The Old Arrow Tree

Humboldt County · 0.8 mile east of Korbel · location approximate

An old Indian woman gave the following account: "Many moons ago, before white man came... the people were very bad, and the Great Spirit would not send us any rain to make things grow.... All... animals came down the mountains to water in the lower Mad River where rain fell in abundance. All the mountain Indians were starving and dying... had to follow the food into the land of hostile Mad River Indians. The Mad River Indians resented the invasion and they fought... when Great Spirit spoke to both chiefs and told them to meet at a certain tree... they were to cease fighting and go home... there would be plenty of rain... but in memory of the peace treaty, each tribe on passing the tree must shoot an arrow into its bark."

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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