Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1902-05-10
FOREST Of ENCHANTMENT
Trees That fIourished ia Mesozoic
Age, Transformed by Nature Into
Precious Stones.
GREAT PETRiFIEo FOREST.

The passage in the lower house of
congress few days ago OF bill set
ting aside as a national park the great
petrifed forest ui northern Arizona.
came just in time TO save from dostruc.
ton wonderful natural curiosity
which has but one equal on this CONT
mont that of the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado.
In the Yellowstone national park In
Wyoming. IN California and northern
Mexico. 49, wen Is in other portions
o. Arizona. have boon found pctrified
trees, but none oi them are TO be com.
pared TO the immense fossilized forest
which lies close to Hulbrook. where
the government protcctOTatc is TO ice
established.
The forest is in the midst of the
great desert of Apache Fifty miles
TO the northeast is the Navajo Indian
reservation. some cighty-hVe mics To
the northwest IL the Grand Canyon of
the Colorado. and intervening are sew.
cral ancient Moki puChlos. perChed on
their table land or mesas of stone
Scientists state that the Arizona
forest belongs far back in the Mesozoic
time probably 10 the Triassic forma.
ton. while the smaller forests found
elsewhere are OF the tertiary age The
difference IN their antiquity is. there
fore. probably many million years. The
forest proper covers some two square
miles. but petriiied trees are 10 be seen
In an area of fifty square miles. 1t is
a remarkable sight. Charles Dudley
Warner states that il is spot where
the most blaso globe trotter stands in
mute wonder.
With the exception of single cot
tonwood trunk the trees are Of an ex-
tinct coniIerous species They lie
prone upon the ground. The sections
or erds of the logs show brilliant red
and yelluws and duh blues. The bark
is not brilliant but dull. and wonder
fully well preserved Some trees show
even the knots To perfection. Some OF
the petrified logs are -four feet in
diameter and from ten to twelve feet
long. They have no branches. but the
hundreds OF small pieces. varying from
n couple OF inches to one foot in diam
eter. are probably the remains of
branches.
Here and there are heaps OF chips
from the petritied trees. and the beauty
of coloring is hewidering. There are
literally thousands of bushels of chips
that are red moss agate and may he
beautifully polished There are many
tines more chips of amethyst, gray
topaz and vary-hued agates, showing
the grain of the trees as they grew
millions of years ago. one may obtain
cross sections of logs. showing in com
pletest detail the annual ring marks
and separation of the bark from the
trees The stone is Of the hardest and
takes an incompatible polish.
Thousands of pounds OF pieces from
these trees. turned to agate. have been
sent all over American and Europe,
to be polished and sold for ornaments.
Indeed so rapid has grown the work OF
dcspoiling the forest that In many
places scores OF trees have been Ell.
tirely removed.
Tho Zun Indians told the United
States surveyors about the spot where
their polished agates came nom, and
Colonel John w. Stedman was proha-
bly, the first white man who ever look.
ed upon the potrifed forest That was
in 1851. and two years later he told OF
his discovery in a New York newspa-
per. In July. 1852. Jules Marceau. an.
other United States civil engineer.
made a collection of specimens. and
extensive mention is made OF IT in the
government reports The tourist and
var dial did not get at II until near 1850.
when the Santa Fe railroad was built.
The stone was polished and manu-
featured at Sioux Falls. ;. D., until n
recent government order stopped the
removal of the stone from the forest.
The cost OF cutting and polishing the
pctrifcation approaches that of treat
ing diamonds, as 1t is calculated to be
sevcntcnths the hardness OF a dia-
mond.-I.os Angeles Herald.