ioo Life of a Fossil Hunter 



I never knew his wit to fail him. I remember 

 being present at a meeting of the Academy of 

 Science, in Philadelphia, at which he was up for 

 re-election to the office of recording secretary, and 

 was defeated. Among others, Professor William 

 Moore Gabb made some remarks against him. 

 Cope's only defense was " Now, William, more 

 gab!" 



I attended also the dinners which he gave to his 

 hosts of friends in the city, and the luncheons at 

 which Mrs. Cope entertained the young men to 

 whom the Professor gave lectures in his own home. 

 He told his funniest anecdotes on these occasions, 

 and used to call on me for my story of the old 

 farmer who, while at work hoeing corn in a stump- 

 field on the side of a hill, saw a hoop-snake at the 

 top take its tail in its mouth and begin to roll down 

 towards him. Springing behind a stump, he struck 

 at it with his hoe handle, into which the sting at 

 the end of the snake's tail entered deeply. In less 

 than an hour the handle had swelled up to the size 

 of a man's leg. 



I believe that this story-telling of which he was 

 so fond was for Cope a form of relaxation from his 

 heavy work in the study, and that his ability to give 

 himself up so thoroughly to it in his leisure hours 

 was what enabled him to accomplish in his life an 

 amount of work such as few men have ever accom- 



