Rannoch Tales - The Forester and the Yew
Not far from Loch Rannoch there lived a forester. For many years he had made his living by felling selected trees. One cold winter some years ago he has asked to remove non-native trees from deep within the Black Wood - in a part so remote he had never been there before. He began by removing spruce trees but as he proceeded he became more and more uneasy. He had never felt this way before in all the years of his work. He took out four spruce trees and then a larch and then a black pine before coming across an enormous tree of the deepest dark green. Its trunk was gnarled with peeling pale purple bark that hung in ringlets. The dark green foliage was studded with blood red berries called arils. The leaves were small and densely packed. They cut out the light from above so that it seemed like a cave below the spreading branches. The yew tree (for that was what it was) was clearly of enormous age. He knew that it was a native tree but he also knew that its wood was very valuable for making bows and furniture. His delight at such a find was tempered by the realisation that he was beginning to feel afraid. He was used to working on his own in the woods and did not fear the wild animals but he felt he was being watched and kept turning round but there was no one there. The wind got up and made the branches creak and squeak as they rubbed against each other. It almost sounded like human voices.
He prepared his chainsaw, making sure it had fuel and chain lubricant and that the chain was at the right tension. The practical acts occupied his attention and for a moment he forgot his anxiety but as soon as he turned toward the tree he felt a dread that was visceral. He put his chainsaw down and took up some loppers with the intention of clearing a few small protruding branches so that he could better stand next to the trunk to effect the main cut. The instant his hand touched the handle of the loppers he heard a voice close by - “DON’T” it said.
The shock was enormous. He looked about but there was no one there. He stepped back, stumbled and fell against a Yew branch breaking off a twig. It was as if he had attacked himself - his little finger hung limp and blood flowed from a cut.
The colour drained from his face and he had to sit for a time while his shallow breathing returned to normal.
As he recovered he began to rationalise - he told himself that he must have damaged his finger when he fell. Perhaps he hit his hand on a rock hidden amongst the fallen leaves and the heather.
He felt more himself and reached down to start the chainsaw. Fear returned and sweat poured down his back. No! he would not give in to groundless terror!
He pulled the cord and the saw roared into life but the noise of it sounded in his head like an explosion. He gritted his teeth and touched the yew’s trunk with the whirling chain. Sap flowed from the cut but simultaneously blood gushed from his leg although the saw’s chain had been nowhere near it.
There was no choice. The cut was serious and he had to stem the flow. He ripped off his shirt and tied the sleeves around his leg as a tourniquet.
He left his chainsaw on the ground, still running, as he dragged himself painfully and slowly back to the track and to his four wheel drive vehicle. He was a strong man and he made it back to the road before collapsing at the wheel. Fortunately for him a passing motorist realised something was wrong and raised the alarm.
In hospital it was not the cut that alarmed the doctors so much as the fact that it wouldn't heal. It appeared to be poisoned. It took months and months before the wound closed and sealed over. When his colleagues visited him they wanted to know where the tree had been so that they could retrieve his equipment, including his chainsaw. He was able to give them the GPS position but refused to accompany them.
A group of four foresters navigated to the spot. Each experienced growing unease as they approached the yew. Imagine their bewilderment when they saw the chainsaw high in the branches and their confusion when they realised that it was still going.
They turned and fled. They did not return and they destroyed the GPS coordinates.
The injured forester retrained as an accountant and his four colleagues took early retirement.
The Yew tree is native to Scotland and the Fortingall Yew is perhaps the oldest tree in Europe. If you hear a chainsaw deep within the Black Wood of Rannoch it will not be in the hands of a forester. Do not approach.
Make no mistake Yew trees know how to defend themselves, that's how they get to be so old.