Thanks for the responses. Sorry, it's actually more of a cable or
line, not a chain.. No links. The cable is buried in the bark and
almost completely invisible. I can't get at it without cutting the
bark. I was thinking it might be possible to cut through the bark in
one or two places to cut the cable. I could leave the tree alone, but
it seems sickly, and our tree trimmer told us it would not recover. I
could cut it down (I'm leaning in that direction), but it is very tall
and helps to block our view of the neighbors. Thanks again.

"nonews" wrote in message ...
Perhaps, but there are variables in trying to save the tree. A lot depends
on the size of the chain and how much of it is visible and the age of the
bark. Buy or borrow a pair of bolt cutters. There are different sizes of