The Tucson citizen., 1902-06-05
BOTTLED SUNSHINE.
sATuRE's GREAT FACTORY IN WHICH
is PRODUCED COAL


eAs of Evolution.
1our life to mine is as second to a
thousand years. l will let you know
that in my time have seen such sights
as would make you gasp in astonish.
ment Once, In untold ages past, lone
before man had appeared on this old
world, was alive. Yes, the dirty old
piece of coal was living thing In those
dim, distant ages. A thing Of beauty.
too-a thing TO be admired. ! was q
fern. Not such paltry thing as you
decorate your homes with and grow In
little earthenware affairs My trunk
alone measured five feet across
Iet was nothing out Of the ordinary.
In those days there were many little
plants forty feet or so in height. Ev.
cry bit Of coal you toss about in such
needless fashion once was a living
! plant-a plant which grew and -four.
lshed, even as your plants OF today
grow and flourish. But In these de-
generate days plants are poor. feeble
little things, Plants were plants in
those days. We had no petted and
pampered ferns. We had no houses OF
glass, artificially kept warm so that
the poor little dears shouldn't get cold.
Those were the days Of real ferns, of
healthy ferns free from al pewfangled
nonsense about fertilizers and soils and
aspects and such childish weaknesses.
n ri do 10 nth 5nA
as 1t Is today. 1t was hotter. for 1t
had cooled from globe OF molten rock.
Its atmosphere was heavy with warm
vapors; close and oppressive, you would
call It, but 1t just suited US, as we grew
and luxuriated In II. The earth's crust
! was thin and heaved about. gradually
raising vast continents from the bed Of
the sea and slowly dragging others
deep into the ocean. 1t was time Of
vast changes.
grew on the muddy banks of great
pool OF water. which was fed 10y slug
gish streams and bordered by mon
strous reeds On the other side stretch
ed q vast swamp and dark forest Of
tangled yegeta ton. For hundreds ot
miles there was 10 break TO this fore 1T
beyond few bogs nd pools OF brackish
water. The eun shone hot upon me, so
no wonder grew well in this humid
atmosphere. Then there were frIghtful
storms. when mighty trees were flung
down and swept by foods 20 'he bottom
OF the pool This had gone on ages be-
fore | appeared above ground; II went
on ages after. The result was that the
bottom OF the pool was MATS OF fallen
trees. The newly feiled trees pressed
on the bottom ones. and after thou
sa nds of years the water. the mud. the
heat and the pressure turned the
mighty beds OF vegetable matter into
what you call coal.
In the dense forest IL was soInew hat
the same. Trees were thrown Gowa
by hurricanes; fresh oDes grew and fell
victims to storma So II went on for
long centuries until the last forest grew
on the top OF great thickness Of bur.
led trees, ferns and mosses Amid this
exuberant vegetation were many fan
/ In stic and uncouth animals. Round
/ about me they made the forest Tesound
| with their hideous bellowings. They
we're so stra rangely shaped that | could
not well describe them 10 you. Even
some OF the 3ies had wings half foot
long from tip 10 Zip.
One day saw a commotion 10 the
midst OF the lake far away from me.
The bed rose up and beich"d forth
steam and ashes and molten rock. IN
the wears that followed the fuid rock
rolled down the sides OF The volcano
into the water below. Mighty clouds
Of steam arose, and as the Sapor con
densed Il fell upon us as warm rain.
This is why grew 80 well and "hy
the vegetation around me was so RANK
ly luxuriant.
Many years after the land tegap 10
sipk. Slowly It went down; slowly
the water closed over our heads until
all the mighty forests were deep undtT
the sea. Thus we stopped for conpt-
less wears, aud heavy bed Of sand ac'
cumulated above US. Then. just as
slowly. we arose until We formed
vast elevated land. Then came other
forests--trees whose limbs were tan
xIed With enormous festoons aud gar
lands OF strange climbing plants. Ter
rible thunderstorms alone broke the 81.
lence OF these wooded solitudes save
when some mighty fern crashed to the
ground or when the wind tore down
Young branches and hurled them into
the swamps.
So all went on anew. as or Old ana
the continent sank once more below
the waters of the ocean. taking With II
tbe beds Of buried verdure. Yet again
II rose. and again it sank. So layer
upou layer OF plants and Of sand were
formed-vast layers. which took ages
nntbiukable to form-until there was
denth of 10.OOO feet Of hard baked wood
snd sand, of coal and dirt. Look at
me. and you will find that you can
tr@ce my markings. In every pit you
can find hundreds OF delicate fern
lon yes and mosses as perfect as when
alive. You can see even the veins or
the fragile fronds. so beautifully press
"a oro thev Dirty. old COAL indeedl