If You Find A Bent Tree In The Forest, You May Have Just Stumbled Upon A Centuries Old Secret

If You Find A Bent Tree In The Forest, You May Have Just Stumbled Upon A Centuries Old Secret

Trees come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors – but one of their few unifying characteristics is that they stand tall, reaching up toward the sky. If you look for long enough, though, you’ll eventually come across trees with crooked trunks and weird kinks. And if you find one of these, then you may have chanced upon a long-forgotten secret.Dennis Downes grew up close to Lake Michigan, on the border of Illinois and Wisconsin. With a growing love of nature, he spent his childhood playing in the forests near his home. And here there were trees quite unlike any of the flora surrounding them.

50 Comments

  1. MATHIAS NIEMEIER on September 14, 2022 at 6:45 pm

    Threw out y many years. I have seen hundreds of these kinds of trees. I was always told , they were caused by a bad winter. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest .They are very common.

  2. Mark Beal on September 14, 2022 at 6:47 pm

    I have 300 acres in Belk Alabama and I have trees like this on my land

  3. angetodac on September 14, 2022 at 6:49 pm

    Saw one in the South.amazing.

  4. Ms. Wolf on September 14, 2022 at 6:49 pm

    Some thick, braided vines as well, we used them as swings as kids

  5. Reach Into My Soul & Pull - It Won't Hurt on September 14, 2022 at 6:51 pm

    I know of 2 old trees like this. One in Beech Grove Indiana, and one in McCordsville/Fortville Indiana. I have always wanted to take pics of grandkids sitting on them but never have because they are on private property.

  6. kirk miller on September 14, 2022 at 6:52 pm

    We have what I believe to be a marker tree on our property. White oak about 4 ft at chest high.

  7. JOE 73 on September 14, 2022 at 6:52 pm

    Why do they all have the “bump” on the “elbow” of the tree??

  8. Billy Moore on September 14, 2022 at 6:54 pm

    From my own observation being around trees, I’ve seen them do odd things once displaced from the original growing direction. I’d say these trees were flexed and pinned down for some reason. Then eventually after many growing seasons the anchoring material broke leaving that nodule that can sometimes be seen at the elbow of each bend.

  9. Paleo Geology on September 14, 2022 at 6:55 pm

    My father and I use to go out looking for tree’s shaped this way to build the Bow of boats. Nothing works better then a tree like that! They been harvesting bent trees for this reason for thousands of years all across the world

  10. Countryside Living With Tracee Leigh on September 14, 2022 at 6:57 pm

    I have a tree like this on my land

  11. Levana on September 14, 2022 at 6:59 pm

    The secret was told in the first minute – for navigation.

  12. king james488 on September 14, 2022 at 7:02 pm

    interesting, my first thought was that they were shaped by early settlers for angled wood to make tools.

    have you tried following them?

  13. Arthur T Morgan on September 14, 2022 at 7:03 pm

    I’ve found a few…

  14. Raymond Tilloston III on September 14, 2022 at 7:03 pm

    I got 16 acres I have a bunch of them of all ages and of all heights of bends.

  15. cooking with the word on September 14, 2022 at 7:04 pm

    this is one on my land in va. it leads to a cave with markings on the wall

    https://youtu.be/YhYDv78hJWA

  16. Online Storefront on September 14, 2022 at 7:04 pm

    What’s the secret?? Clickbait bs!!

  17. Terry Florence on September 14, 2022 at 7:05 pm

    I have one that does indeed point to my spring. It is approx. ,5 mi. down grade on a terrace above a creek.

  18. JO ANNE MESSINA on September 14, 2022 at 7:06 pm

    Large BENT TREE IN BRIDGEVIEW, ILLINOIS near 72nd HARLEM …. beautiful site, very old! (8-7-2022)

  19. Swiss_arborist_barmetbaumpfleg on September 14, 2022 at 7:08 pm

    I made some myself a few years ago. And i know some whitch made by nature. Does anyone know the name of the book?

    The youtuber The Tree Lab explains how to make arc trees

  20. jamjam731 on September 14, 2022 at 7:11 pm

    I’m not sure what I just watched, but I feel like this man is still there trying to capture something on camera.

  21. Steven Gonsalves on September 14, 2022 at 7:11 pm

    Get to the point already

  22. Elvis Presley on September 14, 2022 at 7:12 pm
  23. Terry Naranjo on September 14, 2022 at 7:14 pm

    Not many people know that Kenny Rogers had this side hustle.

  24. John Turner on September 14, 2022 at 7:16 pm

    Don’t follow this rabbit hole. It’s all racist B-S.

  25. Harvey Dent on September 14, 2022 at 7:16 pm

    I have at least 6 I can think of in my yard and it’s weird because I swear my backyard is a tomb or something because I found the entrance closed off. A person into the native stuff claims there is a redhead giant inside and never move the fossilized blocks of wood that is in the doorway. Educate me if I’m sounding crazy lol

  26. Lumpy Lumpy on September 14, 2022 at 7:17 pm

    I’ve seen young trees grow this way. I don’t think this is CB true

  27. The Revolution Will Not Be Youtubed on September 14, 2022 at 7:17 pm

    *"At the root of it all."*

  28. Turtle ridge Homestead on September 14, 2022 at 7:19 pm

    I have a couple trees like that .

