1904
- Expedition of 1904 to the Bridger Basin. The party consisted of Mr. Walter Granger, in charge, Mr.
Paul Miller, assistant from the museum, who remained with the party for the entire season, Dr. W. D.
Matthew, who joined the party at Henry's Fork about Aug. 15th and remained until the last of September,
Mr. C. S. Mead, a volunteer form Ohio State University, who joined the party at the beginning and stayed
until August 20th and Mr. George Olsen of Laramie, cook and teamster. Mr. Granger and Mr. Miller left the
museum late in May reaching Fort Bridger on the 28th where they were joined by Mr. Mead and a few
days later by Mr. Olsen, who had driven the Bone Cabin Quarry team with a light buckboard from
Medicine Bow. Camp was established June 3rd on Cottonwood Creek about half a mile below the
stage road. There are considerable exposures here, but were rather barren aside from a good skull and
jaws of Palaeosyops. About 10 days were spent here and the outfit was moved southward along the
"horse ranch trail" to Summer's Dry Creek, where 4 days were spent prospecting. A good skull of
Hyrachyus and some skeletal material of Pantolestes was found. The scarcity of good water forced the
party to move to Cat-tail Springs, 7 miles eastward along the base of Henry's Fork Table. From this
camp and the following one at the mouth of the Cat-tail Springs draw a layer was examined that included
the middle and uppermost section of the beds and was fairly good collecting. On July 3rd the party reached
Spanish John's Meadow and the following day camp was established at the big spring near the top of
Twin Buttes. The bad-lands reached by this camp were disappointing. About 2 weeks were spent at
this place, then the party returned to Spanish John's Meadow. A day was spent examining a rather
small pocket which yielded some Uintatherium bones. 6 miles south a half day search was made at
Lane Meadow, which was fruitless. The party proceeded to Henry's Fork and made camp at Bullock's
Ranch, about 3 miles above Burnt Fork P. O. The Henry's Fork exposures proved to be the richest
encountered during the trip and the remainder of the summer was spent there. About a month was spent
at Bullock Ranch, another month at the old stamping grounds near Summer's Ranch and the remainder
of the season at Burnt Fork P. O. and Lane Meadow. At several points 3 calcareous layers were
discovered, which were especially rich in small forms, such as monkeys, rodents and Hyopsodus. The
most notable of these layers was one found by Miller opposite Burnt Fork P. O., which yielded over 100
jaw fragments in one days collecting. In the fall of 1903 Granger learned of a Uintatherium specimen
discovered by a brother of Mr. Thomas Widdap of Burnt Fork P. O. Prof. Knight of the University of
Wyoming had seen it and agreed to purchase it. Due to Prof. Knight's death, Mr. Widdap agreed to sell
the prospect to the AMNH. The prospect was located about a mile south of Lane Meadow and 2 weeks
were spent in the excavation. It proved to be about 1/3rd a skeleton in splendid condition and included
many vertebrae and ribs. A fine pair of lower jaws of Patriofelis was nearby. The party was disbanded
on Oct. 12th at Fort Bridger. The collection comprising 15 boxes was shipped from Carter. The field
record shows that 281 specimens were collected. The report of the Expedition of 1904 by Barnum
Brown. There were 4 expeditions this summer. The first was in the Fort Pierre of South Dakota. It
consisted of Mr. Brown and his assistant Mr. Leroy Parkin, cook. They outfitted at Edgemont and traveled
20 miles, establishing camp on the head of Moss Agate Creek, near a blowout that had been
prospected the previous summer. 3 fine specimens were collected. An Elasmosaur type plesiosaur
with skull and jaws with about 15 feet of neck and a front paddle. A second plesiosaur was found with
complete skull and jaws, a complete paddle and many disassociated bones. The third important specimen
form this locality was an uncrushed mosasaur skull and jaws and partial skeleton. 3 weeks were spent
here. 21 boxes were sent back to the museum. The 2nd expedition was to the Fort Benton on the
Crow Reservation, 60 miles S of Billings, MT where a fine skull and jaws of the crocodylian, Teleorhynus,
with some disassociated vertebrae was obtained. Finishing the work at Fort Benton in 2 weeks, they
traveled N to Billings 120 miles to the Laramie exposures of Hell Creek. Very few fragments were
found on the road, although they followed the Yellowstone River 80 miles along good exposures. In
the Hell Creek exposures, camp was made on the head of Vale Creek, and the beds from the region
prospected in 1903 to the areas southward were explored. After a week, camp was broken and they
crossed over to the Judith River beds on the Musselshell River. A Trachodon partial skeleton was
partial worked out then covered over, as there was not time enough to work it out. The Judith River
beds promise well for a full season of work. The 3rd expedition was into unnoted Laramie beds on the
Chaco River 90 miles north of Gallup, NM. This field was reported by Messrs. Pepper and Hyde 2 years
ago. Several miles of these country was thoroughly prospected, and although at least a hundred limb
bones of dinosaurs were found, none were complete, usually they lack both ends. A fragment of
Ceratops frill was discovered and a small horn core was collected, but most the most common
fragments were of the Diclonius type, and a very large skull and jaws was collected. The western edge
of the Torrejon beds were touched and a few fragments were collected, but for the most part they were
barren of fossils. They spent 3 weeks in NM and then returned to Gallup and visited the Anita mines near
Williams, AZ, where Mr. P. C. Bicknell had found Pleistocene fossils in small caves. On the surface
there is no evidence of these deposits and they have been located by copper miners sinking prospecting
holes through them by chance. 3 such fissures were found this year, but very little bone was secured
from them. As much of the material as was available was shipped from Gallup, NM. The 4th expedition
was to the Pleistocene fissure in northern Arkansas, 15 miles south of Harrison. A new shaft was sunk
beside the opening of the old one, making an opening 12 feet long and 7 feet wide and 25 feet deep. 3 men
were kept working, most of the time blasting and taking out heavy aragonite blocks that had cemented
the fissure into a solid mass. The material was all looked over and the finer residual clays carried down
the mountain and washed through sieves. About 10,000 specimens were secured, which contains about
40 genera and more than 50 species.
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