Tracking the Brach
On May 1, 1997, rain threatened the enthusiastic crowd hunkered outside Dinosaur Valley Museum on Main Street. Finally fierce gales compelled the assembly to move indoors at Two Rivers Convention Center. The event was the first-day issue of the Postal Commemorative Society’s “World of Dinosaurs” stamp set. Included in illustrator James Gurney’s prehistoric panorama was Brachiosaurus Altithorax, whose bones were unearthed near Grand Junction during the summer of 1900.
When I found this gold-stamped envelope recently, I wondered whatever happened to those bones.
First Day Issue of The World of Dinosaurs collectible stamps
I began with an Internet search and quickly learned why the word dinosaur is tossed around this Valley like a 140-million-year-old femur. We are part of the Morrison Formation, a geological haven for dinosaur bones and fossils. When Jurassic-era dinosaurs roamed western Colorado, it was a wetland similar to today’s Florida Everglades. As dinosaurs died out, our marshes became perfect tombs preserving the past. Today the Grand Valley is part of the Dinosaur Diamond, home to many unique discoveries and visited by thousands each year.
It all started with a letter…
In 1877, a rather infamous
competition had begun between two paleontologists, Othniel Marsh and Edward
Cope, to discover the most — and the most sensational — dinosaur bones. The
“Bone Wars” continued into the 20th century, making dinosaurs a household
word. In 1899, the Field Columbian Museum in Chicago
joined in the hunt. Sparing no expense, it sanctioned its assistant
paleontologist, Elmer S. Riggs, to lead the expedition.
Riggs
started his quest out West after hearing railroad stories that dinosaur bones
actually littered the hillsides! He sent inquiries to towns along the Denver
& Rio Grande Railroad’s line, searching for a place to begin digging.
Grand Junction dentist Dr. Stanton M. Bradbury was a “patron of sciences.” His collection of unusual curios, including small dinosaur bones, was displayed at his office, keeping his patients’ attention while having their dental work done. Learning of Riggs’ inquiry, Dr. Bradbury sent a letter, stating that dinosaur bones had been collected around the area for years and that more could be found. Intrigued, Riggs set aside the 1900 and 1901 seasons for the Western Slope. He would not be disappointed.
Dr. Stanton M. Bradbury, courtesy Museum of Western Colorado, Loyd Files Research Library
Hooked on the story by now, I wanted to know what Riggs’ dig was like, so I headed to the Museum of Western Colorado. Zebulon Miracle, Curator of Anthropology, filled me in. He said that Riggs, his chief assistant H.W. Menke, and the rest of his crew arrived in early summer of 1900. They drove well-equipped horse-drawn wagons five miles west of downtown, off today’s South Broadway on the Redlands, and pitched tents. The cook set up camp, and excavation supplies were stored in the shade.
Temperatures were high, hitting 100 degrees at least once that month. Covered in sweat and soil, the men worked long daylight hours and kept up morale with an easy camaraderie. Picks clinking against rock and the occasional dynamite blast filled the air. At night, the exhausted crew lay awake pondering their mission, as the Grand River (now the Colorado) meandered in the distance.
On July 27, Dr. Bradbury wooed Professor Riggs away from the fossil fields long enough to lecture to a fascinated Knights of Pythias gathering. That evening, Riggs reported they were “preparing one of the largest specimens ever discovered.” Before the bones were encased in plaster and shipped to Chicago, Grand Junction was invited to view the extraordinary find.
Riggs’ assistant lying by Brach humerus 1900 Neg CSGEO3934 picture taken by Elmer Riggs, courtesy The Field Museum in Chicago
Brachiosaurus
bone and Menke, courtesy The Field Musuem
After Riggs and Menke examined the bones back home, they were astounded. They’d discovered a new type of sauropod, the largest specimen ever found! In 1903, Riggs introduced Brachiosaurus Altithorax or “Arm Lizard” to the world.
Riggs and Menke working on Brachiosaurus bones back in Chicago, courtesy The Field Museum in Chicago
Elmer Riggs’ stellar career included an Apatosaurus and Allosaurus find near Fruita in 1901 and an expedition to South America in 1925, where legend told of a living dinosaur. He spent two unsuccessful years looking for it.
But where were our Brachiosaurus bones? Surely not still in Chicago? I contacted William F. Simpson, Collections Manager of Fossil Vertebrates at Chicago’s Field Museum. Yes, he knew right where the bones were and took pictures of them in storage. Unfortunately, since fewer than 20 bones had been excavated, they couldn’t be assembled. They were used, however, to replicate missing parts of a nearly full skeleton found in Tanzania.
Riggs' 1901 Fruita find-Apatosaurus femur on the left and his 1900 Brachiosaurus humerus on the right,
courtesy The Field Museum, CSGEO16170
In storage today at the Field Museum in Chicago
I’m a little sad our bones will never return to the Western Slope, but Zebulon Miracle says that the museum’s paleontologist, John Foster, wants to reopen the Riggs Hill quarry to map Riggs’ discovery. This would greatly add to our understanding of the dinosaurs that roamed the Grand Valley.
Brachiosaurus Altithorax rendition
Up for auction recently on Ebay is this World of Dinosaurs Brachiosaurus stamp
Riggs Hill, photo courtesy Bill Davis, Colorado West Outdoors
Riggs Hill Brachiosaurus bone cast, courtesy Bill Davis, Colorado West Outdoors
In 1938, Riggs returned to the Grand Valley for a dedication of Riggs Hill and Dinosaur Hill, courtesy Bill Davis, Colorado West Outdoors
Apatosaurus skeleton found by Riggs near Fruita in 1901, on display at The Field Museum in Chicago
Grand Junction’s Brachiosaurus bones in storage at The Field Museum, 2009,
courtesy The Field Museum, pictures taken by William F. Simpson, Collections Manager of Fossil Vertebrates