CAMP NEAR CAPE FAIRWEATHER. 6 1 



plete her cargo, after finishing at Killik Aike, we shipped this along with 

 the others on June the 26th. Thus not quite four months after leaving 

 New York our first consignment was on its way home, and, if safely re- 

 ceived, the material was ample to insure the success of the expedition 

 from a palaeontological standpoint, which had been our real aim. We 

 had, however, not entirely neglected other branches of natural history 

 and already had a considerable collection of bird skins, as well as a few 

 mammals. 



Since we were now in the middle of winter, we decided to pay more 

 attention to the recent fauna and secure, as nearly as possible in full 

 winter plumage, a complete set of the various mammals and birds that 

 wintered in the region about us. In prosecuting this work we intended 

 still to carry out our plan, formed at the start, of following the coast and 

 examining the bluffs which extend from Cape Fairweather northward, in 

 order to study their stratigraphy and collect such fossils as they might 

 contain. 



On June 26, we moved camp to Fitzroy's Springs, about a mile above 

 the mouth of the Gallegos River, where, under a high bluff and in the 

 midst of a considerable thicket of bushes, we camped for the night, going 

 on the next day to a small spring which flows from near the summit of 

 the cliff that faces the Atlantic and runs northward from Cape Fairweather, 

 distant about one mile from the extreme point of the cape. We estab- 

 lished our camp in a little basin on the plain above, but conveniently near 

 the spring. The surroundings appeared promising and we therefore 

 selected and prepared our camp for a considerable sojourn at this place. 

 The country for some two or three miles to the northward of Cape Fair- 

 weather consists of rounded hills separated by shallow depressions, while 

 a loose, warm, sandy soil takes the place of the shingle of the plains and 

 supports a considerable growth of grass and calafate bushes. It is a fav- 

 orite retreat for the guanaco and rhea, as well as many other mammals 

 and birds. We "spent the remainder of the day after our arrival at this 

 place in putting our camp in shape, providing a supply of wood, and 

 doing such other little chores as would insure our future comfort. On 

 the following morning we took our Winchesters and started out after 

 guanaco, as we wished to secure while here convenient to Gallegos a 

 sufficient supply of skins and skeletons of these animals, more especially 

 as their fur was at that season in prime condition. After proceeding a 



