Jensen, Utah, Aug. 30, 1910

Dr. Wm. J. Holland

Pittsburg, Pa.



My Dear Dr. Holland:-

I have your letter of Aug. 22nd and hasten to reply. In later letters than you had received I think I have answered most of your questions. But nothing else can give you so good an idea of what is being done and what brought to light as a diagram of the skeletons and other bones at the quarry, so I have made a tracing from my chart -- or one of my charts -- of the portion which contains the two larger skeletons. It did not take a great amount of time to make it and it is well anyhow to have a duplicate filed in the office so that in case of accident the records will not all be lost.

The chart is drawn on a scale of two larger squares to the foot. Not all of the bones which do not belong with the more complete skeletons are represented. Nearly all the bones are apparently complete but when only parts are seen they are sometimes represented by incomplete outlines.

As you can see the dorsals of No. one have been detached just anterior to the pelvis and are inverted. They are still running to the westward but are not yet all uncovered. I think we have nearly all of the caudals except the 12th to about the 21st which were weathered out and the processes gone or injured. We probably will find a few more caudals. The fellows tail must have been at least 40 ft long.

We found only the anterior vertebrae of the neck of 25 and ends of ribs behind pelvis of No. 1. No. 25 is a neck complete, and detached from the body, and at least several feet away. It is no cause for dismay then that the skull was detached from the atlas. Of course I hoped to find it there, as then we would see it sooner but from my work in the quarry I am just as confident that we will find the skull as ever and probably in good condition. The fact that we have found no fragments of it is a hopeful sign. I believe, too, that we will find the fore limbs of No. 1. You see we have not yet got to the anterior portion of the dorsal series. The area covered by the lower left hand portion of the chart is not uncovered and here are certainly great expectations. If the neck and head of No. 40 are in place we would find them in this region. Here we expect to solve the problem whether or not No. 25 is the neck of No. 1. By the way I see I have not represented the neck (No. 25) on a large enough scale. My former measurements evidently were no mistake. If there should be the remainder of a skeleton to match the neck we certainly have "the great and terrible beast! We are extending the cut and getting the dirt away from this region and I certainly hope that I can report on it before very long. We are certainly having a job but I have no complaint to make. The tails and other bones as they run back go well toward the middle of the hard "reef of sandstone so we have had to work our way part way (about 6 ft) through the thing. And then we get other bones all along and have to chart number de [sic] up and pack these. Then there are bones nearly all the way down to the bottom of cut, where we have excavated, under the anterior caudals of No. 40. There is no indication of bones giving out east, west, or beneath. Toward the sky is the only place where we can cast our eyes into its deepths [sic] and say, "Surely there are no bones there."

As you see, the tail of No. 40 is quite a little disturbed and we expect to get a good many vertebrae yet. It is not Diplodocus. It must be Morosaurus or something we do not know. We have seen parts of it almost to the neck and it certainly is a remarkable skeleton so far.

Yes we have the right femur, tibia, and astragalus of No. 1. The femur is about 23 in. across head and 66 in. long. Tibia about 4 1/2 ft.

The smaller tail under the tail of No. 40 we hope to know more about soon.

At last our force which worked together so pleasantly and peacefully for nearly a year, is broken. Mr. McHugh sold some mining property had a time and perhaps some disappointment -- we dont know all, but has gone to his claim in the reservation or said he was going. I am sorry for him and sorry to lose him. Mr. Ainge, however, the best all round man I ever had experience with, is doing the shooting and so far has done as well as Mr. M. could have done. I have two young men whom you did not know hauling out dirt in the cut. Mr. Ainge and Mr. Neilson will work with the powder and help me with the bones.

I think on the whole the rock is getting harder as we go in and down but we don't find anything so far which we cannot saw. Sometimes the only way is to break the bones in pieces out of the rock, but the bones in such cases are very solid.

Mr. Carnegie I am sure can not help being more than pleased with the results here.

Mrs. Douglass, and I, and, I am sure, the men, were they down here, would wish to be remembered. I just told Gawin that I was writing to Dr. Holland and asked if he wanted me to send any thing. He said "Send him some wouds" (words). I sincerely hope that Mrs. Holland and your sons will soon recover their health.

Please excuse haste as I have so little time for this kind of work.

O, I wanted to tell you. A man wanted to get the contract for hauling our stuff to Dragon. I told him I had wished, if possible to take it all in one grand funeral procession so I could go with it and make the haulers the warmer if they didn't handle it right. Then, too it would save storing and one or two more handlings. I rather think I could get the teams, but am not sure. I told him however that I would write to you about it.

Have they yet changed the terrible freight rate on fossils?

The man who wished to do our hauling wants 80c/ per 100 lbs. That is about what the Uinta Ry Charge.

If there is anything I have not made clear let me know.

I came near forgetting to mention that I have found some bones. Not dinosaur, I think, which puzzle me. Two, either Radius & Ulna or Tibia & Fibula are co-ossified at one end but not the other. They are about 22 in. long [sketch]. I cant think what it can be unless a Amanodont [?] reptile or a Cracker Jack of a turtle. Found also a peculiar jaw bone near.



Yours in haste

Earl Douglass