The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1901-03-21


that field this year. He smilingi,
evades questions as to the exact locali
ty, for he wishes to revisit it next sea
son. Messrs. Riggs and Manke and
an assistant spent three months in
quarrylng the remains of three dino
saurs. You may call Professor Riggs
Il hunter o! big game, if you wish, bu,
his game once located, he has to dig
1t out with pick and shovel from be.
meath layers OF sandstone and othe,
imprisone6~strata. He might also be
called a miner, for he has to roam
over the fosslliterous country prospect
Ing for signs. Having found few
scattered bones upon the surface of the
ground, like the miner who has dis
covered little placer gold, he must
follow the signs to locate the mother
deposit, which is generally buried un-
der sand and rock.
AN IMMENSE RIB.
The Riggs party was ten miles from
a town when its scent was sharpened
by finding several fossilized bones, the
DRIFT from a coveted treasure. After
some further search Tor the skeleton, a
leg bone was discovered protruding
from ledge near the foot OF neigh
boring hill or butte. The hunters be-
gan at once to quarry, as Professor
Riggs expresses it, in the hope of find
ing a prize. One OF the first bones en-
countered was a mighty rib. They
to strike it near the middle
and dug both ways. Day after day
went by without reaching either end,
and the increasing enthusiasm and
wonder of the eager searchers may be
imagined. When the rib was finally
from end to end it was mea-
sured with an almost breathless inter
est. When found to be zine feet FIVE
inches long and eight inches wide Pro-
fessor Riggs realized he~had made a
great discovery. He and bis associates
felt well repaid for their long and weari-
some toll amid sand storms and in a
temperature marking 10degrees above
zero. Passersby carried the news to
town, and thereafter there were fire.
auent "visitors' day." in which the
tounse--e-0 vSsr10 0vs.~-.--.--..e ,,artioo
to see "the snake," as they termed it.
LARGEST KNOWN.
Professor Riggs kept on with the Ia
borlous digging until he recovered all
that was left of the skeleton. One of
the most valuable pieces found was
thigh some six feet ten inches long.
The next largest thigh bone known to
scientific men is that of a dinosaur in
the collection of the Peabody Museum
at Yale. It is stated to be six feet two
inches long, and Professor Marsh esti-
mated that the Lying animal, which
he called "atiantosaurus," was at least
Is feet long and weighed 20 tons or
more. It is by comparison with the
figures of Marsh, who was an authori-
ty on the saurians of the mezozic age
for 80 years, that the Chicago profes-
sor ascertains he has the bones OF the
largest animals ever known to man.
THE BACKBONE.
Professor Riggs and bis assistants
struck the backbone near the pelvis.
and as the fossils were revealed in all
their magnitude the JOY of the hunters
was unbounded. They found seven dor
sal vertebrae, which the layman would
call joints or sections Of the backbone
There we're also seven ribs, two bony
Joints OF the tail, large part OF the
pelvis and another leg bone. The
seven dorsal vertebrae make up about
IL feet of the big dinosaurs spinal col
unn, and the tail bones about two feet
The disc-like part of the dorsal verte
hrate is Is inches in diameter. Meas
ured between extreme points the spina
column has breadth Of nearly iou1
ieet, which makes pretty stiff back
bone. Like the alligator, the dinosaul
has tail long drawn out and neeL
also exceedingly elongated.
Professor Riggs thinks the dinosaul
was one of the species that Marsl
named "brontosaurus," or at least Ii
closely allied to that type. Marst
found an almos. complete skeleton neal
Lake Como, Wyoming, and hs cHfn
parison with ether remaiEs ne has beer
able to restore il entirely, 50 there Ii
no doubt as to the bony frame OF thi'
species Of the saurians.
STATE OF OHIO, CITY OF TOLEDO, ss.
LUCAS COUNTY.
FRANK J. CHENEY makes oath that
he is the senior partner of the firm o.
F. J. Cheney & Co., doing bushes Ii
the City of Toledo, County and STATE