J1
J1 is mostly dead.
Only the branch on the left is still alive.
It is over 14 feet in circumference and is estimated to be 500 - 600 years old.
This tree was living in New Mexico 600 years ago, 80 years before Columbus sailed to the Americas. World events at the time:
The Battle of Grunwald (or 1st Battle of Tannenberg) took place on 15 July 1410 with the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led by the king Władysław II Jagiełło, ranged against the Knights of the Teutonic Order, led by the Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. It was the decisive engagement in the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War (1409-1411), one of the most important battles in Medieval Europe, and the largest battle to involve knights. The battle saw the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights decisively defeated — their order never recovered its former power.
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was an Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, hoping to find a route to India (in order to trade for spices). He made a total of four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years 1492-1504.
The First Trip:
Columbus sailed for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. On his first trip, Columbus led an expedition with three ships, the Niña (captained by Vicente Yáñez Pinzon), the Pinta (owned and captained by Martin Alonzo Pinzon), and the Santa Maria (captained by Columbus), and about 90 crew members. They set sail on Aug. 3, 1492 from Palos, Spain, and on October 11, 1492, spotted the Caribbean islands off southeastern North America. They landed on an island they called Guanahani, but Columbus later renamed it San Salvador. They were met by the local Taino Indians, many of whom were captured by Columbus' men and later sold into slavery. Columbus thought he had made it to Asia, and called this area the Indies, and called its inhabitants Indians.
While exploring the islands in the area and looking for gold to loot, Columbus' men traveled to the islands of Hispaniola (now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba, and many other smaller islands. On the return trip, the Santa Maria was wrecked and the captain of the Pinta sailed off on his own to try to beat Columbus back. Columbus returned to Spain in the Nina, arriving on March 15, 1493.
The Second Trip:
On a second, larger expedition (Sept. 25, 1493-June 11, 1496), sailed with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 men to find gold and capture Indians as slaves in the Indies. Columbus established a base in Hispaniola and sailed around Hispaniola and along the length of southern Cuba. He spotted and named the island of Dominica on November 3, 1493.
The Third Trip:
On a third expedition (May 30, 1498-October 1500), Columbus sailed farther south, to Trinidad and Venezuela (including the mouth of the Orinoco River). Columbus was the first European since the Viking Leif Ericsson to set foot on the mainland of America.
The Fourth Trip:
On his fourth and last expedition (May 9, 1502-Nov. 7, 1504), Columbus sailed to Mexico, Honduras and Panama (in Central America) and Santiago (Jamaica). Columbus is buried in eastern Hispaniola (now called the Dominican Republic).
VESPUCCI, AMERIGO
Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) was an Italian explorer who was the first person to realize that the Americas were separate from the continent of Asia. America was named for him in 1507, when the German mapmaker Martin Waldseemüller, printed the first map that used the name America for the New World.
On his first expedition (sailing for Spain, 1499-1500), Vespucci was the navigator under under the command of Alonso de Ojeda. On this trip, Ojeda and Vespucci discovered the mouth of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers in South America, thinking it was part of Asia. On his second expedition (sailing for Portugal, 1501-02) he mapped some of the eastern coast of South America, and came to realize that it not part of Asia, but a New World.
This is a cross section of the most vertical branch in the picture just above. It is one of four main branches of tree J1.
This branch is approximately 320 years old.
320 years ago:
In 1675, Governor of New Mexico Juan Francisco Treviño ordered the arrest of forty-seven Pueblo medicine men and accused them of practicing witchcraft. Four medicine men were sentenced to death by hanging; three of those sentences were carried out, while the fourth prisoner committed suicide. The remaining men were publicly whipped and sentenced to prison. When this news reached the Pueblo leaders, they moved in force to Santa Fe, where the prisoners were held. Because a large number of Spanish soldiers were away fighting the Apache, Governor Treviño released the prisoners. Among those released was a San Juan Indian named "Popé" (also spelled Po'Pay).
