88 HUNTING EXTINCT ANIMALS 



through all the sand and the adjacent corners of the grave, 

 we got out another extra thigh bone and three surplus- 

 neck vertebrae, besides some finger bones. Then on a small 

 mat of dried grass we found the remains of the skeleton 

 of a very young child, probably new-born, as no teeth 

 were in the tiny jaw. 



The only interpretation we could put on the conditions 

 found were that originally there had been a burial of an 

 adult Indian man many years ago. At a later period, 

 perhaps a hundred years ago, another group of Indians 

 while in the neighborhood lost a mother and child. The 

 first grave was opened and most of the original bones 

 thrown out (an unusual procedure). New boughs were 

 brought and the body of the woman sewed up in leather 

 clothing, bits of which we found, was laid on them, while 

 beside her on the mat of grass was laid the child. Then 

 these bodies were covered with a pile of stones to prevent 

 pumas or other animals from despoiling the grave. There 

 were no implements in the grave with these skeletons, 

 and the time of the burial was a good many years ago, 

 for the cliff on which they were placed had been worn away 

 by the action of the wind enough to remove a consider- 

 able part of the ledge and drop down a few of the bones 

 of the dead. After photographing them, we collected the 

 bones for the museum. 



Next morning the ground was covered with a couple of 

 inches of snow which, however, disappeared by noon, but 

 prevented our working on the hill during the fore part 

 of the day. We used the time by all having a haircut, 

 presided over by Billy, and lastly I did his also. Through 

 the afternoon we pushed everything along so as to close 

 up the work on this hill, not because it was exhausted, but 

 we were getting mostly duplicates of the first things found, 

 and especially because we were very anxious to see the 

 country to the south as far as the Deseado River. It 



