Bone City, they call it—and it is one of the most exclusive summer and fall resorts in the world. It is located away off in the Bad Lands country of northwestern Nebraska. . . It is some twenty miles from a railroad, with no stage to take one to the station. Neither are there any restaurants or hotels. . .
You could try for months to get in with the people there, and your money wouldn’t help you a bit. But it’s all very easy to become a member of the colony when you have the password; in fact, answering one or two pointed questions will give you social standing enough.
For instance, can you tell a prehistoric rhinoceros from a member of the Miohippus family, or maybe a dinosaur from a queer-looking cat that lived several million years ago? If you can, and are able to talk about those things, the people of Bone City will readily find you a bunk in one of the tents or shanties.
You see, it is a scientists’ playground, and not a place for the millionaire who would sit around on a hotel veranda. . . All summer and well into the fall [paleontologists] wield sledges, and pry away at the rocky hills near their camp, expecting every minute to turn up a giant dog or cat, or some other strange animal that roamed about the Middle West millions of years ago. . .
The scientists shout with glee when they uncover the skeleton of an ancestor of the modern horse, or that of the pig that lived a few million years ago—he could have swallowed two or three of the ordinary barn-yard hogs and still have had room for more, say the cheery vacationists of Bone City.
I’ve always wanted an invitation to an exclusive resort. . . Excuse me while I go bone up—yes, I’m groaning too—on the Miohippus family.
In case you missed them on Facebook and Twitter, please admire, cringe and/or laugh at my contributions to GIF IT UP, Europeana’s annual gif-making competition. I had entirely too much fun making them and hope you enjoy seeing them half as much.
GIF IT UP + Halloween = Whatever this is.
Source image from Europeana and the Slovak National Gallery.
While hanging on the walls of the Art Institute of Chicago all day, Georges Lemmen’s “Portrait of the Artist’s Sister” spends her time swiping on dating apps. Paintings, they’re just like us!
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Disclaimer: The modern era is far from the first to grapple with rampant “fake news.” As I am neither a historian nor journalist, I make no claims about the accuracy or lack thereof of the above sources. I assert only that they make for a good story.
Welcome to Second Glance History! This blog seeks to uncover the people and the stories forgotten by history and give them another read through a modern lens. Join me every week as we examine the differences that divide and the common threads that connect the then to the now.
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