Edivard Drifikcr Cope. — Frazer. 97 
Cacti render walking an exercise of care. S. of Santa Fe I first saw 
a jointed globe Cactus with white fiat spines and large flowers. 
I am trying to learn whether these Indians have been semi-civil- 
ized by the "peace policy" of the Jesuits, or whether they are the 
descendants of a once civilized nation, I am not sure, but evidence 
favors the former view." * * 
Sierra Amarilla, N. Mex., September 14. '74. "Dear Father. Our 
route from Santa Fe was up the Chama R. via Abiquin to this place. 
I then left the main party here and with one assistant and two guides, 
went southwest to the divide between the tributaries of the Chama 
and San Juan rivers, for the purpose of finding the Eocene lake bed, 
which I supposed to exist there. In my Bullet. No. 2 of Hayden 
(conclusion), I stated that the fauna of Wyoming probably came 
from the south. I succeeded in finding the beds, and plenty of re- 
mains of fauna; in five days, forty-three species of Vertebrata. The 
basin is 500 miles south of the Wyoming one, and the horizon is the 
very lowest Eocene known, rests on older Cretaceous rock than those 
of Wyoming. The situation thus fulfills my expectations exactly, 
and it now remains to work it up carefully. I already have some nice 
and interesting forms." * * "One of us, R. P. Ainsworth, topog- 
rapher, was accidentally killed by the discharge of his revolver a 
short time after I left camp on my southwest exploration." 
"Eocene Lake Formation, New Mexico, September 15, 1874. 
We got as far as this point far up the Rio Chama, when I had to di- 
vert the route from that laid down in the official instructions from 
W — , in order to make the discovery I expected. * * We traveled 
through a beautiful and mountainous country southwest, finally reach- 
ing Gallinas creek and following it along the northwestern base of 
Gallinas mountain till we reached the mouth of the Cafion des 
Heguas, which is a gorge twenty-five miles long and in places 1,000 
ft. deep. I left and the pack mule at a large spring at the mid- 
dle of it, and pushed on with the guides to the W. end where we 
crossed a low ridge and looked westward far into the flat basin of San 
Juan, tributary of the Great Colorado. But, remarkable to relate, 
the entire length of the cafion I found to be excavated in a rock 
deposit of a fresh water lake, but the western or top ones were noth- 
ing less than the long looked for bad lands of the Eocene! My dream 
of several years was realized and we hunted awhile and then rode to 
our dark camp in the narrow canon in high spirits. Guide No. 2, Jose 
by name, and self rode to some bad lands in another direction south, 
I had seen not long before, and reached there at about twenty-five 
miles from camp. I was delighted to find them Eocene again, of 
the character of those at Evanston, Wyoming; and as soon as we 
picketed horses, we began to find fossil bones. The first thing was a 
turtle, and then Bathmodon (Cope) teeth! and then everything else 
rare and strange till by near sun down I had twenty species of verte- 
brates! all of the lowest Eocene, lower than the lowest at Ft. Bridger. 
The most important find in geology I ever made, and the paleontology 
