This is exactly the kind of thread that makes Mudcat so valuable. I have been singing "Tying a Knot" since I heard Cisco Houston back in the late 50's. One audience member was so taken with the song that he did the research and came up with many of the facts that have appeared on this thread, except he said that the Sierra Petes were, actually, the Sierra Pedro Mountains, Pedro being Spanish for Peter.
Nevertheless, I am grateful for the interest and scholarship that I have seen in these postings. Those of us, who are interested in traditional forms and rituals, are awash in a sea of anti-trads who seem to believe that folkmusic was invented by Dylan, Paxton and Ochs. (One would think that they might, at least, include LaFarge).
I don't include this song among traditional lore but I honor songs that honor their tradition and the writers who compose them with respect and care. Gardner's work is as worthy as Cyril Tawney's, Ewen MacColl's, Jimmy Driftwood's and whoever it was who wrote the Robin Hood ballads. Hooray for him and hooray for you all.

                   Mike Miller