dakotalawdog
ArboristSite Lurker
I'm a bit of a history buff, so when I get to cut up a big, old tree, I think it's pretty cool to think about all the things the tree has "seen" over the years, and what was going on here, in what would become my yard hundreds of years ago.
I live in southwest Wicsonsin, known as the "driftless area." It is called this because this part of the state was untouched by the glaciers that came down from the north some ten thousand years ago, leaving this part of Wisconsin rather hilly. My property, 40 acres, has about 100 feet of elevation change, and is covered mostly by oaks, black walnut, as well as maple, some birch, and various maples.
This is a white oak whose roots rotted, and came down last month on my property. I took the top off for firewood with my MS290 and MS391. To handle the trunk, I used the 391 with a 25" bar and semi-skip square ground chain. When the tree came down, it took out 3-4 smaller oaks, a medium sized walnut tree, and a second smaller walnut tree.
View attachment 300797
The cookie I cut off the bottom was 36" in diameter, and the rings suggested it was at least 178 years old. Now, for some of you guys out west, or in the northeast, where some species of trees grow to be 1,000 years old, that's not much, but around here, that's a pretty old tree. Given that it had been dead for a few years, I estimate the tree had been around since the early 1830s.
View attachment 300800
Most notably in this area during that time was the Black Hawk War, fought in 1832. The Black Hawk war had it's roots in the Treaty of St. Louis (1804), which sold a number of Sauk and Fox lands to the United States. From the time the treaty was signed, there were disputes over what lands had been sold, and even whether or not the tribal leaders had the authorization to speak for all the villages.
During the War of 1812, the British promised the Sauk and Fox control of these lands in exchange for fighting on their side, however, the British betrayed the Indians and the United States gained control of all these lands. In 1828, the remainder of the tribes in the area were ordered to move west across the Mississippi.
By 1831, relations deteriorated further, and by 1832 small skirmishes had turned into a larger war in the area. On July 21, 1832, Federal Troops pursued the Sauk across the Isthmus on which lies present-day Madison, towards Sauk City, on the Wisconsin River, some 20 miles from where I live.
The events concluded with the Battle of Wisconsin Heights, where 60 Sauk warriors held off over 700 government troops while other members of the tribe escaped across the Wisconsin River. In August, 1832, a peace treaty had been signed after significant loss of life on both sides.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_War
In 1835, the part of the state I live in was just being settled by Cornish miners - which is how Wisconsin became known as the "Badger State." Two men were shot and killed at a local saloon in town, which is believed to be how the legend of the "ghost" that supposedly haunts the area came to be. The first settlers began arriving in Milwaukee around this time too. Wisconsin would not become a state for another 13 years, in 1848.
Back to the wood. This is the remainder of the log after the top was taken off. As pictured at this point, it was 16 feet long. To finish it from here, I cut it in half, using a number of wedges and making the last cut from the bottom as the tree was supported at both ends but not the middle.
View attachment 300801
From there, we wrapped chain around each log, which must have weighed several thousand pounds and drug them down the hill. We hauled them over to my neighbors house, where a friend with a portable band saw will have a go at them, eventually to become hardwood flooring in his house. I thought I had a photo of the two final logs, but I can't seem to find it.
Though the 391 handles this tree pretty good, this log inspired me to get something a little bigger - for future trees like this, and maybe to do some Alaskan milling... so I have an 066 I found online on the way too.
Anyways - I think it's pretty neat to think about this tree being around here in the 1830s, witnessing Indians and government troops moving through these lands in the middle of a war. It makes you wonder about the young trees growing up now - and what they may see over the next 180 years, and if someone 180 years from now, will be wondering or reading about what we were doing back when the tree was young.
I live in southwest Wicsonsin, known as the "driftless area." It is called this because this part of the state was untouched by the glaciers that came down from the north some ten thousand years ago, leaving this part of Wisconsin rather hilly. My property, 40 acres, has about 100 feet of elevation change, and is covered mostly by oaks, black walnut, as well as maple, some birch, and various maples.
This is a white oak whose roots rotted, and came down last month on my property. I took the top off for firewood with my MS290 and MS391. To handle the trunk, I used the 391 with a 25" bar and semi-skip square ground chain. When the tree came down, it took out 3-4 smaller oaks, a medium sized walnut tree, and a second smaller walnut tree.
View attachment 300797
The cookie I cut off the bottom was 36" in diameter, and the rings suggested it was at least 178 years old. Now, for some of you guys out west, or in the northeast, where some species of trees grow to be 1,000 years old, that's not much, but around here, that's a pretty old tree. Given that it had been dead for a few years, I estimate the tree had been around since the early 1830s.
View attachment 300800
Most notably in this area during that time was the Black Hawk War, fought in 1832. The Black Hawk war had it's roots in the Treaty of St. Louis (1804), which sold a number of Sauk and Fox lands to the United States. From the time the treaty was signed, there were disputes over what lands had been sold, and even whether or not the tribal leaders had the authorization to speak for all the villages.
During the War of 1812, the British promised the Sauk and Fox control of these lands in exchange for fighting on their side, however, the British betrayed the Indians and the United States gained control of all these lands. In 1828, the remainder of the tribes in the area were ordered to move west across the Mississippi.
By 1831, relations deteriorated further, and by 1832 small skirmishes had turned into a larger war in the area. On July 21, 1832, Federal Troops pursued the Sauk across the Isthmus on which lies present-day Madison, towards Sauk City, on the Wisconsin River, some 20 miles from where I live.
The events concluded with the Battle of Wisconsin Heights, where 60 Sauk warriors held off over 700 government troops while other members of the tribe escaped across the Wisconsin River. In August, 1832, a peace treaty had been signed after significant loss of life on both sides.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_War
In 1835, the part of the state I live in was just being settled by Cornish miners - which is how Wisconsin became known as the "Badger State." Two men were shot and killed at a local saloon in town, which is believed to be how the legend of the "ghost" that supposedly haunts the area came to be. The first settlers began arriving in Milwaukee around this time too. Wisconsin would not become a state for another 13 years, in 1848.
Back to the wood. This is the remainder of the log after the top was taken off. As pictured at this point, it was 16 feet long. To finish it from here, I cut it in half, using a number of wedges and making the last cut from the bottom as the tree was supported at both ends but not the middle.
View attachment 300801
From there, we wrapped chain around each log, which must have weighed several thousand pounds and drug them down the hill. We hauled them over to my neighbors house, where a friend with a portable band saw will have a go at them, eventually to become hardwood flooring in his house. I thought I had a photo of the two final logs, but I can't seem to find it.
Though the 391 handles this tree pretty good, this log inspired me to get something a little bigger - for future trees like this, and maybe to do some Alaskan milling... so I have an 066 I found online on the way too.
Anyways - I think it's pretty neat to think about this tree being around here in the 1830s, witnessing Indians and government troops moving through these lands in the middle of a war. It makes you wonder about the young trees growing up now - and what they may see over the next 180 years, and if someone 180 years from now, will be wondering or reading about what we were doing back when the tree was young.
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