Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1906-01-03
ARlZONA'S PETRIfIED FOREST.

cribing His Travels from Charles
Alma Byefs, en- route to
Old Mexico.
Special Correspondence: A petri-
fed forest covering nearly five thous-
and acres of desert land is one of the
unique attractions of Arizona. The
trees Of this forest do not stand up
right as in an ordinary living grove.
but instead all lie prostrated upon
the barren soil. The scene is one
entirely of death and desolatiou. The
area, with the exception Of a few
spectre like messas, is almost as level
as a floor, and as far as the eye can
reach only these fallen monuments to
past ages Of vegetation dot this arid
expanse. The sizes of these petrifica-
tions range from pebbles as small as
toy marbles to logs six and seven feet
in diameter and hundred feet long,
and all are as hard as adamant.
I have just visited the forest, and
for interest it surpassed all previous
expectations. It is located in the
eastern part Of the territory, scarcely
outside the borders of the Painted
Desert, and is divided into two
sections. The eastern division, con-
tanning about two thousand acres, is
reached by drive by carriage of nine
miles from Adamana, a small station
on the Santa Fe railroad, and the
starting point for the western section
is Holbrook, from which place a drive
of nearly fifteen miles is necessary.
If the traveller has only time to visit
one section of the forest, the one
reached from Adamana should be given
the preference. The other, it is true.
is the larger and contains the largest
trees, but it is the eastern section
that possesses the famous natural
bridge and other formations not found
in the western PORTION.
Reaching Adamana, which by the
way, is station comprising only q
depot and ranch house or hotel and
livery stable, IL one cares to SO
designate the latter, at about 8 o'clock
in the morning, secured q carriage
and Was soon on my way to the
petrified forest. The drive for nearly
eight miles was uninteresting for
there was nothing to view save q
limitless plain Of dry, sandy and
almost entirely barren soil. Presently.
however, stray bits OF petrifed wood,
glistening like rare aems under The
seldom clouded sun. began to attract
our attention. Next came larger ones,
and then in q short while we were
in the midst Of huge petrified trees.
There were logs scattered about in
profusion, blocks of all sizes and
lengths, shattered limbs and slivers
of varied hues. All are as dense as
flint, hut their resemblance to wood
is so perfect that until close ex-
animation is made one can see no
reason why match should not ignite
them into flames. There are sections
that appear as if decayed, and others
that seem to the eve to still possess
the sap of life. When one picks up a
small segment, however, he finds that
it is denser than any ordinary stone
and almost as heavy as lead.
It is the inclination of these pet
rifications to break up by transverse
fracture, and often one finds log
nearly hundred feet in length broken
mp into blocks with ends almost as
smooth as il sawed. And, although
these segments are petricfiations of
only one kind Of timber-pine-there
are representations Of nearly every
conceivable color. Among them are
black, red, white. yellow, blue. purple
and lavender, and the minerologist.
analysing these fragments finds
halced0ny, topaz. carnelian, onyx,
agate and amethyst. That these are
representations of go many different
substances is thought to be due to the
state nf the trees preservation at the
time Of its petrification, and to the
stage Of compactness it reached pSior
to being unearthed from it's bed of
stale.
The famous natural bridge of this
forest is formed by huge petrified
tree trunk spanning q canyon.like
raviae fifty feet wide-a bridge Of
agate and jasper overhanging the only
clump Of living trees within the
forests borders. Each end of this
log is still embedded in shale and
limestone, leaving one hundred feet
Of it exposed. How much Of it's length
stil remains buried is unknown. but
each year natures erosion brings
more Of it into view. So far time
has graciously spared the integrity
Of this curiosity. Dut recently tran
sverse cracks have appeared. and
fearing that the bridge might tumble
to destruction the government has
had two stone abutments erected
under it, making it q bridge Of three
spans.
To what age these petrifed trees