The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1888-11-24
LOg.MInIng in a new JERSEY swamp.

Dennisyille, n. j., NoY.9.-An indus
try the like ofwhieh does not exist any
where else in the world furnishes scores
Of people in this part of New Jersey |
with employment and has made fer
tunes for many citizens 1t is the busi- |
ness of mining cedar trees-digging |
from far beneath the surface immense
logs of sound cedar. These sunken ce-
dar forests were discovered in the |
Dennisville swamps seventy-fiye years |
ago, and have been a source of inter-
est to geologists ever since. There are
standing at the present day no such
enormous specimens of the cedar any
where on the globe as are found i'm
bedded in the deep muck of these
swamps. Trees have been uncovered
measuring six feet in diameter, and
trees four feet through are common.
Although ages have passed away
since these great forests fell and sank
beneath the surface, such trees as fell
while yet living, are as sound now as
they werc the day Of their uprooting'
These trees are called "wind falls as
il is thought they were torn up by the
roots during somc gale of an unknown
past. Others are found that were evil
IDENTIFY dead when they fell, and these
the miners call "break downs The
action of the wind and water in the
swamp as 1t has kept the "wind-falls"
sound, has prevented further decay in
the "break-downs."
II is thought that these buried ce-
dars ages ago formed vast forest
that grew in freshwater lake or
swamp that covered this portion Of
New Jersey. According to eminent
geological authorities the sea either
broke in upon the swamp or the land
submerged and the salt water reached
the trees. This killed many of them
aud a cyclone swept over the forests
and leveled il to the earth. The heavy
trees gradually sank into the soft soil
until they reached firm earth or rock
where they lay undisturbed until acci-
dentally discovered in 1912. Ever
since then the logs have been mined.
The buried forest lies at various
depths In the swamp, and the uncover
ing of the trees Is done In very sim
pie manner The log miner prods in
the soft soil with long sharp iron rod
The trees lie SO thick that the rod can.
not be pushed down without striking
one. When the prod strikes tho log
the miner chips off piece with the
sharp point of the tool, which brings
the chip to the surface. by the appear.
ancc of this chip the miner can tell
whether the tree Is a sound or dead
one. II sound, he ascertains the length
of the trunk by prodding along from
one end Of Il to the other.
That sscertained, he pushes down
through tho mud saw similar to those
used in saving our ice in filing an Ice
house. With this he saws the log In
two near the root. The top of the tree
Is next sawed off In the same way, and
sben the big cedar stick Is ready to be
freed from Its resting place. A ditch
Is dug down to the log, the trunk 10
loosened by cant hooks, and II rises
with the water to the surface Of the
ditch. When these logs como to the
surface, they always turn over with
their bottom sides up.
These ancient trees are Of a white
variety of cedar; and have the same
aromatic fayor intensified many de-
grees that the common red cedar Of
the present day has. The wood Is ofa
delicate flesh color.
Not one Of these long sunken trees
has ever been fonnd TO be waterlogged
in the slightest. II Is impossible to
tell how many layers deep these cedars
lie in the swamps, but II is certain that
there are several layers, and that after
mining them for rs years the first lay
er has not yet been removed from the
depths. AT some places in the swamp
the soil has sunk in and become dry
and there fallen cedars may be seen
lying In great heaps, one upon the 9TH
err. No tree has ever been removed
from a greater depth than Eve feet, but
outside the limits of the swamp they
have been found buried much deeper