Ancient Cedar: The Witch Tree   Paul Jost   Jun 05, 2002 20:18 PDT  All, We had some earlier discussions about old cedars. Attached is a digital photo of an old photo of mine. It is a photo of the Witch Tree on Hat Point on the far northeastern corner of Minnesota at Lake Superior near Grand Portage. It had come up earlier, so I dug up this photo from my personal archives. I have also added a different view that I found on a web site tonight. It often seems to be dark and foggy there! The tree was and is considered sacred by the Ojibwe Indians in the area. They called it Manido Giizhigance, Little Cedar Tree Spirit. It was also reported in early literature as a navigational landmark by the early French Voyagers, including famous explorers. Sieur de la Verendrye recorded this famous tree in 1731, and it apparently looked nearly the same then as it does now. It's been a long time since I have seen the tree, but I seem to recall it being around 10 feet tall? It's age is disputable, but it is often stated to be over 400 years old... Paul Jost Re: Ancient Cedar: The Witch Tree   Lee E. Frelich   Jun 06, 2002 06:34 PDT  ENTS: Thanks for these pictures, Paul. The lack of soil on the site where this tree is growing, the extremely cold summers that occur as a result of having 2000 cubic miles of ice water within a few feet (mean annual water and air temp. of 45 and 36 degrees, respectively), and the growth form of the tree all indicate extreme slow growth. Given these factors, I would have to say the tree is 700 or more years old. I suppose the landmass near the water in the background of the first picture is Mount Josephine, and the fog-shrouded hills further back must be in Canada. These pictures exhibit typical Lake Superior summer weather as far as I can tell. The tree is a little taller than you think, probably more like 15 feet. Its base is almost 10 feet above the water. The only reason this tree is able to survive there is because Susie Island, Lucille Island, some nearby reefs, and Isle Royale National Park (20 miles out into Lake Superior), all shelter the site from waves. If it were not for Isle Royale, northeasters would produce 20-30 foot waves. As it stands now, waves in that area never get more than 10-12 feet high. You should see the ancient cedars on the Apostle Islands, which are fully exposed to the wrath of Lake Superior. They are the size of bonsai and cling to arches of rock 50-100 feet above the water that form the roofs of sea caves carved out by 40 foot waves during the gales of November. It is a miracle that the Witch Tree can be so old that close to Lake Superior. No wonder the indians have held this tree as a spiritual beacon for so many generations. Lee   Home