Expedition to the Bad Lands 95 



without saying that in that long trip he taught the 

 passengers more natural science than they had ever 

 learned in all their lives before. At a certain wood- 

 camp, he and some others went ashore and found 

 the skull of a Crow Indian. The Crow method of 

 burial was to wrap the body in a blanket, lay it on 

 the ground, and build around it an open frame of 

 logs, to keep away wild animals. It was an easy 

 matter to pick up a skull. 



The Professor carried his find aboard in his hands 

 before everyone, and was beginning to tell his en- 

 lightened listeners the special cranial characteristics 

 of this tribe, when a body of deckhands, headed by 

 their appointed speaker, came forward and told the 

 captain that they would not allow Professor Cope to 

 " emulate the dead." He must take the skull back 

 to its grave or they would not remain aboard and 

 take the boat down to Omaha. 



" Why," said the speaker earnestly, " we will be 

 caught on every mud bank in the river, and there is 

 no telling what calamities will happen, if he is al- 

 lowed to emulate the dead." 



There was no getting them to back down from 

 their position, and the Crow's skull was restored to 

 its grave. But the Professor said afterwards, " We 

 had about a dozen skulls packed in with the fossils, 

 and in spite of them, reached Omaha without having 

 to walk on stilts, as had been prophesied." 



