The 500-year-old tree from which the new Duwamish story pole at Admiral Viewpoint was carved was nearly chopped into thousands of shakes and shingles and sold for drug money.

The western red cedar was poached from state-owned land on the Olympic Peninsula last fall. It was discovered about 50 feet off a forest road shortly after being felled, said Al Vaughan, state lands manager for the Forks region of the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

"We don't know if they (the poachers) got scared off or if they just left and planned to come back later," he said. "I can almost guarantee that tree would have been made into shingles."

Cutting down old-growth trees is illegal but, as Vaughan said, it's a common occurrence. Usually the motive is to get money to buy methamphetamine or "meth," he said.

The fine old timber often doesn't end up as story poles, living-room furniture or even support beams. Such big trees are difficult to move without proper equipment and many mills cannot handle their girth, Vaughan said. That's why most poached old-growth timber is cut into 24- or 30-inch sections and then sliced into shingles. It's the quickest way to dispense with a large stolen tree.

Besides, a cord of old-growth cedar brings $600 to $800, Vaughan said.

Most of the story pole's carved panels portray Duwamish history and culture but one of the lower panels was carved to represent the arrival of white people. It shows the stern of a square-rigged sailing ship, similar to the aft of a Spanish galleon, with billowing sails flying perpendicular to the ship's heading.

Seattle's first white settlers, of course, were the famous Denny party. They sailed to Alki beach in 1851 aboard a vessel called the Exact. It did not have perpendicular square sails. It was a two-masted, gaff-rigged schooner with sails in line with the direction the boat was headed.

Woodcarver Michael Halady, who created the story pole, said he's aware his ship doesn't look exactly like the Exact. Originally he planned to do a replica of the historic schooner but decided he wanted the carving to look "more artistic," Halady said.

As it is, the square-rigged image could represent Captain George Vancouver's journey into Puget Sound, Halady said.

Halady also used his artistic license to have a little fun by portraying the ship sailing away instead of arriving.

The public is invited to the dedication of the new story pole at 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11 with tribal and city leaders in attendance and traditional Duwamish dancing. The story pole is located at the Admiral Viewpoint near 3600 S.W. Admiral Way.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.