The true northerner., 1899-12-13
n ARIZONA WONDER.
A PETRlFlED FOREST THAT IS A MAR
VEL or BEAUTY.

IL Covers a Hundred square Miles
and q. Mass of Glittering Agate
I'm a DewiIdering Array of Cor
geous CoIoring.
The territory Of Arizona is vast
museum OF natural curiosities includ-
ing many Of the most wonderful in all
the world. The atmosphere, the eli
mate, the mountains, the soil, the riv-
ers. the forests are filed with phe-
nomena, many of which exist nowhere
else In the desert. 300 miles square,
18th Flagstaff as center, are spread
variety of wonders OF which. the
of this country have little or no
n option, but if they were in Eu-
2oYc or Asia thousands Of our citizens
build cross the ocean 10 see them.
ing within only two or three days
orney Of Chicago and easy of access
frequent trains of sleeping and
ing cars and other modernsluxuries
nttravel, they are overlooked by the
fltitude and are practically un-
own.
rni'o my mind, next TO the Grand can
Mrl of the Colorado, the most interest
erek and impressive of the natural won
MRS of this great Arizona museum is
Ne petrified forest. which covers near
M 100 square miles, within easy dis
,Llnce. either on foot or horseback,
4 from Billings station. on the Santa
hce railroad, but it can be more easily
I.oo I Io1l
Rvhere better accommodations can be
afound. The government explorers have
fchristened it Chalcedony park.
1 The surface of the ground for miles
and miles around is covered with gi-
gantic logs three or four feet in diam
\ eter, petrified TO the core. Many Of
hem are translucent. Some are almost
transparent. All present the most beau
tiful shades of blue, yellow, pink, pur-j
pie, red and gray. Some are like gil
gantic amethysts, some resemble the
smoky topaz and some are as pure apl
white as alabaster. At places the chips
of agate from the trunks that hJve
crumbled lie a foot deep upon the
ground, and it is easy to obtain Cross
and even the bark.
Comparatively little of this agate has
been used in manufacturing, although
it is easy to obtain. Manufacturing
jewelers. of New York have made table
tops and boxes and other articles from
strips that have been sent them, and
if the material were not so abundant
its beauty would command enormous
prices. Where you can get n carload of
jaNelry for nothing you are not like
" to pay high prices for it.
= A birds eye view of the petrified for
ests on sunny day suggests a gigan-
tic kaleidoscope. The surface of the
earth resembles an infinite variety of
rainbows. The geologists say this great
plain, now 5000 feet above the sea,
was once covered by a forest. which
was submerged for ages in water
strongly charged with minerals. until
the fiDers of the trees were thoroughly
soaked and transformed into eternal
stone. Many Of the trunks are still
packed in a deposit of fine clay, which
was left by the geceding waters, but
the erosion Of the wind has pulverized
much of the clay and carried it off in
the air, exposinE 4 the secrets that ma
ture buried under its surface.
One great tree spans a deep gulch 40
Z. T wide ~ lies where it fell CEN
turies. perhapSages, aga,rand Is a nrast
beautiful specimen Of petrified wood.
The rings and the bark can be easily
traced through the translucent agate,
and it is firm enough and strong
enough to last as many centuries as it
has already spent in it's peculiar posi-
ton. 1t is undoubtedly the only
bridge of agate in the world and alone
is worth a long journey to see.
= The Indians Of the southwest used
to visit the petrified forests frequent
ly to obtain agate for their arrow and
spear heads. and the material was
scattered over the entire continent by
exchange between the different tribes,
from the isthmus of Panama to Ber-
ing strait The great deposit here ex-
plains where all the arrowheads Of
moss agate came from and other
weapons ana implements Of similar
material that are found in the Indian
mounds and graves Of the central and
western states. In the stone age the
agate OF the petrifed forest was the
very best material that could be OBJ
tained for both the implements of war
and peace OF the aboriglnes n scalp
ing knife could be made very easily
from one Of the chips Of agate and
could be ground to a very fine edge.
Many crystals were used for jewelry
and ornaments also.-Chicago Record.
Changed Accompaniment.
One can hardly be expected to have