Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1840-11-03


and Jasper counties, containing these sill
clhed trees. 1t IS worthy Of remark, also,
that extensive forests of pine are also found
IN these sections. The silcifed trees,
however, are not confined to the forests Of
pine; but often are found several miles
distant, in open prairies, or in forests Of
post oak and cedar. Whether these trees
are found east Of the Sabine, or west of
Guadalupe, we have not ascertained ST.
mllar petrltactions have been found in the
pine barrens of New Jersey, Missouri, and
III Chihuahua possibly the same series
OF deposits that contain these fossils extend
along the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico,
quite round to the feet Of the Cordlleras.
in Chihuahua, and are also connected with
the great tertiary region of Missouri. AS
many OF our Readers nay be anxious to
leaIn how these trees became changed to
stone, and thus buried beneath deep beds
of soil, we will here remark that the whole
section in which they are found, was once
covered by q deep sea. This is indicated
by the marine shells which are found i'm
bedded in the sandstone on which they rest,
and the vast quantities Of rounded pebbles
found in the superficial Accommodations above
the sandstone. Into this sea, the mountain
torrents of adjacent lands may have drifted
vast quantities of trees, and other vegeta
bles, which, after becoming saturated with
water, subsidized upon It's sandy bed and
as the woody matter decayed, silceous par
ticIes contained in the water were deposited
in their place, and at length, their bran
ches became transformed to solid stone,
which possibly during ages rested upon the
tranquil bed of the silent deep and the cur
rents OF centuries swept over them the vast
deposits ofearh and pebble stones in which
they now lie. These events may have
transpired thousands Of years before the
days Of Noah.
In the progress OF time, the ocean bed
was uplilted from beneath the waters and
the rains Of centuries gradually scoopcd
out the hoIlows, and wore down the eIeva
tons Of the surface thus appraised, until
at last presents the broad, shallow val
lies and smoothly rounded hills, which cha
racterize the undulating regions of Texas.
The shelves Of sandstone extending along
the sides Of these hills, however, Indicate
that this sea remained stationary for long
flied trees are found lying along these rid
ges, it is doubtful whether the trees were
imbeddcd in the superficial accumulations,
resting upon the sandstone and were thus
dcnuded by the abrasion Of the waters or
whether they were thrown up against and
upon these ridges by the violence Of the
waves of the ancient ocean. The former
opinion is rendered the mos: probable, from
the fact that some Of these huge trunks,
which are found lying over the ridges and
upon the sandstone, are more than six feet
in diameter, and twenty or thirty, or more
feet long these will weigh several tons {:
and il can hardly be supposed, that any
force Of the waves would be sufficient to
cast them over these lodges without at the
same time shattcring them to atoms. The
hypothesis that they once grew upon the
spots where they are now found, cannot be
maintained because none of these trees
are found erect, or with roots or branches;
but merely the bare trunks are found lying
horizontally, or slightly inclined and in
shattered, broken masses, as if they had
been subjected to the action Of powerful
currents.
In conclusion, VIC will furnish our rea-
ders with an account Of the subterranean
forest of the isle Of Portland, in England,
which contains siIitifed trees, similar to
those we have attempted to describe. This
forest is imbedded in solid rock it consists
of vast numbers Of trees, belonging to spe
cies resembling the pine, and to some sPc-
cies resembling palms, and other trees that
are now found growing only in tropical
countries. The roots of these trees extend
into layer Of earth about foot in thick
ness, resting upon a deep bed Of limestone
containing marine shells.
Many Of the stems Of these trees, as
we'll as the plants, are still erect, as if pc
trifed while growing undsturbed in their
native forest-the trees having their roots
in the soil, and their trunks extending into
the superintendent strata Of limestone" p
The strata Of limestone extending above
these trees are several hundred feet thick.
The strata nearest the trees contain fresh
water shells, above these are strata con-
tanning shells Of an estuary; and above all
these, other strata of limestone containing
marine sheIls DR.. Buckland remarks, |
that the structure of this district affords a
good example Of the proofs which Geology
discloses, Of alternate elevations and sub
mersions of the strata, during the forma-
ton of the crust Of our planet First, we
have evidence OF the rise Of the bed of lime |
stone on which the soil lies, and on which |
the trees are rooted, till it reached the sur
face of the sea. Secondly, this surface be-
came for time, dry land, crowned by a
temporary forest, during an interval which
is indicated by the thickness Of the bed of