I asked this old Dauphin Island Native who I've known since the summer of '77 ( his Daddy and his twin brother were the only two boys drafted from Dauphin Island during WWI. The Twin got killed.) about the goat trees. "Oh they climbed up in those trees. They cleared away the brush." Being from the Wiregrass, I asked whether there was ever a goat Bar-b-que on the island. OH, NO! Not only did they not milk the goats or eat the goats, everybody knew who owned EVERY goat on Dauphin Island & everyone respected them because they cleared the brush. The cattle were the same way. When a storm came up, everyone on the island went out to the West End to herd the cows east. When they built the bridge, they pulled up barges and hauled all the cattle off.
http://www.coastalbirding.org/goat_tree2.htm