Buffalo Land: Authentic Account of the Discoveries, Adventures, and Mishaps of a Scientific and Sporting Party in the Wild WestWebb, W. E. (William Edward)
History
Buffalo Land: Authentic Account of the Discoveries, Adventures, and Mishaps of a Scientific and Sporting Party in the Wild West
Webb, W. E. (William Edward)
Hunting -- West (U.S.); Paleontology -- Kansas; West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
A considerable number of vertebræ were found preserved by the
protective embrace of the roots of a small bush, and, when they were
secured, the pick and knife were brought into requisition to remove the
remainder. About this time one of the gales, so common in that region,
sprang up, and, striking the bluff fairly, reflected itself upwards. So
soon as the pick pulverized the rock, the limestone dust was carried
into eyes, nose, and every available opening in the clothing. I was
speedily blinded, and my aid disappeared into the canyon, and was seen
no more while the work lasted. Only the enthusiasm of the student could
have endured the discomfort, but to him it appeared a most unnecessary
"conversion of force" that a geologist should be driven from the field
by his own dust. A handkerchief tied over the face, and pierced by
minute holes opposite the eyes, kept me from total blindness, though
dirt in abundance penetrated the mask. But a fine relic of creative
genius was extricated from its ancient bed, and one that leads its genus
in size and explains its structure.
On another occasion, riding along a spur of a yellow chalk bluff, some
vertebræ lying at its foot met my eye. An examination showed that the
series entered the rock, and, on passing round to the opposite side the
jaws and muzzle were seen projecting from it, as though laid bare for
the convenience of the geologist. The spur was small and of soft
material, and we speedily removed it in blocks, to the level of the
reptile, and took out the remains, as they laid across the base from
side to side. A genus related to the last is _Edestosaurus_. A species
of thirty feet in length, and of elegant proportions has been called _E.
tortor_ (Cope.) Its slenderness of body was remarkable, and the large
head was long and lance-shaped. Its flippers tapered elegantly, and the
whole animal was more of a serpent than any other of its tribe. Its
lithe movements brought many a fish to its knife-shaped teeth, which are
more efficient and numerous than in any of its relatives. It was found
coiled up beneath a ledge of rock, with its skull lying undisturbed in
the center. A species distinguished for its small size and elegance is
_Clidastes pumilus_ (Marsh). This little fellow was only twelve feet in
length, and was probably unable to avoid occasionally furnishing a meal
for some of the rapacious fishes which abounded in the same ocean.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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