450 THE WYOMING FOSSIL FIELDS EXPEDITIOX 



Upon tlieir arrival the visitors were conducted to the university, 

 which President Smiley had thrown open as headquarters during 

 their sta}'' in Laramie. At noon luncheon was served on the univer- 

 sity campus by the camp cooks, and many memV>ers of the party 

 had their first experience of camp life. In the afternoon of the same 

 day a permanent organization was effected, and, besides tlie usual 

 ofHcers, referees were elected for tlie leading branches of geolog}', 

 paleontolog}^, botany, zoology, and photography. 



An unfortunate mistake had been made in connection with the 

 shipping of the tents for the expedition, which were to have been 

 ready for occupanc}'' on the evening of the 19th. Luckily, however, 

 the bedding was at hand, and the weary men were not loath to make 

 up their beds and roll into them, taking their choice between the 

 floor of the university and the campus. 



The perfecting of arrangements for an expedition on so large a 

 scale was no easy task, and it was late in the afternoon of the 20th 

 before it was accomplished. That evening an informal rece{)tion 

 was tendered the visitors in the university auditorium. 



The following morning all were astir very early. Each man was 

 busy selecting such things as he deemed necessary for the journey. 

 The wagons arrived at nine o'clock, and ])\' ten they were nearly all 

 loaded and tlie leading team had started, heading west and north, 

 across the Laramie Plains. Thus was inaugurated the largest expedi- 

 tion of the kind of which there is any record. 



Tlie men composing the part}' represented almost ever}' State from 

 the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Minnesota to Texas. Some of 

 them had never Ijefore slept in a camp overnight, and were entirely 

 unaccustomed to rough camp cooking ; many had had no experience 

 whatever of camp life of any sort. The journey from one end to the 

 other, however, was marked by unselfishness, justice, and kindness, 

 and the proverbial " kicker " was consequently unheard of. 



It may be of some interest to know how the cooking was done and 

 how the meals were served. The organization was divided into messes 

 of ten men each, and with every mess there were three wagons — two 

 for transporting the members of the i)arty and one for conveying the 

 food, beds, and tents. With each mess there were two teamsters and 

 a cook, so that each formed in reality an independent i)arty. The 

 mess wagons were provided with the western " grulj boxes," such as 

 have been used on the plains and in the mountains for many years. 

 The cooking was done on o])en fires and the baking in a Dutch oven 



