The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1899-09-13
AN ARIZONA WONDER.
A PETRiFlED FOREST THAT is A MAR
VEL OF BEAUTY.

VEL Or BEAUTY.
1t Covers n Hundred square Miles
and Is n Mass of Offering Agate
In Bcwildcring Array of Cor
geous Coloripg.
The territory of Arizona Is n vast
museum of natural curiositles includ-
Ing many of the most wonderful In all
the world. The atmosphere. the eli
mate, the mountains, the soil. the riv-
ers. tho forests are filled with phe-
nomena, many of which exist nowhere
else. In the desert, 300 miles square,
with Flagstaff as n center, are spread
out Il variety of wonders OF which the
people of this country have little or no
conception, but IL they We're In Eu-
rope or Asia thousands of our citizens
would cross the ocean to SEQ them.
Being within only two or three days
journey of Chicago and easy of access
by frequent trains OF sleeping and
dining cars and other modern luxuries
Of travel, they arc overlooked by tho
multitude and are practically un-
known.
To my mind, next to the Grand can
yon of the Colorado, the most interest
Ing aud impressive of the natural won
ders of this great Arizona museum Ii
the petrifled forest, which covers near
ly 100 square miles, within easy dis
lance, either on foot or horseback,
from Billings station, on tho Santa
Fe railroad, but 1t can be more easily
reached by carriage from IIolbrook.
whore better accommodations can be
found. The government explorers have
ehristened 1t Chalcedony park.
The surface of the ground for miles
and miles around Is covered with 81
gantic logs three or four feet In diam
eter. petrlfied to the core. Many of
them are translucent Some are almost
transparent. All present the most beau
tiful shades of blue, yellow, pink, pur
pie, red and gray. Some are like 81
gantic amethysts, some resemble the
smoky topaz and some are as pure and
white ms alabaster. At places the chips
of agate from the trunks that have
crumbled lie n foot deep upon the
ground, and 1t 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
jewellers 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
It's beauty would command enormous
prices. Where you can get carload of
tewelry for nothing you are not like
ly to pay high prices for 1t.
A birds eye view OF the petrliied for
tic Kaleidoscope. The surface of tho
earth resembles an infinite variety OF
rainbows. The biologists say this great
plain, now 5000 feet above the sea,
was once covered by IL forest, which
was submerged for ages In water
strongly charged with minerals, until
the flbers of the trees were thoroughly
soaked and transformed Into eternal
stone. Many of the trunks are still
packed in n deposit of fine clay. which
WAS left by the recedlng waters but
the erosion of tho wind has pulyerized
much of the clay and carried 1t off In
the air, exposing the secrets that ma
ture buried under It's surface.
One great tree spans deep gulch 10
feet wide. Ii lies where It fell cen
turtles, perhaps ages, ngo, and IL most
beautiful specimen Of pctrllled wood.
The rings and the bark Gun be easily
fpan fhrnnuI In oil Mt n
and II IL firm enough and strong
enough to last as many centuries as 1t
has already spent In It's peculiar posi-
tlon. 1t Is undoubtedly the only
bridge of agate in the world and alone
IL worth n long journey to see.
The Indians OF the southwest used
to visit the pctrlficd forests frequent
ly to obtain agate for their arrow and
spear heads, ana 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 cx-
plains where all the nrrowhcads 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 petrliied forest was the
very best material that could be OBJ
talDed for both the Implements of war
and pence Of the aboriglncs. a scalp
Ing knife could be made very easily
from ono of the chips OF agate and
could DO ground to n very fine edge.
Many crystals were used for Jewelry
and ornaments also.-Chicago Record.