Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 November 1891 — Stone Forests. [ARTICLE]

Stone Forests.

Nevada, says Charles F. Holder, has its stone forests, American Flat and Spring Valley being famous localities for especially largo logs, A heavy freshet some years ago at the Valley uncovered a large number of the logs of roir.arkablo beauty. The most singular display was oil the sido of a deep canyon near the lower sink of the Carson. Hero was a well-defined stratum of trunks which could be followed for 1100 feet, and they looked so natural that the impression might have boon conveyed that cord wood had been piled up by some pro-Adamite. But the most impressive spectacle is where these forests can bo seen standing. Such n one is on tho east fork of tho Yellowstone, where fornearly a mile can be traced forest after forest piled on® upon another —a marvellous monument of the duration of time and the wonders of successive growth. Near the divide at Bowlder Creek trunks of great, size are seen stuntllng us they grew thousands of years ago. But by fur the most remarkable exhibition of forests is seen on South Butte Creek. Here is Amethyst Mountain, that Ims mi altitude of 9,400 feet, and on its face, owing to tho denudations of years, is seen ut least ono-fifth of a mile of these forest logs piled one upon another. Passing up tho trail from the river bottom the trunks appear everywhere, looking like the columns ot some ruined temple. The surface at places is fairly covered with the broken sections. At tbo base they are indistinct, but at an elevation of 500 feet they stand out with remarkable distinctness, and tlie lo >kor»on can count forty or fifty forests piled one upon another for nearly half a mile. Those stone forests of Amethyst Mountain are of modern origin compared with some others. Thus the great coal beds of Europe, which bolongto the carboniferous ago of geology, contain trees' of remarkable size.