1913
  • Over 200 important South African fossils were purchased from Robert Broom. An exchanged with the University of California brought a good collection of skulls and skeletons from Rancho-la-Brea for use in the Pleistocene Hall. Expedition to the Eocene of New Mexico, by Walter Granger. The party consisted of Walter Granger, Mr. George Olsen, Wm. J. Sinclair of Princeton and Mr. Jack Martin, of Farmington, who was employed as cook and teamster. They left Farmington June 17th and proceeded to Chico Springs, by way of Gallego Canyon. The first working camp was established at Chico Springs, June 20th to 27th, then to Ojo Alamo, June 27th to July 16th, then to Kimbetoh Wash, about 4 miles above the agency, July 28th to Aug. 10th.On Aug. 19th the party proceeded eastward to Torrejon Arroyo were 2 camps were established, one on the West Fork, Aug. 20th to 26th, and one on the East Fork, Aug. 21st to Sept. 2nd. Continuing eastward camp was maintained at Ojo San Jose from Sept. 5th to 8th. The return journey was started on Sept. 9th. A stopover of 1 day was made at the West Fork of Torrejon and a half a day was spent at Alamo Arroyo. The head of Escavada Wash was reached on Sept. 13th. From this camp Dr. Sinclair returned to the East on Sept. 15th, while Granger and Olsen continued to prospect at this base until Sept. 30th, when the return to Farmington was begun. The returned via Kembetoh, thence up Kimbetoh Wash to its head, where 2 days were spent prospecting. From here over the divide to Canon Blanco, down Blanco to the Mission and across Huerfano Butte to Chico Springs, then to Ojo Alamo, to Pina Veta China and into Farmington on Oct. 7th. Granger left for New York on Oct. 8th. Olsen remained to pack up the collection and returned Oct. 22nd. Prof. Osborn with Mr. Osborn Spier visited camp for a few days in Aug. while at the old Adalpho ranch on Kimbetoh Wash. The summer was exceptionally dry and hot and practically no range feed for the horses was obtainable until they reached Torrejon Arroyo. Due to local rains they fared better. The extreme heat, numerous sandstorms and scarcity of grass, retarded considerably the work during the first half of the season. In partial compensation they found, with only 1 or 2 exceptions, an abundance of excellent arroyo well-water in every section that they desired to camp. Only at Ojo San Jose did they depend on a spring for their supply of water and that chiefly due to a typhoid epidemic. The Wyoming Eocene Expedition of 1913, by Wm. Stein. Mr. Stein and Mr. P. L. Turner, of Elmhurst, L. I, an Amherst man and member of Loomis' Patagonian Expedition of 1911 were the only members of this expedition. Mr. Turner joined Stein at St. Joe in the middle of June and they proceeded immediately to the upper 5-Mile and 10-Mile Creek region by way of the Big Horn River. The party of 1911 worked the lower section of these 2 creeks but did not ascend to their heads because of the scarcity of water and their outfits were big and unwieldy. Stein found conditions favorable this year and by making dams to hold rainwater and with the small outfit was able to establish camps almost to the top of 5-Mile Creek, over 15 miles from the mouth, and from these camps reach almost all the unexplored area. It was probable that the beds of this area was either the top of the Gray Bull or the base of the Lysite. A considerable collection of fragmentary material was obtained. The party moved early in August to the head of Whistle Creek on the east slope of McCulloch Peak, camping at Alkali Springs working the exposures thoroughly, especially the higher levels. Only a meager collection was obtained from this locality, though 2 weeks were spent here. From McCulloch Peak the outfit went directly to Clark's Fork Basin, where 3 horizons, Clark's Fork, intermediate beds and Gray Bull, were worked from 2 camps, one on the head of Big Sand Coulee and the other at the mouth of Pat O'Hara Creek. From the later camp ground gone over in 1912 was reexamined but yielded little. From the Big Sand Coulee camp a strip of ground not explored before was worked. A small but important collection was made there. Leaving the Clark's Fork Basin the party traveled to Cody where Mr. Turner left for the east in the middle of September. Mr. Stein continued on to the head of Dry Creek where he obtained a small collection of fragmentary jaws, probably from the Lysite, and then returned to Otto. At Otto he made a camp at the Saunders ranch and worked the head of Elk and Dorsey Creeks until early October when inclement weather put a stop to further prospecting. He shipped 3 boxes of fossils