To the editor:
I just read the article about the bent trees (Reporter, Jan. 15-28) and the possibility that they are old Indian signposts/guide trees.
I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and there were (perhaps are still) numerous “bent trees” exactly like the ones pictured in the article.  The story I heard from an elderly Creek Indian friend of my father’s was that they were indeed “directional” signposts and that typically they did point to flowing water (creeks, rivers) but very often also pointed to a “Council Oak” tree where tribal elders would meet (and also would be the location of a Medicine Man).
Northeast Oklahoma was the end point on the Trail of Tears for many Cherokee, Creek and Seminole Indians.  Most of the trees I remember growing up were located in parks or golf courses (Southern Hills Country Club had several)  and pointed toward the Arkansas River that flowed through Tulsa.  I’m wondering if many of the trees in the ATL area are pointing toward the Chattahoochee.
Keep up the good work.
Rick in Atlanta

To the editor:
The naysayers are becoming more of a minority as we uncover more evidence about the trees.
The Mountain Stewards has been filming this story for two years now and has over 70 hours of videotaped interviews with tribal elders who have confirmed the existence of the trees. Further, we have accumulated hundreds of journal articles, reports, and more from the late 1800’s to the mid-1900’s of more evidence on the trees. We have now decided to write a book on the subject and have about one-third of it done now.
Further, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians has contracted with us and WildSouth.org to locate the Indian Trails and other sites on their reservation and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This effort includes documenting the “Living Artifacts.”
If you want to learn more about this project, I invite you to two presentations on the “Mystery of the Trees” scheduled near your area. The first of these presentations will be held on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Cobb County Main Library in Marietta. The second is scheduled for May 20 at 7 p.m. at the Marietta Museum of History.
Don Wells
president of Mountain Stewards

To the editor:
I was delighted to find the article about trail trees in your paper.  I have just finished a novel about Georgia in the 1820’s and I discussed trail trees and how the Indians used them in it.
Diane Cox
Buckhead