Intro to Dino 101: Marsh and Cope
Othniel Charles Marsh (1831–1899) | Edward Drinker Cope (1840-1897)
Intro to Dino 101 is where we get back to the dinosaur basics. Or, for many of us, get to the basics for the first time. As we like to say, you don’t need to know anything at all about dinosaurs to enjoy travelling with Dinosaur Trips. Our trips and holidays are all about discovery and comfort, and that idea goes for this newsletter as well. We’re just here to help with some of the basics and easily accessible entry points into a love of paleontology.
What Were The Bone Wars?
In the scorching heat of the American West during the late 19th century, two larger-than-life figures emerged from the primordial ooze of paleontology, sparking a bone-rattling feud that would forever be etched in the annals of science and academia.
Edward Drinker Cope during his last trip to Kansas in 1893
This was the era of Marsh and Cope, a time when the pursuit of prehistoric glory meant trudging through the unforgiving terrain armed with pickaxes, dynamite, and an insatiable thirst for discovery. Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, the dueling dino-hunters of the Gilded Age, embarked on an epic quest to unearth the colossal skeletons of ancient behemoths that roamed the Earth millions of years before the first cowboy ever saddled up. As the fossils emerged from the rocks like mythical beasts rising from the ashes, so too did the bitter rivalry between these paleontological pioneers, transforming the field into a high-stakes battleground where bones were the currency and pride was the ultimate prize.
Imagine a Wild West showdown, not with six-shooters, but with chisels and brushes, as Marsh and Cope engaged in a bone-splintering, ego-shattering contest to out-discover and outdo each other. It was a tale of scientific one-upmanship fueled by ambition, jealousy, and a relentless desire to leave an indelible mark on the fossilized pages of history.
As the bones of ancient leviathans were resurrected from the earth, so too were the passions of Marsh and Cope, casting a long shadow over the world of paleontology and turning their tumultuous relationship into the stuff of legend. In the smoke-filled saloons of academia, their names became synonymous with a fierce determination to claim supremacy in the untamed frontier of prehistoric exploration.
The American West: A Dinosaur Fossil Battleground
As Marsh and Cope jousted for paleontological dominance, the American West became a colossal battleground of bone and bravado. Marsh, the well-heeled Yale professor with an aristocratic air, and Cope, the fiery, self-taught Philadelphia naturalist, embarked on an unparalleled fossil frenzy. Their quest for dinosaur gold led them to the sprawling spaces across Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, where the earth cradled the secrets of prehistoric giants. Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Allosaurus—each discovery fueled the flames of rivalry, propelling the race to unveil the next colossal creature that lurked beneath the sun-baked soil.
The duel reached its zenith in the infamous “Bone Wars,” a period of frenzied fossil hunting that saw both men dispatching teams of diggers to plunder the West’s Jurassic treasures. It wasn’t just about the science; it was a ferocious race to publish findings first, with accusations of theft and espionage echoing through the canyons like the distant roars of the dinosaurs they sought. They engaged in a cutthroat game of naming rights, where creatures were christened in a frenetic bid for immortality, and where scientific etiquette was trampled underfoot like a herd of stampeding ceratopsians.
Othniel C Marsh surrounded by armed assistants for his 1872 expedition.
Spared No Expense
As the Bone Wars raged on, Marsh and Cope’s insatiable appetite for discovery proved to be as perilous to their finances as it was fruitful for paleontology. The unrelenting pursuit of dinosaur bones became an expensive obsession, draining the coffers of both men and transforming their once-vast fortunes into mere dust in the arid winds of the West.
Marsh, with his Ivy League prestige, spared no expense in financing his expeditions, employing a legion of diggers and teaming up with railroad companies to ensure the swift transport of his colossal finds back to Yale. Yet, the mounting costs and extravagant lifestyle eroded his wealth, turning his family’s financial legacy into a mere whisper of what it once was.
Marsh and Lakota Chief Red Cloud in New Haven, Connecticut, c. 1880
Meanwhile, Cope, the self-made scientist with a penchant for showmanship, spared no expense either, frequently outbidding Marsh for prized specimens and funding his own excavations. The Philadelphia naturalist’s flamboyant lifestyle and costly endeavors left him teetering on the precipice of financial ruin.
Their competitive zeal blinded them to the economic realities of their extravagant pursuits, and as the Bone Wars escalated, both men found themselves entrenched in a financial quagmire. The gold rush of fossil discovery had come at a staggering cost, leaving Marsh and Cope, the once-mighty paleontological titans, battered and bruised on the rocky landscape of economic reality. Yet, even as they bickered, schemed and spent, Marsh and Cope were unwitting collaborators in advancing our understanding of the prehistoric world.
Their discoveries laid the foundation for the field of paleontology, and the fossils they unearthed reshaped the very fabric of our understanding of life on Earth. Despite the acrimony, their contributions became an enduring legacy, a testament to the paradoxical nature of discovery – born from the fires of competition, yet eternally intertwined in the tapestry of scientific progress. The bone-strewn landscape of the American West bears witness to their tumultuous journey, where the thrill of the hunt collided with the complexities of human ambition.
