lled Colonel William Jackson reportedly took a liking to the said tree and endeavored（努力） to protect it from any danger.
As to why he loved it so, the earliest （最早的）documented（具有证明文件的） account of this story is an anonymously written front page article in the Athens Weekly Banner published on August 12, 1890.
It states, "Col. Jackson had watched the tree grow from his childhood, and grew to love it almost as he would a human.Its luxuriant （繁茂的）leaves and sturdy limbs （粗壮的枝干）had often protected him from the heavy rains, and out of its highest branches he had many a time gotten the eggs of the feathered singers.He watched its growth, and when reaching a ripe （成熟）old age he saw the tree standing in its magnificent （宏伟的）proportions, he was pained to think that after his death it would fall into the hands of those who might destroy it."
C)Towards this end, Jackson transferred by means of a deed （契约）ownership of the tree and a little land around it to the tree itself.