  29. ozzy124 on September 14, 2022 at 7:21 pm

    Just get to the point ffs

  30. Bobby Gomez on September 14, 2022 at 7:21 pm

    I found one here in Racine Wisconsin by Lake Michigan I don’t think no one ever notice it can’t wait contact someone post pictures its big and beautiful

  31. Trapp Towers on September 14, 2022 at 7:24 pm

    THIS WAS ALSO DONE BY IMMIGRANTS UP TO 200 YEARS AGO. THEY WOULD USE THESE FOR ROOF JOIST AND SHIP HULL

  32. Sco Jo on September 14, 2022 at 7:25 pm

    Well that makes sense to me.

  33. Wyatt South on September 14, 2022 at 7:26 pm

    I’ve Ben running the Everglades all my life..was born into a stilt camp called moccasin hammock in the big cypress in part of the Miccosukee Indian reservation in area 3A South the camp is in a head of old tall cypress trees the camp is about 45 years old now and it was original built close to the existing cypress trees threw the years as the trees grew they actually formed around the deck of the camp basically holding it up in the air now…we often used these trees before gps and still often do use these types of cypress trees as land marks for telling people where to go are remembering how to get there myself..but being that these trees are as old as they are I figured for the most part they had gotten struck by lightning at some point and over the course of many years they healed themselves while slowly growing tell healed and begun to grow upwards again was what I’ve always assumed..could also easily be that as a very young tree they had gotten caught under another tree are root are something like that maybe from a storm had covered them at one time forcing them to grow sideways
    /around what was there tell they could grow upright again…most of these areas down south with these trees where hardly inhabited at all that many years ago so to assume someone intentionally did it as a land marker just doesn’t make sense but using them as land markers after there already like that definitely does witch I’m sure is how that part of the story originated from…

  34. blakespower on September 14, 2022 at 7:27 pm

    I found a "tree of heaven" like this in the woods but I doubt it was around when the native americans were in maryland, since the tree doesnt live that long but its a nice natural bench to sit on, I think this was a pioneer tree, the place used to be farmland before the 70’s then they built 3 acre plot houses, most keep wooded sections to grow wild and other native trees like tuliptrees, sweetgums, american sycamores, and hickories quickly took over the area and grew taller , I am guessing some large branch fell on it then it continued to grow upwards

  35. Jill Mondt on September 14, 2022 at 7:28 pm

    It would have been nifty to have told us how they shaped the trees.

  36. Cwazy on September 14, 2022 at 7:29 pm

    I found a bent tree in Arkansas

  37. T mo on September 14, 2022 at 7:30 pm

    On the cider ridge golf course, near green #16, there is a giant old indian trail marker tree on the right side of fairway. You can even see the strap marks on the nose facing downward. So sad these trees are dying off now!

  38. Adventurers Guild on September 14, 2022 at 7:31 pm

    I have tons of them around me along with trees that arch back to the ground and massive growths (all together). There are saplings, trees about 10 years old, and some massive oaks that hundreds of years old. No signs of cords or wire. They called them Indian Bends, but that does not explain the young trees and saplings. Yes, they can be replicated by man except the the young saplings just starting to grow with no cords or wires on them.

  39. Tactical chillツ on September 14, 2022 at 7:31 pm

    Man doing tpose

  40. D P on September 14, 2022 at 7:33 pm

    These trees don’t look old enough to be native american artifacts. They’re mostly 40-60 years old.

  41. William Tyler on September 14, 2022 at 7:34 pm

    I Live in Mid. Tennessee. I Know where there is a Beautiful Huge Tree of this Sort. It’s in-between. Monterey & Livingston TN. Of anyone here is interested?. Sincerely & Confederately Yours. GEN.TYLER

  42. Mylez Nevison on September 14, 2022 at 7:38 pm

    Imagine aliens trying to understand Rugby and football posts 1000 years aftet we are dead… that’s 2hat we are doing here. The trees were probably part of a game/sport they played back then. Or maybe they were thrones/sofas for chiefs.

  43. Mylez Nevison on September 14, 2022 at 7:38 pm

    WHAT IF WE ARE COMPLICATING THINGS AND THESE TREES WHERE THEIR VERSIONS OF A #SOFA, #THRONE, RUGBY OR FOOTBALL POST FOR THEIR VERSIONS OF THOSE #SPORTS…

  44. Maria Petrova on September 14, 2022 at 7:38 pm

    And, what is the secret ? I don’t understand from the movie.

  45. ByGraceIGo on September 14, 2022 at 7:41 pm

    I don’t think this is the case for all trees because some of the trees are not more than 100 years old. I have seen a lot of trees in Maryland like this and if this is the case how come it’s always the same kind of tree usually? Like a sycamore?

  46. David Wrobel on September 14, 2022 at 7:41 pm

    Long Island NY has trees like this, they were what was called loped trees used to mark property boundries.

  47. Ryan Miller on September 14, 2022 at 7:42 pm

    None of those trees are even 80 years old lol

  48. Michael OShea on September 14, 2022 at 7:43 pm

    100 to 150 years ago? To make these in these shapes they would have started working on them when most native Americans were long out of here. Where I live in the North East there are many of these trees. Ever think there might have been a fallen tree resting on the limb its not rocket science!

  49. Thomas Smith on September 14, 2022 at 7:45 pm

    Or signs of an old ice storm.

  50. Jeremy Crochtiere on September 14, 2022 at 7:45 pm

    In New England Particularly in Vermont and New Natives, often did this to trees and the direction of the split would point towards a fresh water source

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