352 BUFFALO LAND. 



discovery of one of these, will always be a pleasant 

 recollection to the writer. A part of the face, with 

 teeth, was observed projecting from the side of a 

 bluff by a companion in exploration, ( Lieut. Jas. H. 

 Whitten, U. S. A.), and we at once proceeded to fol- 

 low up the indication with knives and picks. Soon 

 the lower jaws were uncovered, with their glistening 

 teeth, and then the vertebrae and ribs. Our delight 

 was at its height when the bones of the pelvis and 

 part of the hind limb were laid bare, for they had 

 never been seen before in the species and scarcely in 

 the order. While lying on the bottom of the cre- 

 taceous sea, the carcass had been dragged hither and 

 thither by the sharks and other rapacious animals, 

 and the parts of the skeleton were displaced and 

 gathered into a small area. The massive tail 

 stretched away into the bluff, and after much labo- 

 rious excavation we left a portion of it to more per- 

 severing explorers. The species of Clidastes did not 

 reach such a size as some of the Liodons, and were 

 of elegant and flexible build. To prevent their habits 

 of coiling from dislocating the vertebral column, these 

 had an additional pair of articulations at each end, 

 while their muscular strength is attested by the ele- 

 gant striae and other sculptures which appear on all 

 their bones. Three species of this genus occur in the 

 Kansas strata, the largest (Clidastes cineriarum, 

 Cope) reaching forty feet in length. The discovery 

 of a related species (Holcodus coryphaeus, Cope) was 

 made by the writer under circumstances of difficulty 

 peculiar to the plains. After examining the bluffs 

 for half a day without result, a few bone fragments 



