Another
ranchman, Mr. Alfred Sensiba, heard of the find and knowing that it
was valuable 'traded' Mr. Hunter a six-shooter for his interest in it.
The specimen was purchased from Messrs. Sensiba Brothers and excavated
by the American Museum in 1906."
[Illustration: Fig. 30.--THE DINOSAUR MUMMY. SKELETON OF A
TRACHODON PRESERVING THE SKIN IMPRESSIONS OVER A LARGE PART OF THE
BODY. _After Osborn_]
THE DINOSAUR "MUMMY."
We all _believe_ that the Dinosaurs existed. But to realize it is not
so easy. Even with the help of the mounted skeletons and restorations,
they are somewhat unreal and shadowy beings in the minds of most of
us. But this "dinosaur mummy" sprawling on his back and covered with
shrunken skin--a real specimen, not restored in any part--brings home
the reality of this ancient world even as the mummy of an ancient
Egyptian brings home to us the reality of the world of the Pharaohs.
The description of this unique skeleton by Professor Henry Fairfield
Osborn first appeared in the Museum Journal for January 1911.[17]
"Two years ago (1908) through the Jesup Fund, the Museum came into
possession of a most unique specimen discovered in August 1908, by the
veteran fossil hunter Charles H. Sternberg of Kansas. It is a large
herbivorous dinosaur of the closing period of the Age of Reptiles and
is known to palaeontologists as _Trachodon_ or more popularly as the
'duck-billed dinosaur.'
"The skeleton or hard parts of these very remarkable animals had been
known for over forty years, and a few specimens of the epidermal
covering, but it was not until the discovery of the Sternberg specimen
that a complete knowledge of the outer covering of these dinosaurs was
gained.
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