I am no tree expert, but I do love an old tree, especially an old tree with a story. Riverside Park has some absolutely stunning trees, but there is one there that has got me thinking. I’ve read a bit about Comanche marker trees, what they were used for, and how to identify one. A marker tree is a tree that was tied down by the Comanche, causing it to grow horizontally along the ground for a time, thus making it stand out to the watchful eye as a directive that something nearby was of note to the tribe.

Comanche marker trees were the equivalent of our road signs today. Sometimes they were pointing towards low water crossings that would save time and increase safety by being easily spotted using this method. Sometimes they marked significant gathering places, food resources, flint piles or lookout points. Some were ‘story trees’, indicating a sort of primitive amphitheater used for orations and ceremonies These travel directions were often unrecognized by settlers passing through an area, and often unrecognized now.

This particular live oak tree seems to meet a lot of the criteria. To be considered as a genuine marker tree, the tree needs to be at least 150 years old. It should be in an area that was known to be inhabited or used by the Comanche. It ought to bear marks on its trunk from the process of being tied down as a youngster. It should mark something that would have been valuable for the people to know. Check, check, check.

This tree is old enough I believe. It is pointing directly towards what may well have been, 200 years ago, a low water crossing on the bayou. Granted it’s a bit of a steep climb up the other side, but who can say what it was like two centuries ago? The tree could also be marking the pecan grove itself, indicating a good winter food supply nearby, or perhaps pointing out an important meeting place. The tree was bent in the same manner as many other recognized marker trees with the branches growing now from the bent end of the trunk. There seems to be scarring on the trunk where it was bent, but I am not sure about that.

There is nothing officially done about the discovery of a marker tree. No monuments or signs are erected, and there is no particular preservation process, but there is a group, headed by Steve Houser, author of the book Comanche Marker Trees of Texas, that documents and preserves records of these trees. It is hard for a tree to be recognized as a genuine marker tree, and I doubt it will ever be known for sure if this is one. They get a lot of reports on possible trees, and it takes a long time to examine and verify a tree’s creds as a marker.

I like to daydream about this tree though, and walk through the park, admiring how the light makes patterns on the grass through the branches of the other old campaigners growing there. Wondering if they could speak, what stories they could tell. This tree has stories to tell. I think many events took place around it. Maybe it was pointing the way to a ceremonial ground. Maybe it was a get-away-quick tip for bands fleeing after a raid. I sit by it and listen for the sounds of drums, for the crackle of a hot pecan wood fire, for the splash of pony hooves tearing over the crossing, rushing up the far bank…

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Diane Adams is a local journalist whose columns and articles appear periodically on BrownwoodNews.com