The Northfarthing Tree Man

[Erestor Arcamen]

'All right,' said Sam, laughing with the rest. 'But what about these Tree-men, these giants, as you might call them? They do say that one bigger than a tree was seen way up beyond the North Moors not long back.'

'Who's they?'

'My cousin Hal for one. He works for Mr. Boffin at Overhill and goes up to the Northfarthing for the hunting. He saw one.'

'Says he did, perhaps. Your Hal's always saying he's seen things; and maybe he sees things that ain't there.'

'But this one was was as big as an elm tree, and walking - walking seven yards to a stride, if it was an inch.'

'Then I bet it wasn't an inch. What he saw was an elm tree, as like a not.'

'But this one was walking , I tell you; and there ain't no elm tree on the North Moors.'

A recent letter dated 28th February 1966 that's up for bid at Christie's has confirmed that this was an Ent.

Dear Jenny,

Thank you very much for your nice letter.

I have been in most parts of Wales, but the place names I use are made up from English models or borrowed from books, though Crickhollow was actually meant to resemble Crickhowell.

The walking elms were meant to be ents (but not entwives). Gandalf had asked one or two of them to keep a watch on the Shire, but he did not tell anybody about it. As can be gathered from Treebeard's conversations with M[erry] and P[ippin] he knew a lot more about events than they guessed, and more about "hobbits" than he pretended to’.

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6594778