Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-07-21
A NATURAL MUSEUM.
Beauties of the Petrifed Forest-Where
Jewelry Is Sold by the Carload.

mountains, the SOL, the rivers, the IOf-
ests, are filled with phenomena, many
of which exist nowhere else. In the
desert, 300 miles square, with Flagstaff
as a center, are spread out a variety of
wonders of which the people of this
country have little or no conception,
but if they were in Europe or Asia
thousands of our citizens would cross
the ocean to see them. Being within
only two or three days journey of Chi
cage, and easy of access by frequent
trains Of sleeping and dining cars and
other modern luxuries of travel, they
are overlooked by the multitude, and
are practically unknown.
To my mind, next to the Grand can
yon of the Colorado, the most interest
ing and impressive of the natural Won
ders of this great Arizona museum is
the petriied forest, which covers nearly
100 square miles, within easy distance,
either on foot or horseback, from Bill
ings station, on the Santa Fe railroad;
but it can be more easily reached by
carriage from Holbrook, where better
accommodations a be found. The
government explorers have christened
it Chalcedony park.
The surface of the ground for miles
and miles around is covered with gigan-
tic logs 3 or 4 feet in diameter, petri-
fled to the core. Many Of them are
translucent. Some are almost transpar-
ent. All present the most beautiful
shades of blue, yellow, pink, purple, red
and gray. Some are like gigantic ame-
thysts, some resemble the smoky to-
paz, and some are as pure and white as
alabaster. At places the chips Of agate
from the trunks that have crumbled lie
a foot deep Upon the ground, and it is
easy to obtain cross sections of trees
showing every vein and even the bark
Comparatively little of this agate has
been used in manufacturing, although
1t Is easy to obtain. Manufacturing
jewelers. of New York have made table
tops and boxes and other articles from
strips hat have been sent them, and il
he material We're not SO abundant its
beauty would command enormous
prices. Where you can get a car load
OF jeWelry for nothing you are not likely
to pay high prices for it.
A bird's-eye view of the petrified for
ests on a sunny day suggests a gigantic
Kaleidoscope. The surface of the earth
resembles an infinite variety of rain
bows. The biologists 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 tibers
or the trees were thoroughly soaked and
transformed into eternal stone. Many
of the trunks are still packed in a de-
posir OF fine clay, which was left by
the receding waters, but the erosion OF
the wind has pulverized much of the
clay and carried it off in the air, expos
der it's surface.
One great tree spans a deep gulch 4C
feet wide. 1t lies where it fell centuries,
perhaps age ago, and Is a most beauti-
full 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 its peculiar position. 1t is un-
doubtedly the only bridge of agate in
the world, and alone is worth a long
journey to see.
The Indians of the southwest used te
visit the petrified forests frequently te
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
lsthmus of Panama to Behring straits
The great deposits here explains where
all the arrowheads of moss agate came
from, and other weapons and imple-
ments Of similar material are found in
the Indian mounds and graves Of the
central and western states. In some
stone age the agate Of the %petriied for
est was the very best material that
could be obtained for both the imple-
ments Of war and peace Of the aborigi-
mes. A scalping 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 fol
jewelry and ornament also.
Curious but dangerous freaks of ma
ture frequently found in the deserts Of
Arizona are called Sumideros by the
Mexicans and Indians. They are masked
pitfalls Of quicksand that occur in the
dry plains, and are covered with a
treacherous crust Of clay that has beer
spread owe them in fine particles by
the wind and baked dry by the sun.
The peculiar properties of the soil re.
tain all the moisture drained into then
after the %infrequent rains, and allow II
to be filtered to unknown depths, sc
that a man OF a horse or a COW or 9
sheep that once steps upon that decep'
tive crust instantly sinks out Of sight
beyond hope of rescue. The sumideros
are on a level with the surface Of thu
desert. There is no danger signal tt
mark them, and their surface cannor
be distinguished by the ordinary eye
from the hard clay that surrounds them
They occur most frequently in the aka.
Uncovered flats, and are often Is or q
feet in diameter. Sometimes they ar,
only little pockets or wells that a mar
can leap across, but the longest pol,
has never found their bottom. A ston,
thrown through the crust sinks to un
known depths, and no man who eve,
fell into one Of them was rescued. The,
account for the mysterious disappear
ance Of many men and cattle.
Down on Pine creek, near Camp Yer
de, Ariz.. Is a natural bridge that 4
probably greater than n other in tn,
world, 1t is nearly five times the aix,