Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-22

OF the trip For the photographers dark
room, or more properly dark
tent, was provided, and every new
move and scene was recorded
on a dozen plates The route lay through
southern and western Wyoming, with the
grand canyon OF the Platte river as the
chief objective point from scenic point
of view.
The progress OF the party has been sys-
temdithliy planned beforehand, DO take
place so that the fossils might be found in
order, frsm the lower to the higher, from
lowest invertebrate to highest vertebrate,
Ammonitss Faculties, belemnites-but there
Is no use going over the list Of scieu-
tihc names. Many beautiful and almost
perfect specimens of these mollusks we're
found and shipped back to the various
universities whose representatives were
with the party. number Of slabs OF car
boniferous sandstone were obtained with
stipple marks and very beautiful impress
sions Of leaves on them. some OF the latter
as cNquisttely limned as though carved with
an Cngravers tool or cut by the photog-
rapher's lens or course. however, the
great objective of the trip was the verte-
brato remains found first at Lake Como,
| Aurora, in the massive Lodges of sandstone
which rise in successive tiers at this point.
The landscape seemed familiar to us as we
! campcd at the foot of the ridge one hot,
( dusty evening at about o'clock. Then We
/ remembered. Professor Marsh took out his
| great dinosaur (now In restoration at Iae)
! from this exposure and afterward painted
! the surroundings. The dinosaur was
! ... A Mighty Lizard.
| whose remains are found plentifully scat
| tered throughout the crctaccuus and jurassc
| inland seas OF Wyoming. 1t was probably
a land animal, though possibly it lived
| amphibiously on land and on fresh water
swamps, and perhaps even along the shores
of the salt oceans. Prof. Reed. in speaking
Of the monster discovered by him last year
! said:
AN accurate idea OF living dnosaur is
practically out of the question. According
| to my opinion ! should say that the animal
now being brought to light weighed in life
| about sixty tons, that he had neck thirty
feet in length and tail perhaps sixty feet
| in length. His ribs are about nine feet in
length and the cavity Of his body. with the
lungs and entrails out, would have made a
hall thirty-four feet in length, sixteen feet
in width and arched over probably twelve
feet in height. Such a space, If properly
arranged, would seat at least forty people. A
round steak taken from the ham CT the
animal would have been at least twelve
feet in diameter. or more than thirty five
feet in circumference, and would have had
a solid bone in tho middle twelve by four
teen inches, with no hollow for marrow
) set OF four in cavalry could easily have
ridden, abreast between his front and hint
! legs, provided he had not objected. Every
time ne put his foot down 1t covered NOR,
) than square yard OF ground and mus
, have fairly shaken the earth. The small
| ness of the head of this animal is a peculiar
J thing. ! should say that the head of thi
mighty dinosaur was probably not large
than q ten-gallon keg. He must have beel
! very sluggish creature, as his brain cavit,
would certainly not warrant the belief tha
that organ weighed to exceed four or fv
pounds"
Other Freaks.
| Remains Of a number of other animals
mostly reptiles in their nature-with a fey
v primitive mammals and birds-are to b
8 found in great profusion in these mesozo
3 beds of the west. 1t is believed by scien
. fists that these animals inhabited the an
. cient lakes and swamps by the myriad
= and, in dying, sunk in the mud. Thei
q bones were covered over with other de
!, posits and became petrified. All through tn
- long geological ages they lay sinking deepe
d and deeper, until covered with perhaps 20,
600 or 10000 feet of solid rock Then, i
d the titanic process of the birth of the Rock
$; | mountains, the great surface beds wer
n tilted and twisted and bent upward, ant
:. by erosion, the bones are brought to light.
}. Owing to it's massiveness and hardnes
e the bone most frequently found in the cas-
I. OF almost all fossil animals is the femu
Il ! oltb brls. Sl,,I1lS nd MI
II plentiful. The second day Of the camp 9
n Aurora the expedition came upon It's fir!
5. dnosaur bones. Mr.. Edquist and his as
:. sistants of Gustavus Adolphus college, Mir
: nesota discovered a great femur, six and
half feet long, which they were able, b
: | arduous and protracted labor, to eXcayat
Y without much damage. number OF Other
:, -bopes of all descriptons-were obtaine
}, | on the expedition, the full value of whC
!! cannot be accurately estimated until II
:. scientists return to the laboratories and b'
\ GIN the work of restoration. Quite an II
teresting and valuable collection of miner
. specimens were also secured. There was
- taXidermist with the party, and he ca
show fine set of specimens of the bird Iii
n encountered on the trip. Mr. j. f. Camera
Of Coe college, Iowa, acted as botanist
n the expedition and went home laden wi
j, q collection of the rare and beautiful fioV
ers which strew the prares and deck Il
n mountain sides.
i AS camping trip what a splendid, d.
lightful success it was The fine, tonic al
I tho magnificent scenery, all the charms
le outdoor life, in the finest game and fi'
. country in the world made the days pa
a. hilariously and full OF enjoyment.
a. Lively Scare.
In closing / cannot resist the temptatic
to relate little incident. AS this is 'or
m the narrator as well as others, | presun
m he will be pardoned for the telling. Let Il
preface the story by saying that up to q
time OF the occurrence l refer to our a
m quaintance with coyotes, those small wolv
-, OF tho western plains, had been confined
hearing them howl most dismally and bloc
m curdingly at about o'clock IN the NOR
~ ~, ing-not so very far from the tent The d
/ speak Of three Of the party-a man fro
- California, a man from Minnesota and t
n. writer, who halls from the "effete east
al were exploring an old unused coal mine, /
es deed, only hole in the ground where t
n railroad had been prospecting for coal. T
- r,l 10 had Srrt nl1 riff anl