on my part. As I have said before, I wish to have the accounts inspected, and if at any time I expend money for anything which, in your judgment, is not really needed I will stand for it myself.

You have said at a former time that the Carnegie Museum is good for all expenses incurred by me as your agent, and that is very true. You said you would honor my checks, and you have always done so; but overdrawing on a bank might be, in the absence of the Director and Assistant Director, a quite serious matter and personally, I would rather not carry it too far.

You say that I was expected to pay Messrs Ainge and Kay their wages for March when I arrived, but only $300 was deposited to my account before I left Pittsburg; and this was all I had to pay my transportation, to refit the camp, get new supplies, pay back wages &c; and the initial expenses were, of course, unusually heavy. So far as I know nothing has since been deposited except what I especially asked for. It usually takes us about three weeks to get returns from the museum by mail, so it is a very slow way of doing business. If I had continually overdrawn and sent you a notification every few days I fear, long suffering though you may be, you would have lost patience.

I do not wish to dictate to a superior officer, but I wish you to know how unpleasant it is for me as things are going now. The payroll for May is almost due and I must overdraw to settle two or three other bills which need attention at once.

We need nearly or quite $500 per month for our payroll, to pay regular camp expenses, to buy plaster paris, alcohol, shellac, lumber if more is needed, and to meet the many unforeseen expenses and others which cannot be enumerated before hand. I sent you, some time ago, an estimate of regular expenses but that did not include the latter items enumerated above. I think we will use nearly a ton of plaster per month. If any surplus should accumulate it would come very handy when we begin to move the specimens toward their destination.

If you wish to deposit a less amount monthly and then have me notify you when I overdraw the account, please let me know at once, just how much and at what time the money will be deposited; and I am sure the business can be carried on without worrying either of us.

You have drawn a wrong inference in one respect. What you said to me just before I left Pittsburg did certainly impress itself on my mind as your instructions do always impress themselves, and I carried them out as fully as possible. I found out how matters stood, wrote you a letter, and the first time anyone from the camp went to the post office after my arrival I sent a letter to you, telling you the status of affairs. There was some difference of opinion between the boys concerning two or three things and some unfriendly feeling, but I wrote you that if you would deposit the money I thought I could settle the matter. But I never had any reply to the letter so I suppose it was overlooked on account of your absence from Pittsburg. The matter, however, is now settled. I am well pleased with the way the work is now progressing and we are trying to do better work all the time. We are still working on the two Stegosaurus skeletons, on the bones of No. 45 (young sauropod?) etc. We occasionally strike things of more than usual interest. Some of the latter are,

 Impression of skin of Stegosaurus, about two or three square feet of it as I remember it.

Jaw (perhaps more coming) of large carnivorous Dinosaur.

Jaw of primitive (of course) Mammal.We have also what we hope will turn out to be vertebrae of a carnivorous Dinosaur.     

Apparently Dr. Schaffer enjoyed his trip and visit though he was disappointed at your not being able to accompany him. He seems your true friend. He expressed himself as believing that the ledge across Neilson's Gulch (East of quarry is as good as where we are working. I do not yet agree with him, but there are certainly many bones and large portions of skeletons there.

I expect to go to Vernal today or tomorrow, and mean to take further steps to get land patented. It may be best while we are doing this to include the portion of the ledge east of the gulch. I do not think that we should be piggish but I see no reason why we should not have it under our control after it has cost so much. You could alow [sic] others to work certain portions if you saw fit. Apparently our own quarry is much more extensive in an easternly direction and probably in a westerly direction than we had figured on, and it probably could be worked for a long time without sinking deeper in cut.



Yours in haste,

Earl Douglass