Boone Carvings
There's a tree along a creek that feeds the Forked Deer River in West Tennessee covered with carvings by Daniel Boone, according to the professor who found it.
"There's no doubt in my mind that it's authentic," said George Edwards, a chemistry professor at Lambuth College in Jackson, Tenn.
The carvings on the 300-year-old beech tree include three sets of initials, two crescent moons, a bare foot, and D. Boone, 1776.
Edwards found the tree in 1968 on a field trip with the late Marvin Eagle, long-time history professor and dean at Lambuth. At first, Edwards and Eagle thought the carvings were the work of pranksters. But the more they studied them, the more they believed them to be real.
"If you know how to put a carving on a beech tree, at the right age, the carving will stay there as long as the tree is alive," Edwards said.
A 100-year-old beech tree is about right for initialing, he explained. A core sample from the tree showed it to be 300 to 350 years old now.
"Boone left Boonesboro, KY., on Sept. 7, 1776, for a hunting expedition along the Mississippi," Edwards said. That put him near the Forked Deer River late in the year.
Edwards said he believes other initials on the tree - E.B., M.C., and M.S. - belong to Boone's brother, Edward, and traveling companions Mike Calloway and Mike Stoner.
The professor has spotted three other trees bearing what he believes are 18th Century carvings. He said carvings possibly done by Edward Boone on one tree are as interesting as Daniel's.
They depict an arm and hammer, a peace pipe, a bottle, and a three-fingered Indian handshake.
This article noted as "From Grit", was published in the 1978 CFA Journal, Vol. III, pg. 23.
"There's no doubt in my mind that it's authentic," said George Edwards, a chemistry professor at Lambuth College in Jackson, Tenn.
The carvings on the 300-year-old beech tree include three sets of initials, two crescent moons, a bare foot, and D. Boone, 1776.
Edwards found the tree in 1968 on a field trip with the late Marvin Eagle, long-time history professor and dean at Lambuth. At first, Edwards and Eagle thought the carvings were the work of pranksters. But the more they studied them, the more they believed them to be real.
"If you know how to put a carving on a beech tree, at the right age, the carving will stay there as long as the tree is alive," Edwards said.
A 100-year-old beech tree is about right for initialing, he explained. A core sample from the tree showed it to be 300 to 350 years old now.
"Boone left Boonesboro, KY., on Sept. 7, 1776, for a hunting expedition along the Mississippi," Edwards said. That put him near the Forked Deer River late in the year.
Edwards said he believes other initials on the tree - E.B., M.C., and M.S. - belong to Boone's brother, Edward, and traveling companions Mike Calloway and Mike Stoner.
The professor has spotted three other trees bearing what he believes are 18th Century carvings. He said carvings possibly done by Edward Boone on one tree are as interesting as Daniel's.
They depict an arm and hammer, a peace pipe, a bottle, and a three-fingered Indian handshake.
This article noted as "From Grit", was published in the 1978 CFA Journal, Vol. III, pg. 23.
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posted by DFM | 6/28/2004
1 Comments:
I can't believe there has been no comment! I found this to be both interesting and educational.Thankyou!
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