William Johnson

William Johnson is the protagonist of the novel. He is a young man attending Yale College as an undergraduate in 1876. In response to a wager proposed by a fellow student, Johnson joins a paleontological expedition led by Yale professor Othniel Marsh. He quickly learns photography and joins the expedition as a photographer. However, after Marsh comes to suspect Johnson of being a spy for rival paleontologist Edward Cope, marsh leaves Johnson behind. Johnson then meets Edward Cope and joins Cope’s paleontological expedition for the summer.

In the Judith badlands of the Montana Territory, Cope and Johnson discover a wealth of fossilized dinosaur bones. However, Johnson eventually becomes separated from the expedition with half of the fossils in his possession, and he is attacked by Native Americans. He escapes with the fossils to the lawless town of Deadwood in the South Dakota Territory. There, Johnson raises money...