New-York tribune., 1909-04-10
.STRANGE HUNTING
Hoe Fossils 4re Found; and Hoo
4pglcrs Tel Tales

THE LIFE OF }s F0ssJb HGNdTHHti HnGF[ddction B BY Henry
aT6s5 QEeGnP 3,pe sd4gs gstFf Hsary Holt Co
FISH STORIES. ALLEGEID3. AND 1af12aI EA and
FNCED with Little Hor},, His5oT}y,, Hoder and
1dnaio1t., ; starr Jordan Illustrated l2mo pP $50
American Nature Series HehrE nun
=. cool, o,+ in the earth and rocks OF the
West the remains of the extinct animals oi Ia
off ages IS the absorbing occupation u "'
NJ Gt.rn.erp has devoted his life. and some OF
the most valuable ,ssls in the great '''7
of ty-o continents testify to the energy patience
and enthusiasm with which he has fulhiied MS
task Between the lines also Of his engaginsF
4os+ and naive autobiography we can trace
+beea adrnira BILE qualities Il is we'll that for the
scientific hunter there is an almost thrlllihs "e
light in the discovery of the tremendous Skull oi
an imperial mammoth of the skeleton ol d
giant toothed bird of cid, for the other rewards
of fossil hunting comparatively shght Oui
author however has made feel that there IS
garuine bappiness in a dinner of herbs eaten in
the envening presence of a Pleisiosaur newly
revisiting in bony habit the glimpses of the sun
He was born a lover of nature. and resolved in
his teens to make it his business TO collect facts
from, the crust of the earth" The work has led
him into danger and entailed suffering, but no
one who reads to the end OF his story can fall
to see that that work has been supremely inter
estfng His vivid description Of his expeditions
in the Texas Permian specially appeals to US
at this moment. in view Of the fact that some Of
the most splendid fossils found there and then
are included in the Cope collection, just placed
on exhibition at the American Museum Of Natu-
raj History
Mr.. Sternberg came upon the rich fossil bed
unexpectedly. and. forgetting fatigue and hun
ger, began to collect skulls and bones in an evi-
dent state OF bliss. II remember" he says.
that I filled my collecting bag with seventy
five pounds OF skulls, from less than inch TO
over eight inches in length, and all TO
and science. This load I started TO carry down
the steep trail TO camp. mile away. The gooa
natured Galyean. when he totttering
under the load. offered to relieve me of my bur
den. but I answered with such vehemence that
one should touch it, that I would break my
back first. that it precious than its
weight in gold. that he gave it up and fed
down the mountains to camp so that he might
at least have warm meal waiting for me when
I arrived. How can any man who has not had
the experience himself realize the glory OF my
triumphal march down that rugged trail? Not
Nebuchadnezzar when his chariot headed the
army that was carrying away the treasures of
the Lords house from Jerusalem with the King
Of Judah, blinded and bound in shackles of
JOY than did this discovery of a new
region, in the very heart of the old. which
promised so rich harvest of rare fossil re-
mains The discoverer's ardor in search has
never failed. though ii has been soreIy taxed
Inc extraction Of fossils from the beds in which
they nave beer hidden for long ages requires a
nerve wearing care and delcacy of manipula-
ton one Of Sternberg's notable finds IN the
ieXas Permian was OF the ladder spined reDtiIa
winch under the name of "Naosaurus is now
to be seen in grewsome but imposing restora-
ton at the museum. A number of 7,orfoot
spines were found at first.
l worked very carefully. ~
oLItms 20 take II out whole and in GOOD etoJ ,g'
dsiTfaer,.edI 49, eI ana white sandstone. which easily
e *o't'eS ana transverse projections lyhich Ier
ana We're also nexed aid tilted III t pLoken IN Stta
~ o - - ere ere was necessary in following tJ,ern
ife skeleton as II thousands nf 70 70 take up
no one roIfI 'stll I'm up as one would dig potatoes
W Wlte.H toBetLer again. So took nm ea.i, - 'p Pul
and numberipf -4f' tf say nifty fragments together
&c so mat when the whole coIlectjoR , ASe -
ei'1I1ley ifst and then joined to one anofher ieu
Joined they have been. and the ,nae,,ieo,,,.
result is the only mounted specimen of Tho
! "Naosaurus" in the world
The authors of the highly amusing volume
VI 44H-' S'''ieS nave searched the literature Of
ancient days and of many countries fo. tfebo,
mems instances. and some of these arc ,i.
! ana fantastic enough. To these bavo hoo,
added modern narratives of actual exnarjanoes
mostly drawn from fishermen off the California
coast An entertaining chapter on the sea scr
pent, by the way, notes many OF the renorts
concerning that fearsome parsonage and gives
US to understand that those referring to his
name have their foundation in fact ."Th. great
oarhsh says Mr. Holder has the dorsaI
spnes on its neck elongated and bright rcd
like the name OF 4 fiery horse. We have seen
one OF these twenty-five feet long on the Goa st
Of California. When swimming on the surface
it Is, most naturally taken for sea serro,t
A large squid has also been observed SWIMMING
on the surface. wounded its pointed tail inst
above the water, looking like a head We r,o,
we'll imagine that giant squid sixty or sevart,,
feet in length, with waving tentacles would
looI; Ike a monstrous serpent" The oar
fish. Mr. Holder points out, furnishes the reoI
basis for sea serpent stories This is a harmless
(. deep sea fish, light blue in color half trans
parent like tough jelly in texture" and weigh,
ing about five hundred pounds. Its brilliant
scarlet spines make il most picturesque oh
jcct There are genuine sea snakes also we
are told. Those Of the Pacific are two or three
feet long and their bite is dangerous as that
OF the rattlesnake. Have fishes intelligence?
y fisherman OF long experience is quoted as
,:.s3uf, that a FISH which Is permitted II get off
81. tueb goes and tells The other fish about
-c,i0ant and fhpy a Swim away fro,,, IL,