Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-02-04
stone Forests

Lithodendron City as yet does rot
figure on the maps of Arizona. 1t
dvells in the minds eye OF mixed
LOT composed of iaymen and scientists,
who have pitched several tents on the
banks OF the Llthodendron River, ami
bsptiz1ns the spot with the hmpid
waters. have chrstened 1t Lithodendron
City, only to JUMP tue claim on the
following morning and found another
city OF the same name at night, PER
maps thirty miles away. so that Litho-
dendron is almost anywhere along the
banks of that nyer that flows quickly
along. like some laggard that has fallen
behind the times and, as IT aDashed, Is
stealing on throHgh scene. that bear the
stamp of long ago.
One evening, as Lithodendron had
been founded tor about the tiftleth
time. a MIlesian gentleman, who formed
one of the scientific corps OF lnvestlea a
tors, was qdested to bring IN some
wood for the practical purpose OF boil
ing lOffse. Half al hour passed, and
then the wood-cGtter appeared with
wild look on his cOuntenanae. "NoS,
ain'tit a curious thing" he commenced.
pointing T. the Ak, that looked as II 1t
had been puTpUsely dulled with hle,
Dye know, General, tornlnst III the
Old dart, Father Malone, long life to his
worshipl told me av a country beyand
the SAYS where the trees and the cattle
were all turned to stone. Its lokln
We air, says I. 'Ye'll 1--we to see the
dsy I'm not, says Father Malone; and
more power to hIm, I've done that
same thing. III produce me resIgna-
ton av yer hOnOr'n give me PIN and
paper and some one 10 write; I'm on
the home track the very night. Mat
ter? Look at the axel Divil piece OF
wood butts turned INTO stonel The first
bit av a tree found, l laid of me coat
and fetched l. blow, when il flew out
of me hands, and the tree let out 3
stream OF light half mile long. L tried
five, an each one was harder than the
other, aud IL the bush WAS stone birds
a-sleepln' Oh the limbs, and each twlg
weighed ton
Pat was TINS the first to discover a
feature OF the valley that formed one OF
the quests Of the party, ns Aely, the
famous fossil forests that have been the
wonder of everyone who has visited this
region.
The slope of the river, here about
fifty feet III height, presents remarka-
BILE appearance. Not green object Is
to be seen, but all about, strewn here
and there, some erect and others pros
trate, lie myriads of pieces of strong
trees, limbs, trunks and branches of
fiint-like hardness-the remains OF a
once mighty forest. So thick are these
in some places that one can almost I'M
agine that this is the bed of some creek
with all Its polished boulders laid bare.
only that the remains have all the
structural beauties that characterize 3
them when alive. The cause of the
wholesale destruction of the stone for
ests is undoubtedly due to the extremes
of heat and cold that have snapped
them of and hurled them to the ground.
The soil here is soft and sandy, with
some clay, perfectly adapted TO the
preservation of the remains. The size
of some of these trees might have
compared with the eXtant sequois OF
Ihe National Park. One trunk Was
225 feet long and about five feet IN
diameter, and so finely preserved and
photographed In the rock. as 1t were,
that until the axe glanced from Its dint-
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,
snd company, 1t Is said, has been Or
ganized to cut them up INTO various
srticles Of ornament, which when pol
ished present a marvelously beautiful
surface The color of the wood Is pre-
served, and veins of the richest red
run here and there, anon changing to
yellow, gray or blue. The remarkable
coloriug has given rise to some curious
and erroneous impressions in the mind
OF the noble red men principally Nav
aloes) that summer IN the locality.
They have a legend that their fore
fathers were a vast and powerful race
aad that they conquered mighty giant
that lived on the Lithodendron. The
fossil trees they consider his bones or
parts of the skeleton, and the red stain
and even the lava beds, the blood which
ran from him.