Thong Trees

Thong trees are known by many different names, marker trees and message trees are just to name a few. Regardless of what they are called, thong trees were part of a Native American message and trail mapping system. Native American thong trees can be found all over the United States, especially in the eastern, southern and mid western parts of the country. In the Ozark region some of the Native Americans would have been Cherokee,Qua paw, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Creek. The purpose of these trees were to mark trails and to point to other trails, water, caves and sources of food are just a few of the many. Trade route trails were also marked with thong trees. During the Trail of Tears thong trees could have showed a way of escape to safety, which more often then not was one of the numerous caves in the Ozarks.

Thong trees are bent into odd, but easily recognizable shapes. The shapes are unnatural and different looking from trees that have been deformed by natural causes. The Native Americans would use white or red oak saplings because the saplings were supple enough to bend and not split and kill the tree. To form a thong tree, Native Americans would first drive the base of a forked stick into the ground near the base of the sapling. The trunk of the sapling was then bent over the V of the forked stick to form the first bend or hip. Then a leather strip or thong was tied about 2 or 3 feet from the top of the sapling and staked to the ground and the top was left to either grow up toward light or rot off forming the second bend or hip, which became the nose. Depending on the location, further shaping may have been needed on the smaller limbs. Eventually the leather strap or thong would break or rot off leaving the shaped sapling.

Sometimes there were messages on these trees that told more then just the direction they were pointing. Native Americans caused knobs or bumps to grow, made marks or other indications on the tree that told more information about the direction the thong tree was pointing. The meaning and placement of the knobs or bumps was different for the various Native American tribes. On the Trail of Tears soldiers would often lose a whole band during a night without a trace. Native Americans simply had to read the knobs or bumps to find safety.

Knobs or bumps on the tree were made by slitting the bark and inserting a piece of charred bark from the came kind of tree. To protect the slit from insects, the slit was packed with rosin or pitch.

The tree would grow around the charred bark forming a permanent knob or bump. Most of the knobs or bumps were created on the first hip or bend, because it was immediately available for the inserting of the charred bark. The knobs or bumps on the second hip or bent could not be created until the tree top straightened up forming the nose.

The Murder of Elijah Blankenship

Disclaimer: This is a legend passed down by word of mouth.  I have not proved or disproved this legend.

Here is another legend from the darker side of Izard County’s history.  This is a legend about the murder of Elijah Blankenship.

Elijah was about 7 years younger than his wife, Sarah Jane Goodrich Blankenship, and they had five children together, Poline, Mary, Elijah, Jerusha, Altha.  They lived on Pine Ridge just off state hwy 56.

Elijah was cruel to his family and a heavy drinker.  He was known to spend their money on liquor instead of providing for his family.  It has also been said that Elijah would hide the money under rocks to keep it away from Sarah Jane.  Elijah would come home drunk and beat Sarah Jane and threaten to kill her. Instead of whipping his children, Elijah would make them place their hands on a hot wood stove for punishment.

Sarah left Elijah sometime around August 1877. Elijah had this notice printed in

The Melbourne Clipper on August 7, 1877:

“Notice

Is hereby given that my wife Sarah J. Blankenship has left me without just cause and that I will not be responsible for any debt, contract,  or promise she may make from this date henceforth.  This September 13^th, 1877. Signed Elijah Blankenship”.

But, by 1880 Sarah Jane was back living with Elijah.  Sometime in 1880, Elijah came home very drunk and said when he got up one of them is going to die.  Sarah was unable to take the abuse anymore.  So sometime during the night Sarah sewed a sheet around Elijah so he could not move when he woke up.  Sarah then took an ax and struck Elijah in the neck cutting his Jugular vain and took the children and hid.  Some how Elijah managed to get out of the sheet and get on his horse, or mule.  Elijah was able to ride to the end of their lane before falling from his horse and bleeding to death.

Some believe Elijah made to the Doctor in Brockwell and got treated.  After he healed he moved north and started a new family.

It has been said it was Sarah Jane’s half brother, Tom Rushing, who killed Elijah.  Sarah admitted to the murder  because the courts would be more lenient on a woman. 

During the preliminary hearing the judge, who is believed to have been Judge Cap Hanley Sr, said “You should have chopped the old devil’s head off a long time ago”.  The judge dismissed the case.  After the hearing was over the Goodrich family moved to Texas to start over.  We may never know which one killed Elijah or what was said at the hearing because all the records of the hearing were lost when the court house burned down on the mourning of April, 11^th 1889. 

