DERISION 
In my anxiety and enthusiasm, I used up, in photo¬ 
graphing the first skull I found, the only two photographic 
plates which remained in the camera I had brought with 
me up there. In order to obtain a fuller view of the skull 
on the negatives, I placed it on a rudimentary stand I 
constructed with broken branches of a tree. The sun had 
already set when I discovered the two smaller skulls, and 
in any case I should not have been able to photograph 
them that day. Well recognizing their immense value, I 
enveloped them in my coat, which I turned into a kind 
of sack by tying the sleeves together, and, with a number 
of vertebrae and a knee-joint I had collected, proceeded 
to carry the entire load, weighing some sixty pounds, back 
to camp, a mile away. 
On my arrival there I met with a good deal of derision 
from my ignorant men. I was faced with a problem. 
Had I told the men the immense value of those fossils, I 
feared they might be tempted to steal them and sell them 
whenever we first reached a civilized spot—-which, true 
enough, might not be for many months; a fact my men 
did not know and never for one moment realized. If I 
did not tell them, I should have to stand their silly derision 
as long as the journey should last, for they openly and 
loudly argued among themselves the view that I had gone 
mad, and what better proof could they have than my 
carrying a heavy load of “ ugly stones ” as my personal 
baggage ? 
Of the two I came to the conclusion that derision was 
better than being robbed. So I took no one into my con¬ 
fidence. I merely stored the fossils carefully away in a 
large leather case, meaning to take them out some day to 
photograph them as a precaution in case of loss. Unfor¬ 
tunately the opportunity never offered itself, for we made 
forced marches every day, from early morning until dark, 
and unpacking and repacking was very inconvenient, each 
package having loops of rope fastened round, in order to 
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