The historic drought parching much of the country's heartland has claimed crops, but a Missouri man is working to make sure it doesn't kill a 350-year-old tree.
John Sam Williamson has been hauling 1,600 gallons of water from the Missouri River to the champion bur oak, which sits on the 1,000-acre farm his family has run for six generations. The legendary oak is estimated to be 350 years old and is believed to be the largest of its kind.
"The drought of '80 was different," Williamson told the Columbia Daily Tribune. "That was hotter, but this one is longer."
According to a report, 99.29 percent of Missouri is in extreme drought or worse.
It's been one of the state's hottest years on record, and the bur oak has been showing signs of stress:
"The leaves are beginning to curl up a little bit, and they have turned kind of brown," Williamson said. "I think it has aborted a lot of the acorns. And the leaves turn upside down to keep from losing moisture."
