NOVEMBER 17, 1899.] 
THE FOSSIL FIELD'S EXPEDITION TO 
WYOMING. 
In June last, the Union Pacific Railroad 
Company issued a large number of invita- 
tions to colleges, universities and museums 
doing work in geology, to participate in an 
exploring and collecting tour through the 
fossil fields of Wyoming, long famous for 
their remains of various extinct vertebrates. 
Free transportation was furnished by the 
railroads from Chicago and return, as well 
as from other northern and southern rail- 
road centers, to Laramie, Wyoming. At 
Omaha, Mr. A. Darlow, for the Union 
Pacific Railroad Company, bade all wel- 
come, looked after the comfort of the guests, 
and accompanied the expedition to Laramie. 
The party began to arrive in the latter 
place July 19th, that day being spent in the 
election of officers, and in the final prepara- 
tions for camp life. In the evening, the 
élite of the university City of Wyoming 
gathered at the University, where President 
Smiley extended a cordial welcome to all. 
Professor Wilbur C. Knight was elected 
president and director of the expedition. 
Wagons, tents, bedding, provisions, and 
other necessary articles for camping were 
furnished the members, and, as it after- 
wards proved, at less than the actual cost. 
The ‘ outfit’ moved out of Laramie, July 
21st, and consisted of 19 two-horse wagons 
and a few saddle horses, thus providing 
transportation for 85 men. The party 
was composed of 66 geologists, paleontolo- 
gists, botanists, photographers and _ re- 
porters, with 19 teamsters. Seven of the 
latter also officiated as ‘ camp cooks,’ each 
of them purveying to a mess including gen- 
erally 10 persons. The newspaper men 
were the first to drop out, and after the 
North Fork ofthe Platte River was reached, 
a little over twenty days out, the expedition 
was reduced to 14 men. These completed 
the tour of forty days, as originally planned 
by Professor Knight, and had a most profit- 
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able and enjoyable trip. During these ‘ forty 
days in the Wilderness,’ we traveled up- 
wards of 300 miles over the treeless, sage- 
brush plains of eastern Wyoming, and made 
18 camps, sometimes besides an alkaline 
lake, but oftener by asmall spring or stream. 
In this arid region it rained frequently dur- 
ing the first four weeks, and though the rains 
were generally light they greatly surprised 
us. On July 23d, we had a snow-balling 
and alpine flowers in the Medicine Bow . 
Mountains, at an altitude of about 9,000 
feet; while on August 11th and again on 
the 24th, ice formed. 
Thirty-two institutions of learning and 
research, from California to Massachusetts 
and from Minnesota to Texas, were repre- 
sented in this expedition which offered so 
great an opportunity for geological observa- 
vation and study. Here could be seen plains 
6,000 feet or more above sea level, some 
almost smooth and others more or less dis- 
sected, or several one above another all 
with the original bedding disturbed and 
tilted at an angle of from 10 to 30 degrees. 
Above these, in the distance, lay the Ter- 
tiary plateau, which to the eye is an abso- 
lute plain abutting against the granite 
mountains. Here and there over these 
plains are lakes, usually more or less alka- 
line, some without outlets produced by 
the solvent action of water percolating 
through the strata. At this great altitude 
could also be seen sluggish meandering 
streams with closely adjoining horse-shoe 
curves, the equals of any near the sea level. 
Towards the mountains the strata gradually 
stand more and more vertical in series, like 
so many stone walls, with the dike-cut 
granite not far away. On the plains, wind 
action could also be studied, sometimes in 
the linear arrangement of the sage brush, 
but frequently in the general polish and 
occasional faceting of surface pebbles and 
boulders. In general, the opportunity for 
studying geology could hardly be surpassed, 