I have tried to lay the facts of the legend out so the reader can decide for them selves what to believe.  I have, have you?

Update

I received this e-mail from Mr Loven who lives in Texas:

         "The story you have on your page about Elijah Blankenship is a truth, my Poppie  was the last child of Elijah and Sarah Jane Goodrich Blankenship, she was pregnant with him when she killed their father, and she fled to Hill county Texas, she and their son Elijah Conway Blankenship lived in Abbott Texas and Sarah died may 6/1908, and Elijah Conway had a wife Margret Larinda they married and had 8 children, and Elijah Conway passed away 3/12/1918. Poppie would never talk about his family much more than to tell a story or two about growing up in Hill Co. Texas where they fled to. Elijah and his mother Sarah are buried in the Jessie Cemetery, his sisters Mary and Jerushia Anise Blankenship both married Mary married a Merriman E. Simmons and her and her husband are buried in Lubbock City cemetery, Jerushia Anise married a  Adolphus Andrew Loven, she is buried in the Breckenridge city cemetery, her husband is buried in the Afton Cemetery. I have been unable to find out what happened to Polina Jane or Atha because I can find no records of them after Arkansas so I am guessing they died young or something to that affect I have a Auntie that my Poppie named Alpha Jane because he said it was after his two sisters that passed away and he never knew them. My Aunt Johnnie had an old bible of where the names of the kids and married and birthdates were in it, it belonged to Sarah and I wish I knew where that bible was today, but I guess you never think about things like that when you are young and can only wonder what happened to it later on in life".

The Legend of John William (Bill) Dark

 Disclaimer: This is a legend passed down by word of mouth.  I have not proved or disproved this legend.
                    
   
   The Ozark mountains in Northeast Arkansas is rich in history, but is equally so in Legends.  One such legend is of Bill Dark.  Some have said he was a bushwhacker.   Some have said was a jayhawker. And some have said he was just an outlaw who preyed on defenseless people.  But lets start at the beginning.
    Bill Dark was born sometime around 1835 in Arkansas, but the exact location is unknown.  His mother is believed to be Dilla (or Dilly) Dark.  His father may have been Pvt William Dark who enlisted in Co A Arkansas Battalion Infantry and Mounted Rifles in Clarksville (Johnson Co), Ar for the Mexican War.  In 1850,  fifteen year old Bill was living with is mother and man named James Hutchins in Little Rock, AR at the City Hotel on main street.  In 1857 he was a printer in Little Rock, Ar, so he must have been educated.  Late that same year, Bill was indicted for the murder of Hardy Foster.

The details of the murder were not recorded.  In early 1858 Bill's attorneys, one of which was the future Arkansas Governor, Henry Massie Rector, successfully petitioned the court for a change of venue. Then in October 1858, Bill was found guilty of  second degree murder and was sentenced to 5 years in the state penitentiary in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1860 Bill was reported  invalid and marked for bad behavior.  Then in 1861 Bill was paroled on the condition that he join the Arkansas Civil War effort. Bill enlisted at Fort Smith, Arkansas as a  Private in Capt. Galloway's Company, Churchill's Regiment, Arkansas Mounted Riflemen, which later became Co F 1st Regiment Arkansas Mounted Riflemen for 12 months.  It is unclear to me if he served the full year.

Some time after 1861, Bill married Rachel Adeline George, daughter of James S. and Margaret George of Izard County.  Bill and Rachel settled near Timbo in present-day Stone County Arkansas.  They had one son named John William Dark Jr.

By 1862 the Civil War in Arkansas had become a brutal guerrilla war.  This was caused in part by most of the Confederate units having been ordered east of the Mississippi River.  This left Arkansas vulnerable to Union advance from Missouri.  Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi District was General Thomas C. Hindman, who used guerrillas (bushwhackers) to destroy all assets that may be used by the Union Army.  This slash and burn policy was not popular among the people of Northeast Arkansas.  It was in this environment that Bill became a legend.