and put the outfit into winter quarters. Expedition of 1913 to the Agate Springs Quarry, Sioux Co., NE, by Albert Thomson. Mr. and Mrs. Thomson left New York on June 3rd for the field. Mr. Thomson acted as camp cook for the entire season, from June until Oct. 15th. Mr. Chas. Barner, who had been employed during the winter as preparator was Thomson field assistant. He had blasted and scrapped off more area of the quarry before Thomson's arrival. Moropus was nearly as common as Diceratherium this season, about 7800 lbs. of material was collected. Expedition to the Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada, 1913, by Barnum Brown. This years collection comes exclusively from the Belly River formation exposed on the Red Deer River near Steveville, and contains more exhibition material than that collected in 1912. The party consist of Barnum Brown. Leader, P. C. Kaisen and George Sternberg, assistants, and Bob Reid, cook. Sternberg left the party on July 12th to become a member of the Canadian Geological Survey.. At this time Reid was promoted to assistant. A. F. Johnson was then engaged as cook and also gave valuable aide in the work of collecting. Mr. Wm. E. Cutler, who since May had been collecting near Sand Creek for the Calgary Natural History Society joined their party on Aug. 8th and worked with them until the end of the season. Kaisen and Sternberg left New York May 28th and on June 3rd established camp � mile below Steveville where Brown had worked last fall. They were joined by Reid with the horses from winter quarters at Tolman 100 miles up the river. Brown reached camp July 5th. From Steveville down to the Old Mexico Ranch, a distance of 15 miles, there are 3 large pockets of typical bad land exposures. The first pocket is exposed on the left bank of the river extending to 3 miles below Steveville. Second pocket is on the right bank extending from opposite Steveville to One Tree Creek and Circle Ranch. Third pocket is on the right bank at the mouth of Sand Creek and its tributaries. From the Old Mexico ranch down river to Tom Owen's ranch, a distance of 20 miles, the banks are precipitous and fossils are difficult to collect. For 10 miles below Owen's ranch the beds are grass covered and the banks are gently slopping with occasional bare face as far down as Indian Creek where they give place to marine shales. The total length of the Belly River exposures along the Red Deer amounts to approximately 70 miles and in a direct east and west line the beds are about 40 miles wide. It was from the first pocket that they secured the Monoclonius skull and Corythosaurus skeleton last year. They searched this pocket thoroughly and found some choice material. On July 19th moved down river 12 miles to the third pocket at the mouth of Sand Creek. Meanwhile on July 1st, the Canadian Geological Survey party under Charles H. Sternberg came down river from Drumheller. By agreement each party respected the others territory and the Canadian party worked only in the second pocket near the Circle ranch where the secured fine material. They finished this pocket shortly before the close of the season and moved down below the Old Mexico Ranch. The bad lands of the third pocket are more extensive than elsewhere and they secured the bulk of their material in the Sand Creek region. They continued their policy of selecting only the finest material in regards to exhibition and cost of preparing. Anything new they took regardless. They mainly left trachodon specimens, although very good specimens were marked and left for the next season. While employed by the Calgary Natural History, Mr. Cutler found a Trachodon that was complete except for the tail. As Cutler lacked the experience to collect the skeleton, Brown agreed to take it out for the Society free of charge in consideration of another prospect, that turned out to be a large part of a Deinodon skeleton. Kaisen and Reid spent 5 days removing the Calgary specimen. On Sept. 11th Brown took the motor boat down to the end of the formation. In a bare cut-bank near Mr. Stapleton's ranch Brown found a Monoclonius skull. He collected it and returned to camp on Sept. 15th. They worked until the end of the month boxing specimens, grading the road and hauling boxes to Brooks. Brown returned from a prospecting trip to the Bow River on Oct. 1st and loaded the 76 boxes onto a car. Kaisen returned to New York, and Brown spent the next 10 days prospecting the Belly River beds below Lethbridge as far as Tabor. At Big Island 10 miles below Lethbridge Brown found some bones and teeth of Deinodon, Trachodon and Palaeoscincus.
19121914