2i 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



tbnt be decided to settle on this particiilar 

 stream, ilo said tliiit wlipii he was a sjiial! 

 boy, back in the old state of Ohio, the sugar 

 caiiip on his father's farm was the most de- 

 sirable place oil earth so far as he ivas imhi 

 cerned. The graceful hard maples staiuling 

 all about, and down in the woods where the 

 brook winds its crooked course, was the old 

 shed with its rickety clapboard roof. Under 

 this shed was the long furnace, rudely built 

 of mud and stones, on which was placed tin' 

 row of large iron kettles in which the sweet 

 sap was reduced to a ilelicious syrup. This 

 was a fond recollection to Mr. Parent. He 

 spoke of the sugar troughs made of half sec- 

 tions of linn logs, twelve to fourteen inches 

 in diameter, and thirty inches long, chopped 

 out with an a.xe. In the early springtime, 

 when the quickening sunshine caused the sap 

 to flow, one of these troughs was placed at 

 the base of every tree, and elder or sumach 

 spiles inserted in small holes bored in the 

 trees to direct the flow of the sap, drop by 

 drop, to the trough below. The trusty old 

 horse, the sled and barrels for collecting and 

 hauling the sap to the furnace, and the boil- 

 ing and skimming and cooling of syrup and 

 sugar — all were familiar scenes to him. It 

 was the hope of duplicating these experiences 

 at his new home in the west that led Jlr. 

 Parent to settle on Big Sugar Creek. There 

 was another attraction that appealed to him 

 very strongly in locating here, and that was 

 the abundance of fine walnut timber. When 

 he built the rude cabin of small logs in which 

 he lived while holding down his claim, \\i- 

 selected a site shaded by the spreadiuy 

 branches of a great walnut tree. 



This fine old tree was cut down recently. 

 It is safe to say that it was the last big wal- 

 nut in Kansas. There is not another large 

 specimen of the original growth of walnut 



trees now standing within the limits of the 



state. 



I iiavc dealt in walnut for years and was 

 anxious to purchase this choice piece of tini 

 ber. Several times I visited Mr. Parent with 

 the hope of being able to persuade liiiri tn 

 sell this valuable tree. On one occ-isiou I 

 otfered him %i'l'i for the tree, just as it stood 

 in his door yard, promised to fill uj) the great 

 hole which wouhl be made by grubbing, burn 

 nil the limbs or refuse made, stand for all 

 cl.'nriayr to his buildings or fences that mii;lit 



tup: nirio si( 



LOVED. 



occur, and leave the premises in as clean an 1 

 neat condition as before tlie tree was felle I. 

 All these prom'ses failed, liowevei-, to !■ luse 

 the old man to give up the tree. He decl ire I 

 that it s)u)uld never be cut as long as he lived, 

 lie had lived under its sheltering branches for 

 years — when the rude log cabin was out- 

 grown a more commodious and comfortable 

 residence was erected on the same spot and 

 here he had pasted the best part of his life. 

 He had acquired an almost nnnatural attach- 



ment to the tree and felt that he must dwell 

 under its shelter the remainder of his days. 

 Thi' tree was not cut till after his death. 



This veteran ualiuit was widely known as 

 the Ton. Parent tree, tak ng the name of its 

 owner. According to a correct couni of the 

 ; inui.'ar lings shown where it was saweil olV 

 : t the butt, it had grown for two huiiilred 

 and eighteen years, there being that number 

 visible. Close to the srrface of the tree they 

 became very thin and a I'ttle less than one- 

 half of an incli from the bark di!-a|ipe'ire I 

 entirely. ,111. 1 llieie was scarcely any sap wool 

 at all, showing that the tree had practically 

 ceased to grow many years ago and had 11, )t 

 increased a half inch in size in fifty year*. 

 Mr. Parent stalid that he did i;ot tli'nk it 

 IkhI inc:c;ised any in size since he first saw 

 it. It would be reasonably correc." to fix :t< 

 age at 2.5<l years. 



This valnut tii'e when sawed u|i made 

 seven logs, ten feet long, five of which were 

 out of the body of the tree and two out of 

 lindis. These seven logs were hewn for ex 

 piirt, the CI rners or wanes shaverl saiooth 

 V itii a ilraw kiiit<', ends painted, branded and 

 numbered, ami shajjcd up in the customary 

 w; y of prcjiariug walnut logs for the fore'gn 

 markets. They were shipped from BoycTmrt. 

 Ki.'ii.sas, to Port Scott. Here they were un- 

 lo-,id<'d, drcsted, then reloaded and ship|ieil to 

 llaailuirg, Ccrmaiiy, \ia (ialveston, Tex. This 

 is the only ca.^-e 1 have ever heard of where 

 one walnut tree made a complete carload of 

 hewn e.xpoit logs. 



'I'lie first six feet of the butt log inchnlin.; 

 the stump portionwas as finely figured as any 

 walnut I have ever seen, being a coinliination 

 of ndl curl and blister figure, mingled with 

 a large splash that was exquisitely beaut'.ful. 

 its value was still further enhanced by its 

 size on account of the large panel facings it 

 would produce, and in this case not only the 



THE LAST VETERAN WALNUT OF KAN.SAS FELLED. 



