Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1908-08-28

rings. knots, and imperfections are
simulated in CANDY agate, became
buried beneath miles OF water, at the
bottom of the great Triassic sea
Here among the tree trunks NAV be
found fossil sea weeds. SHELLS and
the bones of reptiles that have been
extinct for aeons, with masses of cor
al and other evidences of marine life.
In the course of ages. thousands OF
feet of sand and sediment were de-
posted; and then the action of cos
mic forests raised the whole region
high above the level of the seas. Then
the work of erosion was begun; and.
after aeons of time, the accumulated
sands of ages (long hardened into
rock) were worn away in many place1,
once more exposing 10 the light and
air the long entombed forests of the
past. Yet the trees that were thus
uncovered were not the trees that the
waters had overwhelmed. Every fibre
of vegetable tissue had decayed and
disappeared. But as fast as these de-
cayed, the spaces they had occupied
were filed with minerals that the per-
colating waters held in solution and
deposited in the interstices. Thus il
happens that the hardened siMcates
simulate the grain, texture and every
fibre of the wood that disappeared
ages ago, stained into almost unbeliev.
able colors by pigments dissolved from
the strata through which the water
percolated.
How long time was necessary for
these vast geologic movements to
take place, of course no man can say:
hut the estimates of geologiSts as TO
the time when the petrified forests
were green vary from three million to
some fifteen million years ago. II
is said that some OF the big trees Of
California are more than 1000 years
old. They have endured through the
rise and fall of every kingdom. prin-
cipality and power that history re-
cords or of which tradition hints. Yet
| whether they be considered old" or
not depends entirely with what they
/ are compared. A million years be-
| for their first green shoot appeared
in the Sierran solitudes, the Petrified
Forests of Arizona had grown to ma
turity, had been overwhelmed and en-
tombed, and had passed into oblivion,
| If. as the poet tells us, the groves
were Gods first temples" then is not
this truly holy ground the most sub
ime and enduring memorial of the
| 0mnipotent and Everlasting that hu-
man eyes have ever beheld? A fallen
| temple is this grove Of jasper, it is
| urue; but the meanest of its fiinty
pillars is the same today as it was
before the continents were formed or
the bounds set upon the seas.
The most famous single petrifaction
| in the whole region is that known as
the Natural Bridge. This is a giant
( tree trunk, 1l0 feet in length, located
midway between the First and Second
Forests, and spanning a small can
yon. Probably it is the only bridge
| of agate in the world Even when
| first discovered it was broken into a
number of pieces by transverse frac,
lures in the log, but the ends were
firmly embedded in the canyon walls,
holding the separate segments in
place. However, there has been
gradual slipping of the cross sections
that made it apparent that it was
| only question of time until the whole
mass would be pFecipitated to the
bottom of the canyon. To prevent
this, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe railroad has recently built two
stone piers, which wifi doubtless pre-
serve the agate bridge intact for a
long time TO come.
The most common and most appro-
pirate use of this beautiful aga1ized
wood is to serve as cabinet specimens.
1t takes and retains a high polish and
the many coIors that are frequently
found in even a small specimen give
| it a high value in the estimation Of
| the average curio collector. It has
| been ground into a fine powder anu
used as an abrasive, its hardness
making it a fair substitute for en-
cry; but the fact that the Forest -
under government protection will
prevent any extensive commercial eX-
ploitation of the agatized wood for
| this purpose. A considerable quantity
| is cut polished and mounted in the
| form of sleeve buttons, brooches, scarf
| pins, belt pins and similar objects Ol
| personal adOrnment In these forms,
| it is no mean rival of many far more
costly gem stones.
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