Thong Tree Clusters

Our recent post about Thong Trees has resulted in our finding several more examples of the living artifacts. Our good friend, Carla Jones from Melbourne e-mailed us last week to let us know that there were several candidates on her property near Knob Creek along Hurricane Creek. Because there were so many examples on the property, we were a bit skeptical. However, one example (the top vertical photo on the right, top photo on left)seems to confirm that these are actual marker trees. Another example (photo at very top), we are told by another friend of the site, Robert Tallbird Ryan, is very possibly what is known as a "shovel tree" which marks a Native-American homeplace or cache. The site of this thong tree "cluster" is situated above and along Hurricane Creek and would have been a great area to have been settled as it offered seclusion in a well-hidden hollow of Hurricane.

The three photos at the bottom left of the post are all from a seep-spring area on the River Bottom we visited near the site of John and Sarah Lindsay Lafferty's original settlement across the White River from Lafferty Creek in modern-day Stone County. We had seen one of these trees on our earlier trip to the area last month but found the other two examples when we stopped there this past Saturday. This site is located only about a mile from a large Indian burial ground on the wide beautiful river-bottom.

Our trip to the Buckhorn (White River Bottom once part of the Indian Land Grant of 1817 and area of the Lafferty Settlement) with Mary and Art Wilson, Mary Miller, Sam Younger, and Freda Phillips was quite rewarding and we will be bringing a full post about our adventure later in the week.

PLEASE - If you happen to know of any of these trees, let us know about them. We would like to add those we find to the database being built by the Trail Tree Project.

Lawrence Cemetery (Belview)

The Lawrence Cemetery lies just North of Melbourne in the Belview Community. The cemetery is populated by several early pioneers of Izard County and actually is the site of the grave of James (Jim) Lawrence who was born earlier than anyone we've come across. He was born in 1788! James Lawerence and his son, William are both memorialized in this biography.Generations of Lawrences from the earliest that settled in the county to the present are represented in this serene and well-kempt resting place which lies just up the hill from a major spring (pictured at bottom) along Hurricane Creek that once provided power for an early mill.
When we arrived on the property, the landowner, Bobby J. Lawrence, invited us into his home to show us his collection of relics from the past. We have included some at the bottom of this post including an M1851 belt buckle-plate his father dug-up with post-hole diggers while building a fence many years ago! The M1851 buckles were issued to Union Cavalry members prior to and during the Civil-war and even during the Indian Wars. Also pictured are two pairs of early 20th century shoes...one, a pair of ladies' "Walk Overs".

Again, our adventure while visiting the Lawrence Cemetery and Spring was made even more special by our fellowship with the gracious landowner! Thanks Bobby J!

Jack Hollow (Hurricane Creek)

Sunday afternoon, we took advantage of the mild weather to explore an area we've been wanting to check out for some time. We started hiking up Big Hurricane Creek from the bridge on Highway 9 into Jack Hollow. We were rewarded with a large rock formation along the north bluff to play on and a great hike along one of Izard County's most beautiful streams! This creek was important to the native-American population who used this land long before Europeans ever moved in and there is much evidence of their ancient presence all along the creek.
The bridge (shown in the photo) will soon be gone as another will replace it when the improvements to Highway 9 are completed.

Video Below!

The Lord May be Willin' but...

...Well...see fer yerse'f


UPDATE!!

These are shots from Calico Rock. The photo of the ruined building beyond the trout dock sign is amazing considering that the arrow points upriver to where that very dock (Jenkins) was located...2-3 miles. There is a video of it wedged against the bridge before it passed beneath and ended up here...below the bridge.

The individual bungalows of the Wiseman Motel are seen nearly covered with Calico Creek and the River.