Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-08-22
A PETRIFlEp WONDER.
The Great Foreat of PetrItled Wood Nea
 Florlssant, Col.


 The Great Foreat of PetrIHed Wood Near
 Florlssant, Col.
 The petrified forest at Florissant is located in a green valley mile and half from the station. The road to it leads south from the railroad, rising over the rolling hills in gentle slopes and disclosing new and beautiful views at every turn. To the east and north rise the green slopes of the divide, cul- minating on the east in the snow-capped summit of Pike's Peak. To the north, about five miles, Crystal Peak stands out a sharp cone, from cluster of wooded hills rising in round terraces to its base. Far to the west, over the in- tervening mountains and park, may be seen the snowy range, perpetual wall of snowy white on. the horizon, mak- Ing the back bo,se Ut the continent
 Everywhere along the road may be found little chips of petrified wood, either dropped there by curiosity hunt CTS or scattered from the remains of some stump in the immediate vicinity.
 After going up and down through several little valleys, the road decends rather steep grade to the valley where the forest" is located. The valley is broader here than elsewhere, and here and there, scattered over the bottom and on the lower slopes of the surrounding hills, are little mounds of white petrified chips, marking the spots where the tops of the stumps reach the surface. Only one of the stumps has as yet been entirely uncov- cred, and to this most of the visitors go first It is on the edge of a small grove on the west side of the valley. Over it is rough scatfolding. from which are suspended several saws, still deeply imbedded in the stump. Several years ago, when the Midland was first opened, some one conceived the idea of transplanting the stump to Manitou, but it was found that it could not pass through the tunnels on the road. He then commenced to saw it in> to vertical slabs, which he thought could be put together afterward. The saws sank easily in the top of the stump for about two feet, when they encountered hard silica, to which the outside air had not penetrated. and there they stuck.
 The stump is about forty-flve feet in circumference and twelve feet high. It's shape is perfect; the buttressed roots. the knots and the irregularities of the bark are all there, as distinct as those on any of the pine trees close at hand. The wood varies greatly. While all of it shows distinctly the grain and peculiaties of pine wood, there are some pieces which are as hard as flint and white as marble, while others are soft and almost like natural wood. By pulling off pieces of the petrified wood here and there are found little fibers which the silica did not for some reason reach, but these crumble to dust when touched. The tree has been unidentified as belonging to the same family as the giant trees in California.
 Across the valley from the large stump is another one almost as peculiar. It is a large bluish-black stone which is made of thousands of pieces of petriled charcoal, conglomerated in solid mass. None of the pieces are over an-inch in length, and how they became knit to- gether is likely to remain a geological mystery.
 The place in it's present condition will fully repay a visitor, but the expendi- ture of few thousand dollars by the town of Florissant in securing title to the land, digging out the stumps and grading the grounds would make it a very great point of attraction for curios- ity and pleasure seekers. The forest is reached by ride of thirty-six miles on the Colorado Midland, over the divide. .-COlOrado Springs Gazette