12 Story of a Monster Fish 



very long while, a million years or so [over 

 5,000,000 C. H. S.J. It remains in a most extra- 

 ordinary state of preservation-T-will be found in 

 the Geological Gallery. Measuring just fourteen 

 feet in length, it must have weighed between 

 four and five hundred pounds [a thousand like-ly 

 C. H. S.J. It was obtained from the chalk of 

 Kansas, and has quite a remarkable history. It 

 was found by Professor Sternberg who has 

 achieved a world-wide fame for his discovery of 

 fossil fish and his quite amazing skill in dig- 

 ging his finds from the rock in which they are 

 embedded. The specimen was found [by George 

 F. SternbergJ, exposed at the surface of the 

 ground, and was much the worse for wear-and- 

 tear of wind and rain and sun. But Professor 

 Sternberg was equal to the occasion. For just 

 as there are two sides to every question, so there 

 are two sides to every fossil the resourceful dis- 

 coverer determined to get at the other side of 

 this very stale fish ; for the exposed side was use- 

 less. Accordingly he covered it with a thick lay- 

 er of plaster-of-Paris and when this was set he 

 proceeded to dig out the fossil from the bed of 

 chalk. This accomplished, he cut away the rock 

 from the specimen, and eventually succeeded in 

 exposing the whole fish." [The .underside at 

 leastC. H. S.J (Fig. 4.) 



I have quoted Mr. Pycraft at length as he has 

 given the facts about as they occurred except only 

 in giving me, instead of my son credit for the dis- 



