Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-10-01
A PETRlFIED WONDER.
The Great Forest of Petrified Wood Near
Florissant, Col.


The Great Forest of Petrified Wood Near
Florissant, Col.
The petrifed forest at Florissant is
located 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 divide, Gull
minating on the east in the snow-capped
summit of Pixies Peak. To the north,
about five miles, Crystal Peak stands
out, sharp cone, from cluster OF
wooded hills rising in round terraces to
it's base. Far to the west over the in
tervening mountains and park, may be
seen the snowy range, a perpetual wall
of snowy white on the horizon, MAX
ing the backbone of the continent.
Everywhere along the road may be
found little chips of petrified wood
either dropped there by curiosity hunt
ers or scattered from the remains of
some stump in the immediate vicinity
After going up and down through
several little valleys, the road decends
a 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 petriied 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. 1t is on the edge of a small
grove on the west side of the valley.
Over it is rough scaffolding.
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
Iu0Co Iuoy SGuCk.
The stump is about forty-fve feet in
circumference and twelve feet high.
Its 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 fbers
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 large blush black stone which Is
made of thousands of pieces of petrifed
charcoal. conglomerated in asolid MAS.
None Of the pieces are over an inch in
| length, and how they became knit to-
| gether is likely to remain geological
| mystery.
The place in it's present condition will
| fully repay 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 1t a
very great point of attraction for curios-
| ity and pleasure seekers The forest is
1 vi Of h;
| the Colorado Midland, over the divide.
| Colorado Springs Gazette.