Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-28
nrEcrAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH,

| ESPECIAL TELEGRAM THE DIsPArcHI
NEW CASTLE, June 27-In deep, dark
raVlne, few miles from this city, in North
Beaver township, Lawrence county, is a
wonderful natural phenomenon in the shape
OF veritable growing rock. Fifty years ago,
when 1t was first noticed, an inverted wood
en- pail would almost cover it. To-day it is
q great boulder, 10 feet in height and 15 feet
or more in circumference, and weighing not
less than 80 tons. During the summer
months 1t Is covered with dense, rich moss
two or three inches deep, through which the
water from little spring trickles continu-
ally.
The wonder-maker is the little spring, so
small at this season that a few pals of water
dipped from it would drain it dry. But it
works in a manner very different from the
dripping water in caves that carries a bur-
den OF Limestone in solution with it, and
leaves its wonders in stalagmites and stalac-
tites.
THE OUTER FORMATION
of this rock has limestone appearance, but
once remove the moss, and chisel into the
gritty surface, and the real beauty and
regularity of the rock is seen. A cellular
formation, like a mammoth sponge, is dis
covered, and about the cells is stone as hard
as adamant. On cutting further in. this
cell-like substance is round to continue, but
1t seems to have been transformed into
translucent flint.
There are tons of rocks of this hinty char
acter, for 1t is as heavy as granite, and every
ounce OF 1t is undoubtedly moss and other
vegetable matter petrifed.
This remarkable petrifaction has been
wrought by the action of the water from the
spring upon the moss. The water seems to
have the singular property of turning into
stone everything that is brought in contact
with it Tor any length of time. 1t has an
acid taste, and is doubtless heavily charged
with mineral substances, although thus far
1t has never been analyzed. The most re-
markable fact about it is that it accom-
pllshes so much in so short time. The
moss grows luxuriantly in the dark hollow,
and the lapidescent quality of the water
has operated year alter year upon the layers
OF moss, turning them into
A HoNEYCoMB OF STONE.
and adding to what was at first small
rock, until to-day there is this great boulder
of petri6ed vegetation. A short time after
the moss begins to grow in the spring it
commences to solidiiy at the roots, and the
petrIlaction follows closely on the track of
the growing moss like the formation of coral
on the work of the coral insects As it
progresses the dark green of the vegetation
becomes yellowish. then changes to brown
and darkens as the rock grows older.
The moss is not all that is perpetuated in
stone by the action of the water. Plants.
leaves, twigs, every vegetable substance
that has allen on the rock and lain there
has been impregnated with it, and, as by the .
touch of an lnexorable fate, beep turned
into stone by 1t. Strata upon strata of the
moss-stone has grown over them, and many
such objects are now to be found hermet-
ically sealed deep in the heart OF the rock
To the mineralogist the rock is mine of
treasure and delight. No one ever chisels
into thst hinty boulder without coming
upon leaves and twIgs petriied among the
moss and securing many fine specimens to
rejoice his heart and make envious less for
tunate mortals. Those who have visited it
thus far say there is not another such curl
osity known in the world.
The people in the neighborhood have
long known of the remarkable quali-
ties of this spring. Mr.. William Ais
worth first discovered it nearly 80 years
ago. Then the rock was ten feet or more
below the spring. Now it has climbed up
the side of the bank until it is partially
above the level of the spring, and has
the WaLeT OI LUe llbble DTOOh kudb
comes down through the rayine somewhat
out of its course.
A CURIOUS EXPERIMENT..
Mr.. Allsworth and some of his neighbors
intend to try the experiment OF fastening a
frog or some other creature in such way
that the water will have chance to act upon
it, and see whether it will fill up animal
tissues with its mineral burden as it has
done the vegetable ones that have come in
contact with it. They firmly be-
lieve it will, and there seems little reason to
doubt it.
Heretofore the spring and the wonderful
rock it has builded have been little known
outside the immediate Deighborhood. The
little ravine where it is situated puts down
through rough and broken country near the
Beaver river, and the wonder is difficult of
access This comparative inaccessibility
has saved it in large measure from the raids
of relic hunters and prevented the accumu-
lations from being greatly disturbed,
Now and then the curious have visited it,
and of late few geologists have studied it,
and specimens of the strange formation have
been carried of. but the bowlder shows no
apparent diminution. The water still works
its miracle of petrifactioD, and will doubt
less continue to do so as long as it has