Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 188, 5 August 1906 — Page 3

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O wr'rk a ship In thp vernacular of the Florida reef 40 years ngo, was 1 not to run t.io ship aground. Ijiit to mvp her. If possible, mill l.ni'l the cargo Where It would accomplish the most good to the wrecker. In lS.7.flo tli wrecker was a feature of the great reef, which, It tony ho said, tif fins with Clip" Florida and fnds with loggerhead Key; nnd while the majority were honest men and true, there were some, according to report, who stood not upon the ethics of Justice and honor, and no fur from preventing wrecks, encouraged them. Tin writer l:i the early days saw a large, full risked h!p dellber- , ately run upon the long ond well known reef that reaches out to the went of Loggerhead. It watt a clear day, and the rf-n on the reef could he seen five miles away; yet the conscienceless skipper kept the Ship under full anil. Ignorant that he was being watched, anil I saw her strike head on, running far on the Jugged shelf. It was belleveil that there was some collusion with a wrecker, as within a few hours the ship wan surrounded by n company of wreckers, who quickly relieved the hulk of Its valuable!. In the old days the Florida reef wns n ship's graveyard. Lights were few and far between, and every gale or hurrlcano Mowing on shore left Its Imprint on Bcores of vessels driven upon the reef. The coral reef often begins abruptly, hence, ships are driven ashore, often lifted over the fringe and landed In wnter so shallow that the visitor when the storm Is over can scarcely believe that so largo a vessel could be transported over such a barrier. In ISflO I visited a ship which at low tide stood In water so shallow that 1 walked about her, and tills a mile distant from the key. The sens had literally carried her over the reef, and In the shallow channels, which ran In ond out, I often found the remains of old wrecks" which had been tossed over the reef, finding rest In the coral-lined channels of the Interior. On one reef. In water 10 feet In depth, I discovered the remains of what had been n Spanish man-of-war. By continual diving we excavated n hole beneath one of her guru, passed a hawser beneath It and raised It. The weapon bore the nrras of Spain. During the past two decades a scientific system of wreck prevention and life-saving has taken form, and the beaches of our const are patrolled with almost th.; same caro shown by the police lu large and well-regulated cities. The life of the life-saver Is not a romantic one. The writer recently visited the region off the const of Texas, which was found patrolled by men who, facing the wlerd, hot wind from the Gulf, marched up and down, regularly Inspected by their chief, while the sentinel In the tower of the nearby Cllli policy of the government In setting aside great areas of the country having especial or phenomena' Interest; In preserving from vandal bands the great forests and natural beanMes of .he land. Is one that must commend Itself to every man or woman who believes that the citizen of to-day holds the public domain In trust for the generations to come. Thirty years ago the writer attempted to arouse interest in that section of Artzonn . now known as the petrified forest, nnd H to have it set aside by the government for all time. But great nations move Slowly, nnd It Is only recently that this section, one of the wonders of the world, has been Included lu a forest reserve and vandalism stopped. This Interesting region, now visited by thousands every year, lies In the heart of the Apache desert M miles from the Navajo reservation'. Vi miles from the Grand Canon of the Colorado, ami In iuar proximity to a number of ancient Mokt pueblos, which stand pe-bed on lofty mesas, monuments of a passing race. Ages ago the nations from far and near visltod this spot and collected the stone fur various purposes; but It was not until isoi that Col. John Stedra.m told the siory of the stone forests to the civilized world and one of its greatest marvels became generally known. We can Imagine this section of Arizona, or some higher reglou not far distant, aeons ago covered with a splendid forest, lofty trees massed In vast conclaves, trees of plant stature l.V or more feet In height, slugly or In groups, of verdure covering hill and dale. Few finer forests ciu b fouud lu any h.ud to-day; suddenly.

