7Ae
Pringle Tree
An "O ut-of-the-Industry"
Feature by
M. M. GREEN
B
ACK, just off a little country lane in Upshur
county, W est Virginia, stands a large, hollow,
sycamore tree, third genera tion of the famous
Pringle tree, which marks the site of the first per-
man ent English settlement west of the Alleghenies.
Here, in 1764, the Pringle brothers made th eir
wilderness home in a tree. Here, the first fi elds west
of the mountains were cleared and crops sown.
Located about three miles from the sleepy little
college town of Buckhannon, th e tree is just at the
edge of a small stream, Turkey Run, which en ters
th e Buckhannon river at th at point. The river was
known as "the water of many bends" by the
Indians.
Th e town and the river were named for a stal-
wart and noble Delaware leader, Chief Buckonga-
hanon , who tri ed to wipe the palefaces from his
wild and beautiful land because they smoked the
pipe of peace and th en broke th eir pact. Here
started the agitation between th e whites and the
red men which led to Dunmore's Bloody War, the
first battle of th e R evolution.
The story of th e Pringle brothers an d their life
in a tree began at Fort Pitt 180 years ago. Among
the English soldiers station ed at the fort, which
was at th e junction of the Monongahela and
Allegheny rivers where Pittsburgh li es today, were
John Prin gle and his elder brother, Samuel.
In 1761, the brothers, along with two co mpanions
- Willi am Childers and John Lindsey - deserted
the English 1?;arrison and left t~eir fight with th e
French and Indians behind.
Following the winding course of the Monongahela to George's
Creek, near where Geneva, Pa., is today, they ca mped for a short
time. Th en, taking up the trail again, th ey moved to th e head-
waters of th e Youghiogheny river where they lived for a year.
• While on a huntin g trip one day, Samuel Prin gle discovered a
path which he believed would lead the group to the inhabited part
of Virginia. His comrades were interested in movi ng on, so th e
four woodsmen-soldiers started once agai n.
After many days of travel they reached th e Loon ey's Creek
settlement, then the most remote outpost in Virginia. Soon after
their arrival they were recognized as deserters and Childers and
Lindsey were arrested. Running qui ckly into th e forest, th e
Pringles escaped and wen t to their former ca mp on the Youghio -
gheny, wh ere th ey lived until 1864.
Loving to explore the wilds as th ey did, their Youghiogheny home
soon began to oppress them, and th ey longed to go deeper into
the forests and find what awaited them across th e mountains. So,
with John Simpson, for whom they were trapping at the time, th ey
started again into the hills.
Their journey proved un eventful as they went further and furth er
into the primitive and untouched forests. Then, on the day the
three reached the Horseshoe Bend, near where th e small town of
Parsons, West Virginia, is today, one of the Pringles and Simpson
had an argument. As tim e wore on, the two co uld not settle th eir
differences, and they decided it was time to go separate ways.
The two Prin gles went to geth er, followin g the Tygart river for
so me distance. One night as they sa t hunched beside the fire eatin g
their evening meal, Samuel's strange knowledge of the forest told
him th at somethin g was wrong. Warning John to be silent, Samuel
led him away from the spot and confided hi s belief that un-
friendly Indians were nea r.
As they hid in a thicket of laurel, the hootin g of an owl was
heard through the stillness of the night. Shortly, an answering
hoot ca me from the opposite side of thei r ca mp. As th e two brok e
and ran from the site, the shrill wa r whoops of th e painted red
men pierced the woods.
Pringle Tree, as if ap pears toda y. The present free is the third genera-
tion o f a hollow sycamore free which made a home fo r two pioneers
in the 1760 's. The free is about 43 inches a cross inside and has a cir-
cum ference o f 10 feet . The original free was about t hree times this size.
•
Tra vellin g with the greatest of speed all through the night, never
darin g to stop, th e Pringles finally threw th eir pursuers off the
trail when they crossed th e Buckhannon river. Going up the left
bank of th e river th e nex t afternoon, they saw a wolf en tering a
large, hollow, syca more tree. Immediately they went to see if
they co uld secure shelter, as a thunder storm was coming.
The tree trunk was co mpletely hollow, and large enough for the
two to make a permanent ca mp insi de. Th ey found that a nine-
foot pole could be turned en tirely aro und in the tree without
touchin g the sides. Th e trunk was about 30 feet in circumference
and nea rly 11 feet at its widest part. In order to have more light
a nd ventilation, th e brothers chopped a hol e in the side of the
tree opposite th e doorway.
So, for two years th e brothers lived in th e wilds, seei ng no
white men other than themselves. Game was plentiful, and no
hostil e Indi ans were seen. Th ey delighted in the fi erceness of the
country, with its rolling hills, sharp mountains, and clea r, winding
stream, wh ere trout and bass leaped high.
But, th e day came when th ey faced the sharp realization that
th ey had but two charges of powder left. Without powder they
faced certain starvation. So, late in the fall it was decided that
John would make the trip back to th e civilization from which they
had co me. With him he took th eir many furs to trade for powder
and other wants. During all this time alone th ey had had no salt,
no bread , and no garden vegetables.
Du e to ill fortun e from many sides, John's return was delayed
several tim es. Samuel, alone in the woods, hoarded his precious
char1?;es of powder until necessity forced him to hunt food . Takin g
careful aim one day, he fired at a large buck - and missed!
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