PATAGONIAN FISHERIES 53 



liked the canyon as it afforded shelter and more feed. 

 When all were hitched up, Paddy made a break for liberty 

 and went back on a run. Billy jumped on Blackie who 

 disappeared with a rope swinging as he went. I mounted 

 the Colorado and followed the procession, but did not 

 catch up, until by the old house I found Billy on Paddy's 

 bare back. He had cornered Paddy and dismounted to 

 put a rope on him for leading, when Blackie took advantage 

 of the opportunity and bolted in his turn; but when my 

 horse came up he was satisfied to be caught and join the 

 company again. 



We all finally got to the wagon, where the boys had 

 everything ready and we were off about nine o'clock. 

 The country soon became broken, with fine much-gullied 

 exposures of the rocks on three sides, the dissected rills 

 reminding us of the Big Bad Lands of South Dakota. It 

 was too good to pass ; so at noon we hauled up to a deserted 

 house and made a camp, starting out at once to prospect 

 the ledges. The base rock was an extensive lava sheet, 

 in a canyon through which we had been stuck. This was 

 covered with about lOO feet of red sandstone, above which 

 were 200 feet of white clays, all capped with the marine 

 oyster- bearing sands. It seemed to correspond exactly 

 with Ameghino's description, the red sandstone being 

 his "dinosaur beds," and the white his "Notostylopus 

 layer," in which we expected to find bones. It was late 

 when we came in from the various directions, each hoping 

 that the other fellow had had better luck than himself, 

 but all reported the same barrenness. 



The next morning's drive brought us down to the sea- 

 shore again, where while lunching we watched twenty or 

 more sea lions work around on the beach. These were the 

 southern sea lion which we saw at several points from here 

 south. In the early half of the last century there were 

 numerous sea elephants, and also fur seals along the Pata- 

 gonian shore, which were killed in large numbers, the sea 



