They were nearly the same size. They
were five or six feet through at the butt.
Father often said that the tree recorded within itself a true record of
its own age. After a tree was cut down, I have known him frequently to
count the grains or yearly rings and from them extract a register by
which he learned how many years old it was.
How my mind reaches back forty years and views again that venerable old
oak and elm. Trees whose history and lives began before the first
settlement of America. How familiar still their appearance to me, as they
stood with their arms stretched out bidding me the most graceful
salutations. They seemed almost like friends, at least there was some
companionship about them, their forms were very familiar to me.
On the west side of the elm, just above the ground and running up about
six feet, there was a huge knot which grew out of the side of the tree.
It was large enough to stand upon, when upon it, but there was not room
enough for us to stand upon it and chop. We had to build a scaffold
around the tree, up even with the top of the knot to stand upon. In that
way we were able to cut the great tree down.
Pages:
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169