men
having passed by,
knowing not, that they,
they are alive.Conscious spirits
with bodies
of wood and leaves,
that in twilight sing
in harmony.Trees,
Trail markers for the
Cherokee.
Ancient Wise Masters
guardians of the trail.
Watchers and Keepers
of the codes and customs
of indigenous societies.Now speak to me
and tell me of
atrocities
by the dead
that have passed by
in times before thee.Tells me of the cries,
I hear them
Red souls
child
woman
man
as blood flows,
on the bank
and on
into Mountaintown
creek.Where in the water of life
now seeks
the oceans of the sky,
where a man will not die
at the hands of those
already dead, and speak
in a foreign tongue.Who knows not
as sacred, life living
beyond the skin of pale,
santified by the God of alland sung,
by those in breechcloth,
uncivilized societies
how can it be ?To walk the earth
and hypocritically hide
behind lies
unspoken deeds
in songs not sung
but carried in the night
on a cold north wind
sorrows wail.A people vanquished
in the blessing of a priest
and the ruling decree,
divine providence
that by sword and gun
shall be.They listen not to trees.
Trees,
Trail markers for the
Cherokee.
Ancient Wise Masters
guardians of the trail.
Watchers and Keepers
of the codes and customs
of indigenous societies.Witness to that
you would not
wish to see
life slain in vain
for gold and territory
by men in greed
who could not see.'Tis no wonder they
listen not
to trees.David Wedge, "Wolf Stands Alone"
Copyright 1996= = = = = = = = = = = < Write d_wedge@hotmail.com > = = = = = = = = = = =