Briar generally refers to a tobacco pipe made of brierroot, whereas what I'm sure you're referring to is a brier patch, a growth of prickly or thorny bushes which most people know about from the tales involving Brer Rabbit,Brer Fox, & Tar Baby. The tales originally appeared in 1879 in the Atlanta Const. & a few yrs later were assembled in a book called "Legends of the Old Plantation As Told By Uncle Remus." The tale in question consists of Brer Rabbit telling Brer Fox that he would rather be hanged, drowned, skinned alive, have his eyeballs & ears torn out, or even have his legs cut off, anything if only he could avoid being thrown in the brier patch. Of course Brer Fox falls for it, & in short order Brer Rabbit easily escapes and taunts: "Bred en bawn in a brier-patch, Brer Fox---bred en bawn in a brier-patch!" The lesson of the tale is timeless, when you think about it.