Much to my surprise I received this morning a letter from Harrison, Neb., written by Mr. Utterback, under date of April the 17th, saying that he had decided to give up the fossil business and wished to resign from the Carnegie Museum forces, his resignation to take effect on April the 15th. He says in this letter that he has purchased an outfit, and that he will make a statement to me of cash expended, etc. I am at a perfect loss to understand this action of Mr. Utterback's, as it was Dr. Holland's intention to keep him at work on your quarry until July, at which time Mr. Peterson and Dr. Holland would go out and continue the work. Mr. Utterback's action places me in a most embarrassing position, as we wish particularly to go on with the work on your ranch during the coming summer. I cannot understand Mr. Utterback's reason for suddenly giving up his job and placing the Museum in this position. I am writing you now to know if there was any objection which you had to Mr. Utterback, or whether he had any misunderstanding with you. Under the present circumstances it is very hard for the Museum to find an available man from our force to take up this work. Mr. Douglass is out on the Uinta Reservation. Mr. Peterson was  in charge of the laboratory here and is the only competent man we have to keep in charge of the laboratory, as Dr. Holland took Mr. Coggeshall abroad with him.

	I understand from my conversation with Mr. Peterson and Dr. Holland that you are very anxious to have this work go on, and I assure you that we are just as anxious to get out the material as soon as possible. Therefore I write to say that if it is entirely agreeable to you, and if, as you said before, we could have exclusive right to this field, Mr. Peterson will give up his work here, though this