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station at Tarpon stood ready to receive their signals. Along this reef there were few evidences or wrecks, but when Cape Cod was reached the remains of wrecks recent and modern were found on various beaches, and If the sands of Cape Cod could speak a dreary tale of wreck and disaster would be told. Some of the wrecks along this coast have had Interesting features, especially that of the English ship Jason (Fig. I.). She was caught Inshore, her sails blown from the gaskets, so that she appeared to drive In under full sail, but the latter were cut Into rlblwns, and, while a ship of large size and solid build, she was broken Into three pieces and tossed In like chaff by the heavy seas. On the following day she presented the appearance shown, broken In two Just back of the foremast, which, broken at the top, still held the foresail and topsail, the latter lelng on good condition. The mid portion of the ship was torn In pieces and distributed along the sands, while the stern from the inlzzeumast oft projected above water about 10 feet. The life-saving station of Peaked IIII1 Bar (Fig. 2), Cape Cod, Is In the center of the most dangerous section, and the men of Station 0 (Fig. 3) are constantly on the alert and have made some daring rescues, no sea, apparently, being too heavy to 'deter them from at least making the attempt. Wreckers sometimes express the opinion that if all bands In a bad seemingly without warning, some Gorgon strode through the land, casting basilisk eyes to right and left, and before Its glances the great forests melted, faded away. The Imagination can well picture such a scene ; and If we substitute for the stone turning glances of a Medusa, the fiery breath of possible volcanic action over thousands of acres, we can form some Idea of the actual cause of the death of the Arizona forests. Perhaps you have seen some fair Island or land driven to the wall and devastated by the sand that often creeps In from the sea and buries vegetation and earth beneath a trickling ever moving mineral sea that appears to have a life and individuality of its own. Much deadlier was the devastating force that overwhelmed these ancient trees. How long ago the deforestation of this part of America occurred no one knows. The geologist places It In the Trlasslc time, several millions of years ago, but In the logs we have the tangible proof, monuments, that life once existed here a;d noble trees waved in the soft nlr. For countless years, possibly, there had been no change. Forests had grown and fallen to decay. Hut suddenly the earth was rent, nnd out of numberless crevices and openings rushed hot water, gases, steam and deadly fumes, possibly some deathlike and sudden combustion that fairly devonred the air, as In Martinique, a power which overthrew forests, crushed them ont of nil semblance of life and covered them in tombs of ash and sand; such a cataclysm might well be assumed, and when It subsided the forests may have

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Of wreck would take to the mast the chances would be that they would be saved, as in the majority of instances one or more of the masts are saved. This Is illustrated In Figure 4, showing a brig wrecked on the cape, the hull of hieb was literally dashed In pieces; yet the foremast In some way retained Its place, and the men who took shelter there were rescued. An interesting study 'is that of wrecks and conditions which hold. In four or been seen, thrown to the ground, destroyed and covered with mud, ash or sand, Again searching for nn explanation, for some reason the rain may have failed in this region and vast beds of hot sand flowed In rlvrrs upon the forest and earthquakes threw them down. Be this as it may, the trees lived during the Trlasslc age. They were destroyed, many of them, washed down to a lower level than that upon which they stood originally, and they are to-dny, giants of an ancient age, far older than the petrified forests of California, the Yellowstone Park or Wyoming. They lie scattered over a vast area that Is' the wreck of an ancient plain, that possibly was a mile and la half above the sea. a mesa of sandstone, which caps clay of vivid colors. The trees, doubtless, grew at some higher level and were carried down with some vast flood and became embedded In sandstone or gravel, which formed a part of their original surroundings. If tnese trunks conld speak, what a story they would tell. Hurled down, blasted, they were covered for ages ; then the uncertain crust 6ank and mesozlc seas flowed In and they were submerged for ages with successive oceans. Another scene was then staged, and the forest, deep In the s'inie pf sea mud. was lifted high In the air, a mile or more by the rise la the post-crptaceous time. Since then nearly l.OOO teet of the ancient sea bottom has been washed away by rain, eroded, cut into gullies and the hoge trunks carried hither and yon, broken and spread over

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five vessels subject to the same conditions a variety of results is often noticed. In Figure 5 an unknown vessel came In upon Cape Cod, was dashed In pieces In the surf, the entire bow section literally standing on Its head high und dry on the sand. The brig Schubert, on tho other hand, was comparatively uninjured, though thrown so far In shore that at low tide the men leaped overboard aud almost waded ashore. The appearance of this vessel during the storm was mag thousands of acres. It Is difficult to realize that these stone trees 100 feet in length and five or seven across, were once alive. But the chemical agents of millions of years turned them to stone, and as they fall apart we see the glistening Interior, chalcedony, amethyst, topaz, cornelian and agate, as though some Midas hand had touched the living tree and changed It Into these pseuao gems. The petrified forest of Arizona Is reached from Holbrook, on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Boad ; a near point Is Adam-ana, from which a part of the forest reserve can be found after a ride of six miles. There are virtually the remains of three forests visible. The first, when approached, shows broken trunks and sections lying all over the surface or embedded in a fine gray sand. It Is here that we see the famous Chalcedony Bridge, one of the largest and finest of the trees (100 feet In length), now agate or Jasper, spanning a little ravine or canon CO feet wide, across which men and horses pass. This wonder of a lost age has been secured by the government, which has built two stone piers beneath it as supports. This park, or what we may call forest No. 1. Is littered with broken fragments, and doubtless vast deposits of trees lie beneath the sandy soil of the old mesa. A few miles to the southeast are five or six hundred acres, constituting a second

