Peterson: The Osteology of Promerycochcerus. 153 



rodents which he thought might he new, expressed tlie desire to set 

 some traps around our tent, after I had told him of our trouhk-s with 

 the small pests. The next day the traps were brought to our camp 

 and set. A number of mice were caught, skinned, and stuffed by 

 the writer in the usual manner, and it was a pleasure for me, a few 

 days later, to notice how my efforts were appreciated by Mr. Carriker, 

 who accepted the specimens with many thanks and seemingly was 

 much elated at being the possessor of the results of my labor in spare 

 moments. 



Two or three weeks later we were again visited by the boys. On this 

 occasion Mr. Carriker brought with him an astragalus of a large 

 merycoidodont, which he had found in the talus at the base of a high 

 clifl" not far from their camp. Carriker gave me the bone and said 

 if I would come up to their camp while they were there he would show 

 me where he had found the specimen. Attaching comparatively little 

 importance to "the find" which he reported, but not to offend the 

 young men, I promised to visit them sometime in the near future. 

 Accordingly I rode over to visit them one evening while our camp was 

 being packed up for removal on the following day to a point twenty- 

 four miles distant. In the vicinity of their camp early the next morn- 

 ing Messrs. Carriker. Carry, and the writer were tramping in the pine 

 hills and after a while reached the spot where Carriker had found the 

 astragalus. 



When the preliminary work of picking up all the pieces found in the 

 talus was completed, attention was paid to some bones sticking in 

 the cliff above. From the fragments gathered I thought that a lower 

 jaw and a hind limb had been weathered out and proceeded to dig 

 out w^hat there was left in order to take it with me to camp. The 

 broken ends of the tibia and femur were first noticed and, together with 

 the patella, were first dug out. In the process of this work the 

 corresponding hind limb of the opposite side, the pelvis, and the 

 lumbar vertebra' were successively laid bare. The prospecting now 

 became quite interesting, in fact exciting, and there was some fear 

 expressed that I would not be able to take with me on horseback 

 the specimens already in sight. The work of the following hours made 

 it very clear that the specimen was too big to be carried away in my 

 saddle-bag as indications of the presence of a second individual in the 

 group had already been found. It was accordingly decided to 

 postpone the work, especially since the day was very warm, well along 



