March 25 1907

Dear Prof. Osborn:-

Your letter from Palerino (Mar. 17th) received today. I don't quite understand how you could have received word from Capt. Lyons about my visit to Cairo before my letter written on the 11th reached you. I trust you did get that letter before your departure for home.

Dr. Matthew doubtless has shown you my letter to him so you will know something about the state of our collection at that writing.

Since the Moeritherium skull was found nothing especially good has turned up, although we are adding valuable material to our collection every day. Day before yesterday (23rd) I walked over westward to Markgraf's camp. He is now working about eight or nine miles west of the quarries and about a mile and a half east of the Alexandria camel trail. At this point he obtained last year the Palaeomastodon and an Arsinoitherium skull and he went back there in the hope of finding something more. It seemed about the most likely place for him to work in.

I found that he had been working very faithfully and although he had no skulls he did have three fine pairs of Palaeomastodon lower jaws. These are:

1. An adult with teeth in fine preservation and beautiful incisive teeth - a very large species and individual.

2. Large species - M3 not yet cut through - incisors in perfect condition.

3. Young - with milk molars and 1st permanent molar - the incisin are out but just back of the incisin alveales, on one side, is a short curve, tusk like tooth just appearing. I do not find such a tooth indicated in any of Dr. Andrew's figures.

These jaws, together with our fine pair from Quarry B and numerous fragmentary jaws from both quarries give us an excellent representation of the lower dentition. Then we have the skull and two palates, one very fine with all twelve molars and premolars finely preserved and just beginning to wear on M2, and numerous fragmentary upper jaws. Also some forty or fifty single teeth - molars premolars and incisors.

The Moeritherium material Markgraf got from near one of Beadnell's prospects, about a mile east of his present camp. I think Beadnell got Moeritherium from this same locality. The front of this Moeritherium skull is gone but back of the 1st premolar it is in very good condition. The two lower jaws (single (?) only) are very good - with molars and premolars but without incisors, although one has the front of the jaw well preserved showing the alveoli.

Markgraf has retained his full outfit, camels and men. He said he could not (?), on account of his agreement with them, for the work which he has been doing it has been better for him to keep his camels. He thinks now that he must leave about April 1st. Says he must get back to Cairo to attend to some business and that he may return later on in the month to look for some small things (Hyracus etc.) for Dr. Grass, so by another week he will probably be gone. I thought he had best continue prospecting where he is for a few days longer and then spend the remainder of his stay here in searching for another "pocket" in the upper horizon, where he obtained the small jaws before, while you were out here.

I believe he is a very conscientious worker and has done his best. Olsen and I like him very much. He asked if I thought you would buy a skull of Arsinoitherium if he should ever find one in the future. I told him I thought that you would, if it were a fair adult skull.

Here at the quarries things go on very much as before. We finished a big stripping in Quarry B about a week ago and Olsen has had three men at work prospecting ever since. Although he has obtained many good bones, the strip has not been up to expectations and if nothing very good shows up in a day or two more we shall abandon this, for just on the east side of the same hill where there were old prospect holes we have opened up a fairly good bone layer and are stripping there now. The men have also finished an extensive strip in Quarry, uncovering a stratum from which several very fine jaws have been taken already. We are getting quite a bit of Pterodon from this quarry. The advantage of the quarry work is that although we have not found a single good skull yet, we do get good skeleton material, which we would not get in any quantity elsewhere.

The record book shows about 250 specimens - with foot bones separate teeth and ribs and hind bones not numbered. We still lack a good pelvis of Arsinoitherium, otherwise the anatomy of this animal is pretty well represented in our collection. Palaeomastodon skeleton material we have not done so well in.

Our young Arsinoitherium skull turns out rather better than it looked at first. Mr. Herrman will make a very good exhibition specimen of it. The (?) are gone and it is some damaged about the occipital region, the anterior bones are broken and the arch is weathered on one side, but the teeth are good and the premaxillae are present.

Keeping up with Quibell's men in the quarries has kept me pretty busy so far but from now on I shall do more prospecting, and open up various prospects which I have in mind, and also go down to the middle Eocene in search of more Moeritherium.

Three of Quibell's men have left for (?). One of them was very ill and was obliged to go. A second man we were glad to be rid of (he was the only one of the 12 who was not a good worker) and the third man (Ali, the 9 (?) man) went along to look after the sick man.

We are getting to know the men now and are learning just how to handle them. We have no trouble with them and the men seem well contented. Mr. Wendell's letter with money for a sheep came last week and yesterday the men enjoyed their feast. I am writing to Mr. Wendell today.

Ali, the cook, burned his hand rather badly the other day and is taking a few days off to see his family at Helonan and do some shopping for us at the same time.

On the first favorable days after your letter written to the (?) of Naples I took a series of photographs in the Quarries and at Qasr el Saga. I directed Diradour to forward the better of the duplicate proofs to you and the others to me. I shall repeat the exposures if the print are not satsifactory. I have not heard from Diradour yet, though.

In two days, I shall send you another letter with statement of expenses, balance on hand etc.

The weather is perfect, if it continues long this way we shall have no complaint to make. They all say, though, that April is hot.

Our health is good, and now that we have a fair collection we are feeling much more comfortable although we shall not be satisfied until we get another skull or two.

I trust you are having as pleasant a voyage on the Celtic as we had on the Cedric and that you will find all well at the museum.

I am, with regard

Very sincerely yours

Walter Granger