 Cope had little formal scientific training , and he eschewed a teaching position for field work . He made regular trips to the American West , prospecting in the 1870s and 1880s , often as a member of United States Geological Survey teams . A personal feud between Cope and paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh led to a period of intense fossil @-@ finding competition now known as the Bone Wars . Cope 's financial fortunes soured after failed mining ventures in the 1880s , forcing him to sell off much of his fossil collection . He experienced a resurgence in his career toward the end of his life before dying on April 12 , 1897 . 
