BONES Continued from Page 1 um The collection started when pioneer preacher Thomas Condon saved specimens (mind in the |ohn Day Valiev by a I S Calvary troop in 1WU He later visited the site himself, a dangerous jour ney liec nuso the area was "infested" with Indians, he wrote .it the time To get fossils from the val ley, he would have to "hold a rifle in one hand and mv pick in the other," he wrote Most of the fossils are from 10 to SO million years old and come from the John Day Fossil Beds, said Professor Bill Orr. who has lieen the museum’s curator for 10 years Oregon's plants and fauna have changed many times throughout its history Alxuit r>0 million years ago tfie state was t harac teri/ed h\ tropical forests and volcanoes As it < hanged to a warm, temperate forest climate, some animals tier a me extinct and camels, rhinoceroses and three toed horses roamed the state "Oregon is one of the few plates in the world with an uninterrupted record of mammalian evil lution,” Orr said "In other jdat es. pages have hee.n torn from the book of evolution But here, the fossil record is r umplete The museum is ranked 12th in the i tilled States in numbers of curated lossil vertebrate specimens It is used primal if v by rest-art hers and scientists The collection grew during the infills and '(ids under the direction of Hr . | A Shot-well, and it now contains other artifat ts. sue h as histor a photographs, notebooks, and also .rock and mineral specimens It also'contains the hones of many recent animals "It's a very, very valuable roller lion," said Ruth Greenspan, an art Ideologist for Heritage Re seart h Asstx lates, lot a private consulting firm in hugene that tines archaeological and historical research Greenspan said she usually studies sites less than 10.000 years old. and uses spot itnetis from the museum's collection of more modern mam mat Ixtnes When we find bones at a site, we t an < ompare them with specimens from ttie ( tuition collet lion that have known identities Greenspan s.inl It helps US discover vs fi.it people were eating III tile prehistnnt past, and what animals lived during their lifetimes Professor Paul Simonds. head of tlie anthropol ogv department. has used spin miens from the ( til ler lion when fie taught a tunics lor an haetiit. gists" class at the University Usually we have just .1 bit ij( .1 bone. .trui we compare it to .1 whole hone bortimnl from the collection, Simonds S.itil It helps the students distinguish between specimens that are hones and those that are not If tiles saw \ha' This is a bone ' That's good But it s even better If they t an say, 'Tilts is a fish bone, or a seal (sine, or a deer tame '-The toilet lion lias been moved mum times since the first ptetes were gathered by tamdon It moved to Oregon State University with the si 1 once departments in the i'l 10s Orr said, and started 1 timing l>.n k pietfme.il in the I'iSOs It has been shuffled around the I 'mversity s t ampus suite then But perhaps the most chaotit move came when Camtlori was still custodian' in Hi ft Kepresentalives from an eastern university tried to iniy tiie collection that year The men tried to persuade- (aitidon that Ins wood house in I lie Dalles t ouid inirn down arid destroy the tnssds But Condon wouldn't sell Hirer days later a fire broke out at the old (dots- Hotel nearby It spread quickly, arid ( ondon hurried to save his house So did many of his neighbors, who let their ovs n property I*' t mistimed by the tile w tide they .'helped the preai her They spread a t arpet tin the roof and soaked it with water It worked I'iie house was saved, hut after the fire, (uindon returned to find Ills C abinet shelves empty Most of the spot intuits were miss ing Many i-hi Id ren ' stopped by over the nest two weeks, bringing the fossils they had tarried mil while the fire hail raged One brought tile skull id an oredont Another, rhinoceros teeth And an other child returned ,1 camel Imne he had saved from the flumes Soon everything w as returned esc ept lor a 1 u!h- of amber whu h In d tu.sill/ed inset Is But that was found a fevs days later in the street, where someone had dropped it ( (union became the University's lirst prole .-or ol rialur.il history in 1 u'n He brought tits collet lion with him and alter his death in I'lO " it was sold to the l nivetsity by his daughter. I lien l am don Met Inrnack. tor 0(H) lint today it s worth unit ti more You can t buy a collection like it, it's literally pric eless, said geology Professor I ueg Ketailac k Some students are enthusiastic. he said VYe ve made some real converts to the study ol geology by showing them what has been dlscuv ereci in this state But other students are indiffer ent ‘Preventative maintenance BOSCH AUTHORIZED SERVICE 1 (UA£r • V-K-ti Vi* ■ r THE FAR SIDE By GARY LARSON * .—— --—-— - --I O' r —M ‘V i* r ^ *** \tS '**✓/*•• ' ” i. * f * 'y Som« of our common crabs 'Ik free pizza taxi starts at v.M) p.m., then."' a /nr I’raise Band uineert at 6:00 run., and the semee is at :(X) p.m. So come pin as as we deliver an evening ot tun and inspiration. Oh veah...and/nr pizza! The John VC esles White/Franklin Graham Crusade. Wed., March 18 Free pizza feed - 5:30/ Praise Band Concert • Ml Sersice - M Lane Counts Fairgrounds. All seats free. Come as sou are. Call 345-5886 for more information.