The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1873-05-24
A GEOLOGICAL WONDER.
Discovery of a Petrified Forest in the
Libyan Desert-StOn Trees PROSTATE
in the Sand
From the London Nature.

vi Tie western nOflZOn on the L1Dy'
an Desert, as viewed from the summit
of the Great Pyramid of Ghizeh,
conical hill stands IN solitary grand
eur, far removed from the route of
desert travellers. This has bag been
supposed to be the ruins of a pyramid,
yet nowhere is it recorded to have been
visited by any but the Bedouin tribes
who pass within a few miles of if, on
the old caravan route to the Faloom.
1t is enumerated by Lepsius as one of
the pyramids of Egypt, and in a recent
work on the Great Pyramid it is called
DIR. Leaders, pyramid " until better
name be found for it, merely from its
having been pointed out to the author
by the late DIR. Leider, of Cairo, who.
however, had never visited it.
The following narrative of visit to
the eminence by Mr.. Waynman Dixon,
engineer, and DR.. Grant, OF Cairo, and
of their discovery of a very remarkable
petrltied forest near it's base, whose
gigantic trees lies scattered about the
desert in profusion. has been communi-
Gated to US by the former gentleman.
Leaving the pyramids behind, and
lighted by the clear silvery moonlight,
we set out into the desert by the car
avian route to the Falcon, leading up
solitary valley, in the rocks of which
are cut ancient Egyptian tanks and
mummy pits. Presently we turn off
from the regular track, and take our
way into the unfrequented desert.
steering straight westward for the
pyramidal hill. The sand of the desert
Is here hard and compact, and travel
ing easy indeed, with the exception
OF one or two places where the sand is
soft and heavy, a wheeled carriage
might drive all the way, and to most
travellers would be much preferable to
camel or even donkey riding.
Arrived at our destination before
daybreak, we dismount from our cam
els, and while the Bedouins are unload
ing the baggage, we hasten as fast as
our legs, stiff with camel riding will
permit, ny the heaps of sand and fints
to the summit of the so-called pyramid.
to find on attaining it that it is but the
conical end of rism-shaped hill,
stretching westward, and standing
boldly out of the desert plain.
Near the top the rock crops out, and
appears to be species of friable sand
stone fretted by the weather into curl.
GUS shaped; but the actual summit is
covered with filnts and sand. and, what
strikes one as being very strange, many
fragments of petrifed wood.
Taking general survey from this
colgn of vantage, we choose the best
spot to the north of the hill to pitch our
camp, exposed to the slight north wind
which blows incessar tly here, and. de-
scendlng its steep sides, at the bottom
are surprised to find near the chosen
spot three large stone trees lying pros
trate on the sand. The largest is 81
feet IN length and feet 6 inches in di-
ameter at its widest end, and 2 feet at
its smallest they are branching ex-
ogenous trees, apparently a species OF
pine, and the one before us has the fork
OF large branch very complete.
Wandering on up the wasty to the
north of the hill, named byus .sKom ell
khashob the bill of wood-we find
the whole desert Uttered with frag-
ments OF petrified wood from twice the
size OF ones finger to pieces of large
branches or trunks of trees and on the
flank of the hill to tue north are hun
dreds Of immense trees lying half
buried i'll the sand, some 20 feet long,
and In many instances with part of the
bark still attached All Of them are
eXoSenous trees-no single instance of
a palm could be discovered-and, from
the absence OF roots, it may be pre-
sumed have been drifted here by the
sea. The stratum is apparently sand
stone, everything the limestone of the
Nile valley there are also here, and
there patches of a dark, chocolate col
ored, fciable mineral, with specks of
green, which looked like copper, but
proved on subsequent analysis to be
carbonate of iron beds of what the
Arabs call " Gyps or gypsum, and
nodules as an intensely hard, black,
graduated looking stone-not unlike
emery stone-the whole geological
character suggesting the POSSIBLY de-
lusive) suspicion OF the existence of
coal under the surface.
Having carefully surveyed the neigh
borhood We again climbed the g Kom
Ell khashob,' taking instruments to
measure its height, and determine it's
position-the former of which we found
to be 1852 feet above the Nile level at
Cairo, 602 feet above the northeast
socket of the Great Pyramid, and con
sequently about 40 feet higher than its
summit.
Having secured one or two sketches
of the hill, and tue sun being now near
setting, we 6 fold up our tents like the
Arabs, and silently steal away" Mount
ing our camels again, and taking a
slightly different route on our return.
we pass some ancient solitary well
tombs away IN the desert, but without |
mark or hieroglypbic inscription on
them. All the way we notice frag-
ments of petrifed wood, and near to |
the pyramids extensive beds of oyster |
shells. This forest may almost be said |
20 be a coGtinuation-dou going |
much farther westward than we pen
the well known petrified
forest in the Abbasieh desert TO the |
east of Cairo, which extends a long
way in the direction of Suez, but is in
'erior both in extent and III the size and |
)erfectness of the trees to that of the
newly discovered forest. The forma-
ion of the land here weuld lead to the
that it has been the ancient
coast line, and that the trees drifted to
where they are now found, and were
hen left in the briny waters of an
,vaporating sea or salt lake and as the
ibre of the wood decayed slowly awey,
he space of each cell has been filled
Up by the crystalizing silica held in
solution in the water.
Three BARRIERS.