Hell Creek, Montana
July 12th 1902
My Dear Dr. Matthew:-
Your letter received at Miles City. Hope you have struck favorable country by this time. Dr. Lull joined me at Miles, found him awaiting me there on my return from the Powder River. I went to the head waters of the eastern tributaries about a hundred miles south of Miles City and found some Laramie fossils but all in clay badly crushed and weathered or rather broken before deposit.
It would not be profitable to work this locality.
We are now camped seventeen miles from the Missouri River on the head of Hell Creek. Pulled in here to the old Siebe ranch til night. Dr. Lull and I started out Thursday morning and I located two good prospects one in clay which we have not worked. The other is Trileritos and Forosaurus consisting of the femur which are about four feet eight inches long, two vertebrae and the head of another limb bone in sight in a sandstone concretion in a soft sand bank. There may be more of this specimen in sight but I am not entertaining great hopes of it.
I cannot adise [sic] you to come to this locality in case you are not succeeding until I see better prospect although there may be plenty of fossils here for we have prospected only one day.
The country greatly resembles Lance Creek in Wyoming along the head ot the breaks but the Main Canons are certainly bad lands, almost impossible lands I might say. if you are not making progress try the Laramie on Musselshell why don�t you. From all reports the exposures on this Creek are the same and they certainly look as favorable as lance Creek did in Wyoming. The great drawback to this region is the distances to freight fossils. It is over a hundred and thirty miles to Miles, the only available point. Let me hear from you when possible and give my regards to the boys.
Sincerely Yours,
Barnum Brown
Miles City, Montana.
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