May 29, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



871 



Part II., Ottawa, 1902. I was especially sur- 

 prised to see by the table of the distribution 

 of land and fresh-water Cretaceous verte- 

 brates of the west, that many of the species 

 we procured in these bone-beds on Dog Creek, 

 some of which Professor Cope named on the 

 spot, as I distinctly remember, are placed in 

 the Montana coliman, which on page 9 is 

 placed below the Pierre. I was the original 

 discoverer of the fish MyledapTius hipartitus 

 Cope. As I remember, he gave the specific 

 name from the fact that the enamel on one 

 side of the tooth was dark and light-colored 

 on the other. With this species were hun- 

 dreds of teeth of Diclonius, Bysganus, Paleo- 

 scincus, Aublysodon, ntmiberless fragments of 

 the beautifully sculptured shells of the turtles 

 Trionyx and Gompsemys, bones of Campso- 

 saurus, scales of Lepidoius, etc. In the list 

 referred to I am astonished to find the genera 

 Diclonius and Dysganus not represented in 

 the Judith Eiver column. If I mistake not 

 I discovered the species of Dysganus he named 

 in honor of the Peigan Indians on the spot. 

 The four species certainly belong to the Judith 

 Eiver group. These remarks also apply to the 

 three species of Diclonius. The new species 

 of Monoclonius do not appear in the Judith 

 River column. As they were discovered near 

 Cow Island forty miles below Dog Creek, I 

 will speak of them later. The facts I have 

 here mentioned can readily be substantiated, 

 if collectors will work over the summit of the 

 Bad-lands, east of Dog Creek, as we found 

 inexhaustible deposits of the genera mentioned 

 above, excepting Monoclonius, of course all 

 mingled together. As we were unable to dis- 

 cover any good specimens of complete skulls 

 or bones in this region. Professor Cope took 

 his guide and started on an exploring trip 

 down the river. A few days later he sent 

 word to us by his scout to move camp to Cow 

 Island. The astonishing feat we accomplished, 

 of getting our outfit on top of the Bad-lands, 

 over slopes so steep that we had been obliged 

 on horseback to make long angles in order to 

 make the ascents. After fourteen hours of 

 the most strenuous effort human nature is 

 capable of we got to the level prairie. In 

 one place our four-horse wagon with team 



attached made three complete somersaults and 

 landed on a ledge of sandstone right side up. 

 The next day, while traveling along between 

 the foothills of the Judith River Mountains, 

 we saw in the distance a horseman approach- 

 ing, whom we soon recognized as the professor. 

 Before he reached us the scout came out from 

 behind some hill to our south and intercepted 

 him. An exciting conversation took place, 

 judging from their gestures. The scout was 

 the first to come to the wagon. Without a 

 word he took his personal outfit and started 

 toward Port Benton. The cook followed him 

 until out of our hearing, when they had an 

 earnest talk. On his return to us he shouldered 

 his blankets and grip, starting for a wood 

 camp on the river, after a talk with Cope. 

 We were never told the cause of these deser- 

 tions, but learned afterwards that the scout 

 had run across Sitting Bull's command in the 

 Dry Fork of the Missouri, not many miles 

 from where we proposed to make our next 

 camp, and being unable to induce tHe pro- 

 fessor to give up his expedition, left us alone 

 in an unknown country. With double labor 

 to perform, we pressed on and mad& our camp 

 on the river a few miles below Cow Island, 

 on the opposite side at some old steamboat 

 snubbing-posts. We made no other while 

 Cope was with us. He took passage dovm 

 the river about October 15. I find by con- 

 sulting the following letter that Professor 

 Cope had become confused in regard to the 

 localities of the four specimens we found near 

 Cow Island of the genus Monoclonius: 



Philadelphia, Dec. 31st, 18S9. 

 Dear Mr. Sternberg : 



1 am going over the fossils you and Mr. Isaac 

 collected on the N. side of the Missouri River in 

 1876. I send you a paper showing how far I have 

 got along with the study. I want to ask you 

 some questions. 1st, Did you get the Monoclonius 

 you marked, at exactly the same spot as where 

 I dug up (with your help) the bones of the ani- 

 mal I so named? If not, how far off did you get 

 them? I refer especially to the animals figured 

 on PI. XXIII., figs. 2 and 2a. 



2nd. Isaac got a lot of bones somewhere in the 

 same neighborhool, I think further west. How 

 far off was that? There are four separate ani- 

 mals, all supposed to come from the place where 