Following his release, Popé planned and orchestrated the Pueblo Revolt. While a fugitive from the Spanish authorities for complicity in several murders, Popé sought refuge at Taos Pueblo. From Taos he plotted the revolt. Popé dispatched runners to all the Pueblos carrying knotted cords, the knots signifying the number of days remaining until the appointed day. Each morning the Pueblo leadership was to untie one knot from the cord, and when the last knot was untied, that would be the signal for them to rise against the Spaniards in unison. The day for the attack had been fixed for 11 August 1680, but the Spaniards learned of the revolt after capturing two Tesuque Pueblo youths entrusted with carrying the message to the pueblos. Popé then ordered the execution of the plot on 10 August, before the uprising could be put down.
The attack was commenced by the Taos, Picuris, and Tewa Indians in their respective pueblos. They killed twenty-one of the province's forty Franciscans, and three hundred and eighty Spaniards, counting men, women and children. Spanish settlers fled to Santa Fe, the only Spanish city, and Isleta Pueblo, one of the few Pueblos that did not participate in the rebellion. Believing themselves the only survivors, the refugees at Isleta left for El Paso del Norte on September 15. Meanwhile Popé's insurgents besieged Santa Fe, surrounding the city and cutting off its water supply. New Mexico Governor Antonio de Otermín, barricaded in the Governor’s Palace, called for a general retreat. On August 21 the remaining Spanish settlers streamed out of the capital city and headed for El Paso del Norte.
J2
J2 is mostly living. It has only two dead branches and many small
branches which have already fallen.
It is 10 feet in circumference.
J3
J3 is still mostly living. It also has a couple of dead branches and
some which have already fallen. Most Utah Junipers display unusual growth
patterns. The branch growing to the left is very narrow; approximately 20 inches tall but
only 10 inches wide. It is shaped like a blade. This tree is 8 feet 7 inches in circumference.
Evidence of an old burn.
Many of these trees exhibit axe marks and limbs chopped off by axes. Juniper is very hard wood and resists rot. This makes it ideal for fence posts.
The axe marks are evidence of ranching prior to chain saws.
A nearby resident used to hit golf balls from his front yard. In the rough, rugged terrain and long grass they could never all be retrieved. Interestingly, I find golf balls under these ancient trees over a half mile away from where they were hit. Evidently birds, ravens and hawks most likely, think they are eggs and carry them to these old trees to to try to crack them open. Even today as I visit these trees I occasionally find another golf ball recently deposited by a hungry, frustrated
aves.
Juniper, along with pinon pine, dominates the mesa tops and higher elevations of the Southwestern desert, where many ruins and traces of the Ancient Ones are found, and archaeologists refer affectionately to this as the “P-J Zone”. Juniper berries were eaten by Ancestral Puebloans, especially during times of famine. The Hopi and Zuni liked the berries with their Piki bread. Juniper is a sacred plant for the Navajo. Among Native Americans today, Sweat lodges are often made of juniper wood with a juniper bark floor. Juniper has been known since ancient times as a remedy for urinary tract problems, gallstones, and gout. Isn’t it nice when something good for you also has a pleasant smell and taste? Juniper berries are well known as the flavoring agent in gin. Juniper tea is used by the Navajo to treat colds, headaches, and stomachaches. Pueblo women have traditionally used a tea made from Juniper during, or immediately after labor, and also for indigestion. Juniper and fir have been used to treat painful gout, by reducing uric acid levels. The berries have a strong diuretic, antiseptic and antispasmodic effect, and are useful for the treatment of urinary tract infections. A tea can be made for this purpose by using 1 teaspoon of crushed berries or a rounded teaspoon of leaves, steeped in a cup of hot water (covered) for 15 minutes- drink this 3 times a day. Juniper is also a mild circulatory stimulant.
This page was last modified on January 10, 2010