Finally
perhaps, after innumerable disappointments, a trail of fragments leads
up to a really promising prospect. A cautious investigation indicates
that an articulated skeleton is buried at this point, and that not
too much of it has "gone out" and rolled in weathered fragments down
the slope. For the tedious and delicate process of disinterring the
skeleton from the rock he will need to keep ever in mind the form and
relations of each bone, the picture of the skeleton as it may have
been when buried. The heavy ledges above are removed with pick and
shovel, often with help of dynamite and a team and scraper. As he gets
nearer to the stratum in which the bones lie the work must be more and
more careful. A false blow with pick or chisel might destroy
irreparably some important bony structure. Bit by bit he traces out
the position and lay of the bones, working now mostly with awl and
whisk-broom, uncovering the more massive portions, blocking out the
delicate bones in the rock, soaking the exposed surfaces repeatedly
with thin "gum" (mucilage) or shellac, channeling around and between
the bones until they stand out on little pedestals above the quarry
floor. Then, after the gum or shellac has dried thoroughly and
hardened the soft parts, and the surfaces of bone exposed are further
protected by pasting on a layer of tissue paper, it is ready for the
"plaster jacket." This consists of strips of burlap dipped in
plaster-of-paris and pasted over the surface of each block until top
and sides, all but the pedestal on which it rests, are completely
cased in, the strips being pressed and kneaded close to the surface of
the block as they are laid on.
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