Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-03
A PHANTOM FOREST.
Wonderful Phenomenon Encountered
by Tourists in New Mexico.
ACRES WITHOUT A LIVING TREE.
Cabins Of an Eccentric Monk Who
Founded New Religious Sect.
THE MIRACLE OF A HIDDEN SPRING

SANTA FE, Nov. 2.-From one of the
members of a tourist party who recently
made the ascent of the famous twin noun.
tains peaks in Northern New Mexico,
| known as Old Badly, the following interest
| ing story of their trip was learned to-day:
The party reached the base of the peaks
late one evening in the middle of August.
The next morning having secured guides,
the party started, the ladies mounted on
| burros, the gentlemen afoot. For about three
miles the way lies through the finest of tim
Der, and something like mile of the latter
part of the ascent is over paths rough and
| rugged. trying to the men and difficult to the
animals and their riders; but time and
patience conquer all things, and at last the
brow of the mountain was reached. Look
ing back, but little over 100 yards seemed
to cover the distance over which they had
come.
A veritable Phantom Forest.
Around them as far as the eve can reach
stands a huge forest of dead timber When,
or why, it died, no guide or settler can
tell; no tradition of the events linger on
the lips of the traditional oldest inhabitant.
But there it stands in all the melancholy
grandeur of death, not q living tree
throughout its wide extent though thou
sands upon thousands of cottonw oods are
springing up at the feet OF the dead giants.
A hRlf-mile's journey through this phan-
tom forest brings the party to q cabin built
of logs, from beneath which flows out o
bold and beautiful spring, its water clear as
crystal and cold as ice. For another half
mile the way leads through the dead forest,
the path being marked out by crosses re-
clining against the trees These emblems
of the cruoifxion have evidently not been
disturbed for ages. Then another cabin
comes into view. 1t is smaller than the one
at the spring, and differs from it by having
neither door nor window nor chimney nor
any other opening, except an aperture near
the ground, which cannot be of greater
dimensions than 10 inches in height by 30
inches in length.
Three Massive Wooden Crosses.
This cabin is situated on the very edge of
the dead timber, Immediately in front of it,
and st the distance of about 100 yards, are
three immense crosses, representing those.
of the Savior and the thieves who died with
Him. They are so massive that they look
as though twenty men would not be sufi-
cient to handle one of them. Neither are
they planted in the ground, but are main
tanned in an upright position by tons of
stone piled around their base.
This Is called the station Of the crosses,
and from it there falls upon the view one
of the loveliest and most picturesque scenes
to be found in all New Mexico On the
mountain top the dead timber has disap-
peared, to be succeeded by an open glade,
dotted over with clumps of trees lovely in
their luxuriant foliage, while the glade is
carpeted with grass of freshest green.
From this spot of scenic grandeur, the
guide leads the way to yet third cabin,
undulation In the glade had hidden from
view. Like the cabin at the crosses, the
roof of this one is fiat, covered with earth
and overgrown with grass and brambles
Like the other, also, it had no opening of
any character, except slight oblong hole.
Not Very Easy to Enter.
In both cabins this opening had its four
sides thickly studded with long projecting
nails making both ingress and egress a
tedious and painful performance. Unlike
the second cabin, this one. which goes by
the name of the Home of the Sacred Her
init, consists of two parts, kind of veranda
and sleeping apartment, the latter not be-
ing more than four feet wide and eight feet
long, and of SO scant q height that man of
ordinary stature cannot stand upright in it.
A spring or pool about six feet square is
inclosed in a kind of framework near by,
and has SO sluggish current, if current at
all, that thick and uninviting scum aocumu-
lates upon its surface. The guide, upon his
knees with hat reverently removed, brushed
away the scum and drank heartily of the
water; vainly urging the party to follow
his example. This, he said, was the Blessed
Spring, and its history, together with
that Of the crosses and the cabins. was thus
given by him when the trip had ended.
Mania for Making Crosses.
Some time in the year 1862 there ap-
peared among the people of the Gallinas
Valley, O man of peculiar mien and austere
habits. He said he was an italian monk,
that his home was on the top of Old Baldy,
and that he had come to teach the people
the way of the Lord more perfectly. He
would accept nothing but the bare necessi-
ties of life, and then only in the most
meager quantities. His chief occupation
was the making of crosses; and so assfduous
was he in this employment that on the
is the most difficult, and where he made a
trial for himself, the entire way is lined
with crosses of his construction. From this
the people generally called him Juan de las
Cruces-John of the Crosses--but his imme-
diate followers called him Christian John.
Soon he had 42 converts, whom he formed
into an order, which he called by Mexican
name signifying The Third His opponents
said that his system was a mixture of
Christianity and infdelity, or of some
heather religion; but as the organization
was altogether secret order, it is some
what doubtful as to what they founded
their assertion on.
The Story of Miracle.
At length it was concluded TO build a j
cabin for the monk, which should mark thesl
sanctuary OF their order, on the top of Old
Badly. The faithful assembled and therl
work was begun; but soon they ran out Of
water, the supply having been brought to-
the top Of the mountain in half barrels
lashed to the backs of burros The guide !
who told the story was one Of the boys that
had driven the water-laden beasts. The
monk, however, bade them go to certain |
place beside the path, aud there thew |
would find water bubbling up from the |
earth.
They did as directed; and though they |
had passed and repassed the place hundreds |
of times, and never seen a sign of water, |
they obeyed the command and found the |
pool which ever since has been called the |
Blessed Spring. The fame of so great q |
miracle went through all the country, and |
people from that time to the present have
continued to come from far and near to- /
drink at the spring and to carry away, itsal |
waters for medicinal purposes. That thet
of this miracle might be beyoud.E
,avil, the half barrels in which the water