42 Life of a Fossil Hunter 



Then comes the work in the hot sun, whose rays 

 are reflected with added fervor from the glaring 

 surface of the chalk. Every blow of the pick loos- 

 ens a cloud of chalk dust, which is carried by the 

 wind into our eyes. But we labor on with unfailing 

 enthusiasm until we have laid bare a floor space upon 

 which I can stretch myself out at full length. Lying 

 there on the blistering chalk in the burning sun, and 

 working carefully and patiently with brush and awl, 

 I uncover enough of the bones so that I can tell what 

 I have found, and so that when I cut out the rock 

 which holds them I shall not cut into the bones 

 themselves. 



After they have been traced, if they lie in good, 

 hard rock, a ditch is cut around them, and by re- 

 peated blows of the pick, the slab which contains 

 them is loosened. 



This is then securely wrapped and strengthened 

 with plaster or with burlap bandages that have been 

 dipped in plaster of the consistency of cream. In 

 the case of large specimens, boards are put length- 

 wise to assist in strengthening the material, so that 

 it will bear transportation. Later I hope to tell of 

 a method, originated by me, by which the most 

 delicate fossil, even if preserved in very loose, fri- 

 able rock, may be detached and transported safely. 



So, as a hunter will follow the deer, through thick- 

 ets and over rocks, forgetting hunger and cold and 



