Thong Tree at Lake of the Ozarks Missouri.

What are Thong Trees?

These trees are really a primitive map.  They usually point to fresh water, springs, trails, herbs for medicine, salt supplies and caves.  They are bent in unusual ways and come in a series of trees with this shape directing you in a certain direction.  Sometimes they are called "water trees".

Why  are they here?

The early native american settlers used these to communicate with other indians.  They used them to share useful information.  They also may be known as "buffalo trees"  because native american women would dry buffalo skin on the horizontal section.

How are they formed?

They would find young saplings and split the bark and add other pieces of the same kind of tree to form shapes. The split would be filled with resin to seal it from insects.  Then a "Y" shaped branch would be placed near the base of the tree and bent over it.  Then an upside down "Y" would be placed a few feet further up the trunk where the branches formed.  As the sapling matured it would keep the shape of the above photo.  Knots would also form where the pieces of wood were inserted to give the point to the edge of the curve - resembling how we would make and arrow or directional marker.

Where are these located?

I live in Missouri, and they are around the lakes and river areas of the state.  I did a search and found them throughout the nation.  These were very common for the Indians to make and use.  You might be surprised how many are near you.  It is fun to learn about history and how we have changed our communication over time.

I hope you found this guide interesting and might make you want to explore your area to see if there are THONG Trees near you.  Go be a kid again and EXPLORE!

Please see my other guides and post any comments you have in my blog.