Los Angeles herald., 1905-04-02

regions Of the Rocky Mountains. Pro-
fessor Osborn directed his first expedi-
.tion in 1897 to begin in the heart of
the Laramie plains near the Como
bluffs, south central Wyoming. Here
headquarters was established, which
was probably the most romantic ON rec
ord. The camp was literally pitched
over the vast prehistoric cemetery of
the dinosaurs These sepulchral layer
beds, In which the great dinosaurs lay
entombed are, according to Professor
Osborn, about 274 feet in thickness and
are of fresh water origin. They rep
resent different stages of earth's his
tory, caused by the uplift of the mount
ain ranges, resulting in the emergence
and submergence of land.
At first surprising evidence Of the
presence of nearby buried forms Of ex-
tinct life was indicated by the fact
that a wandering Mexican sheep herder'
had collected a series of dark brown
powders, taking them for ordinary
stones, which were in reality petrified
bones. These he used for the founda-
ton of his cabin. AS this spot yielded
up some of the strangest and mightiest
animals in the past. it has been aptly
named Bone Cabin Quarry Only.
1850 feet of this quarry has been sys-
tematically explored by the museum
during half dozen seasons of expe
ditions, yet the yield of fossil treasures
has been phenomenal. Over 4S3 parts,
representing 73 various animals, were
recovered. Others are still buried in
the vast graveyard waiting the pick
of future eXcavators.
The crowning find and the first point
ot scientific interest was the skeleton
of the giant ur-brontosaurus the
largest and most complete so far found,
unearthed about four miles south of
the Bone Cabin quarry. The lucky
and fortunate explorer whose keen eyes
made this remarkable and memorable
fossil discovery was Mr.. Walter Gran
ger. In fossil hunting science to a
prospecting for gold, it is a matter of
pure luck. The collector never knows
where he is going to unearth some
treasure and strike it rich. 1t is this
element of chance that makes the pur-
suit somewhat fascinating.
The trained collector is not only a
naturalist but geologist He knows
the color of the rocks in which fossils
are most likely to be found, and his
eye is quick to see piece of bone pro-
truding from rock or lying among the
shale. Sometimes he waits weeks or
months, and even a whole season, with
out success. 1t was in September, 1899,
on one of these days of detection, re-
sulting from a lull and scarcity of
specimens found. that Mr.. Granger
started on accommodating trip to a
point three miles distant from Bone
Cabin quarry to reinvestigate a To-
cality where he had picked up on the
surface the previous season of 1898 two
stray pieces of tail vertebrae. Coming
upon these exposed fragments is gen.
orally the surest clew of the presence
in the vicinity of fossil remains.
Mr.. Granger commenced to carefully
excavate, and had not gone down more
than three or four feet before other
vertebrae were met with which cor
responded to those picked up the pre-
ceding season. With renewed enthusi-
asm the digging was continued. and
gradually the cut revealed large sec
tion of vertebrae. with ponderous ribs
still attached. On close examination
1t was recognized Immediately as part
of a great amphibious dinosaur, and
proved to be one of the greatest fossil
prizes SO far unearthed and a fitting
climax for the seasons work. Almost
in one compact plot more than two
thirds of the complete skeleton was
found-an exceptional occurrence in
fossil discoveries. The whole Of the
summer of 1899 was taken up in get
ting out the massive skeleton and pre-
pairing the various parts for transport
tation. Extracting such a weighty
specimen without damaging the brittle
bones. buried as they are in weak
and shattered mass of heavy shale, is
a slow and delicate operation. requir-
ing special care and skill. To insure
safety during shipment and to aid In
the setting" OF the much fractured