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im portantly, as diplom ats betw een species. Stum bling through old
grow th underbrush, I som etim es find these trees, tops green and
healthy, their old scars partially healed, bark edge curling over bare
w ood once exposed by w edge and adze. Individual scrapes and
cuts still show w here reverential hands took w hat w as needed and
left the rest. Every tim e, involuntarily, reflexively, I run m y fingers
o v er the exposed w ooden face, reflecting on w hat I m ight learn from
each scrape, each scratch, each cut that m arks the exterior o f this
ancient tree.
f t
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In these m ountains, curved slopes of uniform second-
grow th green are interrupted by scraggly patches, the last stands, tall
old grow th groves, each corralled in an isolated, postage-stam p
parcel. S pindly, silvered ce d ar tops point skyw ard there, w aving,
show ing you w here the axe has not fallen. T his is w here you find
them: (T huja p licata ) w estern red-cedars. G o dow n, under the
canopy, w here cedar's thick buttressed base anchors reddish-brow n
bark, rising skyw ard in straight lines, evaporating into the branchy
tangle overhead. Lacy deep green foliage conceals J-shaped
branches w ith term inal-end curve. T here will be a sweet smell
there, a scattering o f tiny cones.
D ow n, below the dark shadow o f the second-grow th stand,
there are cedars too. Big trees, here and there, cut and toppled, left
lying horizontal on the ground, years before. O ily and red with
tannins, ced ar w ood has a rem arkable resistance to rot. Leveled
decades ago, cedars still hold their value; they are sought out in the
deepest soggy brush, cut into shingles, chopped into kindling, taken
o ut in sections and m ade into furniture. Old grow th cedar shingles
are best, each tree ring grain packed thin and tight. O riginal shingles
still cling to cabins, the oldest houses in tow n, their reddish tint long
gone grey in rain and salt spray. T he grain o f second grow th w ood
is coarse, testam ent to young trees' rapid grow th, their anxious
skyw ard scram ble. T hey rot fast. B uilders pry them o ff for
replacem ent, w hile ancient shingles still cling to the cabin next door.
B ack in the forest behind tow n, old cedar stum ps still stand intact,
w here giant spruce and hem lock stum ps now rot aw ay, w et red and
pulpy, crum bling and overgrow n, riddled w ith probing roots.
T h o u g h w idespread on this coast, cedar has its lim its,
preferrin g w et but w ell-drained soils, occupying overgrow n bogs,
rocky slopes, and the m ost stable o f stream banks. H ere, now , in
o u r o w n backyard, these trees are rem arkably hard to find. In years
past, they w ere targets, sought out for their w aterproof wood,
spicy, fragrant, repellant to som e insects, w ith a long, straight grain
that can be split into shingles and shakes o r carved with ease. A
sm attering o f young trees stand sparse in local second-grow th.
T h ey have not fared well in the struggle for sunlight, the sum m er
heat, the rapid evaporation that follow s each new clearcut, and have
been crow ded out by opportunistic brush and trees. M any are taken
by poachers in pickup trucks, w ho scavenge old stum ps and chop
new lean trees into kindling, leaving telltale roadside w oodpiles that
last fo r years. Y et, in isolated groves, big cedars still stand: in
O sw ald W est State Park, in other m iniscule State Parks parcels, in a
gated and off-lim its stand w ithin the Cannon Beach m unicipal
w atershed. T hese old trees deserve attention.
T o north coast N ative A m ericans, no other tree was so
im p o rta n t Straight grain carves sm ooth and clear, and generations
o f m aster, w oodcarvers w ould m ake the m ost o f it. Carving elaborate
totem poles from single, m assive trees. Fram ing giant houses in
carved cedar logs and draping their exteriors in heavy cedar planks.
