SNOW STORM ON THE MOUNTAINS. 1 75 



beds, this entire valley, with an average breadth of ten miles and a maxi- 

 mum depth of a mile or more, had been scooped out by the combined 

 action of water and ice, which latter agency had, as we have already seen, 

 been not only destructive but constructive, having to the eastward left in 

 the bottom of the valley a deposit of silt, covering the latter in some places, 

 at least, to a depth of several hundred feet. 



In the midst of such interesting surroundings time passed rapidly, and 

 it had been long dark when, after many thrilling experiences attending my 

 descent down the mountain, I arrived with my valuable and heavy load of 

 fossils at the spot where I had unsaddled in the morning. Watering my 

 horse and repicketing him on fresh grass, after one of the finest and most 

 pleasantly and profitably spent days I experienced while in Patagonia, 

 wrapped in saddle blanket and slicker, I retired for the night and, aided by 

 the fatiguing experiences of the day, was soon fast asleep beneath the 

 sheltering branches of a neighboring bush. 



Encouraged by my success during the previous day and, notwithstand- 

 ing that I had left camp with the expectation of only remaining over night, 

 I resolved to see more of the bad-land area at the top of the cliff than 

 had been possible in the limited time at my disposal. The morning broke 

 cold, damp and disagreeable, but I was still hopeful that, as on the pre- 

 vious day, the weather might mend as the day advanced. In this respect, 

 however, my hopes were not to be realized. I had noticed a small stream 

 issuing from the bluffs and emptying into the lake on the south side at a 

 point some four miles from its eastern extremity. From what I could see 

 of the topography of the country I judged that it would be possible at 

 that point for me to reach the summit with my horse, from whence I could 

 explore the surrounding country without the necessity of returning to the 

 valley in the evening. I was not mistaken in this surmise, but hardly 

 had I covered one half of the distance to the summit when a blinding 

 snow storm set in and continued throughout the remainder of the day 

 and most of the night. The temperature was not sufficiently low to make 

 the snow dry and crisp, so that it reached the surface in a half melted con- 

 dition, remaining wherever it struck until quite melted. The wind blew 

 fiercely and from every conceivable direction, driving the half melted 

 snow into every nook and corner. About the middle of the afternoon, 

 with every article of clothing thoroughly drenched, I arrived at a small 

 beech forest near the head of the stream, along the right bank of which I 



