The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-01-20
In roresJs OF Stone.

" had queer experience oncc," gen.
tleman who had been examining the col
lection Of trees and wood in the old arsenal
building, Central Park, SAID, "snd these
lard woods remind me Of it. was pros.
pectlng in Arizona with party of friends.
AMI we had rough luck. We had a youne 2
1rishman as cook that | had picked up in
Omaha, who was worth more than any
ten men l ever saw in keeping up tho
spirits OF the crowd. The lower the pro .
Visions the more jovial he was, md I'm
hanged IL he didn't seem to have the blues
one day when we shot a bear anu wore on
the edge OF starvation. One day when he
had been out picking up wood for fire he
came to me and said: 'Beggin' yer pardon,
Master Tom. but av it's all the same I'd
loike to take the ba k track
/ Iapf" what's the troub]e2' asked.
7 "it moight be that be afraid av get
isn't, Sald he s0lemnly. But did ye ever
hear tell o. the shtory ay Ars.bavan
Noights2 Sorrer the looime I've heard
Father Clinehy relate 1t in tho ould coun.
thry. It's all about country where the
men, women and chllder turned to stone.
l always took 1t to be a joke, the results
Nv too much larnn', but not bit
when we've struck tho sellsame place.
4e laugh, Is it9 Cast yer eye on that ,
ana he held out perfect limb of tree Of
hard, solid rock, while IN the other hand
he had large petrtied oyster.
why, that's petrlfied wood | ex.
claimed.
Yes, rciolned Pat, 'anu we'll all be in
the samo fix if we kape on. Pm for the
! back trail
lit was long time before we could
make him understand the situation. But
II Was Curious sight. We had canned
on tne edge OF Il forest that had actually
| turned to stone. Ali about were the great
stumps that ut first we had taken for
stones, but found, ON closer examination.
| TO DO trees turned into stone Some wore
nat on the ground, others broken into
hundreds OF pieces, while all around were
bones and shells all turned to stone also.
How long thoy had been there no one
| kno VS."
stone forests are in many parts of the
world. A number of stony trees have
Deen recently received at the Smithsonian
institute from the West. In many cases
taey are hardened by the peculiar atmos-
phere as Lhcy stand, and IN others thoy are
buried, the paris being replaced by min
eral matter. The Little Colorado River in
Arizona has long been famous locality
lor such finds. At ono place more than
l,o0o cords Of trunks aud sections of logs
were found by Government surveyors
host OF them were slllclf1ed. Many are
seven 1eel or more in diameter and from
twenty to seventy Feet IN holght. The
greater part OF them have probably been
covered i'll the mari that originally was
l 81
es~.soa w Jaspai, assuming nuinerOus
hues. while others resemble opal, and,
when broken open, the core is often found
lined with crystals of the most beautiful
tlnts. Louisiana and Ohio are noted local
tiles for fossil trees. In the former State
several years ago, in turning up the
| ground, an ancient forest layer was un.
earthed, and i'll succession two others be-
low II; and scientists judge. from the state
| OF the trees, that from the time of the tlrst
! layer to the leet Atty thousand years must
have elapsed. lu the re mains of tho gla-
clal DRIFT in Ohio old forests are often dis
covered. Some have been buried beneath
the water by tho sinking OF the land
Some OF the Ohio trees are not entirely
changed into stone, being yet soft, while
| others are found IN all stages from rock TO
porous sponge matter.
In some parts OF tho island OF Anti
qua, one OF the British lceward group,
there are most remarkable examples of
stone forests. The trees are in many IN
stances OF great size, presenting q curious
sight with living birds perched upon their
lea1ess and stony limbs.
The fossil palms are the most remark.
able OF all these stony forms. They gen.
orally have cylindrical stem, rising to q
great height, crowned with canopy OF
foliage that stands upon tho rock in high
relief.
Some wonderful stone forests have been
unearthcd by the workers in the building
stone quarros of the Isle of Portland,
from which comes the famous building
stone. The workmen had cut down to
what they termed dirt bed, and suddenly
came 10 the stony forest standing upright.
There were hundreds OF trees few feet
apart. The tops appeared TO have been
wrcnchcd of, but many were forty ieet in
height. On some Of the limbs were the
delicate atoms, and here and there leaves
and twigs. In Van Dlemans Land siml-
lar forests are known, the great trunks be.
cal Cited and partly si]Icifled, while others
are changed into chalcedony. They we're
found in most cases erect, with the bran.
ches and limbs scattered about their roots.
30 natural were many OF these that q
newly arrived laborcr sent out to collect
wood brought IN load, complaining OF lts
heavlness. They are used, however, be-.
ing burned for lime.
/