In ancient geological times, the heart of North America from the Arctic coast to the Gulf of Mexico, and from Utah nearly across Kansas, was covered by the Cretaceous Sea. This shallow sea, which has been called the American Mediterranean, washed a shoreline inhabited by dinosaurs. In the mild skies flew great leather winged reptiles and dainty sea birds. Fish several yards long thronged the waters, in company with an astonishing assortment of gigantic swimming reptiles, some resembling the fish in shape and habits, others paddling heavy turtle-like bodies that bore a long sinuous neck and toothy skull. All had long since disappeared into the eons of geological time when men began opening the Great West; but by the 1860s, the first traces of them had reappeared and the race of the bone hunters was on. Here, in this beautifully written and handsomely illustrated volume, is their story. These men startled the scientific world, revolutionized their discipline, and laid the foundations for much of today"s work in paleontology.