Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1884-12-11
nd then the wood cutter appeared with

and then the wood cutter appeared with
a wild look on his cOuntenance. 'NOw,
amt it curious thing" he commenced
pointing to the ak, that looked as if 1t
had been dullsd purpOsely with file.
"D'ye know, General, fOrnist in the old
dart, Father Malone, long life to his
worship! teld me av q country beyand
the says where the trees and the cattle
were all turned to stone. It's jokin' ye
air says l. Yell live to see the day I'm
not says Father Malone; and more pow
er to him I've done that thing. I'll pro-
JUICE my resignation av yer hOnOr'll give
me pin and paper and some one to write;
I'm on the home track this very night.
Matter? Look at the ak! Divil piece
of wood butts turndsd to stone! The first
bit of tree found. laid off me coat
fetched it blow. when it flew out Of me
hands, and the tree let out stream av
light half mile long. | tried Ave. an
each one was harder than the other, and
i'm the bush was stone birds slsepin' on
the limbs, and each twig weighed ton"
Pat was thus the FIRST to discover a
feature of the valley that formed one of
the quests OF the party, namely, the ia
nous fossil forests that have been the
wonder of every one who has visited
this region
The slope of the river, here about fifty
feet. in height, presents remarkable ap-
pearance. Not a green object IS to be
seen, but all about, strewH here and
there, some erect and others PROSTATE,
lie myriads OF pieces of strong trees,
limbs, trunks and branches Of flint like
hardness-the remains of once mighty
forest. So thick are these in some pla-
ces that one can almost imagine that it
is the bed of some creek with all its pol
ished DOulders laid bare, only that the
remains have all the structural beautses
which characterized them when alive.
The cause of the wholesale destruction
of the stone forests is undoubtedly due
to the extremes of heat and cold that
have snapped them off and hurled them
to the ground. The sell here is soft and
sandy, with some clay, perfectly adapted
to the preservation of the remains. The
size Of some of these trees shows that
many Of them might have compared
with the extant sequOia of the National
Park. One trunk was 225 feet long and
about FIVE feet in diameter, and so finely
preserved and photographed in the rock,
as it were. that until the ak glanced
from its flint-like bark and sparks of fire
followed one could hardly realize the
change that had taken place. The
trunks that are broken, show remarkable
features and a company, it is said, has
been organized to cut them up into va
riOus articles of ornament, which when
polished present maryelOusly beauti-
full surface. The cOlor of the wood is
preserved, and veins of the richest red
run here and there, anon changing to
yellow, gray, or blue. The remarkable
coloring has given rise to some curious
and erroneous impressions in the mind
of the noble red men principally Nava-
joes) that summer in the locality. They
have legend that their fOrefathers were
vast and powerful race and they con-
vuered a mighty giant that lived on the
LithodendrOn. The fossil trees they
consider his bones or parts of the skele-
ton, and the red stains and even the lava
beds, the blood which ran from him.
Correspondence New York Evening Post.