The Cretaceous Seas 167 



beaten high against it and on evaporating left a 

 thick layer of salt behind. And so the day pass- 

 ed, every moment showing us a new phase of the 

 Creator's handiwork. We soon decided that as 

 the sea life here was so luxuriant, we would build 

 a ship to sail the quiet waters of the Mosasaurian 

 Bay. I succeeded in planning one, with Maud's 

 assistance, that promised safty and comfort. I 

 selected half a dozen straight redwood logs, 

 thirty feet long; burned off the ends and 

 branches. With the aid of fire dug them out, and 

 stretched over them the dried skin of mosasaurs. 

 (Many had been killed in their battles and we 

 had secured their skins). Each compartment 

 was air tight and very bouyant, I rived out 

 boards from the redwood logs, and lashed them 

 across the boats for a platform, on which we 

 built cabins fore and aft, and erected a main 

 mast from which our sails were stretched from 

 yard arms, manipulated with ropes from the 

 same tough hide that we geared as sails. Huge 

 rocks we heaved on deck and attached ropes to 

 them and used them as anchors. We made state 

 rooms, kitchen, and sitting room, amid ship. 

 After many days of labor, we finished our craft, 

 and were ready for life on the ocean wave. 



We resolved not to venture far from shore and 

 to cast anchor in some quiet land locked bay at 

 night, Maud was to handle the steering apparat- 

 us, while I cared for the sails, Maud cooked 

 flainty morsels from land and sea and bayou. We 



