San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-07-19
IN A FOREST OF STONE.
Wonderful Show OF Petrified Wood
in a Colorado Valley

in a Colorado Valley
Colorado Springs Gazette.
: The petrified forest of Florissant is
coated in green valley mile and
half from the station. The road to 1t
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 d.
vide, eliminating on the east in the
snow-capped summit of Pixies Peak.
To the north about five miles, Crystal
Peak stands out, a sharp cone, from
among q cluster of wooded hills rising
in round terraces to its base. Far to
the west, over the intervening noun
taiDs and park, may be seen the
snowy range, perpetual wall OF
snowy white OH the horizon. marking
the back bone of the continent.
Everywhere along the road may be
found little chips of petrified wood,
either dropped there by curiosity
hunters or scattered from the remains
of some stump in the vicinity.
After going up and down through
several little valleys the road de-
sends a rather steep grade to the
valley where the "forest" is located.
The valley is broader here than else
where 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 en-
tirely uncovered, and to this most of
the visitors 60 first. tits OH the edge of
small grove of pine on the west side
of the valley. Over it is a rough
scaff0lding, from which are suspend
ed several saws still deeply imbedded
in the stump. Several years ago,
when the Midland was first opened,
some one conceived the idea of trans
planting 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 into verti-
cal slabs, which he thought could be
put together afterward. The saws
sunk easily in the top of the stump
for about two feet, when they en-
countered hard silica, to which the
outside air had not yet penetrated,
and there they stuck.
The stump is about As feet in cir
cumference and II feet high. Its
shape is perfect; the huttressed 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 peculiarities 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 fibres, which the sill
ca did not for some reason reach, but
these crumble to dust when touched.
The tree has been identified as be-
longing to the same family as the
giant trees of California.
Across the valley from the large
stump is Another one almost as pecu-
liar. 1t is a large blush black stone,
which is made of thousands of pieces
OF petrified charcoal, cong Generated
in a solid mass. None of the pieces
are over an inch in length, and how
they became thus knit together is
likely to remain a mystery.
The place, in its present condition,
will fully repay a visitor, but the ex-
penditure 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 great point of attrac-
ton for curiosity and pleasure seek
ers. The forest is reached by ride
of thirty-six miles on the Colorado
Midland, over the divide.