The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-08-13
F NsIL EXPEDITIONS.
Important Work Being Carried on by the
Museum of Natural History-A PrOmis-
ing Discovery.
New York Post.)

with deep interest for the Department of
Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Museum
of Natural History. Three out of the sew
enty bones of gigantic dinosaur, of
size and description contained in no
museum collection ON the globe, accord
ing to museum authorities, have been I'M
earthed out on the Laramie plains in
Wyoming, and those in immediate charge
of the Vertebrate Department of the
American Museum are awaiting anx-
iously the ultimate result of the excaya-
ton.
81 am almost afraid, yet, to say much
about it, said Prof. Osborn, the curator
of the department, because 1t is possible
that we might not get the whole ami
NAL; but indications now are that we
will, and the specimen will be the only
one of the kind in existence. There is a
dinosaur at the Brussels Museum, COM
plete and mounted, one that was found in
a coal mine in Belgium; but it is not
nearly as large as this one will be; in
deed, until we get at the head and teeth,
we cannot precisely determine to VIII at
species this one belongs. There are sew
eral kinds of dinosaurs, just as there are
various digtinct races of men.
'In1S QlnOSaur is, IN common phrase,
mammoth lizard, herbivorous. and of
the kind that lived-well, say seven or
eight million years ago. We expect to de-
vote the next five years, perhaps longer,
if we have money enough, to searching
for fossils of extinct reptiles; and, so far,
the discoveries of these first months of re-
search are calculated to stimulate inter
est. There are four different expeditions
at work now out West, but interest cen
tres in this very significant discovery in
Wyoming and we will mass all our force
there and push the work through to COM
pletion as rapidly as possible. How many
men do we have in a camp? Four or FIVE
1t depends on what leads have bee n
struck, and what they promise to I'm :
earth.
tDo the investigators do the actual dig
ging themselves?Y Yes; they do most of
| it. They are not theoretical workmen,
by any means. We cannot have common,
untutored workmen, who might spoil
| in few minutes by their c1umsiness
the work that took months of patient re-
search. The men now digging at our
great fossil dinosaur are graduates of the
| University of Kansas; bright, we'll
own way to make, and are willing to
strive for it. They cook their own meals
and do the things that might be per-
| formed by less valuable help. Now that
the significance of the lead in their par
ticular camp is SO well assured, we are
going to arrange things more convenient
| ly for them, so that they can devote their
hand. Did I strike this particular lead
myself? Yes; Mr.. Brown and I were out
| prospecting, and it was only piece of
the bone, six inches long, showing out on
the bluff, that gave the clue to this mag
nif1oent specimen The soil around was
hard and clayish. You may be sure we
were most careful and delicate in going
about the task of uncovering enough of it
to see what we really had, and when we
| did see-why, there was rejoicing!
"How big will this reptile be? 1t is
impossible as yet to say; but from the
middle of the back, where they are work
ing now, westward to the tail is bewteen
alone that has been taken out, ready for
shipment here to New York, weighs 1000
pounds. A great deal of stone naturally
adheres to the bone, and the museum is
the best place for cleaning and prepar-
ing the skeleton bones for mounting. 1t
will require several carloads to bring on
what has been found.
''The excavating of fossils is carried on
now much more delicately and intelli-
gently than formerly" the Professor
went on. "We want the skeleton when
done to be an exact counterpart of the
frame of the animal when it died there in
the brackish water millions of years ago.
The utmost care is taken to find and sup
ply the little bones and pieces of vertebrae
that were broken off, and may be washed
down into some gulch or ravine in the
vicinity. The prospectors study the lay
of the land when the lead is first struck,
| and make their plans accordingly, so that
| unnecessary work need not be DONE
Sometimes weeks are occupied in hunt
ing for some missing part Of Importance
in guessing about the rest When taken
out the bones and adhering matter are
wrapped in wet rawhide right ON the
spot, to keep them in perfect condition
Those illustrations They are likenesses
of such dinosaurs as we now have reason
to know existed on the American co nti.
nent. They are noteworthy of their kind,
and count the museum particularly for
tunate in having secured the services of
Mr.. Knight to portray them. His work
is faithful and lifelike. These illustra-
lions are to be exhibited at the Interna-
tioDal Geological Congress that this year
meets in Moscow. Every three years such
congress is held among the various ma
lions, and it is safe to say that the discov-
cry Of these significant Wyoming fossils
will be hailed with enthusiasm. Sir Ar
chibald Geikie, the head of the British
Geological Survey, spent an entire day at
the museum, when in New York, In
specting the illustrations and looking in
to the work being done by our various ex-
petitions out West; the expedition in
southern Colorado, at Huerfano; that in
Kansas, searching for pterodactyls; this
one in central Wyoming, and another in
northwestern Nebraska, after pleistocene
mammals.
I'm the northwest Nebraska expedition
we have found something to be proud of,
namely, complete specimen Of the pre-
historic horse, about the size of broncho
pony, and most interesting to scientists
and amateur students as we'll. We have
also twenty five boxes ready for shipment
containing specimens of the fossils of
camels and elephants; in fact, since the
very inception of these various excava-
lions, the results have been far more en-
couraging than we could have hoped, as
in the ordinary course of scientific re-
search it is no uncommon thing to work
for months and months without getting a
lead that is at all promising"
| The Immense lizards of dinosaurs the
finding of the fossils of which has created
such stir in scientific circles, were her
| bivorous. They were able to rise up on
their hind quarters and reach into the
| trees for food. They had scaly coats, not
unlike alligators and crocodiles. Smaller