THE CERATOPSIA. 



By John Bell Hatcher. 



CHAPTER I. 



HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF REMAINS OF THE CERATOPSIA. 



FIRST DISCOVERY, BY DR. F. V. HAYDEN. 



To Dr. F. V. Hayden is due the credit for the first discovery of remains of this group of 

 horned dinosaurs in North America. In 1855 he made a geological reconnaissance of the 

 badland region lying about the mouth of the Judith River, on the upper Missouri, in what is 

 now the State of Montana. Though some of bis observations and conclusions relating to the 

 stratigraphy and correlation of the various geological horizons of that region have since been 

 shown to be erroneous, yet, in view of the great difficulties under which he labored and the pio- 

 neer nature of his work, we are forced to admire his ability both as an explorer and as an observer 

 and to reckon the results of his expedition, which he completed while he was yet in his twenty- 

 seventh year and during which he penetrated for several hundred miles a practically unknown 

 wilderness, as second to none in geological and paleontological importance. As an example 

 of the hardships and privations which he and others have at various times undergone for the 

 advancement of that branch of natural science in which they were interested I quote the 

 following from Dr. 0. A. White's biographical sketch of Doctor Hayden: 



Not having money enough to carry on independently the explorations upon which he had determined, he sought and 

 obtained permission to travel a part of the time with parties of the American Fur Company on their annual trips for trade 

 and hunting in that country. Starting in the spring of 1854, two years were spent by him in toilsome journeys, traveling 

 largely on foot, often sleeping upon the ground where night overtook him, and occasionally eking out his expenses by working 

 for the few traders who were scattered over that region. In this way he traversed the valley of the Missouri River from the 

 western boundary of the then territory of Iowa to Fort Benton, now a principal town of the State of Montana. He also 

 traversed the valley of Yellowstone River from its mouth to the mouth of Bighorn River. In these journeys his sources of 

 supply and protection were the boats of the American Fur Company which were then ascending those rivers. Their slow 

 progress enabled him to spend much of his time ashore, noting geological structure and collecting fossils. Returning from 

 these long, wild journeyings, Doctor Hayden reached St. Louis, Mo ; , early in 1856, and for a time made his headquarters there. 



The geological notes made by Doctor Hayden during those two years of exploration have served as the basis for con- 

 structing a section of the formations of that region which remains with only slight changes to this day, and his geological notes 

 served in part as the basis of subsequent explorations under the auspices of the United States War Department. The large 

 collections of fossils which he then 1 made opened to the scientific world a knowledge of extinct faunas such as had never before 

 been known, and the discoveries which he thus inaugurated have been among the most remarkable in the history of biological 

 geology. 



During his explorations in the Judith River badlands he made collections of the fossil 

 plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates of the various geological horizons. The vertebrate 

 remains were submitted to Dr. Joseph Leidy for study and description, and were made the 

 basis of a short communication 6 to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, presented 



a Nat. Acad. Sei., Biographical Memoirs, vol. 3, pp. 399-400. 



6 Notices of remains of extinct reptiles and fishes discovered by Dr. F. V. Hayden in the badlands of the Judith River, Nebraska Territory: 

 Proe. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vol. 8, 1856, pp. 72-73. 



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