Trees Are Where You Find Them

In Short

Arthur Dekker Savage’s science fiction short story "Trees Are Where You Find Them" follows a group of local loggers, a small-scale mill owner, and an eccentric, reclusive doctor named Doc Yoris in southwest Oregon as they clash with an aggressive newcomer named Burt Holden over the region's virgin timberlands. When Holden schemes to buy up local mills to build a destructive pulp mill that would ruin the valley, Doc offers his own massive timber stand to stop him, ultimately using an unexplained mental ability to banish Holden to Mars. The story has endured through its rich regional atmosphere, dry frontier humor, and sharply etched portrait of ecological conflict in the timber country.

The Story

The narrative opens in Cave Junction, Oregon, where a local narrator, his logging friends Lew and Rusty, and Doc Yoris are sitting in the Ivy picture house. Doc starts cackling uncontrollably at a scientific film showing men landing on Mars and looking at trees, remarking to the bewildered loggers that Mars has no such trees. Sitting behind them is Burt Holden, an ambitious outsider who owns a large logging outfit and is trying to squeeze out small operators like Pop Johnson. Following the movie, the group drifts over to the Owl Tavern. Pop joins them and reveals his acute distress: Holden wants to buy Pop's mill not to run it, but to tear it down and build a pulp mill by the highway.

The group realizes a pulp mill would strip the land bare, wash away the hills, and release chemicals that would kill the fish in the creeks and the Illinois River, destroying the winter sustenance of the locals. Doc declares he will talk to Holden to prevent the disaster. When Holden and his buddies approach their table, Doc startle everyone by offering to give Holden his own three million feet of virgin timber on Deer Creek for free if Holden drops all plans for a pulp mill anywhere in the valley. Holden rudely rejects the offer, sneering that Doc should go back to Mars if he dislikes progress.

Holden attempts to publicly humiliate Doc by egging him on about Mars, jokingly demanding a ton of Martian gold to drop his plans entirely. Doc surprises everyone by taking the deal seriously and ordering Holden to stand against the wall. Despite the tension and the narrator's anticipation of a violent brawl, Doc calmly instructs Holden on how the transfer works, remarking that gold nuggets lie all over the dry river beds on Mars. When Rusty blurts out that Doc cures people using his head, Doc sits down, cups his hands over his dark glasses, and his fingers tremble against his forehead. The tavern lights suddenly dim, flicker, and go out. When the power returns, the lights come back on, and Doc and Pop head for the door, followed by the narrator, Lew, and Rusty. As they drive away in the jeep, Rusty asks when Doc will bring Holden back, to which Doc replies that it only works on a man once.

How It Unfolds

• The movie house encounter — While watching a scientific short subject at the local theater, Doc Yoris loudly laughs at a scene depicting trees on Mars, drawing the irritated attention of ambitious outsider Burt Holden.
• The tavern revelation — At the Owl Tavern, Pop Johnson confesses to the group that Holden wants to purchase his mill to convert it into a pulp mill.
• The desperate bargain — Doc confronts Holden and offers him three million feet of his own untouched timber on the condition that he abandons all pulp mill plans in the valley.
• The Martian challenge — Scornful and eager to mock the doctor, Holden mockingly demands a ton of Martian gold to stop his enterprise, leading Doc to call his bluff.
• The sudden departure — While Holden stands against the wall waiting for a punchline, Doc cups his forehead, the tavern lights flicker out, and Holden vanishes to Mars for good.

The People

• Doc Yoris is a reclusive, sensitive local doctor living on a homestead along Deer Creek who hides his appearance with dark glasses. He wants to protect his virgin timberland and the natural valley from corporate destruction, and he ends up permanently banishing Holden to Mars using a mysterious mental power.
• Burt Holden is an aggressive, hard-headed outsider who runs a large logging outfit and wants to expand his industrial empire. He wants to buy out local operations and build a polluting pulp mill regardless of environmental consequences, and he ends up stranded on Mars after underestimating Doc.
• Pop Johnson is a small-scale mill owner who is being squeezed out by larger operators. He wants to save his livelihood without sacrificing the valley's ecosystem, and he ultimately walks away safely alongside Doc after the confrontation.
• Rusty is a top choker setter in the logging outfit who lacks formal schooling but is fiercely loyal to his friends. He wants to protect his hunting and fishing grounds for the winter, and he ends up eagerly participating in the tavern showdown and asking when Doc will bring Holden back.
• The Narrator is a seasoned local logger who operates the jeep and narrates the events. He wants to keep the peace and prevent brawls in the tavern, and he ends up observing Doc's extraordinary powers firsthand without interfering.

In Its Own Voice

• Describing Doc's reclusive lifestyle after logging gave way to modern industry, the narrator notes: since gold mining gave way to logging and lumber mills, with Outsiders drifting into the country, Doc has taken to staying on his homestead away back up along Deer Creek, near the boundary of the Siskiyou National Forest.
• Explaining why the locals rely heavily on the local ecosystem for survival during the off-season, Rusty points out: The woods close down in the winter, on account of the snow, and if a man can't hunt and fish he's liable to get kind of hungry.
• Capturing the strange, matter-of-fact conclusion after Holden is dispatched, Doc responds to Rusty's question about a return trip: "Dunno," said Doc. He took off his glasses to watch me shift gears. He's been after me for a long time to teach him how to drive.

What It's Really About

The story explores the clash between traditional, conservation-minded frontier life and ruthless industrial capitalism. It investigates the moral cost of economic progress, questioning whether financial gain is worth sacrificing natural ecosystems, clean rivers, and local ways of living. The narrative sets up a sharp thematic tension between the preservation of ancient forests and the unchecked expansion of corporate mills, using speculative elements to literalize the alienation of outsiders who view nature merely as raw material to be exploited. Beneath its rugged regional surface, the book questions who truly belongs to the land: those who live in harmony with its rhythms, or those who seek to strip it bare for profit.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love quirky mid-century science fiction with a heavy dose of regional Americana will find a rare gem here. It feels like a cross between a gritty logging-camp yarn and a twilight zone fable, grounded in the specific sights, smells, and social dynamics of southwest Oregon timber towns. The atmosphere is thick with the texture of caulked boots, beer bottles, tavern pool tables, and forest-fire precautions. It is honest about the rough-hewn, insular attitudes of its characters and their casual acceptance of frontier justice, which reflects the period's hard-boiled working-class ethos. What stays with you long after finishing is the striking image of a quiet, unassuming country doctor who quietly deals with a corporate bully not through fists, but by sending him straight to the red dust of Mars.