8 To the River Plate and Back 



been followed by his lamented friend, Dr. Marsh, and 

 added the promise that he would provide for this 

 purpose the necessary funds. It was a noble sugges- 

 tion and a noble promise. Work was immediately 

 begun and success speedily crowned the efforts of the 

 talented assistants whom the writer was able to gather 

 about him. Early in July, 1899, a telegram was re- 

 ceived from an exploring party in Wyoming announcing 

 the discovery not far from the banks of Sheep Creek 

 in Albany County of the remains of a diplodocus more 

 perfect than had thus far been discovered anywhere. 

 The discovery had been made on July 4, 1899. During 

 the summer and fall of that year, Dr. Jacob L. Wort- 

 man and his assistants, chief among them Mr. Arthur 

 S. Coggeshall, labored continuously, and quarried out 

 a large quantity of pieces of rock containing the bones 

 of the monster. In the autumn these were brought to 

 the laboratory of the Museum and the bones were extri- 

 cated from the matrix. In the following spring the 

 work was resumed under the care of that admirable and 

 indefatigable collector, Mr. John Bell Hatcher. The 

 remains of another specimen of the same species and 

 of nearly the same size were found in the same deposit 

 quite near by. The second skeleton supplied some 

 parts which the first failed to yield. In the end it 

 was discovered that by combining the two specimens 

 a complete skeleton could be assembled. 



Meanwhile, the writer, using the material secured, 

 endeavored to reconstruct the skeleton in outline, and 

 drew a rough preliminary sketch which he sent to Mr. 

 Carnegie, who was sojourning at his summer home in 

 Scotland. The drawing was hung upon the wall of 

 one of the pleasant rooms of the castle. Some time 

 afterward King Edward VII. called upon Mr. Carnegie 



