From Discovering Dinosaurs in the Old West edited by Kohl and McIntosh
From Discovering Dinosaurs in the Old West edited by Kohl and McIntosh |
Arthur Lakes was more than a geologist. He was a writer, teacher, even a minister. He was also an artist, and he captured much of his field work in sketches and watercolors like this one.
Working at Morrison, Colorado and Como Bluff, Wyoming in the late 1870s, Lakes was one of the army of workers employed by O.C. Marsh to unearth such Mesozoic gems as Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus and Allosaurus. Despite his employment by Marsh, Lakes actually enjoyed a cordial visit from E.D. Cope while he worked at Como Bluff. Though it was the last thing he intended, Lakes greatly exacerbated the animosity between Cope and Marsh. When he found some big dinosaur bones near Morrison, Colorado, he sent specimens to both Cope and Marsh. Cope sent Lakes $100 and asked him to keep quiet about his discovery and, above all, not to tell Marsh. A confused Lakes then asked Marsh to pass the bones along to his arch rival. Marsh did as he was asked, but he was livid about it.
During his dinosaur digging days, Lakes successfully juggled his excavation duties with his work as a teacher at what is now the Colorado School of Mines and his duties as a clergyman. Eventually Lakes retired from fossil collecting, perhaps prompted by Marsh's reluctance to let him share in the publishing of his finds. He went on to work for the U.S. Geological Survey and remained a productive writer throughout his life.
For more information:
Discovering Dinosaurs in the Old West: The Field Journals of Arthur Lakes edited by Kohl and McIntosh
Hunting Dinosaurs by Louie Psihoyos
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Narrative text and graphic design © by Michon Scott - Updated October 14, 2005