The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-06-29
TREES o. srcNE.
The wonders Of a New Jersey peat Be

III you want 10 see something curl
GUS" said friend who was member
of government survey, ego down
with me to Woodbine." Four miles
beyond Woodbine, out on the sandy
stretch of old sea bottom or beach that
is termed the Cape May Peninsula,
we came upon Dennisville, where all
the Dennises Of all time had evidsntly
settled. A local Dennis said there
were 1900 of them and nine-tenths
were evidently children. They lived
in scattered shanties or houses on q
long narrow street, on each side of
which malaria stalks abroad from the
great swsmps that constitute their
boundary. The latter, no viewer, that
are perhaps over Il square miles in ex-
tent, are the means Of providing liv-
ing TO nearly all the inhabitants of
Dennisville, though the nature of their
occupation would never be suspected
from external observation.
PROBING FOR LOGS.
Were all in the loggin' business"
said tall. thin Dennis, yet as far as
the eye could reach not tree could be
seen standing that would make even
the ghost OF fair log. "They amt
SAOh Az IIlG LIlhus L uGY 10
underground. We dig for them, or
the tool" and stepping into q low hut
he brought out q croW-bar that, like
everythingthing else, seemed attenu-
ated. and was stretched out into q long,
slender-pointedrod. 1--WE wade along,U
continued the man, Sand probe with
this feeler, and when we strike q log
we feel around, and if it's a good one
we dig her up, and if 1t amt we let
her soak; that's about the way of it,"
$50 down in Jersey you burrow for
your logsW
"Thsts about it," replied the man.
"You know we're obliged to be whit
odd or sol we're got the name OF 1t,
"The secret of This business" said,
my friend, the geologist, "is that ages
ago all this area was covered with
fine growth Of large trees, and the same
are found growing in some parts OF
the swamp yet, but they have died out
and fallen down and sunk into the soft
mud, and so been covered up by mould
and mud until many other layers have
grown over them; but in some remark
able wsy the wood is preserved and
these sunken ancient logs are Just as
good for shingles and other article as
they were when alive; hence, for
many years there has been steady
hunt for them and Dennisville Is a re-
suit OF the industry. To the botanist
the tree IS the evergreen white cypress
or Expresses thyOides sempervirens,
and the numbers that once grew over
this swamp, and that have been en-
tombed, are beyond conception. The
trees upon or near the surface are the
only ones available and fortunately
are the best, but far below, there are
probably myriads of others turned to
stone and representing the past geo.
logical ages OF the earth. The logs are
worked out by the men who are nick
named Swamp poodIes,j and who live
In the midst OF the malarious district
all their lives. When q log is found a
ditch is made about 1t, into which the
water soon flows. A great saw Is then
applied and the roots removed, and as
RUE the log will rise TO the surface
and can be cut up and carried OIL, |
though in many localities the shingles
are made right on thespot and dragged |
over the swamp on roads In many
cases made of boughs and twigs. This
curious business is not confined to |
New Jersey, but over in Delaware and
Maryland thore are similar smamps, |
where the shingle business has |
been carried on for years. One of |
the swamps in Delaware extends over |
% square miles, and hard house in |
Sussex County but what is shipgled |
from the ancient deposit"
A FARMERS STORY.
~ tell ye," said an old farmer from |
This region, "that we're livin' on a |
curious kind o. crust round here In
pint OF fact, my farm might be said TO |
be perohed ON regular wood pile;
there amt no end to it. | bnilt a
TO barn some years ago
down in Delaware on the swamp lol.
and the further down l dug the more
logs | came onto, and | reckon way
down it's clean, solid wood, and when
a hre breaks out III tho swamp you
want 10 keep your eyes peeled, now
Pm talkin', How so? Well, I'll
lost give you little OF my experiences.
When first married my old woman l
bought patch right on tho edge OF
the swamp,and the land ran right into
1t about half mile. That summer it
was most monstrous dry, and after
while the fires began to break out, and
before we knew it 1t had crept up TO
within a thousand feet o. The
mouse. But we got at it with
Dfushi and as we thought
put IL out and did; but that night |
was awoke by hearin' crash so loud
that you'd a-thouRht the hull house
nRd gone down, and when | got out
mere was blazing fire right over my
FODDER mouse. got there in about two
and l tell We l was scared.
There wasn't hide nor hair of the
mouse, but deep yawnin' hole about
80 feet across and the Lord knows how
deep, and burning red hot, Just like
votcany. tell you got my folks cut
OF that diggins for while now. Fortu-
nately 1t come on TO rain the next day
and soaked IL out, and | amt a-draw-
In long bow when i tell you that
that hull kentry had been tunneled by
the hre, You see, 1t had crept along
under ground for nigh q thousand feet,
eating away the wood, and finally,
when 1t got under the fodder,
the weight of '-the stuff
broke the ciustE,% In and
down It went into regular pit of fire,
1 lell youit was an unsartin place TO
i've ON and was thankful enough that
II didn't get under the house. We'd
never known what hurt us; we'd have
melted down quick. Yes, there's
heaps OF places in the swamp district
that's eaten out jest the same way.
The IRE will run along for miles SOME
times and then crop out where it's
least expected. knew OF one case
where party shinglers left their
nut one morning and when thew came
Oack II was gone and a fourth of an acre
with II. II II had happened ~ hours
later they'd have gonein. In the Del
aware swampssy ou will find heaps of
such places, and green hands when
hey 20 down there always think there
las been q yolcany, and 80 there has
'iter a fashion."s asa--.-s.
FOSSIL FORESTS OF THE WEST. Kra
"Ihe subject of underground for.
sstsi" said my geological Companion.
a our way back, ais an interestin9
me, and In the West there are some
strange sights to be seen. | remember
especially one locality about the head
waters Of the Lithodendron river
mere arc thousands of trees living
about, as If some hurricane had swept
,yer the spot and levelled tlsm 10 the