By this time, Bill had become Captain of Company A of Coffee's Recruits, a bushwhacker unit.  It was reported that Bill had a reputation for ruthlessness and brutality by terrorizing the old men, women and children left behind in the chaos of war.  Bill is credited with every sort of atrocity: murder,theft, plundering, torture, and burning homes.  It has been said that Bill would burn the bottom victim's feet, throw hot grease on them or burn out their fingernails.  One story that has been passed down  is that Bill killed Icy Mills' daddy and sister.  Mr Mills wouldn't give Bill some information.  So, when Bill didn't get what he wanted to know, he burned off Mills' fingers and toes.  Bill then took Mr Mills outside to shoot him.  Mr Mills' two little girls clung to him and begged Bill not to shoot him.  He told the little girls to get away or he would shoot them too.  Icy let go but her sister didn't.  Bill shot both Icy's sister and her daddy.

There are many stories about Bill's death -  too many for me to write about.  But they all have one thing in common:  Bill was shot between the eyes by 15 year-old  Jim Berry with a cap and ball pistol.  Jim was a member of a Union Home Guard Unit formed to protect homes.  It is unknown where he is buried.


Bill was accused of war atrocities by both the Confederate and Union armies, so maybe he was just an outlaw.  Dark and his story is  legend so you can make up your own mind about what you want to believe.

                                                                                                                                 Jim Berry 
Sources:

Encyclopedia of Arkansas
The Legend of Jim Berry
Rootsweb

Note - Photo from Herman Cummings' page on The Legend of Jim Berry.

The History Of Boswell

The unincorporated community of Boswell is located in the White River valley on   the western boundary of Izard Co.  Some of the earliest pioneers to settle there were the Jeffery, Wood and the Langston families.  The Jeffery family settled in the Boswell area sometime in 1816.  William Wood settled at Boswell in 1820.  During Christmas week of 1814 the Langston family arrived at Boswell.  The settlers was dependent the river as a primary source of transportation using keelboats and flatboats powered by men using long poles.

Flat Boat

  The early pioneers erected a building that was used as a school as well as a social center.  They named this small pioneer community Wideman after the creek that flowed through it.  As time passed the community grew and spread all the way down Wideman creek to the White River.

By the coming of steamboats Boswell was brought closer to the outside world.  Products and supplies were brought up river from cities like New Orleans and Memphis.  The farmer’s goods were taken down river to market.  Boswell, like many other river communities became a growing river port settlement.  The railroad brought an end to the steamboat era.  The last steamer came up river in 1906.  

           

 During the years of 1901-1906, many changes came to community with the coming of the railroad.  On February 8, 1901 a charter was granted to the White Railway Company to build the White River Branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad Company.  In 1901, the drought resulted in complete crop failures, and the railroad provided employment to the farmers and helped them recover from their losses.  The railroad also brought better transportation.  The railroads aloud farmers to ship their products to bigger markets and the cattlemen could ship their cattle by the train car load to stock yards in St. Louis.  It has been said Sylvester Smith shipped as many nine car loads at one time.  Mr. Smith also had a contract to supply eggs to the Marion Hotel in Little Rock and those were shipped by train.  By the 1930’s Boswell was a booming community with the economy based on farming, livestock production and the railroad industry.  The railroad also brought better roads leading to Melbourne, merchants received freight at Boswell and haul them back to Melbourne by wagon. 

Steam Locomotive at Boswell



            On April 5, 1906 a post office was established and named Cook.  This caused much confusion.  The train station was named Boswell, after the first station agent Robert Boswell, the post office was named Cook and the community was Wideman.  On September 4, 1915 the community and the post office changed their names to Boswell.

    The old Boswell School building was located on the Vest Spring Branch.  In 1934 a new stone faced school building was built by the WPA (Works Progress Administration).  The building is now owned by the Boswell Baptist Church.   



Boswell School

                                           

            Time past on and so did the people.  In the 1950’s the Boswell School District was consolidated with the Calico Rock School District.  In 1960 the railroad discontinued passenger service and closed the train station.  In 2002 the post office was closed.  Now the population has dwindled to a very small number.  Sadly the once booming agriculture and railroad town has faded into history.

Old Boswell Store

                                                             

       

Note: I want to thank Denny Elrod at Exploring Izard County (  www.exploreizard.blogspot.com/ )  for the use of the pictures.     

                                                   

 

For additional information:

Shannon, Karr. A History of Izard County.  Little Rock, Arkansas: Democrat                            Printing Company, 1947

Freda Cruse Phillips, PhD.  Places of our People.  Morris  Publishing,  2011

Izard County Historian.  July 1981, Volume Number 12/3 “History of Boswell”                                                 By Mary Cooper Miller.

Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. “Boswell School, Boswell, Izard County”    

Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. “Sylvester Smith Farmstead”, Boswell, Izard County”