Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1924-03-05

The dlnOSaur eggs and the great
group of dinosaur bones were found
in the low eastern slopes of the Alta
mountain range. A kind of plateau
region had been scooped out here in
such way as to reveal the strata as
slice through cake reveals the lay
erS.
These rich fossil beds had been re-
vealed by reconnaissance in 1922
1t was a great problem to take the
expedition there, however, as it was
necessary to traverse more than 400
miles of the most barren of deserts.
AS a matter of fact this was easy
travelling for the main party, which
rode in three motor cars and two
motor trucks. The machines travelled
good road, one which had been
stamped out across the desert by
camel hoofs for hundreds of genera
tions. 1t was the road which
Jenghis Khan took when he led his
Mongol hordes into western Asia and
Europe in the thirteenth century.
But the great difficulty came in
getting camels through this desert
without natural fodder. The camels
carried the gasoline, much of the
food and other supplies.
There were seventy-five camelS
when the caravan started to the re-
lief of the SCIENTISTS There were
only sixteen camels left when the
caravan arrived. Thirty-six had died
on the way Twenty-three became
so weak thar they had 10 be left
behind to rest at we'll which had
little grass around it.
The Gest two fossilized dinosaur
eggs were found right out in the
open They had been buried in fine
sand probably ten million years ago
They we're disinterred in recent
years by the action of coarse wind
driven sand which cut away the
soft rock from around them. The
actual discogerer was George OLSEN
one of the assistants in paleaontol-
ogy.
II believe these are dinosaur
eggs, he said, as he looked at two
objects about eight inches long and
about three in diameter"
Il believe you're crazy, said one of
his companions The party soon
gathered around the two things.
They could not imagine what other
than dinosaur egg could be petri-
fled into the shape of reptiles egg
with what apparently once had been
a leathery cover Digging in the
vicinity revealed several more OF the
same objects. A few were found
broken open, ana. there appeared the
delicate ribs, vertabrae and skulls of
unborn dinosaurs. Later about a
mile away they found another nest of
dinosaur eggs.
The enormous richness of this sec .
tion in dinosaur remains suggested
that some vast reptile catastrophe
had occurred here at one time. For
some reason thousands of big rep
tiles apparently assembled in this (
region ana then something over
wnelmed them While they were con-
csHtrated 1t might have been mood,
sandstornG. dinosaur drive by their
predatory enemies Or something else.
The region was so much richsr'in
bones than was anticipated that they
RAN out OF materials Cor handling
item, Fossils OF this kind crumble
Sc easily mat they are soaked i9,dis-
solved gum araLHc, which fills the
pores and hardens so that they can be
moved without shaking down into
dust. Next they are plastered over
with a paste of -four and banuaged
with burlap.
The Socialists quit eating flour ana
used their foods to preserve tho
Bones. they ran OUT of bur zap for
Dandages and began to- use overalls.
they st1pped themselves and the
Chinese of overAils and spare cloth IS
and ny even used pajamas to pre-
serve pr scious fossils.
The finest series OF dinosa ar skulls
were seayenty of the protoceratops.
rhis is very smal1 dinosaUf with
nubbin OF a horn on the forehead and
suggestion of a frilp at the throat. 1t
is the ancestor of the tremendous
horned. armored and frsled dim
osaur. che ceratops, which was album
dant millions of wears later in the
western parts Of rhis country.
I'VE have magnificent series,
tracing the descent of this from it's
earliest to it's most fully dev eiopeG
form" said Mr.. Andrews, Showing
step by step the growth of tie horn
and the frill. When these are ar
ranged in order. a chi.a can see the
tru6h of erolutbnn.
Mr.. Andrews credited the, success
of the expedition to careful prepara-
ton and to the ability of phe scien-
titic men with him. These were DR.,
Walter Granger, CHER paaaeonIolo-
gist: DR.. Charles P. Berkey, chief
geologist: Frederick X Morris, geo
logist and topogfapher; Cnford
Pope, assistant in zoology; George
Olsen. Peter Kaison and Alberc John
son, assistants in palaeontologS; j. B.,
ShacRleford, Photographer, and Bay
ard Colgate, j. Mckenzie Yonng ana
C. Vance Johnson, motor transport
experts, and F. A. Aarson inter
preber.
Dcdham.