Here, again, were I choosing a suitable name for this portion of the
Reservation I should not hesitate to call it “The Vandal’s Paradise”. It
has been badly denuded of its finest specimens, and the big trees
demolished by vandals. Here the despoiler has had full sway. Great trees
are blown to atoms by searchers for the semi-precious jewels. Choice
specimens have been hauled away by the carload. There was no law, other
than one’s own individual decency to protect these jeweled timbers lying
near Adamana, which for years was the nearest railroad station and the
only entrance to the Reservation. This “forest” is located five miles
south of Adamana, and is about half a mile from the Natural Bridge. It
is composed of trees, which are geologically speaking, “all out of
place”. That means they have all, by the work of erosion, been let down
from higher levels. They are badly shattered, but, nevertheless
beautiful, on account of the vivid coloring found in the fragments.
Another feature of this area is the carving of the rocks into beautiful
and fantastic shapes by the elements. At one place a slender column of
sandstone rises to the height of twenty-five or thirty feet, and
broadens at the top into a platform perhaps ten feet across. Here, for
years, an eagle has nested, and the rock bears the official name of
“Eagle Rock.” Quite close to this rock is the “Snow Lady”, a statuesque
pillar against the background of an imposing cliff.
After an extended visit in 1889, Prof. Lester F. Ward, an eminent
paleobotanist, on the staff of the United States Geological Survey,
recommended that this area be made a National Park, or Reservation, in
order to preserve it from destruction and oblivion. Local leaders
brought pressure to bear upon their representatives in Washington, and
at least one of Holbrook’s leading men, Mr. W. H. Clark, made a trip to
Washington in the interest of preserving the Petrified Forest. He saw
President Roosevelt in person and for half an hour talked with him
concerning the reasons no action had been taken by Congress to protect
the Forest. He left with the President’s assurance that something would
be done. This something was a proclamation by President Roosevelt on
December 8, 1906, declaring the area to be a National Monument.