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nificent. The crew had furled her sails nnd she stood on an upright keel, as shown In the photograph, but the tremendous sea made a clean breach over her, rising high Into the air with a crash that shook aud wrecked her from keel to topmast. F.ven more remarkable was the case of the three-masted schooner Phillips. She was tossed up uninjured by the sea ond laid so high with sails furled and on an even keel that fishermen and vlsfossil forest, differing in many respects from the former. The trunks are larger and broken up Into huge logs not so badly shattered as In the first. A third forest Is known as Chalcedony Park, which occupies a wide canon about six miles across, the drainage of a large area. This Is Indeed a forest of gems, as here. In the fierce sun the broken pieces of trees are scattered about Cashing and gleaming In the sunlight, sending out a scintillating blaze of colored lights that at times seem to vie with the spectrum In color. Thousands of logs are seen here, and tens of thousands lie beneath the snrface to be weathered out In time to come. Some are so complete that the bark can be seen; bet few roots or limbs are found, the logs breaking Into great soctlons, as though they had been cnt Into seats three or four feet high. Mere words are Inadequate to describe the beauty of color presented by these sections, which are red. blue, green, yellow, pink, representing amethyst. Jasper, chalcedony, topaz and many minerals. The government has secured this grest natnral wonder none too soon. Already commerce and trade have ravaged the forest?, and some of the best trees have been cat np into table tops and sold as "Mexican onyx," while another company proposed to grind tip the trees and make them Into a substitute for emery. These forests of stone are found In

Itors who went to observe the storm and Its effects walked aboard of her dry shod. In all the towns along the shore of Cape Cod, from Frovlneetown through the Truros nnd far beyond, enn be seen various strange relics of wrecks. Here Is a figurehead some old admiral leaning ngalnst a dead wail, or a colossal mermaid, or some more conventional figure, while nailed against n house Is the name of a ship that now nffords a pretext to tell the story over ami over. The region between Cape Cod and Nahant has been singularly exempt from wrecks, but from . here on to the Newfoundland Coast the latter Increase until we come to the Grand Banks literally a graveyard for vessels which have gone down here. The investigator curious for these dread facts need not seek government reports; he need but stroll through Gloucester and ask for a list of widows ond orphans of the post 30 years. It Is more than appalling and shows that Gloucester Is a city of widows of the men who have gono down to .the sea In ships never ti return. Statistics, as a rule, are uninteresting, but a few figures may be introduced in this connection to show the number of wrecks In this field of shipping alone in a given time. All these vessels hailed from Gloucester and the men lived there. From 1S30 to 1SS1 419 vessels were wrecked, valued at $1,810,000; lives lost, 2,249; widows and orphans left estimated at 7,000. The

The Value of Tear. "Tears have their function duty to accomplish, like every other fluid of the body, and the lachrymal gland Is not placed behind the eye simply to All space or give expression to emotion," says an exchange. "The chemical properties of tears consist of phosphate of lime and soda, making them very salty, but never bitter. Their action on the eye Is very beneficial, and here consists their prescribed duty to the body, washing thoroughly the sensitive organ, which allows various parts of the United States. In Wyoming a side of a vast mountain has worn away, showing not one but several fossil tree layers. The forests grew, died down and In vast eras of time were covered with debris In which other forests grew; and so on until numbers were piled one uporj another, then the entire fabric which held them was eroded or cut away, leaving the several layers to tell the story.

A City Made of Zinc.

Belra Is a known, but the world. town In Africa which Is little It holds a nnlque position In An astounding sight meets the gaze of the traveler who happens to light on the town, for he will behold a city built entirely of zinc. The Governor's residence, the public buildings, the barracks, the arsenal, the shops, the hotels, the honses and their outbuildings are all made of zinc. The unpleasant effect produced by this prevalence of zinc is difficult to describe, and the knowledge that human beings have to live In such houses In so burning a climate intensifies the painful Impression. Millions of tons of galvanize! Iron have been sent out from Great Britain, France and America, and this quantity has been used to build np the town a feat accomplished In six months. Owing to the fever of speculation and the demand for cheap and hastily found lodgings being so Imperative, the city has been constructed of this material. That nothing may be wanting to the triumph of iron a railway, with wagons and trucks composed of zinc, traverses the city from end to end. Indeed, It is so all pervading that not only Is It used to cover roofs and bnlld np walls, but even stretchers are composed of It. Shonld an Inhabitant fall 111 or meet with an accident he is carried away to the hospital on a sheet of zinc torn from one of the fences or buildings nearest to the scene of the catastrophe. Shonld he die he is carried to the grave in a rice coffin. Owing to the scarcity of natural productions, the food of the entire population consists of tinned meats, for no other food can be procured at any reasonable price. It is altogether a most carious place, for In addition to tne bouses

