Evening star., 1941-09-21
Fishing for
Fossils
BY Frederic J. HdSktn.

Is near the small village OF Fossil, Wyo.
The place itself Is not only rare, but
fishermen there use wedges, shovels,
hammers and knives instead Of hook,
line and bait. Then, too there is no
water in the place where fish are ham
mered and chiseled out and shipped TO
nearly all parts of the world
AS tourists and others pass through
corridors in museums in New York, Phil
adelphia, Baltimore, Washington an6
other large cities. they are attracted by
fish imprisoned in stone and labeled az
to name and possible age. These are tn.
fish which Fossil, Wyo.. furnishes and
which are caught without the uslA. fish,
ing paraphernalia.
The stories told about the fish found
at Fossil deal not in size, but are CEN
tered around conjectures of geologists
as to age When the claim is made that
some of the fish are 900 years old
there are not many people who can
match the statement with any degree
of accuracy. Thinking that is old
/ enough, they are content TO let the story
! go unchallenged.
It would take icng scientific dis
! cussion TO reveal completely how fish
/ and other sea life can remain, seemingly
/ untouched for thousands of years.
! Actually they do not. Through the long
/ process Of slow burial the animal matter
/ disappears, but bones and fins find a
/ natural treatment from lime and silica,
| and eventus ly solidify. 1t is these re-
manning outlines. definite and accurate,
on which scientists base their opinions
as TO age.
! Fossil. Wyo. is only a cross roads in
/ the southwestern part Of the State and
| consists of four houses box car and
| sheep herder's summer home on wheels.
| The train which passes through stops
only upon request, for the some three
dozen inhabitants who live there rarely
ever use train and possibly fewer
people go there than to any other fishing
place in the United States.
Creation of this odd fishing ground
is unwritten history that probably spans
the millions Of years which geOlogists
say it does 1t goes back to time when
an ocean engulfed all of what is now the
whole Rocky Mountain region. 1t was
then and until the earth gradually
changed its shape that millions OF f1sh
and other inhabitants of the water lived
where now only huge, gray mountains
lie in almost immeasurahle piles, holding
within their assures millions Of stranded
examples Of sea life. It is the hammering,
chiseling and digging for these i'm
prisoned creatures that make the hills
about Fossil the strangest fishing ground
in the world
Fossil fishing is an art requiring even
greater skill than that of the angler who
uses hook and line. BY years of expert
ence the fossil fisherman also has his
lunches that this or that place is a
good spot for an exciting find. Layers of
rock carefully are separated so that a
fossil will not be damaged. The perfect
specimen is always in demand by
museums and private collectors. and
each time a rock is divided there may
appear the rare find for which the fossil
fisherman Is always looking. In this
respect he is like the angler on boat
catch. On the other hand there are no
yarns to be told about the ones which
got away. for embedded in the rock is
the fishermans luck, good or bad.
But there is more to the business than
the hunting of fossils of fish and finding
of good specimen. Like other fishing.
the time of day often counts. The fossil
fisherman prefers midday, when the sun
is high over the mountains and when
the proper light can strike each layer
so as to make even the smallest find
visible to the eye. The finding OF large
fossil is always considered good fishing,
but collectors are anxious to obtain
specimens Of small fish or an imprisoned
reptile, turtle, mosquito or other creature
which has been caught in the earth's
changes in long ages past.
After a find is made the fisherman
takes the sharp blade of a knife and
gently scratches the protecting shale
away so that no damage will be inflicted.
He heWS out a square rock around the
fish and the specimen is ready for clean
ing. The cleaning process requires great
skill so as to clear away all trace of rock
in which the fish is embedded without
destroying the delicate outline of the
fish.
Although the men who dig among the
rocks high among the mountains for
fish millions of years old are not
geologiSts, they have acquired an inti-
mate knowledge of the earths behavior.
For Illustration. these odd fishermen
often find specimen that is unshapeIy,
the fins or backbone twisted or otherwise
marred- They point out that this irregu-
larity of the fish came about in the NOV
ing OF the earth before the fish had be-
come completely fossilized These finds
are of no great value for museum pieces,
but are often purchased by colleges,
universities and individuals for their
exhibits on geology.
This odd fishing industry is not large.
Often not more than two or three men
are working. The superfsherman of all
Is one Lee Craig who daily for nearly
40 years has ascended a mountain slope
; 275 feet in length. That of itself is a
record for a man with two good legs, but
since Craig has only one. his fishing
expeditions take on something of the
daring as we'll as the spectacular.
Before settling at Fossil, Craig had
some previous experience in fossil hunt
ing In wyoming He was one of the