The Permian of Texas 227 



that I now had men and means of transportation 

 upon which I could depend. 



It is indeed a lovely drive from Fort Sill to Red 

 River. We were rarely out of sight of the impres- 

 sive Wichita Mountains, which rise from a sea of 

 green plains like an islet in a lake. We reached the 

 river on the second day, and had a mile of sand to 

 pull through. At one time I thought that we would 

 go down in the treacherous quicksands, but our 

 magnificent team of dark-colored mules and the skill 

 of the teamster carried us safely over. I have since 

 seen, in the sands of this same river, holes ten feet 

 deep which had been dug to rescue wagons loaded 

 with valuable goods, that had sunk down to bedrock 

 during high water. 



When we reached the beds of the Big Wichita, we 

 worked both Indian and Coffee creeks, a few miles 

 apart. Here at last, after so much toil and so many 

 hardships, I found myself in the very center of the 

 fossil-bearing strata, and secured a number of fine 

 specimens, among them the great salamander Ery- 

 ops, the wonderful fin-backed lizard Naosaurus, 

 that peculiar batrachian Diplocaulus, and other 

 forms. 



On arriving at the fossil beds, I showed Corporal 

 Bromfield where I wanted him to pitch my wall tent, 

 and went into the field with Mr. Wright, in search 

 of fossils. When I returned at night, I found that 