Ynr. Ytwlt Lwt, Vtiue. LItm Los J"! 15 $:4 iiX) 1 u i ox) itj IS J I J 4iV 1o4 It) 9SlV 84 : 8 40 AO M l.! 15 114. e 6 1SS7 II SiiVX) s 4 jvroo w 13 IS N 4 V ? !f'j 13 7S;S0 ltd ifft a m a '.S: 12 66 4i 174 17.( SI U3.7UO 17 ID 4:1 !; 13 l7i 16 W.iW t'i 17 1V.CV.O ? 1"7 45. SO M 17S 13 W.7.H l 17 9 1U.0 ti li T 21 .tMO U 11 Sl.Ou) M Moilorn science has materially lesscne.1

the .Uinger of life by sea. The entire const of this country Is well patrolled and so thoroughly lighted that the tyro In navigation can trace his way down fne const from light to light. The methods of life-saving are constantly being Improved upon. The boats are self-balling; line are fired over wrecks and the crew brought in high above the water. Again, the perfecting of the Weather Pnreau has enabled the government to warn vessels of storms, many wrecks being thus prevented by remaining In port. The sight at ports like Old Point Comfort, Chesapeake ISny. during a gale or the approach of a gale Is one long to be remembered. A line of sailing vessels ships, brigs and schooners will come sailing In, forming at times a continuous line, all anchoring near the mouth of the James, riding out the gale near those hospitable shores. 1th the coming of the wireless telegraph another featnre of great value t the mariner has become available, and the time Is not far distant when) no passenger steamer, either constwlse or oceanic, will be put of communication with the land. Passenger sWns will be in touch with the Weather Bureau, and the approach of storms or hurricanes will bo heralded. That this 1b not far distant Is shown by the printing of dally newspapers on the large oceanic steamers and the constant receipt In mldocean of the news of the day, while the possibilities of the science are shown by one steamer receiving a message sent to another 2,000 miles distant. !t would be a pleasure to see in the future the time when the ingenuity of man will make wreck Impossible; but the full power of the sea can never be controlled. . ; no foreign fluid to do the work. Nothing cleanses the eye like a good, salty shower bath, and medical art has followed nature's law in this respect, advocating the invigorating solution for any distressed ctmdltlon of the optics. Tears do not weaken the sight, but Improve It. Tbey act as a tonic on the muscular vision, keeping the eye soft and limpid, and It will be noticed that women lu whose eyes sympathetic tears gather quickly have brighter and more tender orbs than others." One can see specimens of this great Arizona forest in the Smithsonian, placed there by General Sherman. One la from I.ltljodendron Creek, 20 miles from Navajo Springs. Ariz. When the trees were taken the Nnvajo herders told the men that they were the bones of a giant that bad been klllM by their ancestors; and they pointed out the lava beds as the hardened blood of the monster to prove the story. of zinc the streets are littered everywhere with empty meat tins of all shapes and sizes. The dreary monotony of everlasting zinc Is only relieved by two stone bouses which have recently been built and compose the residence and depot of the agents of a French factory. The houses were constrnctc-. at a cost of $30,Oon, and. although far from worth It, are objects of envy to Inhabitants of this desert land, wbere the laborers earn $5 a day, yet can barely make both ends meet. Extraordinary Steals "The theft c the ashes of Columbus was attempted In Chicago during the World's Fair," said Lecoq, the French detective. "Thanks to a friend of mine, the attempt failed. Stranger attempts have succeeded, though. The theft of a lighted stove constituted my first case. A marT having deserted bis wife, returned home half drunk, and In the good woman's absence put the stove on a pushcart and started off with it. He set up. It sems. an establishment of his own fcrther down the street." Two villains once stole a Wisconsin cemetery. First they looted the graves, selling the skeletons to anatomists; then they stole the tombstones, getting, naturally, a good price for the granite and marble. The place wasn't a cemetery by the time the theft was discovered. It was only a torn np field. Men have stolen rivers often. To irrigate their own land tbey first change a stream's course; they dig a channel through their own property and the river, leaving its natnral bed, follows this channel. It Is then a stolen river, and bitterly does such a theft enrsga th man who suffers from It. .. ..