This ancient Kansas landmark witnessed an epic scientific feud: the Bone Wars

Cope and Marsh’s Bitter Fossil War at Monument Rocks

The chalk hills of western Kansas hide a tale of spite, theft, and bones.

From 1877 to 1892, two men turned Monument Rocks into a battleground for what we now call the “Bone Wars.”

Edward Cope of Philadelphia and Yale’s Othniel Marsh paid fossil hunters like Charles Sternberg $300 to comb the area for ancient treasures.

Their teams stole each other’s finds, broke bones they couldn’t take, and even used spies. Yet their bitter feud led to 142 new dinosaur species and put American paleontology on the map.

The chalk beds near Monument Rocks still stand tall today, waiting for you to walk where these scientific rivals once fought for fame.

Two Paleontologists Started as Friends in Berlin

Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh first met in Berlin in 1864 while studying old fossils.

These two Americans came from opposite worlds – Cope grew up in a rich Philadelphia Quaker family, while Marsh was a poor country boy from New York whose uncle paid for his schooling.

They became friends right away over their love of ancient bones. They even named new fossil finds after each other as a friendly gesture.

Neither knew their friendship would turn into one of science’s nastiest fights.

A Betrayal at the New Jersey Fossil Quarry

Their friendship fell apart in 1868 when Cope showed Marsh his favorite fossil hunting spot in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Cope proudly took him around the quarry where he found many important specimens.

Behind Cope’s back, Marsh secretly paid the quarry workers to send all new fossil finds to him at Yale instead. When Cope learned about this trick, he became furious.

He wrote in his notes that this betrayal marked “the beginning of the end of their friendship.

Marsh Publicly Humiliated Cope Over a Backwards Dinosaur

The fight got worse when Cope made a big mistake with his Elasmosaurus platyurus in 1868. He got a plesiosaur skeleton from a Kansas Army surgeon and rushed to publish.

In his hurry, Cope put the skull on the wrong end, attaching it to the tail instead of the neck.

During a visit to the Academy of Natural Sciences, Marsh spotted the error and called Cope out in front of other scientists. Cope tried to buy up all copies of his published paper, but the damage was done.

A Young Fossil Hunter Joined Cope’s Team

Charles Sternberg joined the fossil wars in 1876 after failing to get work with Professor Mudge, who worked for Marsh. Needing a job, Sternberg wrote to Cope asking to hunt fossils in Kansas.

Cope sent $300 with a note saying: “Go to work. ” This started Sternberg’s famous career as a fossil collector.

He went to western Kansas and began looking through the chalk areas from Hackberry Creek to Fort Wallace. He liked the Monument Rocks area best.

Sternberg made wagon trails across the prairie that settlers used for years.

Kansas Chalk Beds Became a Fossil Battleground

Both rival teams set up camp at Buffalo Park in Gove County, Kansas during summer 1876. Professor Mudge led Marsh’s team while Sternberg worked for Cope.

Though they shared the same camp, they fought hard for the best fossils.

The chalk beds near Monument Rocks held treasures from an ancient sea – giant mosasaurs up to 45 feet long, huge fish like Xiphactinus, prehistoric sharks, and flying reptiles called pteranodons.

Sternberg found the deep canyons near Monument Rocks “much richer in fossils” than other areas.

A Colorado Schoolteacher’s Find Sparked Intense Competition

The fossil wars heated up in 1877 when schoolteacher Arthur Lakes found massive dinosaur bones near Morrison, Colorado. Not knowing which scientist to contact, Lakes sent samples to both Cope and Marsh.

This started a mad rush for control of western fossil sites. Marsh quickly sent Lakes $100 and asked for exclusive rights to the area.

Lakes, stuck in the middle, had to awkwardly ask Cope to return the samples he’d already sent him. Both men rushed to claim new areas and sent teams racing across the American West.

Workers Threw Rocks and Used Dynamite at Como Bluff

Como Bluff, Wyoming turned into a real battlefield from 1877 to 1879.

Both scientists had rival fossil hunting crews at this rich site, where workers often threw rocks and dirt at each other.

The fight got so nasty that Marsh told his teams to blow up any leftover fossils with dynamite before leaving a site, just to keep Cope from getting them.

Former friends William Reed and Samuel Carlin ended up working for opposite sides. The fossil hunters slept with guns under their pillows, fearing sabotage from rival teams.

The Publishing Race Led to Sloppy Science

Cope bought The American Naturalist journal in 1877 to use as his personal platform for attacking Marsh.

Between 1879 and 1880 alone, Cope published 76 papers describing new species, doing what modern paleontologist Bob Bakker called “taxonomic carpet-bombing.”

Marsh used his connections to publish in government reports. Both men rushed findings into print without proper checking, making many mistakes.

They named the same dinosaur multiple times or created species based on fragments from already-known animals. Marsh used spies with codenames to track Cope’s progress.

Marsh Used Government Connections to Block Cope

The battle turned political in 1882 when Marsh got a powerful job as chief paleontologist of the new U.S. Geological Survey. This government position gave Marsh federal funding and the power to hurt his rival.

He used his pull to cut off Cope’s access to grants and money. Cope’s bank account suffered as he paid for expensive western trips from his own pocket.

Marsh also blocked Cope’s papers from appearing in government reports and scientific journals where he had influence.

Their Feud Made Front-Page News Across America

The rivalry blew up in public in 1892 when a broke Cope gave years of dirt on Marsh to the New York Herald.

The newspaper printed a shocking story titled “Scientists Wage Bitter Warfare,” making their fight front-page news across America.

Cope accused Marsh of stealing ideas, taking credit for others’ work, being bad at his job, and misusing government money.

Marsh fired back with an article called “Wrong End Foremost,” bringing up Cope’s backwards Elasmosaurus mistake from decades earlier.

Both Men Died Broke But Left a Lasting Legacy

The Bone Wars left both men financially ruined by 1897.

Cope died that year at age 56, nearly penniless after spending his family fortune on fossil hunting. Marsh followed him to the grave in 1899 at age 67 with only $186 in his bank account.

Despite their flaws, they changed American paleontology forever.

Together they found and described 142 new dinosaur species, including many famous ones like Stegosaurus, Allosaurus, Diplodocus, and Triceratops.

Their rivalry sparked public interest in dinosaurs that continues today.

The massive fossil collections they amassed formed the foundation of museum exhibits at Yale, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Visiting Monument Rocks, Kansas

You can visit Monument Rocks for free on private land where owners welcome visitors.

Drive 18 miles north of Scott City or 25 miles south of Oakley on US-83, then take 6 miles of gravel roads to reach the 70-foot chalk formations.

The site closes at sunset and you can’t climb, hunt fossils, camp, or litter.

These towering spires and arches mark where paleontologists Cope and Marsh battled during the famous “Bone Wars” fossil rivalry.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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