T ransform ing giant cedar logs into canoes, by hollow ing them out
w ith adzes and fire, and then heating and steam ing and stretching
and carving them until hulls took on sleek shapes that could pass
through w aves w ith a clean break. Carving cedar pieces into
cerem onial m asks, and drum s, rattles, and whistles designed to
com m unicate w ith the spirit world. O r shaping them into m undane
things - furniture, bow ls, tools, arrow s, com bs, paddles, poles. O r
fish hooks, fish clubs, harpoons, and fish sm oking racks. C edar
planks w ould be heated w ith steam and bent four tim es to produce
boxes, painted and carved, in w hich food, clothing, m asks, and any
num ber o f o th er things w ere stored. T he leftovers provided w ood
for their fires.
W ith horizontal adze cut at w aist height, bark was separated
from the tree, by bark gathering specialists w ho w ould pull until the
bark snapped loose far overhead. T his bark was dried, som etim es
soaked, then beaten. Its long, thin fibers separate into soft cottony
strands w ith tensile strength, sturdy and w aterproof. T his beaten
bark w as w oven into w aterproof clothing - flow ing skirts, capes,
hats, belts. It w as w oven into tow els and w ashcloths, bandages and
bedding. W ith sturdy ce d ar roots, bark was w oven into w aterproof
baskets, pouches, soft cradles, m ats, and food pouches, or was
tw ined into ropes. P ainting brush bristles, form ed o f fine bark
shreds, w ere attached to ced ar stick handles. C edar bark gathered
under strict cerem onial protocols could be braided into sham an's
headdresses o r regalia for dancing and vision questing. C edar
greenery w as used for bedding, m ats, or as house decorations;
branches w ere tw isted into thick ropes or w oven into tidal fiat fish
traps. Every part had its purpose.
C edar, called the 'tree o f life' by som e north coast peoples,
eased pains and cured ills; its bark, sap, and w ood w ere sources o f
m any m edicines. L egends attest: before the com ing of hum ans,
cedars w ere like us - m obile, sentient beings, w ith hopes and
desires, w ith fam ilies, w ith friends. They gave up these things for
o u r sake. Y et they continued to hold a potent spirit power all their
ow n. By asking politely, o r by m erely standing with back against
the cedar's base, one m ight obtain som e o f this power. C edar was
there at birth, w hen new borns w ere w ashed w ith cedar bark tow els,
when children w ere tucked into carved cradles lined w ith cottony-
soft ce d ar bark. C ed ar w as there at death, w hen bodies were
w rapped m um m y-like in cedar bark bandages, and placed in cedar
coffins that w ere tucked into trees, o r laid to rest in perm anently
g rounded cedar canoes.
C hiefs w ould ow n special cedar groves, those with the best
trees. T h ese groves w ere often located far from their village;
particularly prized w ere those trees from the m ountains, w here trees
struggle for survival and the grain is thin and dense. W hen trees
w ere felled, they w ere taken gradually, respectfully, w ith prayers
and apologies, using fire o r the com bined effects of w edges and
w ind sw ay. T re es w ould be brought to the w ater's edge, lashed to
canoes, and paddled to the village-front beach w here they w ould be
w orked. M ore often, w hole trees w ere not taken. W ith prayers and
care, boards w ould be taken from the side o f living trees with
w ed g es; taken sparingly, planks w ere prized possessions, brought
along by canoe if a hom e w as abandoned, even tem porarily. Bark,
too, w as taken sparingly, to m inim ize dam age to any one tree. These
trees w ould outlive the harvesters. A pologies for the injury,
prom ises not to w aste, offers o f enduring respect: bark gatherers
and w oodcutters w ere specialists, not only as craftspeople, but also,
►
%
A very accessible overview o f the use of cedar by N orthw est coastal
peoples can be found in H ilary Stew art's book "C ed ar T ree o f Life
to the N orthw est C oast Indians." (U niversity o f W ashington Press,
1984).
TRILLIUM
NATURALTOODS >
À
C¿ty
E ditor’s note - W e noticed that D oug’s colum n this m onth bears a
strong connection to a W ildlife on the Edge colum n o f February,
1996. In h onor o f Sally’s new status o f “B est S eller” (L u cy ’s
Books, A storia); and because you can never never talk too m uch
about ced ar trees, we are printing that colum n again.
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