HATFIELD — Deep in the woods near Brushy Creek stands an old beech tree, its smooth bark etched with dozens of carvings, including biblical references, a heart and a legless horse.

Bob Brewer was 10 when his great-uncle, W.D. “Grandpa” Ashcraft, pointed it out on a logging trip 57 years ago.

“He said, ‘Boy, you see that tree? That’s a treasure tree,’” Brewer recalled on a recent visit to the site. “‘You see that writing? If you can figure out what that is, you’ll find some gold.’”

The old man didn’t elaborate, but his words stuck with Brewer through childhood and two tours of duty in Vietnam as a Navy helicopter crewman. So did memories of Grandpa’s frequent, unexplained horseback rides into the nearby Ouachita Mountains. Read Full Article