The Florence tribune., 1897-10-02
BRAIN IN A TREE.
The Queer 6ustenance of a Cali-
 fornia Fir.
One of Its Roots Grows Through the skull of . Corpse and Absorbs
 Its Entire Con- -
There is a tree orer on Bay Farfn

There IS a tree over Ou pay oA A1 island, that little addition to Alameda, into which man has grown The tree apparently has absorbed the brain of a man into its sap veins, and the men who made the discovery now regard the tree with a superstitions awe as fl it were partly human.
 The tree is an ordinary fir tree that has been growing for at least half oaAs tury Some time ago Frank Silva, Nyho lives upon the island was digging at the foot of the tree, completing a trench which ran just at the base of the fir. As he was working away among the roots that impeded his work he turned up some human bones. The unearthing of skeleton is always interesting, and MT. Silva directed his search for the rest of the bones. These he located after a.little work, and he found conn plete skeleton.
 The bones had been buried for 9 long while, for they were den1ded of every vestige of flesh and were bleached and white. From the position in which the bones were found it was very evi- dent that the body had been tnmbled into the grave without much ceremony, for it was found face down and in a cronehing position, as if the body had been hurriedly thrown into it's last rest ing place.
 Upon exposure to the air, the bones fen one from another, though they did not crumbIe into dust. They were all carefully removed from the hole save the skull, and Mir. Silva made an effort to remove that. But he found it impos- sible to bring it from the position in which it lay, because one of the roots of the fir tree at the base of which it lay, had grown entirely through the skull It was found necessary to chop the root away entirely before the skull could be-removed. The root had penetrated . a1crack in the skull and had forced its way through the head and out at the opposite side.
 When it dawned upon Frank Silva flat the tree had grown through tis skull and had actually absorbed tho brain of a man into it's wooden trun1 he regarded the tree with awe. He has since refused to allow the tree to basn4, in any way.
 Deputy Coroner Smiley. of Alameda. took charge of the remaIns, though no inquest was ever held
 '.The skeleton was undoubtedly that of an Indian,'' said Mir. Smiley. "The bones were found on the south shore of the island. about IS feet from the bank, beneath a fir tree that has been a'landmark on the island before the first settler planted his asparagus bed. The skeleton was in a crouching posi- tion and covered by the roots of the tree, while clear through the skull q root almost as thick as my arm had grown. It was necessary to use a hatchet to remove the skull.
 ''It is my opinion that the fir tree has been growing .on the island nearly half century. The bones had probably rested beneath the tree 40 years. It may be that one of the Indians, who were the original inhabitants of the island, was murdered and buried near the young tree. I cannot understand how the root could have penetrated and grown through the skull unless there was hole in it. The skull was a per- feet specimen when I secured it, except that it had been perforated by the root. T am not sufficient of a scientist to express any opinion as to how much of the man, if any, grew into that tree, through the rect. You have got to ask some of these scientific fellows about that, but it is certain that the tree must have obtained some nutriment from the brain of that man. Itmay have changed it's form in the tree, but I think the brain was absorbed by the root, ,"-San Francisco Call.