it. He left everything to us in the way of deciding where to work and 

 where to camp, how long to stay in this locality and when to move to 

 that. He gave up all idea of military discipline, having the good sense to 

 see that it could only hamper us in our work. The General made no 

 pretense of interest in the fossils; he knew nothing and cared nothing 

 about them, but he was interested in us and our success. He took the 

 best of care of us, looking after our welfare in the many ways which an 

 experienced soldier would understand. We all became very fond of him 

 and learned to appreciate his many fine qualities; we knew that he was 

 a fearless soldier, an upright, honourable and gallant gentleman, and his 

 little idiosyncrasies amused us without detracting from our respect and 

 affection for him. 



I must say a word of the sagebrush (Artemisia tridentatd) so abundant 

 over the northern semiarid plains. It grows well spaced apart and with 

 trunk and branches very like those of a miniature oak, and is usually 

 about three feet in height; the leaves are very narrow and of a pale 

 sage green, which, with the odour, has suggested the name of the plant. 

 When growing under very favourable conditions, I have seen sagebrush 

 attaining a height of fifteen feet or more, with trunk as thick as a man's 

 thigh. The hot sun brings out a strong, pungent and spicy odour from 

 the sage that cannot be forgotten and is most characteristic of a strange 

 and fascinating land. Sagebrush makes excellent fuel that needs no 

 seasoning, but is always ready for use. It burns with a very hot fire and 

 the coals and ashes retain their heat for a long time, a useful feature for 

 baking in a Dutch oven. 



Trees, in that region, are confined to the watercourses and almost the 

 only kinds are the cottonwoods, a name given to two or three species of 

 Populus. These narrow-leaved poplars have an extraordinary vitality 

 and rapidity of growth; a log planted in the ground will, in an incredi- 

 bly short time, form a tree, if only it has sufficient water. Very often, 

 trees, growing on the bank of a permanent stream, attain very stately 

 proportions and, with their rugged bark and irregular branching, are 

 very picturesque, even beautiful. The soft, spongy wood is inferior for 

 fuel or timber. 



From the camp on Smith's Fork, we worked the bad lands on Cotton- 

 wood Creek for several days. I believe, though I am not sure of this, that 

 the honour of finding the first fossil fell to my lot, though Frank Speir's 

 superiority to the rest of us very soon became obvious. My find was the 

 hind leg and foot of the Uttle three-toed horse, Orohippus, and, owing to 

 lack of experience and the utterly unsuitable character of the tools which 



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