New-York tribune., 1899-09-03
WYOMING FOSSIL FIELDS.
CONTRIBUTING HUGE SPECIMENS To
AMERICAN MUSEUMS
RICH IN MATERIALS FOR SCIENTIFIC Inv
r1oNs-spECIMENs BEING SECURED THAI
1T IS SAID. WILL CONTRIBUTE ~
THE SUPPORT OF THE THE

TIONS-SpECIMENS BElNG ShNO""N
1T IS SAID. WILL CONTRIBUTE ~
THE SUPPORT OF THE THE
DRY OF EVOLUTION.
,orami. Wyo.. Sept . (SpecaD.-Tne souioe =, "
a,an,,ec zeal which has organized the eNpeui
49,, ,ou exnloring the fossil fields OF TINS 7'a'e Il
the University of Wyoming. This ihS' 49, '' ,o
established In 1886 under an act OF 'he m -
NJ what was then the Territory oil
1900 the wyoming Agricultural hSie''''iv"' st,
was established at Laramie under the d"'C s,.P
va d. -t.Iar with sub-stations at Lander
cro,oaa sheridan SundanCe and WheaNdnu'
Two wears later a csramodious mechdnl'"' " ~
ing was completed. and in the ran o. le'' 'e ,,,,
t,es for horticulture W Te Increased oE 'le o"
,ny of greenhouse. IN 1891 the normal Echooi "'e
onc,ad and in 1892 the course Of the college oil
mechanical engineering expanded ana tne
nhoos NJ mines and OF military science were estao
lished. ,od
The faculty of fifteen men and women Is MAJ N.u ~
nv nersonal enthusiasm in the WORK one o' NV
most inspiring of these teachers Is "li'ui -
Knisbt professor Of geology and mining engineer
inr Professor knight is graduate OF the I'm,
varsity of Nebraska and Fellow OF the Geologicai
societv of America. and is practical mining eA-
pert He Il is who orgardzed the expeditions "hch
are traversing the mountains TO the northwest III
search OF fossils and mineral specimens he oo-
cas,onally returns here for supplies and on the
last occasion gave some details concerning 'he
probabe extent and fertility of the Wyoming fossil
fields.
Few neople" said he have any idea they are
vhIrled over the ain ranges. the deep can
yons fertile plains and great deserts of wyoming
that they are in the midst of one Of the greatest
treasure stored regions of the world. one has only
TO visit our National Museum, the American Mu-
scum of Natural History. Harvard. Yale Prince
ton and the University OF Wyoming to appreciate
fully what Wyoming has done for science-and the
work has just begun. In another quarter oi
century the collections will be doubled and the
material found will play even a greater part in
upbuilding the theory Of evolution than II has in
the past Up the present time no State or Terri
tory in the United states. and indeed no equal
area In the world has done much for the theory
of evolution and for comparative anatomy as this
State These broad and sweeping assertions.
hut they are nevertheless true. and he easily
confirmed by any one who will consult the memoirs
and monographs by Leidy. Cope Marsh. Osborn
Workman and Scott.
HUGE FOSSILS FOUND.
What are these treasures? They are the re-
mains OF huge reptiles. so large that only those
with vivid mag!na:ons can form any adequate idea
of their size huge mammals of elephantlne dmen-
sions mingled with numerous orders OF large ami
mails that have long been extinct; camels, rhnocer
oses dogs cats elephants and monkeys great sea
monsters that truly serpents: fishes that
compare favo,ahy with the finny tribe of our great
lakes: shell hsh almost nnumerable. and fossil
leaves that prove conclusivey that in early ages
Wyoming vas densely clothed with trees Of trop-
ical and serri-tropical vordure.
"The work Of collecting from this storehouse
began in the fortes and in the years that have
elapsed since then Wyoming has been favored
collecting ground for the leading geoogists and
palnontologists of the country. The early expedi
tlons encountered the treacherous Sioux: but were
rot baff1ed though they had 10 outfit on the Mis-
souri, River and travel 400 miles by team
before entering the field The advent Of the Union
Pacific Railroad simplifed the work. and from
that day 10 this not season has passed in which
there have not been several expeditions in the
Wyoming fields.
THE work of procuring these rare specimens 10
ALMOST as exciting as gold hunting. and many times
finds bones that are worth more than their
weight in gold. While many expeditions have taken
away material by the carload, the fields are large.
and hundreds of square miles have never been
visited by geologsts on account OF the numerous
mountain ranges the rocks tilted about our
great field. and erosion has cut deep valleys and
canyons leading from them. which makes II possible
10 examine every foot OF formation in detail. In
many places the later formations have been de-
posted in interior seas and these have been eroded
down TO their base, that the entire section Is
exposed.
While paeozoic rocks are found thanking every
mountain range. they in no way comparable
with the vast beds Of sediment found along the
Appalachan Mountains. These are cambrian,
ordovician sNurian and carboniferOus but. taken
as A whole they are seldom over three thousand
feet thick The fossils they contain are only par
italy known, and comparisons with similar
groups in the East they are not rich in fossil life.
Not over one hundred species have been reported
from them
THE mesozoic Of the West. the other hand.
corresponds in thickness ana Importance to the
paleozoic of the East. and in its maximum develop
ment is nearly twenty-five thousand feet thick. 1t
also covers vast areas along the mountains and in
the valleys 1t stretches half way the State,
and in place is over hundred miles in
breadth. These rocks are made up Of three dis
tinct perods-the Triassic, Jurassc and the Creta-
ceous The triassic red beds, as they are usu-
ally called, chiefly bright red sandstone and
gypsum, and vary from eight hundred TO twelve
hundred feet in thickness. So far known, they
DO not contain any fossil life.
RICH IN REPTILIAN REMAINS
THE jurassic rocks the second period are won
derNlly rich in reptilan remains. and contain al
well many mammals and fishes. The University of
Wyoming began collecting reptilian fossils
only three years ago, and now has partial skele-
tons of over one hundred animals. The most of
these belong the so-called dinosaurs the largest
land animals that ever lived. and so large in fact
that when one describes them people consider
the description TO he a Western yarn wi hout
foundation. Nevertheless. the scientific articles
published on this subject be considered correct
Inc University OF WyomingS collection he
summed up as follows Ten ichthyosaurs three
plesiosaurs. one megalneusaur and the remainder
dinosaurs The megalneusaur represents the arg-
est swimming sauran known it having front
paddle nearly eight feet in length. The dinosaurs
range in size from a few feet in length to eighty
1eet or more. The remains OF these large animals
are most interesting. since they are of such a
glganuc size. Imagine femur six feet long or
over Herteora with its process peary four feet
hgh, scapua six feet long and ribs as large as
iorty pound steel rail and from six to nine feet
~ ~ !eHetn A!loeether there have been at least
rocks and without question this number viii be
doubled In the next ten years
fale has the greatest collection Of these animals