The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-10-17
CUBIOsITIRS OF THE SOHTH-
WEST.

hurled Cities in Texas,-The Whte
Lake of Automatic Petrified For
est.
Fort Davis letter in the New York
Tribune A few months ago at Cochite,
nm the American side of the Rio Grande,
Amanda Chavez discovered the ruins OF
an extensive city, the existence OF which
had never been suspected before. The
Mace where this hidden city lies has
hitherto had the general appearance OF
huge swell or rise in the prairie, per
feet desert in outward appearance, tor
II contained no herb, no root, no plant,
no yendure of any kind-nothing save
Waste of sand, alkali, and dirt, across
which living creatures hesltated to travel
nnlepE forced to do so. Beneath this
nile of desolation lay the ruins OF an an
Gent city, probably Toltec in origin
The upcovering of the ruins was &C
complished by a severe rainstorm, which
proved to be genuine cloudburst, ms
sWeeping down upon the sandy mouno
with terrific force, washed away one
angle of the mound, disclosing some
heavy stone walls which made the dis
coyery possible. Mr.. Chavez obtained
number of interesting relics. One skelt.
ton had three strands Of beads around
its neck, of turquois, jet, and bone. res
pectively, also earnings OF JET ana tul-
ouois, The mummy's hair was brown
and some pieces of bright, ornamenteo
pottery were near 1t. Arrow-neaus,
broken pottery etc., were scattered
about. The skeleton was in chamber Oh
solid masonry, the stones firmly cement
cd, and it may have been his tomb, with.
In which he was sealed at the time OF
One large building, with massive stone
walls and tower, at each corner, was
expossed by the cloud-burst. This has
the appearance of citadel, the masonry
being strong and secure, and in the cen
ter is probably a water reservoir with
aoueducts of stone stretching away IN
many directions, giving the idea that
the building was erected for the pur-
nose of standing a siege. Some Pueblo
Indians, questioned regarding the OLD
citv: say that its name was Guato, and
that iJ fiourished long before Cortez
cams tn Mexico, or course this is mere
tradition and cannot be relied upon, yet
IL Il is of Toltec origin, the probabilities
are that it was built ages ago, ana posi-.
bly antedates the building OF the nrsV
Egyptian pyramid.
In the Salt River Valley, which Is now
a desert, the ruins of no less than nine
teen buried cities have been tound' Elk,
cavations show that once mighty ana
nopulous people inhabite the valley, ana
tbat thew cultivated vast fields OF maize,
nndsrstood agriculture thoroughly, and
even carried on irrigation to an extent
that surpasses the best efforts OF modern
nations. lrrigating canals oullt SUP
stantially, cut the country IN every alr,
ection. The growth OF maize lnouigeu
in by these extinct nations IS something
astonishing. Not withstandln1g their IT.
rigating schemes, they must nave rea,
soned like Joseph of old in Egypt and
laid by two or three yearys supply 10
case a famine should strike the land.
Even now the Zuni Indiands keep stored
away a three years supply OF grain ID
order to counteract any emergency Oh
drought or war, /.
Another remarkable curiosity to be
seen in this vicinity is dazzling white
lake situated in the gypsum sands oil
Northwestern Texas. To be accurate,
the lake is situated in Donna Ana
County, New Mexico, and was formed
early last spring from the copious rain
falls that visited the section. Inc place
is a valley of pure white sand, about
TWENTY-FIVE miles long by six or seven
broad. situated in the hollow OF some
low-lying hills or fluctuations into which
drains all the rainfall of the neighbor-
hood, There are no springs, lakes, rivers
or streams of any kind near by. Inc
lake covers about $50 acres, is seveIa
feet deep, and although formed in the
sand, vet the action of the water has con
verified the gypsum bottom into a solio
snow white mass, cemented so suostanu
ally and compactly that there ls no way
of the water escaping except oy the SLOW
process of evaporation. seen al ma
day when the sun Is at its brightest th'
human eve cannot sustain even Tor
few seconds the brilliant and binding
glare from this wonderful formation o.
Nature, Even in dead of summer, wher
there is no moisture whatever in thu
place, it is a terrible thing for human
creatures 10 attempt passage through
this gypsum valley. The heat intoler
able and the refraction 80 terrific that 1
is positively painful and even dangerous
to experience it. Possibly in connection
with the heavy rains of last season
cloub-burst or waterspout may hav'
played an important part in the formi
ton of this lake.
The wonder of all curiosities, however
in the Southwest is the petrifiet
forest in Apache county, Arizona
What makes it more remarkable than
otherwise would be is the fact that tn
forest never grew on the spot where !
now lies but was transported bodil!
from some region by force of natur
that we can little imagine. There ar
no stumps or trunks Of trees left in tn
GROUNDING roots, small limbs, or any
thing to show that vegetable matte
could live and thrive in the volcani
ashes of the section, and yet mammoth
tree trunks turned into hard adamantin
stone lie here 10 the greatest profusion
millions of tons in sight, and no defnit
answer is there to the puzzle. In som
cases the trees are of gigantic size, hav
ing diameter of eighteen or twent
feet at the base and height of NOR
than 100 feet.
The scene reminds one Of Sinbad
dream or Aladdin's cave. AS far as tn
eye can reach pieces Of chrysoprase, cal
nelian, card, and chalcedony are scatter
ed bits of amethyst, jasper, calcite, an
agate glitter in the sunlight, blszIn
with indescribable brilliancy, and 6
thick on the ground that one can hardl
step without placing his foot on a gel
of 'purest ray SERENE" This mIneralize
wood is scattered over more than zoo
acres of surface, Situated in desert {
lava and ashes, although, as remarked
millions OF tons of the material are
sight, yet all this mass must be mel
bagatelle to what is really concealed b,
meath the volcanic ruin which at or
time swallowed the whole country in Il
deadly embrace. 1t is scarcely possib
to solve the mystery that surrounds tt
wonderful Chalcedony Park of Arizont
There is something in the soil that ell
cities wood, for on the northern bordt
of Arizona, near the Colorado line, is
cabin, built some years ago by mour
converted into stone. Probably the sam
petrlfying action operated upon this {
upon the Arizona forest.
1t seems reasonable, since the trees al
Of mammoth proportions and similar
those now growing in Oregan and Cal
fornia, that at some distant period {
time a tremendous flood or glacier sweI
down from the Northwest and trani
ported the forest bodily to its preser
location in the Apache Valley. Possibl
volcano or earthquake finished til
ruin, leaving the enigma for future ag'
to solve as best they may. At any RAJ
the ashes and lava are there, the tre'
have been shattered aud smashed I'M
every conceivable form, and the spot
truly the greatest natural wonder on Il
Continent. The Government should 8
it aside as National reservation.