New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-09-06

tance, either on foot or horseback,
from Billings station, on the Santa
Re railroad, but it can be more easily
reached by arriage from HoIbrook.
where better accom- odat ions can be.
found. The government sexplor have
Ichristened it Chalce dony park.
The surface OF the ground for miles:
and miles around is covered with gu
|gantic logs three or four feet in diam
eter, petrified to the. core. Many OF
them are translucent Some are almost
transpa aren't. u present the most beau
tiful shades Of blue, yellow, pink, pur-
pie, red and gray. Some are like gil
Egantie amethysts, some resemble the
smoky topaz and some are as pure. and
white as alabaster. At places the chips
of agate from the trunks that have
crumbled lie q foot deep upon the
ground, and It is easy to obtain cross
sections Of trees showing every vein
and even the bark. s.5ss
Comparatively little Of this agate has
been used in manufacturing, although
it is easy to obtain. AIanufact curing
Jewellers Of New York have made table
tops and boxes and other articles from
strips that have been sent them, and.
6 II the material were not so abundant;
Its beauty would command enormous.
prices. Where you can get a carload Of.
jeWelry for nothing you are not like
~ to pay high prices for it.
A birds eye view of the petriied for
ests on a sunny day suggests.a gigan
tic kaleidoscope. The surface of the.
earth resembles an infinite variety Of.
rainbows. The biologists say this great
plain, now 5000 feet above the sea-,
was once covered by IA forest, which
was submerged for ages in water
strongly charged with minerals, until
the fbers3 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 receding waters, but
the erosion Of the wind has pulyerized
much of the clay and carried it off SEE in
the air, exposing the secrets that ma
sture buried under its surface
One great tree spans a5deep gulch 40
feet wide. It lies where lit fell CEN
turtles, perhaps ages, ago, and is a most
beautiful specimen Of petrifed 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 lit
has already spent in Its peculiar posi-
ton. It is undoubtedly the only
bridgesof agate In the world and alone
is worth a long journey to- see.
The indians of the southwest used
to visit the peuifed forests frequent
" 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 and 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 petritied forest was the
very best material that could be OBJ
tained for both the implements Of war
and peace Of the aborigines. "a scalp
ing knife could be mad very easily
from one Of the chips OF agate and
could be ground to q very fine edge.
Many crystals were used for jewelry
and ornaments also. Chicago Record