CHAPTER II 



HUNTING FOR THE ANIMALS OF PAST AGES 



YEARS ago I arrived in a camp on the 

 John Day River, Oregon, where a party 

 of scientists were digging out fossils the 

 mineralized bones of prehistoric animals. Two 

 geologists were examining a fragment of a sabre- 

 toothed tiger that had just been brought in. 

 When I told the scientist in charge of my desire 

 to see prehistoric animals, he replied that he 

 would be only too glad to have me stay in camp 

 and explore the surrounding country for fossils. 

 This was exactly what I wanted to do. 



The following morning, feeling like a mighty 

 hunter, I set off, armed with only a pick, to hunt 

 for the giants of old. Two miles or so from camp 

 I began climbing the steep north wall of the 

 canon, having been told to look for "sign" in the 

 walls of every canon. I knew something of 

 trailing horses and had tracked and trailed 

 wild animals with a kodak, but hunting for 

 extinct otters, beavers, elephants, and wild dogs 

 proved just as exciting. The prehistoric life 

 in this region had lived in what geologists call 



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